JohnFromLisbon

About to have a wee glass of Port. I opened the bottle last night while I watched Die Hard, followed by the first quarter of the New England - Denver game. Put on How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas this morning. It's almost 3:30 PM over here so this will pair nicely with The Wrath of Khan.

Just checked the scores for TNF, the Chargers/Raiders game looks like something I'd get playing Madden on rookie. I have to watch the highlights later

Update: The 7'5" heavy is a great rod! The action is just what I was looking for and balances great with the K, but no surprise there, these things were made for each other - literally. I had one of the previous model Curado rods and despite the EVA handle instead of a cork one (surprise, surprise, the Portagee is a fan of cork) this one handles and balances much better. It really feels almost like a Zodias. Threw the A-rig and a 5/0 Flashy Swimmer with a 4.8 on it, the rod handled it all great. Next season I'll definitely try throwing a jig and a larger Texas rig on this thing. I had it spooled with straight 20lb fluoro but next time I want to see how the A-rig feels on braid to leader.

@Choporoz exactly, they were all here for the Black Bass World Championship. They ended up winning, too. That place has everything to become an awesome fishery and host events like this for sure.

Thanks Ken! Can't wait to show you what it's like. Our first big trip next year is set for the last weekend of February so hopefully I can make something with that one.

Hey guys! Next year I want to do some sort of photo diary of what bass fishing like over here during a guided trip. In the meantime, here's a sample of what it's like in northern Portugal from a recent Scott Martin video. I've never fished the Sabor lake up north but I want to go there next year. I know Francisco (who's in the video at one point) and he runs a shop up there and a guide service.

@Darren. honestly… I get that. I started watching football in my mid teens so I know we were spoiled for 20 years. Take baseball for example. I started rooting for the Sox during the Grady Little years and I definitely remember the Bobby Valentine era. And soccer? Don’t even get me started about Benfica. I think that got me ready for where the Pats are at, to be honest. And I’m here for it. Also… Man, I loved that show. Dewey had some of the best lines.

My relationship with New England this season. But you know what? With Zappe out there instead of Mac for the first time in a long time I'm not angry, just disappointed.

@Basswhippa a-rigs and spoons, mainly. Maybe smaller frogs and pitching jigs in the summer. For regular sized frogs I have the 7'3" XH and for finesse football jigs you'll have to pry the 844 MBR from my cold dead hands 😅

Here are the cheapo Zebco spoons and a couple of Strike King ones that will hopefully get me through the winter for zander fishing.

After living in my open tabs for about a week, here is the 7'5" heavy Curado for the a-rig/spoon setup.

Here it is! Feels like a rod one step down from the Zodias - exactly what it's supposed to be. I'll pair it with one of the Ks spooled with 20lb Seaguar Red Label and I'll let you know how it goes in a week or two.

I guess we're about to find out because this thing showed up at the office 👀

I also got some tackle adjacent stuff this week. Got one of these from Amazon, I couldn't find a decent one locally and Frabill doesn't have local dealers. Also got a couple of Simms pieces, including that ExStream jacket in what I'm calling "Starfleet command gold". Found the last one in my size in a Spanish tackle store, I'm not really a fan of the current version of the ExStream, cheaper insulation material and a more bland design. I had two of these in larger sizes and I just had to grab this one. Also snagged a pair of Costas during their Black Friday sale (Broadbill with green mirror lenses and Tuna Alley with Sunrise Silver), 50% off each + 30% off the second pair. I still have an order of Zebco, Abu Garcia, and Strike King spoons on the way for winter zander fishing. So that's it for this year. Definitely. Maybe. I think. I might pick up another rod before Christmas, that 7'5" heavy is still in my open browser tabs. 😅

Despite the shallower spool you should be able to get a few turns worth of stretchy mono in as backing. I'm not a fan of the electrical tape to secure line on the spool just in case the adhesive interacts with the line somehow.

I'd go with a 4000 size Vanford, personally. Next year I want to upgrade my do-everything spinning combo to an 872S and that's the reel I'm looking at. The 2500 balances well on the drop shot rod, but feels small on bigger spinning rods.

Hey guys. Anyone here have the Shimano Curado 7'5" Heavy rod? What's your opinion on it? I really wanted the Zodias, but Shimano Europe doesn't sell the USDM models of either the Zodias or the Expride over here, just the JDM ones - I have no clue why - while we do get the Curados and SLX rods from the US market. My idea is to pair it up with a spare 201HG K spooled with 20lb fluoro and mainly use it for a-rigs and larger flutter spoons, maybe 1/2oz pitching jigs with larger trailers around heavy cover. I tried throwing the a-rig on an old 875C CRR (the old Mossyback one) and I'm not a fan of that super fast action for a-rigs. Don't get me wrong, it's a good rod but it was designed for bottom contact with heavy weights and it shows. I thought I could get away with it but nah. Since I can get the Curado rod for a decent price (130 EUR ~ 140 USD), thought I'd ask. I'd love to hear from someone who used it before a 3 and a half hour round trip just to handle it in the store. Thanks!

@Bandersnatch handled the new one in the store and thought it was the same weight upgrade as the Zodias, because of the whole "monocoque" handle thing. I stand corrected. 😅

I have the 7'3" XH, the previous gen Expride A - amazing frog rod. And I've pitched the cheese with it too, haven't really felt the need for a 7'6", much less the 7'11". The Expride B is even lighter.

Targeting is pretty much standard in online ads. Usually done via a unique identifier on your phone, but this can be done by fingerprinting your device, like your IP, the unique combination of your laptop/phone model and OS version, browser version, add ons and selected options. The latter can be an approximation, but still pretty accurate. By the way, you guys living in CA, VA, UT, CT, and CO have an option to "opt out" on targeted ads, or at least should have on mobile devices/apps - those that use the unique identifier at least, not much you can do for the other type. I work with mobile apps and just had to do a presentation about this exact issue to my team last Thursday.

So, turns out YouTube's algorithm can only recommend so many of @A-Jay's workout videos when you're slouched on the couch, balancing the last slice of that large pepperoni pizza on top of your belly while you open another can of soda before you think "huh... maybe this is not my best life". Reached 270+ lbs somewhere between 2019 and 2020, started watching what I eat in late 2021. Last year our new office building opened and they added a little gym near the parking lot so I started working out, adding a few resistance training exercises to make sure I didn't lose a lot of muscle mass. Turns out I had the arm strength of a 12 year old girl. Seriously, it looks like someone stuck two toothpicks on a yam. 2 years later I'm down to 175-ish, depending on how stressful my week was. Was able to add a little muscle mass, but not much. Focusing on that now. Pros: I can move and do stuff and fit in regular sized places. Now my back doesn't start hurting for no reason just standing there casting a lure. Cons: It's been fun getting new clothes and gear, but kind of expensive too 😅

The last couple of years either fishing or doing stuff around the house I always end up humming and singing Turtles All the Way Down And since this last season of Strange New Worlds, this one. It's a heck of an earworm. My fishing buddy isn't a Trek guy so he had no idea what I was going on about.

Watching the Frankfurt game right now. Pro: I finally get to watch New England play after lunch and not at 6:30 or 9:15 PM local time. Con: I'm watching the 2023 Patriots.

I have the 854 JWR in GLX and I've tried the IMX one, too. They definitely feel like a MH plus. I can fish a half ounce football jig with a Flappin' Hog as a trailer (which I'm pretty sure pushes it close to the 3/4oz mark) and the rod never feels overwhelmed. The GLX feels slightly faster than the IMX-PRO but I think that's down to the material itself. Their IMX-PRO line, if you can go for it, is absolutely worth it (I have an 852S JWR and an 844 MBR).

The only time I actually like having some muddy water is during the early pre-spawn for that exact reason, especially if the weather is improving. I remember fishing a chatterbait about 6 to 8ft from the bank and getting my first truly vicious strikes of the season instead of just those typical mushy winter bites.