VolFan

Good luck! 70 on its way to 90 here right now…with + humidity. Already dreaming of our Fall which is like your summer…

Ah - I see what you’re referencing…Didn’t that used to be called a Rage Shad? That I have used with limited success; they seemed to like to roll and/or slowly spin on retrieve.

I haven’t used the Rage Bug (is the minnow version a thing?) but I have used the Space Monkey extensively for the same thing and can say that it is almost magic.

The amount of musky you put on this page is just insane. We are not worthy!

That is not subtle, but it is one of my all-time favorite baits.

From there I’d probably start in the deep creek cut just east of there in the south side. Drag up the creek or get midway and anchor and let the fish come to you as they feed. Night’s a little different animal. Definitely fish around any dock that have fish lights or cleaning stations.

Big wake baits like a rat or baby possum fished parallel a few feet off the bank and/or over submerged cover. Extra points if it’s a little stormy or windy. MS Slammer in whatever size you are comfortable with works too, either waked or fished like an OG Rapala minnow. It is just so much fun.

I do catfish on a regular basis on the Catawba chain. The basics are a Santee rig with a 3 oz dragging weight and a 4/0 circle hook and float on the leader. I make my leaders 2-3 ft long. 90% of the time I use plain chicken breast for bait. I don’t know why it works, it just works. Small chicken nugget-sized pieces. Drag around .5 mph around channel breaks and bends and flats off of same. Breaks with sand to rock/gravel should be good this time of year as they start feeding on mussels. If you tell me where you’re launching on Hickory I’ll look at a topo and tell you where I’d go.

I have really like Suffix ProMix in a few different weights. YMMV

Buy the dang boat. Learn on it safely within limits and you can update at a later date if you ‘need’ and can afford it. There’s alway money but never more time!

I have days where I can hit anything and everything and I have days where I couldn’t hit the water if I fell out of the boat. No blue pill for that, just practice and patience. Still fishing whether you’re doing it well or not.

Fins 40G is the best I’ve used, but again it’s where you’re comfortable price point-wise.

Well if we’re not feeding the Knife Monkey and you want something easier to hone/sharpen with, I suggest a Tumbler sharpener/hone. Can I get it sharper with some longer work? Yes. But I’m cutting potatoes not shaving a baby, so a good sharp edge is good enough.

I have a block of Wustoff knives that I have had for a quarter century. There’s not a lot I can’t do with the 8” chef’s knife or a 6” santoku. There are other knives in the block including a boning knife but those two are what I do 90% of the work with from breaking down big pieces of meat to making a salad. You can get them in various grades at Target or any kitchen store. All that said, when I worked in a commercial kitchen we used Zwilling and Victorinox and those are great values with very comfortable non-slip handles.

Was there another blip this morning or was that operator error on my part?

Wood is good - boats have been built of it for hundreds of years!

I had faith in “The Stache” - he’s fixed many issues over the years…

This guy and my wife. They don’t go with me a ton but those are the best days. He just got his drivers license so it’ll be even more sporadic now, but he gives me a few great trips every year.

It’s a polygraph, not a lie detector. When used appropriately, they are very accurate and scientifically supportable. They register your body’s physiological stress response in various manners. They are not magic and they do not detect lies. They give the examiner data that can be compared and interpreted based on your physiological response. Anything more or less than that is just conjecture and misinformation.

I will double his offer but you have to leave your waypoints…

whispering…. Dooooooo itttt….

I have two 3:16 Workhorse Glides that I bought at retail. I also have a few of their wake baits. They are phenomenal baits and phenomenally expensive. They are well-tuned and works as advertised.

If it’s a 2-stroke (which it appears to be), run the proper mix through it and BOOM cylinders are lubricated. Any lube prior to turning it over is going to be a waste once you turn it over, if not before. If you’re going to cycle it yourself without starting some Mystery Oil in the cylinders is great. But if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.

The LiFePO4 boat battery is not the same as your tool batteries and/or most (not all) the batteries that had fire issues. Now that said, you should 100% ( and also legally in most states) have a fire extinguisher onboard.

Medium action spinning rod and 2500/3000 Shimano. Spend as little or as much as you want. 6 lb Suffix ProMix and off you you go.