rps

I like the way you think.

The OA forum includes many people knowledgeable in areas I am not. Thus I pose a scenario/question seeking advice. Today I noticed that along the front of my house, water was seeping, in more than one place, from the seam where the vertical exterior wall meets the soffit, That water was then freezing as it oozed down the wall. Directly above that point, the snow on the roof was visibly melting. Am I correct I have an insulation and a roof leak problem? Is it time for one or more repairs? What do you suggest as a start point? Thanks in advance.

Just south of you, in Oklahoma, check out Oolagah Lake. It is excellent for really big bass and some walleye. The Neosho River, one of the tributaries of Grand Lake mentioned above, runs near you, and you won't be far from Shoal Creek.

Right at 8" over an inch of sleet here at Holiday Island. Stuff still falling. The only traffic on the road out front has been snow plows. When it stops I will go out and shovel the drive before everything freezes rock hard. With the predicted temps, this is going nowhere fast. On the bright side, will still have power and internet, plenty of food and water, and I am tying my 2014 crop of walleye spinners. Take care everyone.

Have a great holiday Bill.

I wish the entire OA crew a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you enjoy the food and company! Instead of the usual 6 to 8, or the occasional 12, today we are only 4. I dismembered a bird and deboned the thighs. The drum sticks are still attached to the thighs so I wind up with three pieces to roast -> the breast on its rib cage and two thigh leg pieces. I put fresh sage in the thighs and tie them up so the skin surrounds the meat. Makes a great presentation and makes the thigh meat easy to carve. As you can imagine the cook time is greatly reduced. The back, neck, wings and bones are in my stock pot making a base for the gravy and the onion/celery/leeks/apple dressing. I made queso yesterday. I am also going to experiment with Alton Browns green bean casserole. I will make my family's traditional citrus segment and avocado salad with sweet/sour onion dressing. Two pies, pumpkin and fudge, will finish the day.

At about age 12, my father took me to Canada for the third time. We fished Rough Rock Lake. Charley Fisher was our guide. We were in an aluminum boat with my fathers 18 hp Evinrude and we were fishing a weedy mid lake rocky island. I threw out a red and white spoon using a Browning Silaflex rod with a Mitchell 300 reel. I had Stren monofilament? in something like 10 pound test. The lure stopped dead on the retrieve, then headed toward the boat. I was in the front and when the fish went under the boat, I tried to put the rod down in the water and get the rod and the line on the same side as the fish. The muskie came out of the water, shook its head back and forth, and threw the spoon back to the same side where it originally hit. I sat there. My father sat there. Charley Fisher sat there. Then he said, "musky." I have had several "not landed" fish incidents since, but that will always be the one to talk about.

My boat is not near fancy enough for a "guide" boat because it looks common and not very sexy. I can't "run and gun" in it. However, if you fish a 10 mile each direction area like I do here on the upper end of TR, you can't find better transportation and platform for a better cost. I had an outstanding modified V jon boat like wrench suggests and it was a very, very good boat. I just grew tired of bouncing through the wake boat wakes. BTW, I have discovered Alumacraft no longer makes the Navigator. One would have to compare the new series to make the choice that suits them.

I have been running a Alumacraft 165 Navigator tiller with a 75 Evinrude ETEC since 2010. The 90 inch beam makes it very stable, and the semi V design is dry and safe in the largest boat wake waves. Plenty of room for three, but not so large as to be too much boat for one. I will try to post a link to an earlier post of mine about the boat. It includes pictures. A similar design by Lund would be a bit more expensive but they make solid boats with great resale value. I just did not want to buy a four stroke Mercury.

One of the chefs who taught at Cordon Bleu in London was a sous chef (XO in the kitchen) for Gordon Ramsey for ten years. He told me he was one of the best, but a complete not nice person. I ate at two of his London places - good stuff.

For myself, my favorite plane is the one home.

My father crew chiefed an A26 Light Attack Bomber during WWII. A Brigadier nabbed him for state side air crash inspection duty and he never went over seas. He told me, at the time he was upset. Later he realized how lucky he was not to fly into combat in that plane.

Thank you!

+1

Really interesting thread. Ranger has traditionally made good boats, but I would heed wrench's comments on design. I run a 16.5 foot deep V, but mine is a tiller steer with the 7.5 foot rod tubes on the right. For center front tubes 17.5 is a minimum. Lund, Alumacraft, Smoker, Prince, Starcraft, and G3 have many years experience in deep V models. Check them out. Rangerman's relative's boat is probably an great buy. By the way, you should view the conversion to deep V as a return to sanity. Your spine will love you.

Going upstream from HI, depending upon discharge and water levels, your rig will go as far as the Hwy 62 bridge and maybe as far up as Spider Creek. If headed downstream only you can launch as high as Parker Bottoms for a drift down. But that will involve a shuttle. During the winter, the shelf wall just below the 62 bridge holds brown trout - try a suspending Rapala/Smithwick/jerk bait. If you can get just above the 62 bridge the car size rocks in the river hold trout and walleye on the downstream side. From 62 bridge down to Beaver, the winter jig and minnow fishing for walleye yields very large fish every year. Good luck.

I envy you. Do you ever share/sell?

For something much better:

I totally approve. And envy.

Hello CPDG! I live in Holiday Island, barely in Arkansas. I have my boat at the marina there and I fish from Houseman, way up the White in trout water, to as far down lake as Viney Creek. My wife and I moved here in time for the 2002-2003 school year. In that time I have learned the lake and learned to enjoy its many fishing options. Yes, it took a while to learn, but since I began I have had fishing days beyond belief. Highlights include a 13.75 pound walleye, a 8.5+ largemouth, a 7+ pound brown trout, and a nearly 4 pound meanmouth. Right now I would call the area a buyers market. I hope you find your dream.

Unless I am working into a good wind, my main motor pushes my rig at 2.8 to 3.0 mph. Most days in Spring and Fall that is too fast. However at 2 mph the batteries for the trolling motor drain too quickly. I have toyed with the idea of a kicker motor, but on my 16.5 tin boat that seems a bit much. My solution has been to put my motor in and out of gear. For example, if my target speed is 2 mph, I put the motor in gear until I reach 2.4 mph. Then I pull it out of gear and coast until I am traveling 1.6 mph. I find the system works and that the varying speeds seem to trigger bites.

Deeper, smaller profile baits, and slow down. I have often fished crappie jigs and Charlie Brewer "Do Nothing" rigs in post cold front conditions. BTW, current forecasts indicate I get to fish another post front next weekend. Yippie Ki Yay.

No. The only advantage to rivers and farm ponds is there are fewer areas to hole up in.

Didn't expect to do any good today. Blue bird skies and north winds are not good things. I surprised myself. One keeper walleye in the boat and one came unbuttoned at the boat. Several small bass. I trolled a small profile crank bait and found fish 21 to 23 feet deep suspended just off the edge of a channel in 24 to 28 feet of water. Variable boat speed (1.8 to 2.6 mph).

QB, I like your reports. Much good information with an economy of words. Thank you.