JohnFromLisbon

A few years ago in the fall I was fishing a bluegill color DT-6 from the bank, so it would hit bottom midway through the retrieve. I stopped feeling the DT-6 wiggle and got a little resistance, figured it must have been dying grass. As it got closer to the bank it looked like a tube shaped plastic bag, acting like a drift sock on the lure. Except it wasn't a plastic bag. I guess someone had fun there in the summer when the water level was lower, because I hooked a prophylactic. That DT-6 was promptly thanked for its service and retired, as was at least 10 feet of line.

1. How often do you go fishing? Maybe twice a month. I live in a big city, the closest bass lake is at least an hour's drive away and my favorite lake is 3 hours away. 2. What type of fishing do you usually do? Freshwater fishing for largemouth bass. 3. How do you hear about new products? Social media? Friends? Online? Online, mostly. It takes longer for us to get stuff in local stores, so I rely on US sites for info. 4. When buying a new product what makes you finally decide to purchase it? Reviews? Friends Recommendations? I look for every review out there, and might even post here on BassResource to get some of your opinions. I get buyers' remorse when I get batteries, so every purchase is thoroughly vetted. 5. Where did you usually shop pre covid-19? In stores? Online? It's 50/50. I have a few local stores I like to support, but I also make several orders from TW over the year (and get slapped with fees and taxes from customs driving the cost to almost twice what I pay in USD, but it's totally worth it). 6. Does the fishing industry have enough gadgets? There's always room for something new, but the industry is rife with gimmicks. 7. How much do you spend yearly on fishing equipment The last few years I've averaged 1500 EUR (~1750 USD).

1993 Renault Clio, the successor to the famous Renault 5 - which you probably know as the Renault Le Car. My grandparents bought it new and had 4 year old me pick the color. My grandmother stopped driving in late 90s so it just stayed in a garage until I picked it up in 2007. It had a 1.2 liter Renault E-Type engine, the first direct injection with a whopping 60 hp (!), but since the whole thing weighed just over 2000lbs it was fun to drive. It had electrical issues, went through a few starter motors and a head gasket, but the big problem it had was the cooling system. It sat for years without being driven and that started to rot every hose and gasket on it. I was constantly having to replace bits and pieces, spending about $ 600 a year just to keep it running (the car was worth way less than that). Had to get rid of it in 2017, got me a used Mazda 2 (which is basically a Fiesta underneath), but I still miss that little red heap of junk. Here it is in its natural habitat, on top of a tow truck. Good ol' Fifty Shades of Red (cuz the paint started to fade differently in different panels)

That one looks *really* surprised he got caught ?

Headed south on Friday afternoon, went fishing on Saturday. On my very first cast with the new spinning rod I got this 1 and 3/4 lber on a drop shot Super Fluke. About an hour later, caught this 19 incher. I yelled out for my buddy to bring the scale because he had with him but he was too far, so I couldn't get the weight on him. Maybe 3 1/2 lbs? Same deal, but this time on a Super Fluke Jr. Wanted to film the release in slow-mo, but he got antsy as soon as we were near the water so the release part was a little less graceful...

I know they want the use the brands globally but I really miss the good old days when Shimano spinning reel names started with S and casting ones with C. But yes, like everyone said, Vanford is the new Stradic Ci4+, no matter what sales pitch they use.

Me waiting for that "new NRX" to come out when every other rod in their lineup has been updated years ago...

Last week I ordered a few of these 1/2oz Keitech football jigs along with some terminal tackle. I knew these things were finesse jigs, but I had no idea how small and light wire the hooks were. What rod would you throw these on? On one hand they're 1/2oz and might be a stretch for something like my 852S, but I'm afraid that my "regular" jig setup of 55lb braid to a 14lb fluoro leader on an 853C might be too much for that small hook. Would you go heavier in line, lighter in rod? Or the other way round?

Started off the week by ordering a Curado K online since all the shops around here are sold out. Yesterday when talking to a friend he told me there's a place about 20 minutes from where I live that has a few bass rods, even though it's a surf and inshore fishing shop. Drove down there this morning, got a great deal on an NRX 802S and a Curado 7'2 H, one of those "I can't pass this up" deals. Strangely they had an E6X 893C for 100 EUR (~120 USD) over the regular price, so not sure what's going on there.

Totally agree with all the ML recommendations. I got an 852S IMX-PRO for the lighter stuff, fishing braid to a leader, and I've lost a lot of fish on the ned, even on the heavier heads with larger hooks. Just last week I was able to land 2, but lost 4 fish. I'll definitely be getting something lighter with a more parabolic curve, like a DSR or a lighter MBR.

...and lose to the Orioles twice in a row. And Weber's pitching... Jeez (not that the bullpen helped either). At least we got to see JBJ go full Kevin-Costner-in-The-Bodyguard in the outfield, that's always cool.

Not gonna lie, in the midst of all this, being able to sit down and watch the Sox play makes me think that maybe - just maybe - it’s all gonna be okay Even if I’m watching them play in an empty Fenway Park from 3200 miles away ?

It’s 8 PM local time and I turned off Slack an hour ago (I’ve been working from home since March). It’s time to start the weekend, relax, catch up on the fishing FaceTubes and play a little Red Dead Redemption. Sagres is a lager from one of the two big brewers over here in Portugal.

That reel is a jerk to colorblind people

I really want to get my hands on an 843 MBR, either an IMX-Pro or a GLX, but here in Portugal Loomis is distribuited by Normark (the same company that has Shimano, Rapala, Storm, Luhr-Jensen, etc. in their catalog) but the rumor is that Shimano wants to bypass Normark and enter the western European market themselves - according to my local tackle store - and they're in a bit of a limbo right now when it comes to special orders. I'll be ordering one as soon as this is settled. P.S. To be completely honest, it was only after watching Matt Allen raving on about them that I asked my tackle store about ordering an MBR

G. Loomis' current factory in Woodland, WA opened in 1990 and they were bought out by Shimano in 95 (I think?). Sure, the Fuji guides come from Japan and the cork actually comes from my neck of the woods (southern Portugal), but to be fair, we do have the best cork in the world. In their line up they do have the high end Conquest that has blanks made by Shimano in Japan to their specifications and shipped to WA for assembly.

Again, thank you. This one actually comes with a sturdy looking bb swivel snap instead of the screw on attachment points (cheaper, I guess). Will do

Took it out of the box to charge and was just thinking about that. This weighs over 2 oz and I don't really have much tackle other than bass gear. Might be able to find a stronger rod but I'll definitely take it easy on the cast. What line are you using for throwing this thing? I'm thinking thick, stretchy mono, just in case.

So, initially the plan was to get a Lowrance Hook 2 or a Humminbird PiranhaMax when we finally got an inflatable boat. Long story short, we checked the local laws (here in Portugal) and since they weren't really written with lakes and reservoirs in mind, the whole thing is a mess. We had to put the whole project on hold for now. I went fishing with a buddy of mine on new year's eve and a friend of his turned up to fish with us. He had one of those cheap portable fish finders, you know? Those huge yellow screens like a 90's calculator. Anyway, we had a few bites on the drop shot fishing a dock, but that was it. A few old timers joined us sometime later fishing for zander, and caught a couple of fish, 3-4 pounders, really nice ones. The guy with the fish finder was insisting there were fish right under the dock and that the old timers should drop the line there. And wouldn't you know it? As soon as they did, another 4lb zander took the bait. On the way home, I started looking online for portable fish finders and found a few videos on the original Deeper. Most of the stuff they have online seems to be sponsored, either articles or videos, but a few were genuine reviews. They came out with a budget model, the Deeper Start. Ordered it a few days later and it just came in Has anyone used the Start or any other Deeper model? What's your experience with it? Thanks!

Just got home from a 200 mile round trip to my favorite store. Needed an all round spinning setup to replace my old Shimano Nexave, went down there and saw these two. They gave me a good discount, I couldn’t really pass it up.

I learned that lesson fishing from an Old Town canoe. It was super fun to fish from but as soon as the wind picked up, before we bought an anchor to carry around, we might as well head back to the dock Thanks @J Francho and @Smalls!

Hey everyone After years using rental canoes and small boats I'm thinking of getting my own boat this Christmas. The two (huge) constraints I have are: 1) I live in a 3rd floor apartment with no parking/garage and 2) I drive a small '04 Mazda 2, which basically a slightly larger Fiesta with a tiny gas engine Because of that I've been looking at inflatable boats, especially a 10.8ft dinghy with a full wooden floor from factory. It's relatively cheap, about €500 shipped (~$560), comes with a couple of oars, two bench seats, pump, emergency repair kit, etc. I can easily assemble it in like 15 minutes, I can carry it around in the trunk, it weighs about 100 lbs, it's made out of 3 layers of 1100 deniers PVC, mandatory 2 year warranty, etc. Sure, I might let out a few four letter words having to carry it upstairs when getting home from a fishing trip, but it seems like a viable option (considering). I've also been looking at the porta-bote, specifically the 10' model. But I'd have to keep it at my grandparents' old place, roughly 60 miles away, meaning a heck of a detour every time we wanted to go fishing somewhere other than there. Also, for the price of the 10' model, I could buy the dinghy, gas outboard, fish finder, trolling motor, battery, and a literal boatload of tackle for the same money. I'd definitely have to wait about 7 months until I could even consider buying it. My question is, considering costs and constraints, is the dinghy worth it? Do you think it'd be a good choice, running it for 2-3 years? Or should I save up and get something better next year? Thanks!

Swindle "ages" his baits too. Personally, I couldn't bring myself to doing this to my precious Rapalas, but hey... Like BassWhole! said, it's a thing. Even the "Ike's Custom Ink" colors they have are based on how the lures look when Iaconelli left them on the dash of his truck, in the sun. They'd fade a little, and he says they worked better.

It works for me. I have non-segmental vitiligo, which means white spots on my hands and around my eyes (so far). It kinda looks like the paint is starting to peel off ? I have to be extra careful because my skin basically has no color on these spots, like no melanin whatsoever, so it goes from white to sunburnt like *that*. Gloves may have their drawbacks, but it beats having to apply thick SPF 90+ sunscreen every hour (it looks worse now during the summer because I tan very easily everywhere else, so there's a lot of contrast. During the winter it's barely noticeable.)

I got the Loomis BCR 875 (7'3 H) which is a dedicated Carolina rig rod and I use it mostly for football and heavier jigs, general deep water stuff. Either with 50 lb PowerPro to a FC leader or straight FC. A 7'11 rod would be kinda cumbersome for me, personally. But then again, I'm 5'11 ?