Monday, October 9, 2023

Solo Expedition...

 I haven't really talked about it much but every other weekend I usually head out by myself. It's usually the day I seek out new fishing holes. Some are places I've either heard or read about and some of them are actually places I've stumbled across mostly by accident.

Yesterday was one of those days.

It all started out with a trip to one of our local Walmarts where I've had my eye on a new pole for quite some time now. I've been hoping that eventually they'd realize the season's coming to an end and put their fishing gear on clearance.

Fat chance.

Anyway, since Monday (today) was my 65th birthday and since I've been relatively good all year (at least in my humble opinion) I'm now the proud owner of a brand new Ugly Stik fishing pole.


 For those of you who know about such things you already understand. And those who don't, well, just know this, it's a pretty big effing deal.

When I got home I showed it to my loving wife. She just rolled her eyes and asked me, just how many fishing poles do you really need? 

Then she mistakenly said something like, good grief, you already have like 20 of them. As usual, I should have kept my mouth shut but I couldn't help myself from correcting her.

No darling, with today's exciting addition, I now have 28.

I could be wrong but it sure does seem like "Whatever" has become one of her favorite words.

And because no one in town opens till 6:00 a.m. I got started a little later than I like but because I was headed out to places I hadn't been to in years it was probably just as well.

I started out at Dragoon Creek which runs into lake Pamona. The place was beautiful. It was still early enough that a light mist was still hovering over the creek. The shadows in the surrounding woods made it look a little spooky. All the way up and down as far as I could see the creek was easily accessable. The only problem was the complete and total lack of fish.


From there I took several dirt roads in search of a place called 110 mile creek state park. Actually, it was pretty easy to find and I'm glad I did. Pretty cool place. It runs along the banks of lake Pamona. I got out and made a few casts knowing full well I wasn't going to catch anything. 


I drove around the little park then headed up to Osage County State Lake via dirt roads. It was a pretty cool little trip. Tried fishing it for a little while but wasn't surprised when nothing became of it.

By now it the Chiefs game was going to start soon so I packed it in and headed to the house.

Did I catch anything?

Do I care?

Not really.

What I did accomplish, was I found a new spot to take the grandkids next weekend.

You guys stay safe and be well...

Kevin McGinty



Sunday, October 8, 2023

And they ask me why I go fishing so much...

 


***Live Updates***

Jewish Holiday Horror: Historic Terror in Israel

Hamas Rains Thousands of Rockets

Shock: Militants Infiltrate towns

unprecedented # of Civilians, Soldiers Held Hostage in Gaza

Hezbollah Fires Mortar Shells from Lebanon

Claim: Iran Directly Backed Attack

Report: 300 people dead, ~1,900 wounded

Netanyahu Vows Revenge Like Never Before

‘This is our 9/11’

Palestinians celebrate their return after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Barrages of rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip at dawn as militants from the blockaded Palestinian enclave infiltrated Israel, with at least one person …

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched unprecedented terror attack on Israel, which has included the firing of thousands of rockets into Israel and the infiltration of Israeli territory by land, air, and sea.



Thursday, October 5, 2023

Gathering the Fish Slayers of Northeast Kansas...

 As usual, I'm running a little late.

I still intend on introducing to the 4th member of our little fishing club, Shawn, but I figured I'd better get last Sunday's trip off the table while it's still semi-fresh in my mind.

As usual it all started out fueling up and picking up a couple bags of ice around 5:00 am then I was off to gather up the crew.

You know you have good grandkids if they're willing to get up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning to hang out with you.

Anyway, the trip we left Topeka, headed north to Nebo State Lake just a little east of Holton. Took dirt roads to Valley Falls where we tried a couple spots on the Deleware. South to the Lecompton boat ramp on the Kansas river, then ended up back in town on the Kansas river off of Lower Silver Lake Road.

All the and we only ended up with three fish, a frog, and several minnows the kids caught by hand. And yes, Jack was a little pissed when I wouldn't let him take them home with him.

Sorry Jack.

So, instead of me babbleing on about it I thought maybe I'd just post a few photos I took along the way. 

















I'm going to have to ask you guys to bear with me as I struggle to remember how the whistles and bells on the ol blog work.

I wanted to run the phots side by side.

Well, that didn't happen.

Anyway, that pretty much wraps up another exciting gathering of our exclusive "Fish Slayers of Northeast Kansas" club.

Till next time...

Kevin McGinty


Monday, October 2, 2023

Friday, September 29, 2023

Meet Brenden...

 Today I'd like to introduce to what I like to refer to as the goof of the bunch. This kid is quick with some off the wall wise crack regardless of the situation.

Brenden is 14-years-old and has some really big hopes and dreams. Here while back he was talking about applying for a part-time job at McDonalds. Hey, a kid's gotta start somewhere, right?

Anyway, I asked him if he'd ever heard back from them and he told me he had but they said he wasn't qualified for the job. 

Not qualified? But Brenden, McDonald's hires and trains thousands of kids every year. He said he understood that but he had applied for a managers position.

He want's to take advanced math classes in school to help prepare himself for when he goes to work for NASA.

I remember when I was looking for my first can as a kid I was looking for $200 and $300 jewels. Granted, that was a long time ago.

Not Brenden, he's looking at new car ads on his phone. In his way of thinking there's no reason he should buy something somebody else either didn't want or had so many problems with they got rid of it. 

He does have a point but he also completely glosses over the fact that he has zero visible means of actually paying for one.

And that my friends is why I say the kid has big hopes and dreams and also why I refer to him as a goof.


Brenden's a good kid, he's a lot of help out on the river, and a vital part of this little club of ours...

Kevin McGinty


Thursday, September 28, 2023

Introducing the charter members of our little club...

 I suppose if I'm going to be talking about this little fishing club of ours I probably ought to start off by introducing you to our charter members.

I'll go ahead and start with the youngest and work my way up from there.

At 4-years-old, Jack aka Jack Attack is possibly the rowdiest of the bunch. He's a ball of fire and depending on where we're going he's usually the first one to the river of creek bank. He does have a problem staying focused on the task at hand which is supposed to be the pursuit of those elusive channel cats.


 I put a 1 oz. sinker (no hook yet) on his little fishing pole so he could practice casting it and he's actually getting pretty good at it. He's convinced he's ready for a hook and really wants to bait it himself. I'm not so sure.

It doesn't usually take all that long before he loses interest in casting his line either into the water or getting it tangled up in the bushes and he's ready to go exploring.

There's never a shortage of clam shells which have become his sea shell collection. He gets a kick out of finding an occasional snail shell. But his all time favorite and prized collection has to be the dinosaur bones he's collected along the way.

I always pack a cooler full of sodas, juices, and other assorted what nots but he prefers to chomp on the ice.

Weird kid.

For several reasons I've avoided taking his two older sisters with us, mainly because I wanted to see how Jack was going to handle it. Anyway, I asked him last week if we should take the girls along with us.

He got quiet, then he looked at me and said, "Pop-Pop" I think it'd be okay as long as they wore their life jackets in case the fall in the water.

I could be that our little fishing club will be gaining a couple new members in the coming weeks...

Kevin McGinty


Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Introducing the charter members of our exclusive "Fish Slayers of Northeast Kansas" club...

 Good morning boys and girls. 

A lot of things have changed since we last spoke.

For instance, in the last two years my entire view of the world and my priorities have all changed drastically.

As far as the world goes, well, there's nothing I can do to keep it from going straight to hell and to tell you the truth, I just don't give a damn anymore.

My wife and I have both had major, life altering health challenges we've had to deal with and in the last month we've become great-grandparents.

Obviously, my plan to stay young and vibrant forever has failed miserably so I've decided to spend whatever time I have left on the world of ours hanging out with my grandkids.

In the crazy world they're growing up in I want to give them something to look forward to and some day down the road something to look back on and put a smile on their faces.

I want em  to remember back when their crazy ass grandpa drug them out of bed ar 5:00 in the morning in search of those elusive channel cats he's always chasing.

I want em to remember watching the sun come up from some river bank I drug them to before the sun came up. 


I want em to remember slipping and sliding in the mud.

I want em to remember packing and unpacking the truck as we head from one fishing hole to the next.

I want em to remember the frustration of not catching anything and the excitement of finally landing a big one.

I want em to remember the dirt roads we traveled and the wild turkeys and the deer we've seen along the way.

And I want em to always remember grandpa bitching at them to put down their phones.

Yeah, I want em to remember it all.

So, every other weekend I make the rounds, pick them up and head out to whatever river or creek suits me on that particular day and make a day of it.

Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not.

They don't know it yet but catching those elusive channel cats really isn't really the point.

The point of the whole thing is building memories.

Because when it's all said and done material things and assorted stuff will come and go but memories, if done right can last em a lifetime...

Kevin McGinty





Monday, April 24, 2023

 Back The Blue



For a long time now, law enforcement has been attacked by the radical left.  There's bad apples (in a manner of speaking) in all walks of life all across the board - does that mean that the entire human population needs to be exterminated? Common sense has to enter sometime.  

We need our law enforcement. 

Yes there are some law enforcement officers who have zero business being in law enforcement, but what about the decent honorable men and women in law enforcement?!  

It is honorable to see several Back the Blue flags on people's automobiles, in front yards of houses.  This movement caught the attention of our state lawmakers.

Just this afternoon while combing the net for blog topics, our own local KSNT has this article. 

https://www.ksnt.com/capitol-bureau/back-the-blue-license-plates-approved-in-kansas/

'Back the Blue' license plates approved in Kansas

Yes, our Governor Kelly penned off on House Bill 2346 for Back the Blue license plates. 

This is a good thing but much more needs to be done to show the due respect that law enforcement deserves.  

Solo Expedition...

 I haven't really talked about it much but every other weekend I usually head out by myself. It's usually the day I seek out new fis...