fishinwrench

With the smaller low torque jet outboards, like the little 25 that I have, you have to be careful not to idle slowly over fine gravel or sand because it will suck it up, seize the impeller, and kill the motor. Most times you can grab the flywheel and force it counterclockwise to free it back up.....but occasionally it will lock up so tight that removal of the impeller is the only way to unstick it.

There's a bunch of those black headed buzzards hanging out below Bagnell dam that pick at the rubber on vehicles (windshield wipers, exposed door seals, trim) and the last time I was at Bennett I noticed a group of them there too, hanging around the parking lot by the hatchery. They need to open season on those peckerwoods and somebody needs to figure out a good recipe for them. 😊

Since trout are raised for put & take in this state you'd think they'd do some science to improve the meat. I'm actually blown away that all the trout they raise get kept and eaten because they just aren't very good at all. I suspect that at least 50% of all stocker trout kept, get thrown in a freezer, then eventually pitched in the trash or fed to cats.

If the little outboard is hitting bottom it's only ankle deep. Step out and quit being a puss! 😄

No but I pulled into Bent tree estates and saw something that gave me chills. A little kid with no legs on a cart being pulled around the yard by a little pug dog, kid looked like he was having the time of his life. Kinda choked me up 😢

Nice fat male ! Good deal man 👍

Didn't float it, but hopscotched every access (except for YOU KNOW WHERE) from 64 to Prosperine. Beautiful day to be on the river. Brought 12-14 rather ugly Rainbows, 3 Browns, and a pair of baby Smallies to hand. Missed a good number of smacks while stripping streamers that I assume were short rainbows, or possibly little Smallies. Fish of the day was a chunky 15" Brown that crushed a tan/copper Muddler.

In your case I think the deciding factor should be how far you like to run between fishing spots. Running more than 3-5 miles in a Jon boat (even a big nice one) is not much fun at all. When I was a kid (12 y/o) we took two boats on a massive float trip on the Mississippi, from Louisiana, Mo to the state of Louisiana. A 16' Quichita commercial Jon, and a 18' StarCraft deep V, and even at the ripe young age of 12 I was thrilled when I was allowed out of that freakin' Jon boat and into the StarCraft.

I notice that also. Plus the mod- V just looks better. No difference at all when it comes to cutting through chop or waves, they all bang like a jackhammer. And the wider they are the harder they bang.

I'd pick out the doors you want from Lowe's, Menards, or Home Depot, then hire a home improvement contractor to go pick them up and install them. Put out a line on FB for recommendations. I have some customers from STL/Wentzville area that do stuff like that, if you don't find anyone that you feel like you can trust let me know.

I dated a girl for awhile that did stints in Africa through the Peace corp, her job was to teach little African villages how to dig ponds and raise Talapia for revenue. She would cook them up in a romantic dish with rice, broccoli and carrots....and I gotta say, it was pretty darn good chased with a glass of chilled chardonnay. I've never tasted them prepared any other way, but I wouldn't turn my nose up if somebody handed me a plate of them.

I don't fillet trout or small channel cat when I eat them, but everything else... yes.

It's the result of a good economy. Land is a solid investment regardless of what you choose to do with it.

20" transom that is well braced and has a splash well, and I like standard guage hulls with properly placed rivets way better than I like a heavy guage hull with welded stringers. Plus, the floor plan allows for lots of different modification options that work really good for my style of fishing.

Oh I'm sure you're right. I mean everybody from Waynesville does their Christmas shopping in Osage beach. 🙄 It's such a special Wal-Mart.

The meds have got you a tad loopy, ol'buddy. Please put the pow-pow on top of the fridge if it isn't there already. 😊

Yeah that's it. Was that 4 years ago? Man the time...... it's getting away from me. Seems like it was just the season before last. Earlier that day Facebook was ablaze about 5 Iranian looking dudes asking questions about the dam at JB Hook's restaurant. The law was called....it was a big deal.....then poof (Wooopsy) they had an accident. As if Army Captains and Majors are taught really technical important stuff BEFORE they are schooled about crossing floodwater. Riiiight.

Something like that, I guess. Reportedly they were special soldiers brought in for training. Wouldn't you think the higher-ups at FLW would instruct them not to do such a thing? When that story came out I was like......"Oooooh Kaaaay 🤔 this makes perfect sense".

There were 5 Iranian dudes from Ft. Leonard Wood eating breakfast on the Bagnell dam strip and asking questions about the dam, year before last. They had an "accident" on the way back to the base and were all killed. I monkey dodo you not.

https://www-businesstimes-com-sg.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/swiss-made-is-a-joke-says-homegrown-maker-of-low-cost-watches?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&amp&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15783608162771&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesstimes.com.sg%2Fconsumer%2Fswiss-made-is-a-joke-says-homegrown-maker-of-low-cost-watches

There isn't much left to pick, I've pretty much spilled all that's worth anything about Jon boats. You've got me wanting to sell my bass boat and buy another Lowe Olympic now. I already have a motor, controls, and TM for it, just need a hull and trailer.

Crazy amount of top end for that little bitty gearcase. Suzuki 4-stroke ? 🙄 😁

I try not to buy anything with resale in mind as my goal isn't to move it immediately Even if your goal isn't to immediately flip it, keeping resale value in mind is advisable unless you just have money to burn.....which you obviously don't. On a jon boat? Sure. You ain't concerned about resale value, so what difference does it make? It's worth whatever you wanna pay for it. A 42 Yes. A 48 still yes...but a 35+ would be better. My most favorite boat that I've ever had, and I kick myself everytime I think about it, for selling it, was a Lowe 1652 Olympic Jon with a 35 Evinrude. God I miss that boat !

They pulled a bit of a shinanigan with the SCIV rods awhile back, started replacing them with that POS Imperial blank, which was even slower than the Avid (SCIII) basically the same action and recovery rate as SCII but a bit lighter. The whole rod blank market is quite a racket.....you really have to study, weigh, measure, and shake, to try and figure it all out. It's only magical in the amount of confusion PURPOSELY applied to it. When a rod manufacturer assumes that I don't know a truly good blank when I feel one.....I get kinda insulted. Lew's, Duckett, and several others need to be exposed. Low end ABU Garcia and Berkeley rods from Wal-Mart have higher quality blanks than alot of these high-end rods guys are hurting their bank accounts with these days.

By golly you're right. That was news to me! MHX/Batson crossovers are the closest comparable. The value of my high-end custom SC rods just took a substantial leap. Thanks for the heads up on that. Now I gotta start worrying about breaking one. 🤪