Fun Fun Fun in that Florida Sun

[Micanopy]

The weather here in Florida’s Horse Country has been rather chilly as of late. The past week it has been down in the 40’s every morning, but warms beautifully to the high fifties by noon. Anyways I wanted to go fishing and she said, “No way Jose you have to take me to the Hoggetown Medieval Fair”. Just what I wanted to hear. I get to go hang out with the weirdos and watch them do fantasy role playing and stuff.

So I drive her there and we park and start walking and I already know what to expect having gone to this ridiculous fair three years in a row. Wear boots as there will be mud everywhere. Dress warm and eat a bunch of stuff before you get there so you ain’t starving and having to buy carnival food from carnies.

So we get in and first stop was the hammer ding thingie where you get to show how strong you are. I pony up and WHAM…..no ding. First time in decades I did not ding the stupid bell. So I really applied full power and no ding. I smacked the devil out of that thing and the slider would get almost there but no ding. I protested as obviously this thing has been rigged to make me look insufficient in front of my wife, and all those that were watching me with big smiles on their stupid faces. We never heard that bell ring all day as no one was able.

The trick to ring the bell is to swing the hammer directly behind you, using both arms straight overhead, and bend your knees as you bring it down and put a solid whack on it with good follow through. Been ringing bells every time for decades. So every one is laughing at me and that was when she decides to say, “You are getting older”. What a rotten thing to put there. I mean right as you come in the gates you get to be humiliated and reduced to accepting things better left unconsidered, such as the aging process.

Then I spotted the Illegal Burritos stand and got me their Mega Death special. Not too bad. Expensive but not too bad. I don’t do Geros, and Turkey legs look good until you get to picking at them. She wanted cider and mead and stuff but I was doing fine without anything to drink.

Then she saw the dresses and into that tent she disappeared. I didn’t follow as I was afraid of what might be lurking inside ready to beguile me. So I am watching weirdos and she pops out and motions me over. Now we have only been married a little more than a year but I fully understand the implications here. Believe me I do. So she asks my opinion and my response is simple enough. I reach into my wallet and like magic she is happy. It was a long white linen flowing dress just like the fancy girls wore in……wait for it….wait….Medieval Times.

Then off we go down the muddy trails looking for things of interest. Axe throwing, knife throwing, rope ladder climbing, and she asks why I am not trying any of them. I hadn’t really considered why but after the He Man Failure to start out with, maybe I just lost interest in being embarrassed. Maybe I really am getting old like she said.

Then she spots Lucifer. Ten feet tall and evil as all get out and here he is coming down the lane headed our way. She squeals and like a rocket off she goes.





So this dude starts pawing at my wife and before I could get at him she tells me to give him some money. Money….. he needs a quick kick in the stilts. He was actually making Satin sounds and spittle was coming forth and she was squealing the entire time. So I did my thing, and out comes the wallet and I slip the guy a couple of bucks. Man did she cut me a look. So out comes a few more bucks and he lets her go. That was traumatic for me, and I gestured at him after she turned her back.

By the time we got home I was whooped and in no shape to go launching the boat. However the very next morning I head out at about 9 am to start fishing. As I was midway into the launch phase, the warden comes screaming up in his truck asking me how many ducks I got. I said ain’t got no ducks. Then he sees that I am launching not landing and starts to ask me some questions and I answered with respectful tones. He is the fourth warden I have had approach me at that ramp wanting to know how many ducks I got. I should ask next time- “Hey, where on the boat is the best place to hide my over the limit ducks ?” I mean give them something exciting other than little old me and my foolishness to go crappie fishing.

So away I go, only boat on the lake. Literally the only boat with a fool for a captain. I am learning a lot already like gloves keep your hands from freezing and falling off. That in a pinch they can be used to shield your teeth from freezing. I had already learned that putting heavy sweat pants over bluejeans can feel pretty good while the boat is in motion. Hoodies are nice as well, but nothing warms the body quite as nicely as stopping the boat to start fishing.

I was testing out some of my newest lures and such. I make all my own jigs and buy all the plastic baits. Buy is exactly right as I now have four boxes of plastic baits. Something for every occasion I imagine. So I set out ten rods and begin slowly trolling along. The Sun was out and it felt like it was 25 degrees warmer than it really was. I love that. So I am trolling along and made a mistake and entered the mine field of all hydrilla minefields. No escape route. Had to kill the TM and reel in all the lines and powered my way through and back to open water.

Then a little fish bites and I look him over. Way too small for me to consider cleaning, so over the side he goes. Then another one a little bigger hits.



Then after an hour or so, here comes number 3.



Now had the bite been better I would have taken these guys home with me, but as slow as it was I knew there was no use in keeping them. Not enough to clean.

I swapped out jig head sizes, tried spinning blade jigs, switched colors, tried different areas, no other fish wanted to play, but it sure beat watching some Lucifer dude whispering into my woman’s ear I can tell you that.

This morning it is raining and cold and with the fish being fickle and all I stayed home. Finished up some jigs. One of the things I have learned is that blade sizes and styles might make a difference. I started out with large blades and have eventually evolved into using smaller and smaller blades. I was able to spy an old man’s lures one day and he was using small willow leafs. I mean small willow leafs. They say he is a great “speck” fisherman so I copied him a little.



The above are FreeStyle heads in size 1/16th oz, with an Eagle Claw 571 hook size 1/0, no eye. You can see my custom under spin design from where I made a slight modification to the Do-It mold to add the wire. I also modded my Bat Jig mold and made some of them.



Same weight and hook, only I added some eyes to these and am waiting on some new blades. I found some 0/0 size willow leafs made from brass and they will be along soon. Here is my Herring Head jig, where I had to alter the mold just to get it to produce under spin wires that didn’t just fall out.



Anyways, with three or four styles of under spins I am sure to be completely confused and dizzy when I go to swap out jigs. I really have an issue with all the choices. Sometimes I will be thinking I need to swap out a certain jig and bam I catch a fish on it before I do. I have way too many plastic baits now and that is an issue I am dealing with. Trying to get to where I can carry a small box of jigs and leave behind my two suitcases crammed full. I mean just unzipping them starts this whole process where I pick through twenty plastic tackle boxes and still remain unable to decide anything that might be meaningful. I think I could do just as well closing my eyes and picking.



Have to go to work later today so it doesn’t much matter that it is kind of rainy and nasty. Been cooking on-site for events and such. Very hard to maintain cleanliness when you are in someone’s front yard, but it can be done if the commitment is there. I don’t think them fellers at the fair were committed to cleanliness, but I didn’t shoot stuff out, so maybe they do. Which leads me to some advice for you. Don’t stand under an eagle’s nest when they have chicks. Trust me on this one.

I wanted to share my adventures and such and usually do so in the Jig Making section. However I think they have already seen everything possible with jig making, and might be getting bored with my adventures here in the paradise of Florida, so I am gonna try to share stuff here. Me being a man of few words makes it easier for you to follow along, but I will try to add content as I go.

I imagine you sitting inside, desperate for something to occupy your mind and take it away from the dismal conditions that exist up North. I used to live North and would sit and dream of what I would do once it got warm enough to go outside. Too big to get invited to go ice fishing with anybody, I just kind of read stuff and shuttled in firewood and such. Perhaps my musings have taken away the dreariness of your existence and given you some ideas. Like don’t let the woman go alone to the fair and such. If you are really sick and tired of it all and want to modify your mold to an under spin design let me know and I will help you. I used a large C clamp to fix all four of my molds. No Dremel skill set needed. LOL

If you know anything about blades on crappie jigs I sure would love to hear what you know. I am determined to figure out what the fish really want. Saw a design on the interwebs the other day that was cool and easy enough for anyone to add an underspin to any jig head they have on hand.



The designer of it just made up a swivel and blade and eased the swivel onto the hook, allowing his plastic bait or chenille to shove the swivel forward producing an under spin. Very easy to manage something like that if you ever wanted to try your hand at using under spins. All the clever ideas have been discovered. Well most of them, but I think this is pretty clever.

Another feller did the exact same thing, only he slid the swivel back to the bend of the hook and secured it there with fly tying thread and formed a body from chenille and made the blade spin straight off the back. Another very clever idea.

With all these clever fellers around, them fish should have been wiped out a long time ago. Anyways I killed enough time yacking at you people about inane and ridiculous things. Maybe a nice nap will be in store for you later today and you can go fishing in your dreams and finally catch that big one you have always imagined holding up for the camera.

[BuckeyeCrappie]

Fishing sounds like much more fun.

[DockShootinJack]

A good rainproof/ windproof layer on the outside sure helps in maintaining warmth while the boat is moving. A good base layer doesn't gurt either. I would have kicked him in the stilts. Darn red extortionist.

[vbottom]

Well it's one of those days up here in Michigan...Thanks for the read. A bad day fishing beats ringing a bell at a festival any day!

Sent from my moto z4 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[up2specks]

Micanopy- I always enjoy a novel, "outside-the-box" conveyance of tales...hmmm I wonder Why?. It looks as though the evolution of your day was BucksDucksChucks. So sorry to learn that your wife's tent-emergence opinion query wasn't "Honey, would you mind if I bought this"? I am relieved however, to learn that SHE didn't show YOU how easy it was to Do the DING!! I think that my FWC encounter response, at some point, could easily have been "The last FWC officer revealed a hiding spot he never thought was possible = Under the engine Cowling!! Yeppir, he said he found a creatively-packed eleven FAT teal nestled there! I'm positive that YOUR engine and HIS future field-checks would guarantee a sniping, camera-ready You-Tuber Wheelbarrow-fulls of $$$ Always have enjoyed your creative side...your creative-writing skill is ICING!!
With regard to DIY slide-on bb swivel/underspin...I found that because of the limber nature of small, bb swivels, the blade's freespin can be interfered with by hitting the plastic or chenille body. Aside from your infallible, molded-in wire(insuring separation from body), another way is to glue/epoxy(your choice) a tiny, self-bent wire with two looped-ends then adding your swivel of choice
(note: a small beetle-spin harness w/blade is perfect) with only ONE quick snip.

u2s Congrats on your string of Medieval Fair attendance/cope...maybe next year I'll see you there to unveil the secret bell-ringing "sweet spot". It's more than what you've already described...you see, the hammer impact-point that 99.9% of contestants strike is mainly "dead-center"! The "sweet-spot" is actually the OUTSIDE edge! It's easily understood when you picture the fulcrum/leverage axiom. To over-exemplify = What if you impacted the INSIDE edge =little or NOTHING!

u2s

[Ketchn]

OH the things we often have to endure as a husband figure
often times it feels like you are in a leg hold trap ready to chew off your own paw
man did you pony up bro , there is no way I could have done it without a paw loss
mine had me at the chicken house flea market not long ago
it wasn't pretty I tell ya , so many things ketched her eye
that made me want to run away it was mind boggling .
you done good to survive it ....congrats sir

[Micanopy]

Right now the fish are gliding in amongst the weeds, all swelled up, waiting to unload a massive amount of eggs and get this over with. I still feel that the nicest fish will be going early, and the predicted mass spawn on the evening of the 16th. So it’s fine because I have to wait a while to go again anyways. Maybe things will be more exciting than they have been these past few trips.

Now I have something very important to say -

…… and I feel very strongly about that, too.

[DockShootinJack]

Mine got all excited when I told her I would get her a gas grill for Valentines days.

[Micanopy]

Mine got all excited when I told her I would get her a gas grill for Valentines days.

I refuse to go out to dinner for Valentines Day. The long lines at every restaurant, the tortured explanations as to why you are waiting in that long line when you have reservations, the stressed out waitstaff and chefs, it is never a good experience so I just quit doing it. The food is simply shoved through the door.

Now I have a new plan of action. I call the florist and order flowers to be delivered to her office. The flowers are nice but there is an extreme enhancement going on when she is seen by other women as receiving flowers. Women watching women kind of thing. If she is seen as getting flowers then I don’t need to buy fancy jewelry, or go to a horrible dinner, or any of that stuff. $75 and I am done. It works great.

Never considered tricking her with gifts meant for me though. That is a pretty good one actually. “Honey, I got you that new trolling motor you been wanting.” Maybe she has been wanting a new fishFinder and some baits or something. Hmmmmmm……

Of course your wife may actually really want a new gas grill, and in which case, congratulations on that. I need a new gas grill myself as all of mine are charcoal. I can make charcoal start up really fast though as I ease my chimney atop of my gas burner and throw the flame to it. Still a gas grill is much more convenient. I want a small one that has wheels and can be rolled in and out of garage. Maybe two burners. I want it mostly for grilling vegetables and such.

A few weeks ago I began noticing that the water pressure inside the home had fallen off considerably. I checked the pressure gauge and it seemed fine. I checked the air pressure inside the bladder tank and it was right on the mark. One PSI under the lowest setting on the switch. Water pressure near the well was high so that meant that there was a line problem. Sure enough the line into the house had been collapsed due to me driving over it with the boat trailer. Parking the boat trailer tires atop of the line, etc.

So my brother comes over and runs me a new line from well to house, makes the connection and walah water comes screaming out of the faucets again. She is happy as now her half hour long showers are more enjoyable. I guess. So he runs the line and leaves and tells me I need to trench it into the ground. Yeah I see that. Thanks.

My land has lots of clay and these small rocks that act like aggregate in a concrete mix. Digging in that stuff is not for the timid or the weak in body or spirit. I dug a little bit and quit. Didn’t get very far at all actually. So I get to thinking and I break out the power washer and fired it up. It makes for an excellent trenching tool and I was able to get all 50 feet of line buried pretty deeply in a few hours time. I was absolutely covered in mud head to toe and had to spray myself off before I could strip down in the garage, but it worked.

Then because I like to run the gas out of my small engines before storing them, I did some of the driveway and discovered also that it does a fine job as a leaf blower as well. I was able to blow the leaves out of my plantings around the outside walls of my house. It did a great job at that and when the leaves stop falling in a few weeks I will use it to blow leaves away prior to mulching everything again. She likes her plants to look their best and that means red mulch. 75 bags of it is enough to go all the way around the house. Yeah.

She is a funny little thing and got her degree in art. She ordered those stupid pink plastic flamingos off of Amazon and when they appeared I just had to ask why. She ended up painting them and made them into SandHill Cranes. Then she set them in her plantings and placed shiny Easter eggs next to them. The cranes come every Winter and are a big deal in our area. She likes to decorate using things specific to our area, so we got cranes.

I am far more crude, unthoughtful and ridiculous, so I went with a full size terracotta warrior imported from China. The warrior is about seven feet tall and guards our front entrance. Found him at an antiques shop that was loaded with Chinese stuff. An english professor from the University of Florida was in China teaching children and was sending back shipping containers filled with things he had found. He died I guess and the stuff sat in the containers until someone finally unloaded it all on the antique shop. I ended up buying several hand carved and painted items made of wood. Beautiful works of art that are very obviously hand made and from some time ago, too. The staff at the store guessed most were 1920’s vintage or there abouts. However, when I spotted the warrior I had to have him. Very delicate clay fired material and carried him home atop an air mattress. Talk about praying and driving….. He is NOT one of the warriors they dug from that pit they discovered at the emperor’s tomb. I understand China was not letting that stuff out. Total control, but it is nice to imagine that he escaped their watch. Mine was probably made nearby there in somewhat modern times and the professor bought it there and had it shipped back. Today shipping that thing would be very expensive indeed. He was made and fired in the same fashion though. Three parts. Legs, then torso missing hands and head, then the head and hands are joined once the firing process is complete. Lets the air swirl about inside and they don’t explode in the oven. The clay is the same stuff of course as was used by the tomb builders hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

My wife says- “No more Chinese stuff in the house”, and she means it. I have Chinese things everywhere inside. Little hand carved wooden statues, art for the wall, boxes, large cabinets and even a dresser. It was all her fault anyways because she encouraged me to buy art, and avoid the modern day junk. She just didn’t expect me to like Chinese art. One box has hand made hinges and stuff, and inside was some type of wood boring beetle, which is how I got it for $20. Amazing stuff.






But she doesn’t have a gas grill, so I will be considering getting her one of those. Her birthday is just a few days after Valentines Day so……

This reminds me I have to place my flower order now to avoid the rush. Wouldn’t want to screw that up. LOL

[DockShootinJack]

My wife actually wants the gas grill. Will not touch the pellet grill that sits out there. You dial in the temps on a knob just like an oven and it does the rest. Our charcoal option is a vision ceramic. Takes a bit to heat it up and forever to cool it down. Does a great pizza, smokes ribs and brisket to perfection if you do your part. The gas grill rusted out a few years ago. She will be happy to see it replaced. You have some very interesting pieces in your collection. I like walking through the antique stores myself. Like walking back to a simpler time. Most of the time dinner out is a disappointment. Better quality food can be made at home most of the time.