Thanks Still; thought the same thing myself. Notice there was no response to the real issue of the connection between taxes and gas prices. Took the low road and bashed our great state of Florida. I lived in CA for 32 years, beautiful state to look at, and after that, it's all downhill. Liberal politics will ruin the best of any state. Thanks FF for not moving here. I once did an article comparing Oahu vs. Sarasota's weather conditions. Worked out the rain, humidity, and water temperature were superior in FL. Funny how no one visits Hawaii and complains, "It's soooo humid here!" And so glad Oregon has no mosquitoes. Make America Florida. Live Free.

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends, Jar !

I really don't know why I bother to respond to these outlandish claims made by the "partially informed".
In all the replies that I have made over the years on this forum, that directly dispute a previous poster's claims, I have yet to ever receive a post that says..."thanks for that enlightenment, you just changed my mind on the matter". No....it's invariably a diss about my state, or my "naive viewpoint", my "liberal bias"....hehehe.
Damn good thing that I am thick-skinned !
Being a well-read, well-educated, open-minded individual, registered "Independent " since the mid '80"s, that takes ALL POINTS OF VIEW into consideration before speaking or responding, it definitely takes some self-control not to simply lash out, as so many do.
If I agree with the opposing view, I say so, plainly and objectively. If I do not, again, I consume all that has been put forth and make my call based on the info available. It's not all that difficult most times.
The only real frustration(fear..??) that I feel, is when the bull-headedness of an extremely small (based on the total forum member count) cabal of folks......and they are the ones who are here daily and have high "post #s", "they" know who I am speaking of......that simply see no recourse other than a trump return to office and the resumption of the uneasiness that we experienced post 2016 e******n until that "sigh of relief " in November 2020.

Are things going ''swimmingly" in 2023 ?
Not particularly, for way too many. I am blessed to have had a really GOOD year financially, myself, but I don't go to bed each night wondering what clusterf### our #45 President got us into, while I was sleeping, like I did for those 4 years....thank goodness.

And THAT is what I am Thankful for in 2023 !

BTW....no turkey tomorrow ....salmon, steelhead and some huge 16-20ct shrimp on my grill for a holiday meal.
And of course...some corn.....My homage to Squanto for showing the newcomers what to do with those inedible bass and carp that are so very plentiful and easy to catch...hehehe.

Took advantage of the warm spell and hit Lilly for my last trip in the boat. 46° at the ramp, and the water was 49°. Lots of floating wood and debris since they raised the water level after the drawdown. No luck up in the cove or any mainlake flats. All the deep fish were Rockies. Headed (carefully) down to Pond Brook, and found more Rockies outside the mouth. Inside I found some small Largemouth and one decent 1.5lb fish. The next couple passes over the school resulted in 2 rigs getting bit off by toothy critters. I didn't feel like dealing with them so I called it a day. The weather for the next couple weeks looks cold, so I'll winterize the boat next week and put her to bed. Hopefully I'll get out to hit a bank or 2 before the snow flies.