While Brent and I caught decent numbers and some quality fish on last Sunday’s outing, as with any trip, there’s more to the story than just the catch. Today’s post features some of the peripheral highlights from our day on the water.

I like to launch in the dark to be on the water by the official sunrise. To do so with a 45-minute drive to the fishing hole, I’ve got to get up and get on the road early. At least as summer wanes, the sunrise isn’t quite so early and having a fishing partner meet you at the lake with the boat in tow also helps.

The first casualty of the trip was a reel as the level wind gave out on my Bass Pro Shops Tourney Special model. I am a frugal fisherman (and human) so the dozen or so years that I got out of this low budget reel was just fine. I tried to keep fishing with it even though the line piled to one side of the spool but eventually it seized up and forced my hand to put it away. It now joins the tub of reels from the last 35 years that need to find a reel repair shop.

Casualty number two was Brent’s Shimano Black Magnum Fightin’ Rod which snapped in half on a cast. I don’t know if he was sadder or I was, as those old Shimano Fightin’ Rod models take me back to our earliest days of bass fishing. Old school 5’6” rods with a tapered blank that was fat at the reel seat were a hot item for us back in the 1980s. I remember admiring one for many days at Farm King before finally breaking down and spending some money. Mine is long gone and Brent’s was the last of its kind in our arsenal.

In the back of one pocket on the lake, we spotted a couch on the bare, mucky bank of exposed bottom. We shook our heads at the ambitiousness of the vandals responsible, first pondering why someone would do such a thing. And why in the world would you go through the effort of hauling it to such a remote location?

Prior to this trip, I think I could say that in all my years of fishing that I had never caught a rock. There’s a first for everything and I don’t believe that I will soon forget the odd occurrence. It was strange sensation, wondering what was on the line. I’ve caught logs, sticks, trash, a jar, a glove, rope, fishing line and other random items and most can deceive with some lateral movement or varied resistance on the retrieve. This one was just dead weight which makes sense in hindsight, it fought like I would imagine a rock would fight.

Brent poked fun at my fishing shoes as they have seen better days. Julie keeps telling me that I should throw them away, but I believe that they are good for plenty more fishing and lawn mowing. As far as the latter task, Brent stated that they looked like they had been hit with a lawnmower. But after a good day on the water, I certainly need to keep them on hand for more good luck.

To round out today’s post, it is always good to have a fishing partner along for various reasons. One of those reasons is photography as it alleviates the selfie and timer shots. On this outing it also allowed for Brent to shoot what I call a fishing magazine photo. We don’t normally pull the zoom in/hold your arm out stunt. In fact, I just grin as I peruse the social media pics of fish that look freakishly (and foolishly) large. This bass weighed in at 2-9 but could certainly pass for a larger fish if one didn’t shoot straight.

An entertaining day on the water and always looking forward to seeing what the next trip holds in store. Talk to you later. Troy

November 29 at 8:30am leaving the Quad Cities, IL

Well, I haven’t done much of anything here on the blog for a while. Just busy these days and actually think that I am still recovering from this Texas trip which started the month. I have never been much of a traveler and I have certainly not gotten any better with age. Enough about reality, let’s take an overdue escape. An overdue trip tunes to come but first up is a Texas blurb and slideshow below.

My work detail consisted of a stop in north central Arkansas to install some IT gear before proceeding to south central Texas for round two of the same. Having to haul a fair amount of equipment meant driving rather than flying, which is just fine for a guy who prefers to be closer to the ground. Such a mode of travel also allows for packing along some fishing gear in the event that I have the time to wet a line.

Several waters were on my radar as I planned my route. Greers Ferry Lake was only minutes from my first stop in Arkansas but a long work day and short daylight kept me from a visit.

Grapevine, TX too early and too big of a hurry, just saw the outside

I overnighted in Grapevine, Texas, a Dallas suburb, right next door to a Bass Pro Shops. The store sat on the banks of Lake Ray Hubbard which was being beaten by gale force winds. Beyond the wind, I still had a five hour morning “commute” to work and no permit so casting did not materialize on this water, either.

Next choice was the Guadalupe River near Seguin, TX and only minutes from my work destination. I took a peek one evening finding the access decent and deserted but I had yet to obtain my permit. After getting two days’ worth of non-resident permits I hit the spot again only to find it packed with anglers leaving me no room. Instead, I headed 30 minutes north to New Braunfels, TX where the water on the river was too shallow. I spent my half hour before sunset just walking the bank in a local park and enjoying some fresh air.

Guadalupe River, New Braufels, TX – scenic but shallow

I had considered Grand Lake o’ The Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma on my ride home. I thought it would be cool to chase a bass on the site of the 2013 and 2016 Bassmaster Classics. However, a late start on the road, short days, cold weather and a desire to take the shortest route home eliminated this destination.

In the end, I selected Lake Fork which lies just east of Dallas. Ideally, a half day of work to finish my week would put me on the road in time to explore Lake Fork for a couple hours. In reality, the combination of a late start after work and some difficulty finding lake access only left me about 45 minutes to cast. My first intent was to fish the dam but I could not find access as I cruised the road below the structure. Next, I found a couple private fishing resorts and a lone pay ramp that featured very little decent bank access. As a last ditch effort, I selected a nearby causeway and hoped the map app would do its thing. It did and I reached a public ramp area with ample access for the short amount of remaining daylight that I had to cast.

Lake Fork, TX looking for a bass with daylight fading 

The rest is history as described in the Lake Fork, TX fishing report (click here). Such trips late in the year make it tough to enjoy much fresh air after a day of work. Sunsets just after 5:00pm really limit the option to travel very far in search of a bite before darkness falls. Thus, it was tough to manage some outdoor time while earning a living.

December 4, 2020 at 8:00pm, back home 2500 miles, two plants, one bass and five days later

All of that time behind the wheel gave me ample fodder for a final “Trip Tunes” post of 2020. Stay tuned for that Top 5 later this week. Talk to you later. Troy

Many years since I bellied up to this bar

I’ve got some catching up to do as the first “lucky shirt” hit the water last summer. While that’s not actually a contemporary fishing trip, I guess that’s part of the point to this whole project. Besides, it would be an injustice to forego the original in favor of the most recent.

So, here we go.

We’re looking at a vintage R&J’s Sportstacular t-shirt today.

I know what you’re thinking. Where’s R&J’s and what’s a Sportstacular?

R&J’s was a tavern, watering hole, gathering place located in Sheffield, Illinois.

You know Sheffield, right? Kind of north of Neponset, roughly centered between Mineral and Wyanet?

R&J are Rodger and Joe, two of the three Hansen brothers (younger brother Michael) who operated the establishment and devised the Sportstacular. Along with a batch of Knox College buddies I met the Hansen brothers after first meeting their sister, Kathy, who was a fellow Siwash in the late1980s/early 1990s (actually we’re kind of always a Siwash).

As the Hansen’s were fellow sports nuts and enjoyed the occasional cold one, we all hit it off pretty well. From the sport and beverage combo arose an event that they deemed The Sportstacular, kind of like a team oriented Olympics with beer. The one day event kicked off with each four participant team playing a round of golf and likely having a few morning beers. Following the round, it was back to R&J’s for the three remaining events, darts and sand volleyball at the bar and free throw shooting at the village park. Oh yeah, and some beer. They also had something onsite called Rolle Bolle that we played at times but I do not recall it actually being included as an event. Please cut me some slack on the exact details as it was around 25 years ago, and remember, there was a fair amount of beer involved.

Julie and I actually took a road trip to the area last summer to snap a few pics.

Site of the free throw event

The old court but I believe a new hoop

Sand volleyball and Rolle Bolle, once upon a time

Fast forward to July 13, 2019 when I decided to kick off the “Lucky Shirt” project. What better shirt on a hot summer day than one that I earned on another hot summer day many years ago. The fishing portion of the project consisted of an enjoyable strip mine outing with my friend, John Kirkemo. The results of our outing are below and the original fishing report can be found by clicking here.

Date: July 13, 2019 with John Kirkemo
Location: Knox County, IL private strip mines (2 lakes)
Time: 5:00am-11:30am
Weather: Sunny/breezy to calm
Air Temp: 68-86F
Water Temp: 82-83F
Totals: 16 bass
Lures:
5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various) – 13 bass
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass
Spinning Worm Rig – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-7 (Senko)
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 4-6 (1-7,1-4,1-0,0-11)

As far as Sportstacular results, I know that we did not claim the title in any of the three years I was involved. But if you could quantify fun and you were counting beers, I suppose that our foursome of John Junk, Mark Junk, Matt Reynolds and myself (weakest link in the beer department) were perennial frontrunners.

Bonus pic from 3/27/07 with my original R&J Hansen’s shirt, wore it until it wore out.

And there you have it, “Lucky Shirt” post number one with many more to follow. A fine place to start the series. A small town, good times, good friends and good memories, from what I can remember. Talk to you later. Troy

What do these guys have in common and why are they making an appearance on an “outdoor” blog?

Well, let me tell you.

We’ve all heard of, and probably have, lucky or unlucky numbers.

There’s also other numbers that hold a special significance.

If you are a music fan perhaps you know 867-5309 or Beechwood 4-5789?

In baseball terms, I’ve always been fond of 44, 56, 755 and 3,000 to name a few.

And a bit more loosely sports related, there’s good old #660, which is where those fellows above come into play. You see, from 1973 through 1977, the Topps baseball set offered up the challenge of collecting a total of 660 cards for your “complete set. That end card in the set, #660, often has a slight uptick in value if found in quality condition. After all, it wasn’t quite as protected as all the cards in between it and #1 in that old shoebox.

Here’s a brief look at each of the #660 cards from 1973 through 1977 before I actually reveal why I found it appropriate to build a blog post around them.

1973 Topps #660 – Fred Scherman
Southpaw Scherman spent seven seasons (1969-76) in the majors with his best years coming in relief for Detroit. In 1974 he was traded to Houston and would wrap up his career with Montreal. A highlight was his 69 appearances for the Tigers in 1971, a club record at the time.

1974 Topps #660 – Larry Dierker
Dierker’s MLB career spanned 1964-77 with all but the final season being spent with Houston (brief duty with St. Louis in 1977). Along the way he became the Astros first 20-game winner in 1969 and tossed a no-hitter in 1976. He would later serve as Astros manager from 1997-2001.

1975 Topps #660 – Hank Aaron
What can you say about the greatest #660 card of all-time? Just an amazing man, home run king and one of my favorite ball players despite only seeing the end of his illustrious career. Did you know that if you take away every homer “Hammerin’ Hank” hit, he would still have 3,000 hits? (3,771 hits – 755 homers = 3,016 hits) Interestingly, the 1975 Topps set also featured “Hammer” as card #1. And while we are talking 660, do you know what contemporary of Henry Aaron posted 660 career home runs?

1976 Topps #660 – Davey Lopes
Although Lopes had a turn with my Cubs in the 80s, I will always remember him as part of a solid Dodger infield through the bulk of the 70s. From 1973 through the rest of the decade you would find, first to third, Steve Garvey, Lopes, Bill Russell and “The Penguin” Ron Cey. An adept base stealer, Lopes was also featured on a 1976 Topps Highlight card recognizing his 1975 record setting run of 38 consecutive thefts without being caught.

1977 Topps #660 – Willie Horton
Willie Horton always seemed like one of those larger than life characters to this baseball card collecting kid in early to mid-70s. A stout frame, a killer Fu Manchu and tales of some monster homers were all a pretty cool combination. In those days it was tough to see much of my American League baseball heroes until This Week in Baseball came around in the same year that this card was issued. Turns out that my larger than life guy came in at regular guy height of 5’10”. However, his impact on and off the field was monumental, particularly in Motown, where he is honored with a statue at the Tiger’s Comerica Park.

Well, if you’ve made it this far, pat yourself on the back for enduring Troy Jackson Outdoors blog posting #660 since setting off on this adventure 1,081 days ago on May 1, 2017. Not too bad of an output if I do say so myself. You know that translates into a “batting average” of .611 for any fellow baseball fans out there. Tough to say on the breakdown of the posts in terms of swinging bunts, seeing eye grounders, Texas Leaguers, doubles in the gap or the occasional dinger. But rest assured, I’m going to continue stepping up to the plate ready to take my cuts.

And since 1,000 is kind of a nice round number, I suppose I’ll sign off with a tip of the cap and get back to writing. Talk to you later. Troy

Click here for my latest stunt, a YouTube channel

Interesting times these days with the dearth of current entertainment for those who are typically dialed in to arguably the most wonderful sports time of the year.

Interesting times as well, in the fact that folks can take a shot a filling that entertainment void from the comfort and relative safety of their own home. As a blogger, I loosely categorize myself as an entertainer and educator. In the world of digital media, I guess that the current designation assigned to us blogger, tweeter, social media ramblers is “content creator.”

Unfortunate and bizarre as the circumstances may be, there is substantial block of time out there that folks are looking to fill. Plans have been altered, you can only watch so many highlight reels and well, who really wants to watch the news these days? Without the escape of Cinderellas, buzzer beaters, heartwarming profiles and eventually “One Shining Moment” the made up mainstream media mumbo jumbo just gets depressing.

So, guess who has been spending more time than he should over the last few days creating content?

Your escape from reality and my effort to claim a bit of your “free time” begins now with my plunge into the world of YouTube.

And it doesn’t stop there!

A significant reveal looms on the horizon as I attempt to fill a bit of the void left behind by the missing madness.

Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy