“Hello old friend, it’s really good to see you once again.”

Hello Old Friend – Eric Clapton (1976)

Lake Storey bass on a classic lure – October 2, 2017

Today’s pic features a lure whose given name is a 3/8 ounce Stanley Rainbow Glimmer Vibra Shaft Spinnerbait in the Blue Glimmer pattern. My nickname for it is simply “The Blue Glimmer.”

This one is certainly worthy of a nickname due to its ability to produce, kind of like how “Dr. J” or “Reggie” or “Pele” or “Cher” suffice. It doesn’t go quite as far back as those folks but it does have a storied history. I’ve told that history a couple times over the blogging years. Once in a series on “Legendary Lures” in a previous blogging life and also in a 2017 post that detailed its return after an extended absence. I’ve got it on the radar to revisit the “Legendary Lure” concept one of these off seasons and you can check out the 2017 post by clicking on “The Blue Glimmer Returns.”

As noted, the bass in today’s pic came from Lake Storey and was the result of breaking a blade off of a Terminator spinnerbait on the second bass of the morning. Enter an old fishing friend, The Blue Glimmer, and a half hour later I had the first catch on the bait in nearly ten years.

Why the lengthy hiatus? Not really sure but likely due to the fact that the model went out of production and I only had a couple spares.

And wouldn’t you know, the triumphant return was short lived. After a strong Lake Storey showing with seven bass I busted a blade off this one the very next outing.

Still got one spare remaining. Maybe 2019…

Talk to you later. Troy

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

and sometimes the blues get a hold of you,

oh just when you thought you had made it.”

Sweet Seasons – Carole King (1972)

Knox County strip mine – September 9, 2017

If you fish, you’re gonna lose a few along the way. It’s all just a classic part of the game, “the one that got away.”

I get it, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to take, especially when it’s something special. I eventually come to terms with such a lost fish but sometimes it takes a while. This was one of those cases as this dude was big. A large wake behind my buzzbait, an explosive and on target strike, a powerful run like a freight train and then a busted line.

All in maybe two seconds, yet one of those instances that strangely take place in slow motion. And thanks (I guess) to a GoPro I can actually watch it in true slow motion when I get the urge. Still heartbreaking, but casting emotions aside, a pretty darn cool shot.

Even though this unfortunate break took place nearly a year and a half ago it still bothers me on occasion. Probably will for as long as I fish. In fact, it is one of three examples of “one that got away” that continue to replay in my mind from time to time.

The other two are a Lake Bracken carp from about 1985 and a Lake Storey muskie from 2012. Both were essentially within arm’s reach and both were the biggest of their species that I have ever hooked. Boy, here I go again, probably another sleepless night on the horizon.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration but I would guess that plenty of fellow anglers can relate. A bit of exaggeration also comes into play as another standard aspect of “one that got away” tales. I don’t know if the fact that I did not get a look at the bass in today’s post is a blessing or a curse, tough call. I do know that it now falls into the category of “as big as you want it to be.”

Not going to offer up a guess though as some places you really don’t want to go. Talk to you later. Troy

“Ooo, have another hit…of fresh air.”

Fresh Air – Quicksilver Messenger Service (1970)

Phipps Prairie Park in Silvis, IL with Carly – April 29, 2018

It’s been a long winter and we’ve still got a ways to go. Already a heaping helping of all that the season has to offer with piles of snow, record low temps, ice storms and several cancelled school days. I’ve certainly had enough and eagerly await spring.

Today’s picture epitomizes that season. A little green starting to line the forest trail for hikers clad in comfy sweatshirts and old pairs of tennis shoes. And yes, one of these hikers is actually wearing two different shoes courtesy of a creek crossing that was only 50% successful. Fortunately, her sister was willing to part with a dry shoe in exchange for one that wasn’t.

In this shot, Carly and I are bringing up the rear of a family hike through a postage stamp sort of park mere minutes’ drive from home. The spot is called Phipps Prairie Park and it’s tucked into a corner between the hustle and bustle of Avenue of The Cities and Illinois Route 5 (before it turns into John Deere Road). A cool little parcel of green space featuring a picnic shelter, playground and hiking trails. An ideal spot to pack along your family, a picnic basket and your field guides for a bite to eat, a little exercise and some outdoor education.

In regards to the latter of those items, I need to break out some more of the field guides in 2019 for a Jackson family version of a Bio Blitz. Most of them have been tucked away for too long in a box in the basement, certainly the last place a field guide should reside. Really kind of shameful for a guy with a biology degree.

So here’s to some more family time outdoors in 2019 with field guides in hand. Time to get back to the days when a likely answer to the question “What is your favorite book?” would be the Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers.

C’mon spring. Talk to you later. Troy

“It’s a thousand pages give or take few, I’ll be writing more in a week or two.”

Paperback Writer – The Beatles (1966)

Let me tell you, that old clipboard was definitely on the “give” side over the “take” side of today’s lyric from The Fab Four. I made that thing in junior high shop class back around 1980 and then proceeded to lug it around wherever I called home for the next 38 years or so. Knox College, a place called 848 North Broad Street, Lake Bracken, the Quad Cities and more, I’ve known that thing longer than I’ve known most people that are not blood relatives.

For year’s it sat within arms reach on an end table, a headboard or a desk always ready for whatever form of composition arose. And when I took up writing in 2002, it became an even more invaluable companion in the process of transferring mental notes to somewhat legible scribbles.

It tagged along on road trips, fishing trips, camping trips and family trips. Always at the ready whether in a truck, a boat, a tent, a hotel room or a lawnchair pulled up to a campfire. Ultimately, a computer keyboard is where it all winds up in terms of input for blog posts but a clipboard has long been where the pen hits the paper.

I laid this old shop class creation to rest last year as the hardware had flat out worn out. It was a tough call but upon receiving a replacement as a gift it was time to start a new chapter.

A few paragraphs of which you have just read.

Twenty seven more Blog Banner posts to go as well as the weekly Friday Flashback. It says so right there on the blogging schedule on my clipboard. Talk to you later. Troy

“Hello, hooray, let the show begin.”

Hello Hooray – Alice Cooper (1971)

Hennepin Canal Parkway near Sheffield, IL – August 5, 2017
(Note: all banner pics come from March 2017 to August 2018)

Where to start when considering a batch of 30 posts?

I suppose a friendly, up close wave from yours truly and all the people I live with similarly greeting in the background.

This banner pic represents the most important things that Julie and I have going as well as some of the values we are looking to instill in those four kids.

First up is family. We’re a team, right? Not always a well-oiled machine but so far we’ve managed to get it done and generally get along. With four kids there are lots of different interests and even levels of interest within common pursuits. Throw in that those interests and the regular responsibilities of maintaining a family unit pull us in many directions and life gets a little wild.

That’s where getting out in the wild comes into play. Nothing like a good old family day trip for a bit of an escape. Sure, there’s still the customary, “Are we there yet?”, “Tell him to stop touching me!”, “The bugs are driving me crazy!”, “How long is this trail?”, “When can we go home”…If you’ve got kids you know the routine.

But what makes up for it are the comments that come once the dust settles and we have time to reflect on the adventure. Without fail, Julie and I also hear stuff like “Mom that was fun hiking through the forest”, “Dad do you remember when we saw that crawdad?”, “That was cool throwing walnuts off the bridge” and the clincher, “When can we go back?”

Yep, it’s rewarding to hear such positive feedback from our crew in a post trip assessment especially when it is a candid, unsolicited comment. It lets you know that something about the experience stuck and makes us parents walk a little taller with the feeling that we are doing something right.

Now more than ever the outdoors beckons for us more experienced folks to pass on its wonders to the kids of the sanitized, instant feedback, indoor computer age. Here’s to some quality time in the fresh air with dirt over hand sanitizer, field guides over phones, picnic baskets over drive thrus, ears over ear buds and forests over Fortnite.

At least for a while. Talk to you later. Troy