[/quote] Depending on the depth, fishing over it may be hazardous as springs can weaken the ice in those areas. The lake my family cabin property is on is spring fed and you need to be very careful when accessing until you get out over the first drop as there are springs along the shore than never fully freeze.

This is fact, you can often recognize where springs are especially in clear ice. They look like a clean, previously drilled hole but with spider web like appearance on the outside of the ring and smooth surface over the hole, instead of any ice chips from drilling. Also, some spring water does not contain dissolved oxygen which will not allow a fish to respirate.

Randy, Ugh, this has to be tough on you and everyone. It runs in my family also. Do try to find some humor, it is little, but it helps. I also work with dementia Patients at work frequently. It can be difficult. My prayers to you. This said, at least some in home help seems appropriate if not placement in a facility before your Dad hurts himself or causes a fire or something. Sorry for the un-requested advise. I know you all have done a good job. I will pray for all or you and especially your Dad.

Well you all have heard of “Starving Artists”. I qualify as a “Starving Prostitute” and “Starving Porn Actor”, hey at least I tried. Kidding of course. I have been a Paramedic for I believe 33 years. I have worked in the field and inter hospital doing different things. I too would like to find something else. My back is shot. My knees, shoulders, and hips are going too. Sometimes my mind is ok, sometimes not. It is all I know that will pay what I need. I have a daughter in private college.

Go to Gunbroker.com and see what they are going for. Good reference.

I like Yellowstone also. Found a new series recently. On Netflix, is called Landman. Good stuff.

Thank you and all of you as well.

Just glad you are ok.

See Victoria, Illinois. Google it and this too is an epic factor in the return of the Canada Goose in numbers. It occurred in the 1980’s. Now all of the ponds that are aeriated or have fountains and do not freeze in Chicagoland have changed the flyway of the Canada goose. Interesting stuff. You do not hear about the great goose hunting down around Cairo, Illinois anymore. A lot of those geese just winter in Chicagoland.

B wrote:

You didn’t ‘seen’ it, you ‘saw’ it. Simple grammar that IDO can’t seem to figure out.

B wrote:

You didn’t ‘seen’ it, you ‘saw’ it. Simple grammar that IDO can’t seem to figure out.

Hey B. He Seen it. You did not. Do not correct his wording. Who cares except you? Nobody here. By they way, Moms says dinner is ready. Please wash up before you rise from the basement and join your parents for dinner.

Good luck this season and please stay safe.

Sweet! Congratulations. After the work and time you put in, this boat will mean more to you than most boats mean to their owners. Enjoy. I look forward to seeing the end result. Feel free to post pics and stories of your progress with her, I would like to watch this progress. What are you going to name her?

Great rifle and hunting squirrels in the early months is great fun. Some use shotguns, citing that they cannot see them through the leaves. I believe that is part of the challenge using either a .22 or a .17. And boy do they taste great when prepared properly. The meat does not have a “wild” taste anyways. Better than rabbits in my opinion. For you far northern friends, the squirrels we hunt are fox or grey squirrels. Much larger than pine squirrels. Here we even have black squirrels thanks to a gift to our country from Germany. Would have been better without them. For the record I have eaten pine squirrels in a mulligan stew of ruffed grouse and snowshoes. Was great at the camp. Would do it again.

I have a lot of the Lowe’s brand tools. I believe the brand is Cobalt, not for sure. Been great for me for 20 + years.

Youbetcha wrote:

If its still in warranty it sounds like a dealer issue to me. Granted you probably dont want to be down a boat for however long they sit on it.

This. Getting to the livewell plumbing or valves can be, actually is always a pain in the butt.

Thank you. I wonder how much the chargers run.

Dumb Dumb question here. Do I have to buy a special charger or can I charge with the on-board charger that I have now? Thanks for your help.

They run in the Spring and again in the Fall. Best run is the Spring, but the Fall run is really good also. The taste and texture are a lot like Tilapia to me. Sort of a dense meat. Remove the reddish meat below the line on the filet and they taste much better in my opinion. Lots of fun to catch. They will readily hit top water baits in warmer weather. A Storm Chug Bug Jr. in Bone color works great for me on the Mississippi down here.

Wow, these are great trolling motors. Hard to believe this has not sold. I understand they do not have all the bells and whistles that the newer models do, but they are still great. I am still running it’s big brother the 36 volt, 109.

Reef W wrote:

Pour some bleach in, fill with water, and let it sit for a day. Done this with Engel bait coolers that somebody forgot to empty a few times and gets all the smell out.

Which reminds me…

This. I also add some dish detergent.

Jake D wrote:

Looks normal to me. Just starting to shed some of their summer coat

This. Animal looks healthy. I love the color they have this time of year.

Congratulations!

I would suggest adding one of those large floating balls to the rope system. This keeps the rope out of the water and keeps water spray from blinding those riding on the tube. Keeping the tow rope up and out of the water really makes the entire experience better. The bungee type ropes are a blast too f.y.i..

I am following this post. My Dr. suspects I have this. Wondering what the treatment is?

You should be good. When you return home I would regrease. May not need much at all.

You have a lot on your mind. I hope you can enjoy some time off.

Mono, flouro, and copolymer all develop memory and break down. The environmental conditions you store these lines in, especially if on a reel make a huge difference. Some last longer than others, Food Grade Silicone spray is your friend with all of these. Just spray the line on the reel and it will make them last longer. This especially cuts down on memory. The neat thing with braided line is that it lasts longer and does not develop memory. Once it starts to break down due to use, simply strip off the reel, and then respool in the opposite direction. So the worn stuff is tied to the spool and the unused is on the outside of the spool. Keeps the cost down.

Great to bury in your tomato patch all year long. I would freeze mine and bury them under each tomato plant as I planted them. Most by the next spring when I tilled or manually turned over the garden, the entire fish, skin, scales, bones, etc, were gone. The Native Americans did this when they planted corn. Only with whole fish.

Joe Scegura wrote:

I fry fish more than a few days a week and I was a cast iron fry pan guy. IMO it was the best way but I’ve since moved onto a much better way. A simple deep fryer. Not only is it easier and easier to clean up it also gives you a better product. I turn the oil to 375 and I have the best fillets with the least amount of oil soaked in. The fillets are full of natural moisture and no oil.

I use the ProFry on Amazon.

I have this and like it. I have also had a Fry Daddy and it worked well. Not much mess if you are careful. Suprising how little oil you actually use. The oil can be easily used again and again, to a point. Just strain through a coffee filter or cheese cloth. I used to keep a Fry Daddy full of used oil in my refridgerator and used several times without changing the oil or straining. Just took longer to heat up to cooking temp.

I have only used barbless hooks as required in the Sylvania Wilderness. I did catch fish, Smallies, but it does add an extra element to the landing a fish. never used for Musky. Yes they would be easier to remove from fish or man, but much easier for the fish to shake your lure or hook off.

Get a 5 gallon bucket of water, fill 1/2 full of water. Put some black sunflower seeds with the hulls (birdfood) in the water, they will float. Unsalted, unroasted peanuts work also. Then just check the bucket daily. Critters go in, cannot get out.