I’ll be 75 soon, and hope I am still fishing in 10 more.

Congratulations and gooood luck!

Can’t speak for KRR6581, but I have found northern like about the same bait as bass. When I first went to Ontario in 1992 an old timer at the aqua port told me to ,” use anything I liked, as long as it was a Five of Diamonds.” I have gotten a lot of northern on a Five of Diamonds, but it isn’t weedless and you need to get back in the weeds and “cabbage.” I have gone pretty much to all weedless baits. For larger northern I like large spinner baits. Johnson Silver Minnows (silver and gold) are weedless and when the fish turn on can’t be beaten. But a mad or hungry northern will hit almost anything!

Small mouth bass seem to hit spinners as well, but smaller ones

I get up to Ontario about every three years. Go to Oak Lake Lodge on the English River mostly, but have done several out post trips on other lakes over the years. Too old (or spoiled) to go outpost now.

Can’t beat fishing for walleye for shore lunch first thing and then switching to northern and smallmouth. Oak Lake is catch and release except for shore lunch and has many nice fish. The smallmouth population is growing as well; twenty years ago we would pick an occasional smallie but now there are plenty.

I caught a 137 lber in Alaska on a boat about 10 yrs ago. That was a fun fight and a shooter.

Bet that was fun in a kayak.

After hurricane Katrina I had my neighbor’s 36 foot, double masted sailboat in my front yard about 40 feet from the bay’s edge. There was lots of talk about what to do with it. Burn it in place, make a neighborhood bar and mother-on-law suite were the top three. After about three months he was finally able to get it back into the water. Since I had the only pier that was left on our side of the bay it stayed tied up to my pier another six months.

Pretty cool looking old boat so it was a real conversation piece.

Bushel is a lot of crabs. Was in Joe Patti’s last week in Pensacola - a great seafood market that has almost anything you could want from the water - and they were getting $20 per dozen. I can get a dozen or 14 in my front yard with 4 traps in two nights; sometimes more.

Interesting.

Learn something new everyday.

Know what a trot line is, and have fished for catfish with them for years. Just never heard of crabbing with one.

Well, I don’t know about Maryland, and I have never heard of catching crabs with a trot line. But, here on Wolf Bay in southwest AL we use traps with bait. I drop ‘um in along the bulkhead and off my pier baited with fish heads, meat table scraps and fish (mostly mullet) I catch in my cast net.

I don’t know what happened after hurricane Sally, but the past two years have been the best of the 21 years I have been here. Some really nice blue crabs and many with small bodies and large claws.

Nothing better than visiting with friends and picking crabs with a good, cold beer. Might throw in some boiled shrimp so I don’t have to pick out crabs for two (wife).

Went out last night with my neighbor fishing around the lights in north Wolf Bay. Got one keeper and about 12 small ones. Nice night, but I think the front cooled the bite off a bit. Seems like one keeper per night is the average this year.

Catch or not, it is always good to get out on the water.

Back from Australia and New Zealand after thirty-five days. Way too long to be gone - especially at 74 - but now both off my list. It was a wonderful trip.

Had hoped to get in a fly fishing trip in in New Zealand, but it just didn’t work out. Did get to dive on the Great Barrier Reef while in Australia. Like being in a very well stocked, very large, saltwater aquarium.

Want to plan a crappie trip to Granada, MS. I understand there are several guides up way. Anyone have any tips on guides and where to stay?

Thanks.

Now that IS funny and a good way to start the week!

Don’t know about the bite, but it sure has been windy. I haven’t been over there - I am on Wolf Bay in Baldwin Country - but I expect the surf is pretty rough outside and windy at best on the bay and the sound. Pretty windy here this AM.

I fly fish as well, but haven’t done any on the coast. Would say I am a late beginner or an early intermediate fly fisherman. Would like to try that too.

I built a 9 wt rod in Blue Ridge, GA (Oyster Fine Fly Rods) to use down here, but only tried a couple of times

Can’t you be both?

Will contact you when I can get away.