…five pounds of bass,
four kids all fishing,
three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

2018 marked the first year since 2014 that I was unable to fool a bass of five pounds or better. It wasn’t for lack of effort, just wasn’t meant to be as I was able to get ample time on the water and chase them in a few places where some quality bass swim.

The best I could muster was a 4-8 although I did have the good fortune of being along to witness a five pounder. Same outing as my 4-8 in fact and landed by my brother, Brent, after allowing me to stake a claim to 2018 Top Bass for just over two hours.

September 23, 2018 and 4-8 was as close as I could get for the year, did see Brent nab his 5-1 though to hit the mark.

In addition, our 2018 Top 5 allowed me to ogle several in this range or better thanks to the efforts of Mark Balbinot and Jim Junk throughout the year.

  

Mark Balbinot (left) made the mark with 8 bass and Jim Junk (right) posted a pair of five pounders

Oh yeah, I also watched a bank angler reel in a 5-9 back in October within shouting distance of my boat, even pitched in my scale to assist with the weigh-in. Good for him though, as I also know a thing or two about being the guy on the bank.

So, while I did get my fix, this wish for five pounds of bass specifically and selfishly means all at once and on the end of my line. Not too much to ask I figure for a guy who has paid his dues. I’ll even walk many a mile to find one…but I’m getting ahead of myself on this here project.

Day Six tomorrow, hope you’ll tune in and talk to you later. Troy

…three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

  

Images from a much too early 11/26/18 snowstorm that dumped over 13″. I’m ready to move on to spring now.

Okay, so I know that I live in the Midwest, have for my whole life and you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. Just get out the shovel, the scraper and some ice melt and have at it.

But hey, this is kind of a wish list sort of thing. Besides, the seasons continue to get a bit weirder all the time.

So, I’m saying there’s a chance.

It’s already ruined for this year though thanks to just under 14” of late November snow to go with a couple more inches from earlier in the month. However, if I had my way it would go something like this.

Winter and all its trimmings would start right about December 16 and run its course by January 6. A white Christmas is still appealing and I do like the sight of a freshly fallen blanket of snow but once or twice a year on the latter would be just fine. Otherwise, I want my lakes, ponds and strip pits open through mid-December and ready again by the beginning of February. Along the way I’m willing to shovel my driveway once or twice, debate about when to put the sandbags in the bed of the truck and keep my fingers crossed that we dodge the seemingly annual ice storm.

Oh yes, I’d certainly make the most out of those three weeks in order to not be left wishing I’d done this or that outdoor winter activity (yeah right). The first week would be spent stripping line, respooling reels and restocking tackle as you can’t fool around with such a short season off the water. My second week would encompass celebrating Christmas and perhaps a few vacation days to coincide with school break for some family time minus a bit of the hustle and bustle. The final week would be used to welcome the New Year, build a snowman, go sledding, drink some hot chocolate, throw some snowballs and then start drawing up plans for a garden with warmer weather right around the corner. I might even make one ice fishing trip just to say I did it as long as there’s at least six inches of ice and forty degree air temperatures (perhaps an unlikely prospect during such a short winter but a wish list isn’t always realistic).

Whew, I’m worn out just writing about such a wonderful and fun filled winter.

Now back to reality and the Fourth Day tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy

…a new transistor radio.

I really have no idea how old my old radio is but it’s certainly old enough to say that it has seen better days. It features a busted handle, no antenna, a finicky on/off switch and a slightly corroded (but still functional) battery compartment. None of these items put it out of commission but sometimes you do have to wiggle that on/off switch to get it back in gear or sit with your finger on the broken antenna hole to get a station in tune.

So, as tough as it is to replace, the time has come. Actually, I probably won’t throw the old one out but will just use it in one of the few spots that are radio free at home. The most likely location would be my little basement corner of the world where I occasionally retreat to compose and peruse my archive of logs, notes, photo albums and other stuff.

You know, if I do use that old radio for basement coverage I should pretty much have a seamless transition around our locale. You see, I’m much more of a radio than television guy as evidenced by our home featuring at least a 10:2 radio to television ratio. I can go from room to room to garage to deck to driveway to vehicle and even to bicycle without a loss of radio coverage via strategically placed devices. While I often go days or weeks without turning on the television, radio is a constant daily companion in the home and on the road and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember.

I’ll try not to keep you too long on these posts as I’m sure you’ve got better things to do. But before I sign off on this first day of Christmas, just for fun, let’s have a look at my Top 11 songs that have “Radio” in the title (couldn’t make a cut for a Top 10).

Top Radio Songs

11. Mexican Radio – Wall of Voodoo (1983)
“I wish I was in Tijuana, eating barbequed iguana.”

10. Life Is a Rock but the Radio Rolled Me – Reunion (1974)
“Gotta turn it up louder, so my DJ told me.”

9. There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Radio – Aaron Tippin (1992)
“The older she gets, the slower we go but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with the radio.”

8. Turn up The Radio – Autograph (1984)
“Turn up the radio, I need the music, give me some more.”

7. Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio – The Ramones (1980)
“Do you remember lyin’ in bed with the covers pulled up over your head?”

6. The Spirit of Radio – Rush (1979)
“Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtrusive.”

5. Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles (1979)
“Lying awake intently tuning in on you.”

4. Listen to the Radio – Don Williams (1982)
“The songs they play, that’s how I really feel, so, listen to the radio.”

3. I Watched it All on my Radio – Lionel Cartwright (1990)
“At the crack of the bat, I knew how far it’d go and I watched it all on my radio.”

2. Radio Land – Michael Martin Murphey (1984)
“I remember summer evenings, late night rock and roll.”

1. Radio Gaga – Queen (1984)
“Let’s hope you never leave old friend.”

New radio or old radio, here’s to more Cubs games while rowing around the strip mines, classic Casey Kasem countdowns over breakfast at a picnic table and late night rock and roll around a campfire with one of the best old friends anyone could ask for. Talk to you later. Troy

Over the years I have been known to rack up a few miles on foot or bicycle in an effort to track down my favorite fish, the largemouth bass.

For a handful of those years, I was actually in decent physical shape to get it done, most recently about 2011 through 2014. Not so coincidentally, I had won a weight loss challenge at a former place of employment by dropping 22 pounds in six weeks for a whopping $42 in prize money.

Well, fast forward to 2018 and another weight loss challenge at my current job with a $10 buy in and a shot at $150 for first and $50 for second thanks to an added donation from the boss shortly after the six week challenge kicked off. A good opportunity for me to shed some pounds from a health standpoint, possibly put the improved stamina to the test during some fall fishing and maybe earn some dough.

Nice round number (and gut) to kick off this fitness adventure at 51 years of age

So, here’s my contribution to the myriad of diet and fitness books, videos, blogs and such that are better at dropping your bank account than they are at dropping pounds.

While heredity and genetics indeed play a role, pretty much all you need to really do is eat less, eat better and exercise. Oh yeah, don’t forget a perpetual dose of will power, that’s the tough part.

Will power test in the fridge since August 31, no contest, I’m on a mission

You can thank me later as that advice is free folks. So quit giving your money to the diet gurus, buy you some tennis shoes, plenty of fruits and veggies, add some fiber and subtract all those sweets, sodas and yep, cut back on the beer.

So, how’d I do with this approach when committing to getting back into “fishing shape?”

August 4 pre-contest kickoff, took a pic of my last beer just for fun, 50 days tomorrow as I continue on quest even though contest has completed.

Had my last beer on August 4, even took a picture of it as a reminder and successfully refrained from grabbing one of two that Julie and her cousin, Carie, left in the fridge on August 31 (yep, I know the exact date).

Week 1 traveling for work had to resort to hotel treadmill walks (too out of shape to run at this point, anyway)

Walked in excess of the 25 miles between treadmill, park and neighborhood (in and around getting fit enough to actually run again)

A lot of lettuce and other healthy stuff has disappeared in the last six weeks, folks, this one from O’Hare airport

Only “diet cheats” were two M&M cookies and that was only because I had just donated to the local blood bank and needed to eat something. Also participated in an annual family food festival but was proud of my moderation. There’s a lot less lettuce in the world too.

My constant companion in the truck bed, ready to ride when time and responsibilities provided a window

Well over 200 miles on the bike during a batch of 10 or 17 mile rides.

Week 6 – Grand finale Sat-Mon push, three days = 9 miles running, 45 miles biking and plenty more walking

Up from being able to run 1/8 mile to 1.5 miles between breaks and 1.0 miles total to 4.0 miles total during a workout to the tune of over 20 miles racked up bookending a two week Achilles issue.

And now, drum roll please, the winner from the September 18 final weigh in is…

Not me.

Runner-up at 10% weight loss in six weeks as I dropped from an even 200 pounds down to 180. Lost out to a 10.38% loss which means that if I’d have lost one more pound…really shouldn’t have done the math on that one post contest. Also not really fun is the fact that I shed 22 pounds the last time I pulled this stunt and would’ve been a winner had I matched it this time around.

Success…but a 12 day running lag in the middle while nursing a left Achilles strain proved to be my “Achilles heel”…DANG!  Still bothers me, and I ain’t referring to the heel.

But hey, I’m now in walk-in fishing shape, just need to find time to get away. However, since I no longer have to worry about finding time to exercise now that the contest is over…

Just kidding. Kind of tempted to see how low I can go, made it down to 163 last time and over half way there.

In the meantime, hang in there for a future fishing report with details on how this 50+ year old body fares while being more fit to fish. Talk to you later. Troy

Figured it was time for a little change of scenery just for a new look. I originally had a revamp slated for May 1, 2018 to mark the one year anniversary of the website but just got too carried away with all of the other stuff.

So, as August can be a slow outdoor month for me and my family as back to school approaches, it seemed like the timing for the re-design was a winner.

Beyond color scheme, I have updated the scrolling banner so that it now contains a series of images from May 1, 2017 through April 30, 2018 to celebrate some outdoor fun within the first 365 days of the website launch.

Of course, every pic in the new banner has an accompanying tale, most of which have been told along the way. As far as the old banner, all of those tales were related in a series of posts back in February with the 28 stories in 28 days.

The “About” page has also been updated to reflect some current numbers along with a new batch of photos.

The general layout remains the same beyond some font alterations as I have passed on adding a couple new features for the time being, maybe at the two-year anniversary next May.

Got a boatload of items as always in terms of projects for posts, often boils down to a matter of time to get them put together. I’ve long considered my backlog of “brilliant ideas” to be my insurance policy against Writer’s Block and Cabin Fever.

Actually have a real life firsthand fishing report coming up tomorrow. Truly my favorite sort of post as it means I really got to go fishing. Doesn’t always mean I was catching but I’ve come to appreciate that such is not the sole means of evaluating a day on the water.

Thanks to those who tune in to these rambles, hope you will continue to do so, and talk to you later. Troy