One of the great things about Louisville is the Ohio River, and the fishing opportunity’s it offers.

Yesterday I went down to the rapids under the old railroad bridge and walked all the way from the Louisville side to the Jeffersonville Indiana side. During summer pool the water gets down low enough where making the trek is totally possible but it’s a long hike. Most of the people that are there fishing come in from the interpretive center in Jeffersonville.

I didn’t fish because I was there just to hike and do some photography. But I challenge any man to see another person fishing and not stop to watch. I seen some pretty nice fish being caught!

One guy was banking some nice catfish, while still another guy was pulling big drums right out of the white water with a cast net. Most of the people that hit the river to fish bring serious gear. You wont last long here with a panfish setup. The rods and reels need to be heavy duty and so does the line. About the minimum test strength for the river would be 20lb test. And then unless it’s a modern spyderwire or something like that there is going to be a lot of breaks.

The fishing season generally starts mid April and runs all summer long with the better fishing earlier in the year. If the waters to high an entire season can be ruined. I like seeing it get down where the fossil beds are exposed and the fish are concentrated into the rapids. Early in the year they’re trying to move upstream and they pile up right at the dam and it’s easy pickings while the water is down. It’s not uncommon during those early spring conditions to feel the fish brushing up against your legs and you stand in the white water trying to catch them.

Checking out the overflow

Caution is the word of the day when you’re on the Mighty Ohio. It can be a very dangerous place, and what can look Innocent enough can turn out to be fairly dangerous. Always cross any running water with extreme caution, and don’t take your eyes off any children that you have with you. The undertow in the river can sweep anything or anybody away in a brief second.

No trip to the falls is complete without going over by the overflow in the wickets and checking it out. It’s not always possible but yesterday all conditions were just right so I checked it out.So go check out the Falls of the Ohio! It’s a great place to go for a hike or some fishing.

Leave us a comment if you’ve ever fished at the Falls and tell us how you did !!

I never knew refinancing could be such a nightmare. But then, we’ve never refinanced our home before either.

This is the only house me and my wife have ever owned and we’ve been here for 8 years now and according to all the calculations we’ll be coming out ahead.

But God it’s been a pain in the butt.

The only saving grace was finding a good local broker to handle things for us named John Moel.

Of course we read all of the articles about shopping rates to get the best deal possible. We checked out the big outfits like lending tree online. Then some others that we see advertised locally here in Louisville. I got to the point where I thought to myself “If I hear one more mortgage industry acronym I’m gonna scream”.

I mean c’mon already! How the hell should I know what the hell HELOC means? We talked to this one lady that seemed like she was more intent on impressing us with the amount of confusing acronyms she could throw at us instead of helping us borrow some money against our home.

Then when I’d stop her and politely ask… pardon my foolishness and all, but what is an ARM? She took way to much pleasure in telling me. It was as though she was seeing herself as some all knowing mortgage business oracle that was imparting special knowledge that nobody else possessed. When she told us that an ARM was an adjustable rate mortgage my wife asked her “then why didn’t you just say that”? The poor gal looked at my wife and says “oh that’s just industry lingo”. The wife informed her that she wasn’t interested in industry lingo and to please just use English. It was at that point that I knew we wouldn’t be using the nice over educated lady or her companies services.

A guy at my wife’s office suggested we call his buddy John Moel . I have to admit I was skeptical because John works from home and has in own small brokerage, and on top of that the first thing I thought when I first saw him is he looks young. But in the end I’m glad we did, and that’s why I’m plugging him here on my blog. Not only is John blessed with great genetics, he’s a very, very knowledgeable young man, and very masterful of his trade.

He actually came by to meet us and I found out he’s a military veteran like myself and could instantly tell how he took pride in having served. He quoted us numbers much better than we were getting from the big corps and banks and I also like that our money was staying local. I don’t know why I distrust large banks and corporations but I do. None of that with John. Me and the wife were totally at ease except for one thing that was bothering me so I asked John. Why don’t you use acronyms like ARM and HELOC as you’re describing your services?

He told me that he finds them annoying !! We were sold.

It’s all over now, and last weekend we had John and his young wife over for the 4th. We had a lot to celebrate.

So if you’re going to refinance the lessons I learned are to do your due diligence. Research everything thoroughly, and talk to several banks. Last but no least don’t count out your local mortgage brokers. Your best deal may be with one of them, and chances are good that somebody you know, knows one that they can recommend to you. If not and you’re here local, give John a call. Tell him Terry and Barb Mason sent you 🙂