Figured that the Blog Banner needed to include a fishing lure and tough to beat the classic black and blue jig and pig. In fact, it was included in a 10-part series that I posted back in February 2012 at a previous blogging gig. That series was entitled “Legendary Lures” and featured ten lures that had left a lasting impression over nearly 30 years of chasing fish up to that point.

Within these boxes are many “Legendary Lures”

For any angler, those lures and baits are the tools of the trade whether filling a photo album or a frying pan and the options just keep on growing. As has my tackle collection over the years via updating or expanding on old favorites or being unable to resist the urge to join the club when the latest “can’t miss” baits hit the market.

Boy, I could go on and on about lures.

And I have before with a 12 part series on the crazy world of lure color options…

And a batch of yearly lure result wrap-ups…

And Christmas lure wish lists…

And an exploration of information sharing concerning lures…

So, whether or not I qualify as a fishing writer, I no doubt have the chops when it comes to being a fisherman. I can ramble with the best of them.

And before I end this one, how about a few pics to reinforce my selection of the black and blue jig and pig as the Blog Banner representative for those favorite tools that call our tackleboxes home.

Folks, the above catches only scratch the surface of black and blue jig and pig success

One final note, now is prime time in our neck of the woods to put this one to work. Talk to you later. Troy

Had to include a shot of some of my stomping grounds in the Blog Banner as strip mine fishing has provided many good memories over the years. And a lot of miles on terrain that isn’t near as friendly looking from the ground as it is from the sky. Looks like you can just hop right from one body of water to the next if the fish aren’t biting. Well, lakes that appear to be a couple casts away can wind up being a substantial walk. That whole closest distance between two points is a straight line adage looks good on paper but strip mine reality is a different ballgame.

But hey, that’s part of the fun right?

And on the positive side, it keeps the pressure down. Only a fool would venture to some of those remote spots.

Yep, a treat to find no other footprints and some uneducated bass.  You also know you are in the right place when you don’t see any trash. Always marveled at those who can haul in full sodas or beers yet can’t haul the weightless empties back out.

What’s also fun about remote collections of fishing holes is the fact that they don’t have a name. At least until I fool a bass in one of them. At that point I’ve got to log the catch which means I get to come up with my own and I will readily admit that this fishing fool is easily amused by himself.

Today’s photo only shows a portion of this overall location and some of the fishing holes here and the adjacent ground bear the following names.

Maiden Lake – first stop I ever made on the area.

Kentucky Lake (above catch by my brother, Brent) – shaped like The Bluegrass State when seen from the air

Cottonwood Lake (above catch on a Bagley Smoo) – home of the 2014 Misfit Lure series (another story, may revisit)

Beamon Lake – narrow enough to jump (go ahead, you can make it), named for Bob Beamon, old school long jump champ

2×4 Lake (above) – two four-pounders in one day, a third since then as shown in this pic

K9 Lake – named after a homemade lure that fooled some bass (see here)

Horseshoe Lake (above) – that shape and pretty good luck too

Molar Lake (above) – thought it looked about like the shape of a back tooth

Far Lake – can’t get any further from the truck than here, little bass, questionable decision

As with all of the pictures in the Blog Banner there are several reasons for inclusion. Good fishing, the goofy habit of christening fishing holes and the cool, technological ability to see your stomping grounds from above even when you are standing in a spot in that middle of nowhere. But don’t let that bird’s eye view fool you. For as the crow flies is one thing, a pair of Northerner boots and too much fishing gear is something completely different. Wander at your own risk. Talk to you later. Troy

Broke down and got me a computer back in January of 1997.  Crazy to think that is over 20 years ago now.  Between being quite frugal and thinking why in the world would I need a computer, I was a hold out.  And now, here we are in 2018 and everybody in my house has some kind of device.

Once I unpacked that first system from multiple shipping boxes (big tower and big monitor) and got her up and running, a major project was putting some software to work in tracking my fishing results.  What you see in today’s Blog Banner photo is a result of some of that goofing around, the abnormal length distribution of a sample of the 460 bass I landed at Emiquon.  Of course, lots of factors come into play for these catches but the bottom line is that place just wasn’t right in those first several years.

Oh, but that only scratches the surface of the ways that everyday home and mobile technology has enhanced my enjoyment of this fishing hobby.  So here’s some good outdoor reasons to embrace The Computer Age from a guy whose childhood pre-dates home computers, cell phones and the internet.

Bassmaster tourney results in real time not in next month’s magazine issue.

Myriad fishing reports, although most not very good, secrecy still rules, I get it.

A plethora of fishing videos but think I’m getting too old for some of these crazy youngsters, I was born too early and have a tamer vocabulary I guess.

But hey, I can even make my own fishing videos, pretty fun but need some more practice and try to be less of a dork as I used “shoot”, “son of a gun” and “dangit” (3 times) in a matter of 9 seconds upon losing a November bass at boatside.

 

Satellite images of my fishing holes, 2D walk-in terrain looks better than the real deal.

We get do overs on fish pics with instant feedback on cameras and devices.

Can order fishing stuff from anywhere, anytime, kind of dangerous.

Can turn my display into the old baitshop counter stacked with Polaroids via a simple search such as “Emiquon Bass” (you should try that one, preview below).

I can share fish stories with other anglers in my living room and I’m the only one there.

I can send a pic of my latest catch to Mom (she shows Dad), Julie or my brother while sitting in an eight foot johnboat in the middle of nowhere, that’s cool.

And they’ll give anybody a blog these days whether he knows what he’s talking about or not.

Plenty more to add and just as many drawbacks to The Computer Age, I suppose.  But that comparison is a rough draft somewhere in a stack of folders for another time.  Yep, still actually use a pen and paper as part of this blogging adventure.  Talk to you later.  Troy

I started writing fish stories on a whim close to sixteen years ago and this submission brings my “career” total to 1,166 postings. That’s a lot of words and pictures, and a lot of time. Especially considering it’s not a paying gig beyond a $50 check I received once upon a time for my contributions at another website. But I knew that going in and I’m good with that, just like to write about enjoying the outdoors with family and friends.

What I did not foresee were several instances of a bonus sort of windfall, one of which is hanging from the lip of the bass in today’s blog banner photo.

K9 Walker Stickbait

This bass came from some Knox County, IL public walk-in strip mine ground in September 2013 on a homemade topwater bait. The bait, called the K9 Walker, was fashioned by a fellow from East Central Illinois who followed my blog on another website. A cool gift that I initially put to use in the spring of 2013 fooling several bass as pictured below.

5/27/13 First K9 Walker bass from a formerly unnamed lake now called “K9 Lake”

6/7/13 A fun “double” on the K9 Walker as both fish came on one cast of the bait

The September fish that is the subject of today’s blog banner pic was the second of a pair of four-pound fish that I caught on the outing from a then nameless remote pothole in the span of fifteen minutes. Since the designation of “K9 Lake” had already been assigned as noted in one of the above pictures, I took to calling this spot “2×4 Lake” in honor of the four-pound pair (the first four-pound bass fell to a Smithwick Suspending Rogue jerkbait).

One other note on today’s pic is the fact that the pothole cranked out another four-pounder in 2014 on a jig and pig. However, it will continue to be referred to as 2×4 Lake in honor of the fish story resulting from the second big bite of that September day courtesy of the K9 Walker (thanks, Frank, if you’re out there reading).

Besides, “3×4 Lake” sounds weird. Talk to you later. Troy

There are many unsung heroes among the gear that accompanies us outdoor types into “the wild.” No doubt that packbaskets rate quite high on the list of essential trapping accessories. They are not only invaluable in hauling traps, bait and lure for the process of making your sets but also make it much easier to lug your catch out when those previously mentioned items do their thing.

And as you can see from the today’s blog banner picture, a packbasket can also assist in transporting small trappers whose little legs just aren’t up for the long haul. In this case, the trapper in tow is my nephew, Brady, getting a free ride from his dad, Brent. This shot is from 2008 so it puts the age of the packbasket likely close to 30 years, which means that it has seen a lot of interesting baggage in its time. Point being, if that boy had any idea what has been in that thing over the years, he’d probably be bailing out in a hurry. A classic case of what you don’t know won’t hurt you and we aren’t telling, for good reason.

You see, Dad and Uncle Dick invested in packbaskets back in the late 60s or early 70s, a time when the muskrat population was rather nuts. After a few too many lengthy hikes back to the vehicle from creeks, ponds and sloughs, arms draped with a dozen rats apiece, they figured that there’s got to be a better way. And just as its easier to carry a kid on your back than in your arms, so it goes with fur.

1971 – Dad with a catch that perfectly demonstrates how the packbasket eases the load

2011 – Dad, Jayce and me with a cool packbasket shot as it rarely gets in the pics.  I opted for the good old shoulder ride with my boy over a packbasket ride. 

The packbasket was just what the doctor ordered for coons and beaver as well during treks of several miles through what we called “The Big Timber.” Similar to a fishing float trip, one truck would be left at the end of the trapline as the trappers were hauled to the start in another vehicle and dropped off for the walk through the creek. Let me tell you, coon legs are not a particularly comfortable handle if you have to walk very far and no matter how often you switch hands, the ball of your thumb begins to holler in a hurry. Of course, when you get that second coon, there ain’t no more switching hands.

Enter the packbasket and problem solved. Well, at least until you get about five coons or a 50-pound beaver, a few rats and a couple coons, or a weary legged kid. Oh well, techniques and lessons in trapping decision making for another day. Overall, a good problem to have and makes for some good stories when those packbaskets wind up overflowing. Talk to you later. Troy