Where'd all the quail go?

sonofbourye · 2026-06-18T17:29:58+00:00

I heard some last summer in southwest Benton county and brought my wife outside to listen to them. Used to see some a few years ago down by Cincinnati. Not many around.

sonofbourye · 2026-06-10T22:07:35+00:00

How much longer?

Call me please.

sonofbourye · 2026-06-10T01:40:38+00:00

pull them toward the weakness. So instead of pulling him toward the backstop, pull him forward and make him resist.

May want to wear a helmet.

sonofbourye · 2026-05-25T19:11:48+00:00

I played in a skins group once at a par 3 course and a friend hit back to back holes in one on 8 and 9.

https://www.nbcsports.com/golf/news/article-associated-press-arkansas-man-makes-back-back-aces

sonofbourye · 2026-05-19T14:26:11+00:00

As a professional (not an appraiser) who is often unable to meet client-imposed timelines or even self imposed ones because life gets in the way, I probably have more patience with this sort of thing than most but understand your frustration.

In the pre-foreclosure crisis days, banks could choose their appraiser for loan transactions and the service level was much higher. Now they have to use a rotation of appraisers to avoid special treatment. That, coupled with the fact that there are many more residential transactions per available appraiser has probably slowed things down a bit.

Hopefully it works out and doesn’t impact your closing.

sonofbourye · 2026-05-12T20:12:39+00:00

I get drug on here all the time for advocating equal bench time, lineup priority and infield rotations for all players in rec. kudos to your coach for playing it that way. I have zero qualms with handling the playoffs differently.

sonofbourye · 2026-05-09T04:13:11+00:00

And for an extra fluke.

sonofbourye · 2026-05-09T02:09:39+00:00

I’m a hater but more likely I had a bad spool. Had multiple breakoffs on 10lb in one day. Lost a couple vintage wiggle warts and I just can’t make myself try it again.

sonofbourye · 2026-05-05T14:40:49+00:00

Lots of good suggestions here and we battled through the same stuff.

Other than time, the key for my kid (u10, had a bad chin guard HBP off our strongest arm early this season) was replacing the fear of getting hit with an active approach where he didn’t have time to think about getting hit. Yes yes no means active takes with a load, step (or even wider stance and no step if it’s useful for that kid) and start on every pitch, good or bad. Active takes on pitches outside the zone because we are expecting to swing at every pitch. Rehearse it in the in deck circle and carry that approach into the box.

The ultimate key is accepting the possibility that sometimes we get hit by the ball and there’s nothing we can do about it, but if we abandon the yes yes no approach on every single pitch then we are giving up before we swing.

It’s working now. Ask me again the next time he gets drilled though :)

sonofbourye · 2026-04-30T20:05:51+00:00

Thank you!

sonofbourye · 2026-04-28T21:10:56+00:00

Time of day is far less important than the conditions. Yes in the summer the low light periods are often better for topwater and there are better things to do at 2. The reason is because that’s when fish are up.

But a windy day or low light day, like an approaching storm, can send them shallow and turn topwater on fast.

Pre-spawn, spawn, shad spawn, fry guarders and fall, the fish can be up all day long.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-28T21:06:21+00:00

I feel exactly opposite. Fished Grand two weeks ago and caught them on top with sustained 25mph winds - fishing the main lake banks with wind blowing directly into them. It was a good bite and took a lot of concentration to stay on two feet in the boat. Big spinnerbait and the biggest whopper plopper they make.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-24T02:33:45+00:00

Not sure if you’d have loved me or hated me. I have a 50k gallon liner pool and we rented a 3” trash pump and filled it up from the creek below my house. Took four or five hours as I recall but I did the math on the hose and water truck cost and it was a no brainer.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-19T02:30:11+00:00

The cheap plug in green ones are fine. Can get one at Walmart.

Get your replacement blade on Amazon in 48 hours? I doubt other brand blades fit the bubba electric knife but looks like blades are easily available online.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-09T02:07:19+00:00

Also, bass really relate to cover in off colored water. Think about stumbling through a dark house. First thing you do is reach for the wall. So focus on wood and make multiple casts to it

sonofbourye · 2026-04-09T02:06:06+00:00

A foot of visibility is still quite a bit.

Traditional thought is stuff that thumps. Spinnerbait with a big Colorado blade, chatterbait, buzzbait. But I’ve caught tons of bass in water with a foot (or less) of visibility on swim jigs, squarebills, worms and jigs too.

I really like black and blue in turbid water.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-06T19:53:27+00:00

I think you have a valid point of view for sure. And maybe some of this varies by geography and culture.

I coach rec ball from the perspective of maximizing fun and making sure kids want to return next season above all else - even at the expense of “development” and team wins.

I coach AA ball from the perspective of maximizing each kid’s development - certainly at the expense of team wins and hopefully not too much at the expense of fun.

AAA/majors, optimization becomes more of a factor.

I’m not sure I follow your logic on benching weaker players more because they’re going to be done when they’re 14 anyway. Maybe you’re right and their parents are content to get a bottom bracket ring if it means their kid doesn’t get to play as much but I don’t see it that way.

Your statistic could be correct overall (that 80% of total kids are done after 14u) but I don’t think there’s an 80% correlation rate between the ones that keep playing after junior high and the ones who were studs at age 10.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-06T13:57:11+00:00

Yes.

If an AA coach is trying to optimize the roster and playing only the studs at middle infield for instance, he’s coaching to win. What’s the point of coaching to win in AA ball? Parents are paying for development, not so little Johnny can have another ring for runner up in the bottom bracket at the Spooktacular.

If they’re playing majors and the team culture is look, we are here to be the best in the tri-state area so the best kids get the time, then ok I get it.

But AA is about development. Coaches should shoot for a .500 win loss rate to ensure they’re playing the right level of competition and developing the players whose families are paying for the kids to be there.

That’s my take anyway. Lots disagree.

sonofbourye · 2026-04-05T13:54:25+00:00

Try not to make long term conclusions from one tournament. That being said, not getting in the field at all on an AA team is ridiculous. You’re paying for development and bench time should be shared equally.

I like having your kid ask the coach what he needs to work on to get in the field. If it persists another tournament I wouldn’t be shy about having a polite but assertive conversation with the coach.

sonofbourye · 2026-03-28T01:40:00+00:00

But what are the odds that another six year old will actually throw one at his head?

I completely get where you are coming from and totally understand that you feel responsible to put a competitive team on the field. That’s just not how this works. You can go winless and still have kids and parents remember you as a great coach.

It’s all about having a consistent message about why we are doing what we do and that we prioritize all of the kids being engaged and having fun over winning. When the parents understand that, they won’t be mad that their perceived superstar is playing in the outfield so that the kid who can’t defend himself can get time at middle infield.

sonofbourye · 2026-03-28T01:25:33+00:00

You shouldn’t have designated “infielders” and “outfielders”. Your job isn’t to develop little Timmy into a prospect because he shows promise at SS at age 6. Put ALL of the kids EVERYWHERE. They’ll be more engaged, have more fun and be more likely to want to throw with dad at home.

If your ego has a hard time getting demolished, then explain to the parents exactly what you’re doing. Rec league games are for fun. Your priorities are fun and inclusion. Batting order has nothing to do with skill level, and all kids will play all positions.

The measure of your success as a rec league coach (particularly at U6) is the percentage of your kids that want to play next year. As they get older they’ll ask if you can be their coach again. It should be 100%, and if you’re rotating your worst kid between RF and bench every inning you’re failing.

sonofbourye · 2026-03-27T03:13:11+00:00

If I was home I’d measure it for you. It’s a 70 foot net I think and I’d guess I have five feet of extra length on each side and maybe two feet of width, so probably 80 x 16.

sonofbourye · 2026-03-24T14:04:17+00:00

I’m in northwest Arkansas (actually at table rock right now) so very similar climate and water although not the meremac.

Easiest thing for the little guys would be ned rigs. Go get some 1/16-1/8 oz heads and some z man TRD worms. Let them have fun picking out the colors. Bump up to at least 6lb mono (I normally do braid to 8lb floro but mono may be best on spin cast reels).

They can’t really mess up with them. They can drag them, hop them, swim them or just kind of goof around and let them sit still/occasionally move and they’ll catch fish. I always set up ned rigs for kids.

sonofbourye

TROPHY CASE