JohnF

I don't necessarily agree. How many compromises do we have to make in the name of getting ahead? There's so much more to life than just getting a house paid for. I often recommend that people buy less house in a better area if I think they're going to be happier in that location. I've even suggested that folks rent instead of buying if it's the only way to be in an area in which the family will be comfortable. Think "no man is an island". JF

I can. I continue after 35 years in the business to be amazed by what some folks consider as "ready to show". Very few places that hit the market would satisfy my wife. Is it possible you're moving from a lower priced area to a higher priced? That compounds the problem. But on the upside if you buy a poorly maintained place then the price should reflect the condition within the general local market values. My experience has been that people who are particularly obsessive about cleanliness (like my wife) are going to clean the bejeepers out of anything they buy regardless of what it's like to begin with. If you are careful about not paying too much then you will build in instant equity by making it spotless. A good first impression is critical in getting the best possible price. The other thing to consider is a possible upgrade meaning slightly more mortgage payment but a higher comfort level with the house. Interest rates today are so low that a few extra thousand on the price doesn't necessarily mean a crippling mortgage payment. For $100 per month you can get around $25,000 more mortgage unless you're really accelerating the payout. In the end you might be happier all things considered. Unfortunately this kind of suggestion is almost always construed as "upselling" to get a bigger commission. Sometimes it's just good advice. Dunno if that helps get things into a better perspective. JF

Think outside the box. It's amazing what great ideas are out there. Look at this one definition of the word "paradigm" - "A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline." Now apply that definition to your career search. And then ask yourself if you're really looking for a career, or just another job. Of the possibilities you're considering, do you see yourself being happy in them for the rest of your working life? Remember that excepting professional athletes, too many career trades can be counter-productive. A good friend of mine started jumping companies looking for something better. On the plus side he reduced his daily commute to 30 minutes. He increased his annual salary by over $100,000. He qualified for bigger annual performance bonuses (6 figure bonuses). He got out of NYC and into downtown Boston (that's an improvement for some folks). The downside was that each new position was progressively less satisfying and he finally had a serious nervous breakdown (in the words of his Ph.D medical author wife "He had a total meltdown"). Now he works for the harbourmaster in a small New England island port collecting berth fees from yachting tourists. He loves it, says he's happy as a clam. He wears shorts to work all summer and has his own little harbour boat to tool around in. He tells me he should have stepped back years ago and looked at all his options. Instead he just reacted to the money, titles and prestige caring nothing for personal happiness. They are wonderful folks but somewhere along the line they lost connection with their kids who have grown into dysfunctional screwups (their mother's words). I'm not suggesting that this is likely to be your story but merely offer it for the insight my friend finally found, painfully - that one needs to step back, analyze, then be proactive in choosing a career. Hopefully it will get you looking at more than just the obvious employment solutions. Even if you have current financial responsibilities to honour you should still look at all your options. Here's another cliche that applies "Short term pain for long term gain." JF

This is just an opportunity. Now that you've had a while in the working world you probably have some ideas on what you wish you'd done in the first place. The problem for many is that they get trapped in their job by the security (real or imagined) and are afraid to change despite hating it. You're in an enviable place right now. You can recreate yourself. The door's wide open. Pick something you wish you had done and go for it with gusto. Money is probably less an issue than one might think. As others have said there are gov't programs to help out. It's time to be proactive. Make a list of the things you most wish you had done, line them up from best to least preferred, then work your way thru the list from the top eliminating those that simply are impossible for the correct reasons (money, education, location, etc). When you find the choice that is doable go for it. All the best. JF

I don't think I'm imagining it, but I seem to recollect there were white egrets around our rivers in SWO when I was a kid. The problem is that I got so accustomed to seeing them in Florida that I may be confusing memories. I don't remember the smaller cattle egrets being up here though. JF

HMMM. Good point. In that case I hope ya never catch me. JF

Happy birthday, Roy. That makes you one year closer to me. I wonder if you can catch me? JF

I thought it was a furry musky bait. JF

I don't have the pics on this computer but I think I only got the last bass. It was essentially the same as your pic except my belly was hanging out more. JF

You have no idea how grateful I am that you thought of that sling chair. It occurred to me later that it musta been something of a nuisance having me blocking yer view when we were running, kinda like me sitting right in front of the gps/sonar/whatever screen Garry was trying to watch while we were running. He just told me to get my fat butt outa the way. You didn't say boo. As for the steel bench, obviously the rest of your guests are much younger, or at least more resilient, than me. My back (and everything else) seem almost back to normal. I sat in a recliner to sleep last night. It was actually the best night's sleep I've had in a long time though, so again there's a silver lining for every cloud. As for pic 4, I thought it showed admirable dedication to duty that you didn't stop dropshotting all the time you were squirming around up there trying to find the tree. And it's a wonderful thing you did find it. Otherwise we'd have missed out on all those nifty Rock Bass. Despite the bumping and banging I'd do it again any time. Especially now that I know the secret weapon for those weeds. I might even do without the shark glove just to show the scoffers that I really can handle those icky fish. And I know what to expect next time in the physical abuse department. I'll strap a big pillow to my ass. For all my whining about the bumpy ride I'm quite content in small boats. They were my childhood playground. It was interesting not quite having my sealegs at the beginning though. I guess that's what happens in 50 years of non-participation and aging. And my kayaking buddy Rob (the lifelong bassfishing artist) really likes the sound of your reservoir if you ever feel like company to fish it. He's quite something to watch. He's spent 60 years mastering the wet noodle, crap reel and Original Rapala combo. Generally speaking his lure is worth as much as his rod and reel together. JF

Might as well make the best of it. So, what's a good bait for Asian carp. Targeting a big game fish that's liable to jump out of the water and slap me sounds challenging. JF

I figured as long as we'd started this it might as well be finished. The first set of pics were the ones Ryan took. Here are mine. In this one you see what greeted us as we pulled out of the marina bright and early. It didn't stay calm for long though. Here's a shot of the captain of the ship. He saw me with the camera and immediately assumed the steely grizzled sea captain scanning the seas pose. Did I mention the jewel rattling ride? Here was the solution, sort of. And finally this is our brave captain when he doesn't know the camera is on him. Now the report is complete. JF

Just about every time I fish with someone new I see a technique that I wanna try. I can't say I've mastered any but I'm learning about using wacky worms in cover, toads in slop, dropshotting, and now I've just finished watching two guys (Garry & Ryan) pitch and flip so of course I wanna do that too. With any of them I found the learning curve shortened by trying it with someone who has already mastered the technique. That way I get on the spot coaching plus I get to watch them doing it and can try to copy what they do. Spending time with Garry on his boat has helped a lot in learning the techniques, when to use them, and how to adapt to different conditions. I don't remember anyone ever saying that it was cool to use weedless hooks for flipping wacky worms into fallen trees or holes in weed beds until Garry showed me how to do it. I was kind of apologetic when I started tying on a big ole weedless hook in front of Ryan but he said something like "What's wrong with that? I know pros who do it." I knew it caught fish but now I don't have to apologize any more. It's funny how you can watch all the videos in the world but you'll learn so much more watching someone do it properly on the water when you have a rod in hand to try it yerself. As for plastic I've gotten to the point where I seldom think of using anything but. When I'm wading I set up a few weighted hooks w/tubes and carry a selection of wacky worms. If I'm boating for bass I have three small trays with assortments of tubes, toads & worms. In their respective boxes I stock the appropriate hooks and weights for different conditions. I haven't figgered out a tidy way of keeping my drop shot stuff. It seems obvious that another box would be the solution but the bag I like to carry just won't accommodate 4 boxes. I don't want to go any bigger cuz boaters hate when us visitors clutter their walking spaces with our junk. Of course now that I wanna get flippin' & pitchin' under some semblance of control that's a whole nuther set of hooks and trailers to deal with. I can probably combine the dropshot gear & the flippin' jigs in one box. That leaves finding a tidy way of handling the specialty type products that need to be in their own juice or at least out of the air. I'm thinking the bagged leeches & craws. JF

I looked at my avatar again and realized yer confusing a distinguished look with pained. In fact I was just out of the water after a 45 minute dive in temps just barely north of freezing. That on top of climbing about 40 steps with a heavy pair of tanks on my tank. Mebbe all that Bond stuff made Connery look pained too. JF

I like checking out unknown water. The fish you catch are always more like a reward. If I go to proven water then I feel doubly let down when I get skunked. As for you being asleep at the switch I think it was more a case of you wanting to be a good host and letting me get the big fish. Boathouses are fun, even if people do look askance at you. JF

Yeah, but I get tired of fighting off older women. JF

I suppose I should have ended with "No thumbs were destroyed in the making of this story". Although I did manage to stick a hook up under a fingernail. How is yer thumb doing? JF

I met up with Ryan at his house fairly early this morning. I just had to watch for the canary yellow XTerra and the Subway Baby Bassboat. With the intros out of the way we dumped my gear in his SUV and headed out. One quick stop for gas and then we were heading out Long Point to the marina. Loading went quickly and in no time we were heading out of the marina. The bay was like glass and we had a sweet smooth ride out to the first stop. Have you ever noticed how soliticitous, even guilty, the guy sounds when he's invited you out to his "spot"? Like he owes you fish now that he's dragged you out. Well, Ryan's no exception. Of course that didn't stop him from bagging the first couple of fish. I want you all to take note of the fact that he didn't post a pic of "his" rock bass. Whoda thunk water like this wouldn't hold some bass. Nuff said. Ryan had pretty well guilted hisself by the time I caught this monster and he wanted to preserve the moment for posterity. I guess he figgered I'd be fooled into thinking it was a major catch. But then, just when we were about to give up, we were desperately working the boathouse row going into the marina with wacky worms and plastic jig craws, Ryan snarled "Get yer worm into that boathouse, now!". Well, perhaps snarled is an exaggeration but he said it with authority. Never being one to question those smarter than me I complied, stuffing my little worm way back in the boathouse. It didn't even get time to settle before .. BBBAAAMMMM .. this little freight train nailed it. Then it got kinda funny. Just as I was about to drop to my knees to lip the little guy I'm less than elegantly pushed to the side by Ryan scrambling to get to the fish. He apologized later but explained that he didn't wanna take any chances on losing this trophy for the day. Whatever. It was a nice fish. We were wishing we'd had a scale cuz it was one heavy little bugger for the length. So that explains the pics. Now for some observations. 1. Chandos Lake has more pretty girls than Long Point Bay, not that I was noticing particularly. Avery is just a tad young to be mentioned in this context, and if I did Ryan would probably hit me. But she sure is cute, and chatty. 2. LPB is very shallow. I kept asking Ryan what all those guys sitting out in the middle of the bay knew that he didn't. He says that as far as he knows that's how you fish the inner bay. Just sit there with a lure out and wait for a fish to come a-knockin'. But then he went on to say that he's got a lot to learn about LPB and maybe one day he'll fish it like that. 3. Dark green worms seem to be the order of the day there. My bubble gum worms caught bupkis. 4. When riding across the bay at 24 mph in a jon boat one is advised not to sit on the front platform. But if you must then try wearing a jock. Your boys will thank you. Ryan was thoughtful enuf to provide a sling chair which I used religiously after the first long move. 5. Aside from the jewel rattling characteristics a jonboat is not a bad way to fish without blowing the budget. It's got nice flat floor space and has room to set it up with a trolling motor and front and rear sonar/gps/whatever. 5a. It's kinda fun watching folks watching you as you cruise by in a wrapped boat. Ryan's is a Subway ad and definitely stands out. I'm sure a lot of folks watching assumed I was Mercer. Sorry Dave. 6. Ryan didn't provide quite the running guide monologue that Garry does but in his defence he did point out that he's still learning the bay hisself. It was interesting to hear a few stories about how they do the Facts of Fishing Show and he did give me a few useful tips on Phish Photography 101. 7. There's a submerged tree somewhere in the middle of the bay that has fish on it. I caught a few there dropshotting. Actually we both did but mine were more meaningful. 8. When someone is generous enuf to invite one of us Great Boatless Ones to join them on their boat for a day of fishing in their backyard they really don't have to apologize if they don't produce instant fish. But for some reason they do, so for you others like me, when you get a chance to join someone on their boat tell them clearly beforehand that you understand that fishcatching is a hit and miss proposition and that it's enuf just to get out on the water, see some new fishing terrain and try some methods you might not get to use at home - that you're just happy to be fishing. 9. Close the rear tailgate on yer suv when backing the boat into the garage. Don't ask me how I know. Conclusions: 1. Ryan's a real nice guy. Who else would give up a shot at a boathouse bass after a kind of skunky day. 2. There's gotta be more to LPB fishing that I'm missing. The conditions I saw either didn't seem right to attract fish, and where they did, it wasn't working. We motored out to join the flotilla herded together on the flats, worked around them for a while and then headed off for another jewelbuster ... mmmmm ... ride to find a more interesting place to play. We covered a lot of water this morning. So Ryan, thanks. I enjoyed my day. It was definitely worth the trip, even if I hadn't caught your bass at the end of the day.

Between pike stink , rock bass spines, and city boy thumb rawness from lipping bass I'll take the wussy route. I started wearing them last year on a very cold day when I decided there was no way I was spending 4 hours out in the water without some kind of gloves. I tried 'em and liked 'em. Golf gloves don't impede casting or really anything else. They handle lots of water very well. Just be sure to get the good cabretta leather ones. The cheap ones just fall apart. I have a bunch of them in my golf bag so why not? I worked on the kill floor of a slaughterhouse for two summers so I'm way past squeamish. I'm okay with sticking my thumb down a bass throat but if I don't have to .... JF

I was tempted to drive home via Lindsay. It's not exactly a short cut but I figured I'd be spending my time better saying hello to you than sitting on the 401 in traffic. In the end I decided it would be tricky finding your place and also finding you at home with nothing to do but talk to me. I'd rather show up with some warning in case you want to hide. JF

Well, that sounds good, but I was thinking for the "out there" folks something like Goby deepfried till crisp, then dipped in Belgian white chocolate and rolled in fine chopped roasted macadamias & cranberries with a dusting of garlic powder. JF

My wife was reading over my shoulder. JF

Legends?? Ask around. I'm only a legend in my own mind. Now Garry on the other hand ..... JF

I'm with you on that. JF

So, how's the thumb? JF