jdmidwest

Funny you mentioned "stuck". We stuffed the jet boat 4 times last Sat down in Tn. Wind had the water all ruffled up funny and my buddy was having a hard time "reading" the water. I spotted it 2 times, but he hates my back seat driving. Running a stick steer, he is sitting up high in front and should see whats coming. Lucky for us, it was in the 60's and shallow. Muck boots never got topped. But I always pack a pair of hippers or chest waders.

Merry Christmas all. I have done the family thing and settled into the place where I have been almost every Christmas of my life. The Farm and home. Its pretty peaceful here, but foggy and misty.

+1 Tried 1/4" and it seems to warp some. You need the thicker stuff.

And Turkey on the way to school..

They look good. Where have you been fishing them?

By 2007, they cut back to 1 luggage and carryon, we ate our salmon there and did not bring any back. You could pack it and ship it or smoke it and ship it. That was last time we went up.

How do you bring them back now? Back when I went, you could pack a cooler with dry ice and fly them back with you for a nominal fee. But that was before airlines started charging by the ounce for luggage. Overnight freight is not cheap from Alaska.

Nothing like a little clarity to bring focus to the original post... I was driving stuff around the farm as soon as I could reach pedals too. I did not get married until I was 30 though. Keep updating the build. Willy's were our first ATV's on the farm. Dad and my 2 uncles had them and hit the log roads every weekend on trail rides. I remember as a young kid, the roads on the hills at the farm property were a Sunday cruise I always enjoyed, especially the "rumpty, bumpty, hill" part. It was the lane by the old house place that Dad was raised in. It came out of the field, past the old hand hewn log barn that still remains today, thru a part of the old county road that went thru our place, and up the ridge past the foundations of the house, chicken house, brooder house, and hand dug well. Now I ride it on my four wheeler and it does not seem nearly as impressive as it was in the ole Willy's with the front glass down. We replaced them a few years later with VW dune buggies, Baja cut VW's, and a VW rail buggy. And of course, trail bikes too.

Wait a minute, your Dad and Mom were together at 10 years old and driving. Seems kinda young even for Arkansas.

I always enjoy a new adventure and change things up some. My buddies like to stick to the tried and true and we hammer the same things over and over most of the time. This fall, I took some of them on a upper St. Francois float in kayaks, now they keep asking when we will go back. It was something I did as a routine growing up since it was close to home. But they were not with me at that stage of life. None of them have been on the Jack's Fork, I will probably get them back on it this year. Its been 10 years now since I have been on it. Thanksgiving trip this year, I picked Wilson Lake. It caught my buddy completely by surprise. His boat was stored an hour from it and we had always wondered what it was like there. Had heard good reviews, but we had back to back front flopping around over us the 3 days we were there, so fishing was horrible. But, I am sure we will try it again after we explored the area. Like you, our trip was spent scouting ramps, looking at local attractions, driving up to the next one on the chain Wheeler Lake. We spent one afternoon hiking the Dismal Canyon in Russellville, a unique area that was interesting. Its not always about the fishing.

I have 2 refurb lowrance units that have worked well for years. I trust them, had a 6 month warranty. Only new garmins, but they were on sale at Academy about same price as refurb.

Talked to someone today that took a nice buck along the banks of Wappappello. Those few boats are taking advantage of the dry spell and deer attracted to the waters. My creek bottom is where the action is, woods are bone dry.

But, did you catch any fish? I did not see any boats either a few miles north of you on the farm hunting deer..

That was me this weekend, without the deer. Mosquitoes and dove clothes on. Not much moving.

Fishermen lie all the time. My favorite, "Catching any?", standard answer "NO". Move along, nothing to see here. If I would answer yes, they would pile on top of me and not leave me alone....

5 gallon bucket and an aerator, that is pretty simple. Usually just keep the bait in there. I have a cooler that came from Academy with the aerator holes in it for around $40 bucks. Fits in the back cutout of the little 10' boat. https://www.academy.com/p/magellan-outdoors-13-qt-dry-box?sku=gray

My river Yak is a stick steer 16' boat with a trolling motor and a 25 jet. Unless I just want to be lazy and float down a stream, then I take the 10' yak. My jet boat cost less than most of those yak setups. Did I ever mention there should be a law against Tournament Fishing? Takes the fun out a nice peaceful sport.

Looks pretty low, Row alot?

Blew thru this morning here, took a break in the wind at 8 and walked out the farm. Nice to have a cold spell to give me a break from the ticks and snakes. Nothing stirring this morning. Last nite wind took leaves down and woods opened up. Around 10 am the clouds broke and wind picked up again with some more bite. But the sun made it tolerable. Deer popped out and started feeding in the fields. They know its the first cold one of the year. Just dropped to 32 now at 8 pm.

My wing nuts always come with the little rubber protectors that trap air, and they are made out of light weight pot metal. They will float. But my hands are weak and a wrench and a hex nut works better.

More tomatoes than I got out of the farm garden with 30 plants. Deer eat well.

AGM stands for a fiberglass mat that stands up to more vibration stress than lead plates. They still output the same voltage, but have different chargers and charge ratios. But, I will let the Fishinwrench chime in. They may affect boat electronics differently based on engine designs..

I am still waiting to harvest the garden at the farm. The field behind the house has deer turds so thick you can't walk without steppin in them. I still have zinnias and marigolds.

10 years ago today, I was diagnosed with the cancer. One little hiccup this year in Sept, new sore popped up behind the graft on tongue. CT and biopsy was all clear, no cancer cells. Happy Halloween!

I saw the Cardinals flop around on the field all year like a dying carp. Not so great performance..