Champ188

Quit yer dang grumbling ... we'll wish you happy birthday, too, when it's time. 😆😂

Good job, Sprint! Fall fishing (for me, at least) very often seems to be a matter of scrambling around for one bite here, two bites there, etc. Junk fishing at its finest.

Happy birthday, my friend.

Maybe it's time to cut back on weaponry to defend Unsaid Cove and revert to sheer manpower. With our present border defense that is softer than an Aaron Neville love song and open arms for any and all refugees from around the world, you could probably assemble quite an army.

I'll take a slice of that humble pie myself. Make it a big one. Nice call wily. Tremendous job all around by Georgia --- on the field and on the sidelines both. Whenever and wherever they run into Bama, I'll be watching. Should be a game for the ages. As for Arkansas, now it's time to really see who we are. There's no better test of a team than to get KO'd in the first round and see how they respond next week.

I'll have to politely decline. If those two reach the national championship game, let's revisit and perhaps come to a lesser but still appreciable amount. What I should have said in my earlier post is this ... if things continue as they are now, I think we'll see the two best teams in the country playing in the SEC Championship, and I think they'll be Jawja and Alabama. Only thing is, the game is meaningless other than perhaps seedings for the four-team playoffs. I don't look for this unification game to continue forever because other than being a moneymaker for the league, it means nothing to the teams because more times than not, both are already in the playoffs. And there's a chance of getting someone hurt before the playoffs begin. I think if I was Saban and Smart, I'd start my third-stringers on both sides of the ball and let them play the entire game just to make the statement that the game is meaningless.

I'm sorry, but Georgia will not win the national championship because Kirby Smart couldn't beat Saban in a putt-putt contest. They don't play each other in the regular season, but assuming they meet in the SEC Championship game, that is more than likely your national title game. And my money is on Alabama. As for the Hawgs vs. the Dawgs, I'm hoping we can get to the 4th quarter with a chance. Then let the chips fall where they may. As Bill said, with Barry Odom calling the defense, Little Briles handling the offense, and Pittman orchestrating it all ... we won't lose for lack of coaching. And that defense is tough. Maybe the best linebacking corps in college football, and Catalon just might be the best DB in the country.

I wondered if you were talking about constant trolling. Makes sense now. Again, hope you guys who are having problems get them resolved soon and for good.

Like Bill said, it's been very slow here. Good to see a detailed report. Thanks!

Never throw a jerkbait other than in the dead of winter. Won't work any other time. At all. Just say no. 😁🤣

Did I misunderstand or are you saying you can only fish 4 hours before getting a battery light? WTH? Regardless, I have to say this is one time that I'm happy to be a simpleton. My 8-year-old Fortrex is still purring along like a new one and being a shallow-water guy, I can be hard on a TM. I do hope Garmin treats you guys right on warranty/repairs and that your fishing trips stop being interrupted by technical difficulties.

And if you DO decide to buy the extended coverage, deal directly with Mercury, if possible. I bought my 2013 Ranger new at a dealership near Truman Lake in Warsaw, MO. I had a power pack fail that was covered under extended warranty, so naturally I took it to Ulrich, but Kelly called me a couple of days later and said "You don't have extended coverage." I think I hollered "BULLS***!!!" into the phone, but Kelly insisted that I had no extended coverage, even though I had paid $3,500 or so for the 7-year Platinum Plan. My salesman was working at another dealership by this time, so I called and asked him if might know anything about it. He checked on MercNet and sure enough, it showed no extended warranty. I immediately contacted the dealer I bought it from to see what was going on, and naturally, they had no idea. However, within a couple of days, MercNet was showing me fully covered. I recall the dealer telling me when I bought the boat that I didn't need to do a thing on the extended warranty ... that they would take care of everything because that's how they rolled. Well, seems the $3,500 check got "lost" and never made it to Mercury. I was told later that it was not uncommon for some dealers to pocket that money in hopes that an extended warranty was never used. If a claim did come up, they'd claim (as my dealer did) that the check somehow got lost.

Wish you were closer. I know you're not a Mercury fan but I'd be happy to have you work on mine anytime.

You might get lucky and get in sooner. Even if you don't, you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that you're dealing with a straight shooter and a lifelong fisherman who has been in your shoes himself in Kelly Power. IMO, you'll get the best darn service available in the Ozarks.

Talk to fishinwrench on here to get some ideas of what's wrong. He knows his stuff. But assuming you are under warranty, you'll need to take it to an authorized Mercury service center to be repaired. If it were mine, I'd either wait on Ulrich or try McAllister Marine in Highlandville, MO. Wouldn't let the other place mentioned above touch it. Just my personal opinion.

Well, they do look somewhat similar. Probably taste about the same, too. And now I'm sure that I've stuck my size 15 foot in my size 14 mouth. 😂

Lakemaster Great Plains chip here also. But I pretty much only use mine to run "skint back" in the fog. I learned that trick from some of the best back in my derby days. Plenty of em still doing it. The contour lines are of no use to me. That stuff's for Bill and his Disciples of the Deep. I just run until my screen says 2.0 ft and start chunkin something big and loud. 😆😂 All joking aside, I'm gonna miss running into Bo pretty much every fall/winter trip I'd make up the Kings. None of us know how long we have left, but no matter how long it is for me, there are a couple of spots up there between Viola and Green's that I'll never again drive by without thinking of him.

I've never had to deal with their customer service and from the sounds of it, I hope that day never comes.

Thanks for the great report. Glad you found some good ones.

Agreed, even watching them catch those big brown fish gets old after a while on that dropshot.

Charcoal-fired beans? Awesome!

Bill? Are there more of them now? Or do you ever get close enough to the bank to see them? 😆😂

If anyone is looking for a great shaky head/Ned rod, that St. Croix Avid Series 7-0 medium/fast is an awesome stick.

You guys have the right idea ... enjoy the company first and the fishing second. Then you'll never have a bad trip.

Well done, 196Champ. I went Tuesday and fished 8 hours for a dozen or so LM's and spots. I did have a couple of nice keeper LM's early that were pretty shallow. Otherwise, the rest came on football jig on long gravel points and a shaky head around some bigger docks. As others have reported lately, the prime depth range was 20-30 feet. Ready for more of the shad to move into the creeks and bring the bass with them. Yes, fall can be tough on all of us, but once we start getting consistently cool nights, there's always the chance of finding a big school of fish feeding on flats or points in the creeks. Not necessarily talking about visually schooling --- you will sometimes locate and catch them fast and furious on a mid-size crank bait. You guys who like to chunk the big swim baits (like Huddleston, the big SPRO's, etc.) should keep in mind that very soon, large gizzard shad will begin cruising the banks and the big LM's will follow. I find the midlake area best for this ... Fisher Creek, the Cows, Schooner Creek, White's Branch, etc. Not a deal where you're gonna get a lot of bites, but a good chance to catch a sho-nuff good ol' biggun. Get out there and get started on some fall fishing and good luck! You may have to grind a while to find some, but they are usually bunched up when you do find em.