nomolites

Nice and welcome to the club! They are fun, and where there is one there are more... Mike

Yes, all the changes in the last 2 years have created this - I saw it in the media, and on the internet....THIS is why I fish, hunt, and spend every opportunity outdoors. I prefer God’s story line. Mike

This^...there is a lot of beautiful country you could not possibly hunt if you had to present a deer whole at a check station. Where I hunt now is more accessible but there are MANY large deer that lived to see another day during the season because of where I have found them...... Mike

I ran those for 3 years and they were flawless; plenty of juice for my Ulterra with zero instances of them running down. I did start to see a loss of capacity in the fourth year and swapped them out. They are a good deal for the price to be sure. Mike

Leave a few for seed...😉 Mike

Fitters would be better...have always wanted to bow hunt there. I hunt upstream a couple miles and have never seen any non typicals like that few thousand acres produces. Mike

No, but he was slinging big swim and glide baits as well....gotta get some propulsion for them kayaks somehow! Mike

You aren’t preparing them properly...😉, I find them to be quite delicious. And did I mention they PULL... I agree that a state record white swims in LOZ....I have caught some giants, especially up your way in the spring - although I’m catching mine in the last deep water where they hold waiting for an opportunity to run up your creeks. Mike

45 degrees, yes, if necessary add power. I fish LOZ, and I have 2 3/8 post and a seat designed more to lean back into rather then sit on up front and a 60” shaft on my Ulterra. I haven’t been pitched out yet and I fish main lake mid-day, but that doesn’t mean I like inconsiderate drivers. FW nailed it above; the big boys expect YOU to move..... Mike

Agree overcooking and not properly handling game contribute to the bad rap I often hear. My experience is I get out of it what I put into it as far as care and preparation...and I have learned to be meticulous. The results are quite delicious, although I can’t say that I’ve rendered and stored goose fat for cooking...🤔 Mike

When they are trying to stay on Wrench’s Guide Curve early in the year they pull almost every time it rains; this summer with the dry weather has been another story. They have their play book and they stick to it....but that can make them predictable too. Mike

Oh but when they do... I fish the lower end primarily for “OTL” (other than largemouth) and I LOVE when they pull water. I can sit in one spot and literally get tired of catching fish, many of which are nice LM. As far as running up the river I’m with FW, the only time I’d think the bite may be worth the run is early spring - in a NON A-rig derby. Mike

A-10s are ancient by military hardware standards; numerous attempts to shelve them to waste billions more on something else have failed(except for the REAL goal of spending the $$)as the newer airframes can’t do the job they do as effectively. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. Mike

A-10s, usually don’t hear them until AFTER they zip over...gives a real good idea why they are so popular with the troops. They seem to like to fly the lakes - see them often on LOZ. Mike

You could have tried closer to the Shootout 😬... Mike

I haven’t either; have not cleaned any since spring but now I am curious..... Mike

Been there. I put a heavier and longer cord(75’)on one of those lead/chain lure retrievers and have saved myself literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars over the last 5-10 years. I usually only lose cranks any more if I am running snap weights close(20’) to the lure in deep water which I don’t do often. I also catch more fish as I can work brush or trees without the anxiety of losing baits. Mike

Don’t feel bad Wrench, I tried them in a couple of spots this week and caught everything but hybrids/stripers which is unusual...caught a lot of big whites! Sorry no catfish or drum pics but caught plenty. The LM was 4-7... Mike

In general shad are more scattered in warm months; screenshots on the video are during cold water when they are pushed deep and stay there. This time of year current can be your friend and help position the fish; I’ve only fished Stockton the one week earlier this summer but I found when they were generating in the afternoon(during that hot spell in June) I could much more easily predict where the fish would be and catch a few spooning or jigging specific structure. Other times of the day I found fish to be much more scattered and I had to work harder. Mike

That is my favorite way as well. Agree wild(er) trout are best! Mike

..when a plan comes together is a beautiful thing. Mike

The larger(size fish) schools do tend to stay deeper this time of year for sure. I catch most of my better fish in 20-30 FOW.... Mike

I was with this group 7 thru 10 as well; John has not changed a bit - I’ll be a fan of his until he quits. His pants, not so much. Mike

Spent the day there and it was quite nice; have been to US Opens, PGAs and WGC events as well and the comments above are not reflective of golf in the world today. All shapes and sizes, nationalities, and creeds. Yes, there are corporate tents for those entertaining clients but even that has become much less a phenomenon than it once was. I even had to PAY for my tickets this year 🤔.... It’s like anything else, if it’s not for you - don’t go. Just like I don’t do much carp fishing....I am however, now headed to the lake .. Mike

Likely an issue of semantics. Shoal may be the better word, with the good ones having a significant area at roughly the same depth adjacent to deep water. For example 6 Mile, Gibson, Tony’s, Sheldon, and the hump( I refer to as Guido’s)on the lower end of the Gravi And one as you approach Lakeview moving up Lake - depending on conditions and boat traffic they can all be very good or very bad. I have also had success at Rainbow(mouth of Bogue) and others with smaller “flats” but you get the idea. They can be completely barren but as the shadows descend shad get pushed up by the temperate bass and walleye and it gets busy fast. The presence of shad nearby is the key, and in that regard current helps. Mike