islandbass

Welcome aboard and greetings from the Pacific Northwest!

@Motoboss Indeed! And I was all nervous and “scared,” (of messing one of my favorite rods) at first. 😆 Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

@PBBrandon: What a coincidence. I dropped my rod and the tip top guide also popped out just yesterday. Im telling you from experience that is is not hard at all, and this will be the second time I’ll be doing this. And if I can do it, anyone can. Hope you can get the tip from St Croix. My rod is an old Cabela’s rod so I’m just going to roll with a Fuji replacement kit. Good luck on your repair!

I would recommend that you find out what the max weight your rack can handle. The one I have one on an suv it can only handle 100 lbs (according to the people who installed it and they knew we were going to use for 2 kayaks) and the two kayaks are just under that. True fishing kayaks tend to be heavier than their non-fishing cousins. However, I look to see if the truckers hitch works for you. That’s what I use. They have kits that come with everything you need to secure the ends of the kayak that will be anchored under your car’s hood and trunk. No special tools need. I highly recommend that you factor in the time it takes to load and unload the kayaks into your trip. Probably 20-30 minutes to load and unload until you get proficient and not only that put putting away the ropes and porting your kayaks to the water. It sucks up a lot of time. You might even consider getting a kayak dolly (I made one from PVC pipes) to ease transport. It sure beats dragging them. I haven’t used my kayak (non fishing) to go fishing yet and not sure if I want to for now. Good luck!

As a retired military brat, I approve this message.

@TOXICWhat a great story. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful tradition 😎

It is likely the lure got moved by the current or didn’t settle where you think it did. You might to call the USS enterprise and tell Data change the scanner setting to search for bait forms instead of life forms. He just might find it. One a serious note, I hope you find it.

If that’s thin, then my line is thin enough to be invisible when viewed from the side. I realized within my first 3 years of fishing thinner diameter lines seemed to get me more bites. So I developed the axiom, “islandbass will use the thinnest diameter, lightest lines he can get away with.” And it works for me quite well. We have a winter season in my neck of the woods and as a result, I’m forced to ponder and contemplate on fishing, analyzing and over analyzing to the point of getting cabin fever. One such result is that thinnest/lightest line you can get away with in actuality IS the appropriate line for the task at hand. Go figure. Winter has been over for a while now. So in @txchaser’s timber case, if I were to face that, perhaps 22lb is realistically the lightest line I can get away with. In my area, my scenarios allow me to use line as light as 6# test (DS) thru 14-17# mono for my heaviest cover which is lily pads at the worst.

Prayers sent and more to come.

@Crankin4Bass The standard in the pacific nw is the Siwash hook. Gamakatsu makes siwash hooks. They are solid and strong. You will not be disappointed if you buy siwash from a reputable hook making company.

We have to do this for some rivers because of regs. @Scott F Nailed it. a solid hook that we use in the northwest is the siwash hook. depending on the size of the treble size 2-6 generally will fit the bill. Salmon worthy spinners might see a size one. I make my own inline spinners and I always use split ring to join the body to the hook. Why? 1) You can easily change out a hook. 2) I think the split ring helps to greatly reduce the leverage a larger fish has when they try to throw the hook (pure opinion). 3) Sometimes that wee bit of extra length might help to catch those short strikers.

Welcome @CasketSix! Greetings from the Pacific Northwest, and yes, we have bass here too, lol. Interestingly enough, you said what my sentiments were when I discovered this site, 20 years ago this month. April 2005! I think it makes me an “old timer” lol. 😝

Wow. I remember him. Sorry to hear such news. May he rest in peace.

Hang in there, MN. We’re all in your corner. More good thoughts and prayers going to you.

@MN Fisher I am so sorry to hear that you’re going through this. Sending you positive thoughts, prayers and a quick recovery and thorough healing of all that ails you.

I like and use Terro but this time of year when the ants start showing up in the house. I use an ortho spray well I think it’s by ortho that comes with a hand pump and you spray about a 1’ ring around the walls of your house both inside and out. It has worked every time for me and the spray seems to hold up for the whole year from the moment of application.

First, I would recommend figuring the cover and conditions you will be facing most often and share it here. Without this information, you might as well spin the bottle and hope for the best, lol. For example, a flipping stick as @IYAOYAS recommended is generally a good idea, but in my area, I will never ever need a flipping rig, so as much I would love to add one to my arsenal, it wouldn’t be more than a glorified dust collector on the rack. That is just one example of what would normally be a decent recommendation might not suit the conditions you commonly face.

I think the clues are already apparent and I’d bet a floating rapala minnow that you also already know deep in your heart and mind. My dad is about the same age, turning 85 this year. We pulled the keys a few years ago. Dads safety was a higher priority than his “freedom” The thought of others also getting harmed is scary.

Wow. That is some serious damage. Give. That you are using mono, the only two things I can guess to do such damage is: 1) perhaps that rod tip was not properly tempered to make it more durable. 2) the water is extra silty and that silt while on your line is digging into the rod tip. I can’t see a crappie jig doing that much damage. Just develop a habit to stop retrieving well before the lure can even have a chance to hit the tip. Fortunately, replacing the tip is fairly easy and straight forward. I had to do this for my own UL rod. The Fuji or BPS rod tip kits should have one of the tips fit just right if you don’t want to go through the hassle of finding the exact one that is probably going to have the same thing happen if it too is not properly tempered.

@CaughtMeABiggun Oh no, you’ve turned off your bait monkey targeting computer, lol. There’s nothing like bang for the buck that Shimano offers. I haven’t personally fished with an SLX since I don’t need any reels at the moment. I have the curado 201bsf, curado 101d, curado dhsv or something like that, a Cardiff 301a and a 2500 shimano symetre that are used to this very day. If anyone is curious as to why I use 201s, it’s because my reels need to pull double duty against salmon and steelhead. Their line capacity also has greater potential to “keep me in the game” if I’m forced to break off a long snag. I am a shore angler.

Maybe in the old days, but if the two piece is from a reputable company, it is going to be very likely that most won’t be able to discern a difference. I have one piece bass rod weapons but fish 90% of the time with my 2-piece rods out of convenience for being able to fit in the trunk. I’ve been fishing this way for about 15 years now. @ABU is overpriced, @bulldog1935, and @WRB pretty much summed it up.

Just one, WA state. 😮😇

I’m liking that news! 😇

@Catt wow. Sorry I’m late to the party and I’m glad it wasn’t cancer. More prayers sent your way! 😇

Dastardly 😂