Pygmy

My rig is a 14.5 foot Alumicraft Fisherman with a stern drive 30 HP Honda 4 stroke. It is quite wide and deep, VERY seaworthy. The outboard runs quiet and is a miser on gas... I can run 28 MPH on calm water by myself, and 25 with another person aboard, which is as fast as I ever need to go on the water. I have a 45 lb. thrust Minn Kota electric stern mounted..It is not quite as maneuverable as a bow mount, but works well for me, because my depth finder and all of my controls are in the stern, so I can control everything without having to move around the boat. There are two pedestal seats and they are the most comfortable boat seats I have ever had. It's a great fishing rig for one or two people..Three is a bit crowded..

I have fished Keuka several times for bluegills ( Penn Yan end) and a couple of times for smallies.. Bluegills have been excellent.. The last couple of trips we caught all we wanted to clean in 2-3 hours and could have easily limited out if we were so inclined.. Smallmouth fishing opening weekend was somewhat slow...Everybody I talked to caught fish, mostly on hair jigs, but nobody murdered 'em. I went back with a buddy two days ago armed with a bunch of small crayfish trapped from a farm pond..We had an excellent morning...Kept a few 14-15 inchers to filet and put back several several real hogs, including two fish over five pounds. Rock bass are very active too, but perch action so far has been spotty.

This thread really "went south"...... It's been fun, but I think we better back off before we ALL get booted ....<<<GRIN>>>..... I'm going to go now and say my prayers and count my rosary beads and make out my weekly donation check to the " Widows and Orphans Home " and then go to bed..Gotta get up early to go fishing tomorrow. I'll keep my eyeballs peeled for some spiny softshell turtles.

Deliverance....My favorite love story.... By the way, Rob, were you in the Merchant Marine ? I heard you spent four years aboard a Greek Vaseline freighter where the doorways were all 3 feet off the deck...

hehehehehe...You're cute, but not THAT cute.... Besides, I'm pretty fussy who I date... However, just in case I have TOO many Jennys, leave your dentures at home and put your jockey shorts on backwards.

Wooly, you have indeed led a sheltered life. Some weekend when you get a 48 hour pass from Monastery, come on down and we'll set up a turtle blind and then go find a porky or two. I will feed you fishes, bread crusts and Jenny .....

Yup, Larry, those were softshells, and they are certainly faster and more wary than snappers... If you get within 30 or 40 yards of them in a boat, they bail into the water pronto... A few years back I was visiting my sister in Florida, and some big ( 15-20 lb) softshells lived in the pond behind her house and often came quite a distance into the yards along the pond to sun themselves..I stalked one with my camera, hoping to get a good picture. I got between the turtle and the pond, figuring I had him cornered.. Suddenly he took off running for the pond...Holy CRAP, could that turtle run !! I had no chance for a picture..

Not rare in certain waters....You can nearly always see several on the beach at California Ranch point on Honeoye Lake.. Keuka lake also has plenty..There is a gravel beach on the east side about halfway between Penn Yan and Keuka Village where you can see a couple dozen on the gravel and many others just offshore sticking their pointy noses out of the water this time of year. I have not see any in the shallow rivers/swamps where I see many snapping turtles, but at least a couple of the Finger lakes seem to have a healthy population.

Hey.....I don't know much about ART, but I know what I LIKE.....<<grin>>......

Love the pictures, Wooly ! I especially liked the water features...A big snapper and a wet beaver....

I would never buy a .260 rem if I did not reload... Performance wise, it is neck and neck with the 7mm08.....

The Hound is back...I LOVE the hound... The Dragon Lady and her kids put on quite a light show...I'd crawl through two miles of broken glass naked just to hear her fart over the telephone.. The Battle of the Bastards....What can I say other than the overused term AWESOME ?? Hated to see the Giant get snuffed, tho...I don't think they are making any more of them, or mammoths, either...

Holy PANFISH , Batman !! Those are some awesome perch and bluegills !! The bass are fun to catch, but the panfish are some FINE eating !! Nice to see you had a fine morning afield with your lovely daughter...

Might come in handy to repair my pop -up blind that the bear re-engineered for me this spring. Thanks for the tip, Larry ! I can think of several jobs where it would have come in handy over the years.

Sounds like you had a super birthday, Fletch ! I wish you many more.

Bless your heart, Moog ! I could probably kick your butt in western trivia or WWII history... In my case, it ain't the years, it's the MILES !...<<grin>>... Happy birthday once again ...

Good luck doing that, Moog... I attempted to do that when I was 18, in 1968.... I had my driver's license, could legally drink in bars , and could "get lucky" basically any time I wanted, which was OFTEN in those days.. It was still a whole YEAR before I would be drafted and be sent to Vietnam as cannon fodder... Life was GOOD.. I wanted to stay 18 forever... I tried like hell, but it didn't work.... Turned 19 and my draft number came up.... I decided to be proactive and joined the Navy...Several of my classmates went in the draft and did not make it until their 21st birthday.

Happy Birthday, Moog !! Hope ya get lucky on your birthday.. At my age, getting lucky means taking a leak without peeing on my shoes...

I had a Ruger 77 in 25-06 once and the recoil with 100-120 grain bullets was perceptively lighter than a .270 or my .280, and even lighter than my 7mm08 or a 7x57 I used to have. I never shot the .243much, but I am guessing that the 25-06 recoil is similar with similar weight bullets, say 100 grain..

Beaver Island ?? That sounds like it might become my FAVORITE place to fish...

BEAUTIFUL mermaid, Larry... Are you looking to marry her off ? I bring home lots of fish and game, I can cook, and I make an effort not to fart in mixed company... Besides that I still have MOST of my teeth, SOME of my hair and ALL of my social security !

Love those smallies..!! Definitely one of the hardest fighting fish in fresh water...

You all are so fortunate still to have them... My Dad has been gone 22 years and I still miss him every day.

Nice catch, Grampy... I'm heading for Keuka tomorrow, targeting smallies, but there are some hog LMs in there too. I hooked and lost the biggest largemouth I have ever seen there last June.. He jumped 3 times close to the boat and threw the jig on the third jump, but I got a REAL good look at him and I am sure he was well over 6 pounds. Of course, if you don't LAND the fish, he can be as big as you want, right ??

" No, I can't tell you about it....But don't mind my gun by the bed... I feel kinda NEKKID without it, and it eases the fears in my head " From the song " Tequila Sheila", by Bobby Bare, one of my favorite country singers....