A-Jay

A-Jay

Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations." What are yours? Here are some of mine: Never caught a fish on a glide bait. Years in the gym have improved my casting accuracy & especially distance. I have seriously consider adopting a Goby. I have a full arsenal of rigs - at least that's what I'm calling it. As hard as I try, waiting up to an hour for inexperienced boaters taking forever at the ramp to launch or recover their rigs, makes me want to spoon out an eye. Just I'm not a patient man. And if you want, share what you do well too. Here's me: I am a walking bait and popper ninja. Besides being mostly addicted to the presentation, it's accounted for many trophy class bass both internationally & domestically. Jerkbaits and Vibrating jigs are my spirt baits. I can burn a big spinnerbait until one or both of my arms fall completely off my torso. I have quite a bit of boat handling skills and experience that have come from hours on the water. (insert North Atlantic). I live for the night. I will fish as hard as I can for as long as I can, unfortunately including the travel, I max out now somewhere between 6 - 8 hours, start to finish. I wear too much HUK gear. A-Jay

Yesterday makes it a week at home. All I can say is, Amazing. Lynn's just about made a full recovery (serious relative term if there ever was one). Started slowly but now she's up & about and feeling considerably more stable on her feet. Even gets out with the dogs a few times a day. We'd both love it if she could get out on the water with me again, but that still seems a little ways off. Maybe next season. We've been through several of these kind of 'events' over the years. Each one seems to get a little more serious. Lynn's desire & ability to bounce back mentally, physically & emotionally is inspiring. True Inner Strength & Courage comes in all shapes and sizes. Thank you all for watching over us. A-Jay

Took my scheduled off day plus a Fishing Day and this morning I was back in the home gym. Workout #105 for 2023 and it was Legs 1. Believing in and then focusing on mastering the basics, has proven helpful in many aspects of my life. And seems especially important when it comes to health & fitness. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

A-Jay

Hello Dave and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ I'm not a Kayak angler but am still looking forward to reading about your exploits here. Btw, what took you so long to ? j/k A-Jay

I just have no choice Man ! A-Jay

Fishing for smallmouth here, I have Never had a 100 fish day, nothing even close. 20 lb bags is a different story though, had a few of those. Usually takes 5 fish but I've done it a few times with 4. Although I've come close, I haven't been able to make it happen yet this season, but there's still some time. The previous two season were better. Best 2022 bag of brown bass came in May ~ 27.92 lbs. That one included two over 6 lbs. A first for me. Best 2021 sack came early April ~ 28.16 lbs I struggled in 2020 especially when compared to May 2019 ~ I recorded my heaviest one day 5 fish smallie bag to date ~ 29.46 lb. My personal Holy Grail would be to eclipse the 30 lb mark. I think about that a lot, especially during the long, cold, hard water winter. Either way, I dusted off and added my video efforts that recorded these most special days on the water. https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=387 https://youtu.be/3OXnPQs0bqQ?feature=shared&t=60 A-Jay

Oh, I am most certainly part of the young and dumb club. If we're lucky, eventually we figure it out. Usually the sooner the better. A-Jay

Having a moral compass. As well as the confidence and self respect to use it. A-Jay

After a useful off day yesterday, it was Pull 2 this morning. Getting plenty of the right type of calories, hydration & sleep almost always sets me up for effective training. This felt like that. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Never experienced any of that. Two possible solutions come to mind though. If the knot on the hook it too big to fit through the clip, perhaps putting a bobber stop between the clip and the weight would straighten the rig out. Would protect the knot a bit as well. A-Jay

You guys are reinventing the wheel. I have been using Parasite clips successfully for 15 years I think. Posted about it many times. Works with vitrually any hook and soft plastic. https://parasiteweights.com/product/parasite-clips/ TW has them as well. Small & Medium sizes cover 1/0 thru 5/0 ewg or round bend hooks. A-Jay

I have had some occasional sleeping challenges on & off much of my 64 years. In the long run what's helped me, even now, is living a healthy life style. My dogs allow me to 'relax', and I try to stay out of my own head. Thinking about fishing can be both a blessing & a curse, depending on the season. Hope you get it straightened out @Mobasser. A-Jay

Recently took a flyer on a couple of Daiwa Tatula Elite Casting Reels 6.3:1 to use on single hook moving baits. They both showed up mostly "dry". Meaning very little in the way of lube, grease & or bearing oil. Not sure if this is a common Diawa deal as I don't own many. So yes, noisy on the cast too. Either way, after cracking them open and giving them some TLC, I am Very Pleased and ordered two more. A-Jay

Great to see you back again Steve. My rig continues to be full of all things Rage Tail. Such killer baits. A-Jay

Celebrated Labor Day in the home gym. Completed Push 2 and it went well. Side note: There's a list of things I can not do now that I could do 20 years ago. But it's not as long a list as it could be. If you're not doing some type of regular exercise, I would highly encourage you to start and do it for the rest of your life. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

My rig benefits from the torque (relative term here for sure) as it's not exactly light. Add in some wind and it becomes even more crucial. I run a double battery deal so juice is rarely a concern. A-Jay

@Kites R4 Skyfishing Interesting perspective. Impossible & waste of time was really not what I was going for with that thread. While I'd never attempt to sway your opinion one way or the other, it might be interesting to note that much of mine own experience & perspective regarding catching big smallmouth bass, came while fishing from a canoe. Good Luck and here's to getting bites on every cast. A-Jay

Is this a trick question ? A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Legs 2 this morning. Hadn't trained in 3 days and it felt like it. Dialed it back a bit but still got my sets & reps in. Conditioning can fade pretty fast at 64 but my commitment is real. #borninfiftynine A-Jay

Here's a little light reading on smallmouth and night fishing. https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/ https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/176285-night-bassing-~-a-jays-version/ Enjoy. A-Jay

24 inches is a Long Bass anywhere it's caught. I have only come across a few. Both of these weighed out as double digit fish. A-Jay

Lynn came home today. No wheel chair, no walker & no cane. Been through the wringer and she's surely feeling it. I am both happy & as you can image, relieved. After nearly a month of 'tests' aimed at discovering what caused this rapid & serious loss of health, turns out the culprit is her bone marrow. It's unwell. Won't ever get any better but there's precious little room for it to get worse. A bit of a respite for the holiday weekend, then we'll me seeing a specialist who can hopefully give us more time. Thank you again for the kind words & support. ? “The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.” A-Jay