A-Jay

Nice rig, but here is something to think about. And this is not going to win me any friends, but it's the dirty thruth. The two biggest mistakes first-time buyers make with 18-foot aluminum Deep-Vs are being underpowered on the main motor and helpless in the wind on the trolling motor. That rig is rated for a 150 hp, and it will perform significantly better with it. You'll get a much better hole shot, get on plane faster, and truly get the most out of the hull. That 115 hp is underpowered for this boat, which is likely exactly why it's still sitting on the lot. You'll also want a 24-volt system with at least 80 lbs of thrust on the trolling motor. A 55-lb motor is fine for flat calm conditions, but the 186 SC has high-sided aluminum gunwales that act like a massive sail in the wind. A 55-lb motor will continuously max out its power just trying to fight a light 10 to 15 mph breeze or a mild river current. Please don't let the low price and special 10 % discount have you making a purchase you'll regret. It's a 3-year-old dog they can't unload because it's rigged to sell to a first-time boat owner like you and not an experienced boat owner/operator. My advice as a very experienced boater: pay more for a properly set up boat, motor & trailer the first time rather than doing damage control later. Because you will. There are a few hundred threads about this subject here. Finally, go over and have a meet & greet with the service manager. Because after the sale, that's who you'll be dealing with. Not the sales staff. Good luck, and I hope you get the rig you want A-Jay

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? The age-old question. The one so many bassheads, including myself, ask themselves at least once a trip, and oftentimes it’s quite a bit more than that. I’m referring to when we are on a spot, whether it was producing or not, we’ve given it what in our own minds is ample opportunity to produce, and it hasn’t. So, do we stay or do we go? Clearly no hard and fast ‘rules’ can be drawn upon during these deals, but here’s my version of it. I am going to start off with a couple of ‘deciding factors’ that often cause me to lean one way or the other. Seasonal pattern and what I’m fishing, so boat position. Early in the season, before and, of course, during the spawn, fish are looking & wanting to come shallow. Not exactly a new flash and something we don’t even need FFS to figure out. This can be one scenario where I am often willing to wait it out on a known or recently producing spot or area. And if I do choose to relocate, I’m generally not going very far, like maybe just 2 or 3 cast lengths one way or the other, depending on what type of structure/cover I am working with. If I’m feel particularly confident that the fish are ‘coming to me’ (eventually), I may Talon down, shut everything off (electronics-wise), and have a sandwich while the area ‘settles down a little.’ Might be just enough to have a few more fatties roll right into casting distance. Sometimes it happens by itself if I need to retie or perhaps change baits or hardware. On-scene weather conditions can & do play a role here as well. Especially skinny water, 10 ft or less. An increase or decrease in cloud cover and/or wind speed can affect my decision-making matrix. Forecast or not, if it’s been a sunny day and clouds move in, I may wait them out if I can see an end in sight. Reverse can be said if it’s been a cloudy skies deal. Bites in the wind rarely get better if it flattens out, so I’ll usually not put too much extra time into an area if and when it goes flat calm. But going from calm to windy is a whole different ballgame and one I like to play. Chuck & wind, baby. As the season progresses and the spawn is done & over with, the local brown bass population on the bigger inland lakes makes themselves very scarce by spreading out all over the place. This goes straight into summer and is the time of year when I do The Most are moving around and will only stay on spots very briefly. Except for some early morning or late afternoon topwater off the end of long, deep main lake points, I’m almost always fishing deep(er). Trying to focus on targets of deep bottom cover (rocks/wood) that could hold bait/bass. If I can get bait in front of them, they’ll usually eat. Maxscent flatworm is a confidence bait here for me. Need decent conditions; some sun helps; boating traffic does not. It’s easy to admit that this IS the toughest fishing of the year for me. Accordingly, I don’t spend a whole lot of time on these bigger lakes from late June through most of July. But sometime in the first week or two of August, things get much, much better. Bigger bass start showing up shallow again. It’s almost always on flats. They seem to be a bit more scattered/spread out, but there are some real brutes up there. And they are looking to EAT. As the shallow weeds die back and the bait fish become more and more exposed, the fishing just keeps getting better. Almost becomes the same type of deal for me as in the spring. Fish are coming to me so I don’t move much. But that’s sort of a relative thing; I still need to cover water, but it's just over one or two special flats. So I’m not running all over the lakes, just doing a lot of casting. From August to say mid-September, it’s all about horizontal moving baits. Could be topwater early and just about whatever you want to throw after that: vibrating jigs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, swim jigs, A-Rigs, squarebills & rattlebaits. Some of the best flats are also the biggest. A basshead could spend an entire day just crisscrossing one flat with different baits at various depths. And this one does exactly that. So in this case, I stay. Come October, the weeds have died back completely, the waters cooled off considerably, and the bass start looking deeper for their wintertime haunts. If the weather cooperates, and I can fish the deepest flats that have hard cover effectively, this can be the best time of the year for me for sheer numbers of 3-5 lb smallies. Blade baits & swimbaits on a jighead are big-time players for me now. I’ll stay on a spot long enough to get a couple of biters and then hop over to the next spot and do the same deal. It’s usually late enough in the season where boating traffic is not an issue (everyone’s deer hunting), and the few boats on the water are targeting walleye and rarely on anything I’m looking to get on. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Fish Hard A-Jay

Lake Baccarac Lodge is widely considered the gold standard for trophy bass fishing in Mexico. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, this world-class destination caters to serious anglers seeking double-digit largemouth bass. #grande Stocked with pure Florida-strain largemouth bass, the lake consistently produces 8- to 12-pound giants, with real opportunities for lifetime-best catches. 122 Days and a wake-up. A-Jay

I do not have a Combat Stick but have been following its historical journey since it was first introduced. Mostly because I'm hoping the original becomes available, but right now it's all but impossible to find. https://tackletour.com/reviewegheraglesleopard.html Besides the above, there have been at least two other versions of this vaulted blank on the market. They have been received with mixed reviews. - Like everything, I guess. Either way, when a vendor makes virtually ZERO mention regarding the blank material on a stick where the blank IS THE WHOLE show - I'd recommend avoiding it, regardless of price. https://www.scheels.com/p/04317822802/?store=&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=22441885364&cq_con=194498675266&cq_term=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22441885364&gclid=CjwKCAjwxITRBhBYEiwA6mZm7emzkS9ylNV5XqA6BmWQY0yC6J2tLRdGPoj2AwxKGSNos3jwMwiu2RoC0M0QAvD_BwE and Evergreen Baits23 Combat StickCombat Stick Boasting sleek, cutting-edge cosmetics, the Evergreen Brett Hite Combat Stick Casting Rods are covered with a black EVA grips and green and grey highlights. Sacrificing nothing in-terms oI would consider this one below a viable option. https://www.tackletour.com/reviewegjackhammer.html But what Scheels is currently selling seems like something else. Good Luck A-Jay

The bass will tell you how you're doing, not the trampoline or whether or not you liked it. Yard practice is good to get us started. Then it's time to fine-tune the presentation on the water. That's where the confidence comes from. Finally if & when a presentation happens to miss the mark, we say "Fish it like you meant it". Caught more than a few by making a 'bad cast". Sort of like getting a giant bite while picking out a backlash. Not that I ever do that . . . . Keep at it. 🤓 A-Jay

The intercostal healing continues without setback. Accordingly, the rehab-style training also continues. Today was Workout Day 2. I increased the intensity slightly while reducing the volume—adding a little weight and increasing the time under tension with a few more reps per set. The volume drop came by performing 2 working sets rather than 3. This one felt pretty good while allowing sufficient time to recover and hopefully continue to heal. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Yup, 10 years. Also, if I could design ( and afford) a quality fiberglass rig that was super similar to the Pro-V Bass, including the 25 inch transom, I would seriously consider it. Would need a V8 300 hp for sure though. To compensate for the extra weight. Plus I like to go fast. 😎 A-Jay

I retired at 47 in 2007. I bought and fished exclusively from an Old Town Canoe for 9 years. In 2016, I sold my pride & joy GTO and used the funds to help purchase a new Lund 1875 Pro-V bass. I took on about half the value of the rig as debt and never really 'felt' it. This Lund and I have been together now for 10 years. Shared so many just incredible memories. The kind I dreamed about as a young boy has actually happened while fishing from this rig. If and when a person has the time & the means - I vote "Yes - Buy The Boat Now !" Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. A-Jay

I'm sure there are thousands of very dedicated folks working for USPS. However, they might not be part of the services provided in this area apparently. USPS here is rarely an Advantage. I prefer UPS (and that's saying something), FedEx and even DHL. When the option is available, I will almost always select & pay for a 'fast' delivery time. And that depends on what they are charging, what I'm ordering, and which provider is handling it. Rods & Reels ALWAYS come at least 'second-day air,' sometimes even 'next day' if it's early in the week and not close to the weekend. I figure the less time they have it - the better. YMMV A-Jay

It's been a little hectic on the home front lately. Nothing really bad, just busy stuff that comes up. I haven't been able to venture out on several of the The Best Lake Menderchucks at all this spring, as the historic flood damage trashed all the boating accesses, so they are CLOSED. And will be for the foreseeable future. Ginormous bummer. However, this is the time of year when my wife and I paddle around Lake Minichuck and catch a few green bass. As noted above, I'm a little late getting my act together and prepping the Old Town Canoe. Pulled it out and checked the trailer the other day. Resulted in new wheels & tires as well as new (pre-greased) hubs coming tomorrow in the mail. Also rewired a new plug into the deal, as the lights on the trailer were operating intermittently. The original connector had at least one broken wire. All good now. I'll be setting the rest of this up and expect to be floating maybe later this or next week. And man do I need it. More to follow. A-Jay

May did see a few additions made here. Now that the month of June settles in, the post-spawn bite should begin to ramp up in many places. At some point, I have to expect that the Bass Resource angling assassins will take advantage of this time of abundance. While early success often sees the ladies with big heads and a Jenny Craig-like body. As the weeks progress, those same fish usually start to fill out their frame. The results of hooksets on the more full-figured fish could start showing up here anytime. #checkyourdrag 😎 A-Jay

It sure is Thanks. Also gets me back on the water sooner, like Thursday sooner. Good Times A-Jay

So some good news on the injury front. I think that I made a mistake in my self-diagnosis. Instead of a rib cartilage tear, I think now that this was an intercostal muscle strain. Because the intercostal muscles sit directly between the ribs and layered over the costal cartilage, injuries to either tissue present with nearly identical symptoms. A major clue that I am dealing with a strain rather than a tear is the timeline of my recovery: cartilage has a notoriously poor blood supply and typically takes 6 weeks or more to heal, whereas mild-to-moderate muscle strains often begin showing noticeable improvement within just a few days. I am glad that I am in the later grouping. Either way, I've been able to get back in the home gym. I'm still taking it slow, meaning way low on the resistance & intensity with a big focus on smooth and deliberate movements. Unless there is some unforeseen major setback, I think I'm going to recover just fine. Which is a huge relief. Ran the GoPro for this one. So this is what my Total Body one workout centered around intercostal rehab looks like. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Not today we didn't. 😉 A-Jay

There's been a possible pivot. While conducting due diligence on a replacement snow blower, a different model is piquing my interest. The newest and closest Honda model to what I recently rehomed is the HSS1332 ATD. Totally a solid machine and one that is still a strong contender to be the next winter storm mover here at the 45th parallel. However - I came across the HSM1336i - sort of insane. This is about as big a unit as there is—without a seat and an in-flight movie. The nearest authorized dealer/service center is just under 90 minutes from me. (like everything else up here) Planning a meet & greet with them maybe next week. My last unit was basically a toy compared to this monster. I have the means & the space; the question is, do I have the need ? Well, I need something because right now I've got nothing. Either way, at some point in the next month or so I'll be taking a white glove delivery. Just not sure how much room I'll be giving up in the garage this coming winter. More to follow. A-Jay

Today marks 5 years with Tank, and looking back at the journey in this thread, it’s clear he’s reached the absolute peak of his powers. Every dog we’ve ever fostered or raised has brought something special to the table, but the bond with this one hits differently. It’s a relationship built on a deep level of mutual respect and trust, but with a unique element that I can only describe as limitless. He takes the best traits of a canine companion and amplifies them. Tank doesn't just meet expectations; he blows right past them with a disproportionate amount of heart, focus, and athleticism. He’s dialed into the daily rhythm of our lives in a way that feels almost telepathic. Happy 5th Birthday, Tank. Here’s to hitting the ground running into your best years yet. A-Jay

Thanks - Me too. Although that particular cryptic suggestion remains out of plain view until I drop & unfold the tailgate, the sentiment remains active, uninterrupted, and in effect 24/7/365. A-Jay

What do you have tied on in the summer? I'll let you know when we get there. It was 39 degrees here this morning. #notsummer. A-Jay

Completed the finishing touches yesterday. The Bed Rug is a standard addition to all my trucks. However, since the addition of the Multi-Pro Tailgate, I had to come up with a way to include the folding-down portion of the unit to the installation. A straight edge & a razor knife, some heavy-duty double-sided tape, and remembering to measure twice and cut once, and it was done. Full disclosure—did this to the last two rigs, and number three was a charm: meaning I think this one came out the best. Offers a very comfortable place to lean against while working with anything in the truck bed. That padded bottom section still folds down another time, making it a very useful 'step' to get my OG body up into the bed when needed. The factory 2-inch lift doesn't sound like a lot, but Decade Six says otherwise. A-Jay

An update on my latest challenge. It happened as I was tightening a mower blade nut on my riding rig. Lying on the ground, as I exerted force bringing the top & bottom rackets together. It's a movement where I have a lot of mechanical advantage and can torque it pretty good. Felt the pop in the middle of my chest, and I knew exactly what it was. Symptoms were the classic torn or, at the very least, strained rib cage cartilage. The first several days and especially the nights included some discomfort. Breathing and sleeping were compromised. Got past that stage and am currently 'taking it easy.' Which is not one of my strong points. There's no real pain, which makes judging my actions the next few weeks a little tricky. I definitely want to get this healed, but I'm in no real rush. Patience & self-discipline will drive the train. It's an area that doesn't get much in the way of blood flow. Which means 'healing' is at a snail's pace. Not wanting to settle into a complete inactive state. So after letting the initial inflammation and weakness reduce, I started back in the home gym with what I'm calling my Rehab Workouts. They are basically the same deal I was performing before the injury. Just a super light and low-intensity version of each. Part of the fun of being an OG is we rarely ever come completely back from an injury. There's always something left behind. Which is OK, as long as I do get back. Quality of life type stuff. Soon I plan on running the GoPro in the home gym again. If nothing else, just to document my efforts as I travel the road to recovery. So there it is. #borninfiftynine and feeling it. A-Jay

I hear you loud and clear, and I am a member of that club as well. The point of my previous response here, which I'm pretty sure I did a poor job of conveying, is that IME spinnerbaits have a life expectancy. Regardless of brand or price. And what's sort of frustrating, at least for me, is that the better a spinnerbait works, the shorter its life span. And by 'life span' I mean that moment when a fish crushes a spinnerbait and either on the hookset or shortly thereafter, I 'lose' the bass. After reeling in while using some colorful language, I get back half a bait, usually just a wire with a couple of pathetic blades hanging off it. I really prefer to avoid this scenario completely, which means I'm retiring baits that get bent up pretty good a few times but still "might' still fish OK. The baits I fish are far from anything special or magical. Strike King Burners, Freedom Freaks, and the Megabass V9 I think it's called. I am also dealing with a fairly robust pike population, and as mentioned previously, they love fast & shiny and really do a number on any bait. Most of the time I'm using a trace of wire in front of my spinnerbaits just so that I can enact revenge on those toothy bahstards. So, that's all I've got. Good Luck. A-Jay

Enjoying the new truck smell today ~ A-Jay

I liked the 2024 unit, but after crossing my fingers for a year or so hoping that I wouldn't be part of the recall, it didn't hurt my feelings too bad to see it go. But that's all in the past, and I love it when a plan comes together. Other than the 'blacked out' vehicle emblem package, on the outside this one looks a lot like the last two. However, it's under the hood where the biggest difference lies. The performance Cat Back, active & tuned exhaust combined with the upgraded performance air intake gives me a few more ponies to play with should the need arise. Sounds good too. Looking forward to dropping the Pro-V Bass on the Rapid Hitch just to see how that goes. These are the good old days. A-Jay

Durable spinnerbaits are like durable swimbaits—they last forever. Mostly because they get no bites. The bass we are targeting with our spinnerbaits can & will eventually completely mangle the wire on any bait. So I can purchase a bait that has a wire; I could tow my truck with, and it will last forever. But after putting a few mutant and angry smallies in the net, you have to expect the bait is going to be toast. Finally, IME, re-tuning or bending back a badly warped spinnerbait wire is a big fish loss just waiting to happen. I can get away with it once, maybe twice, but repeated 'spinnerbait tuning' is something I no longer do. Pretty sure you can guess why. So in the end, I purchase baits that get bites for me. I have a few of each of the best color patterns and sizes. When one gets wrecked, I cut it off and tie on a new one. Big fish bite windows are rare & small; I am done squandering them in an attempt to save a few bucks. When I figure the cost of owning, insuring & running my boat, motor & trailer, as well as the rig I tow it all with and the fuel for both, every bite is worth quite a bit more than the cost of a decent/quality spinnerbait. YMMV A-Jay

I chose to be totally covered up. Here and especially south of the border. Gear of choice is HUK, Columbia PFG, Simms & Buff. ALL better than sunscreen alone. More comfortable and definitely cooler. I hate sunscreen but still apply it to my face. A-Jay