Everything posted by flyfisher
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Thoughts on Huk Icon X, Underarmor Iso-Chill, Simms, Columbia, etc
they are all decent. I like my Simms ones but haven't tried Huk yet. key is a decent fit for me since the materials from all of them are pretty similar.
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I cant believe what I just saw!
I am not sure why this is a big deal. I always turn it down when offered but nothing wrong with a girl or a boy working. We all have had jobs that we didn't like and you can learn from them. This is what minimum wage type jobs are for in my opinion anyways. Put the work in so you can appreciate the work it takes and decide if that is what you want to do for a long time or make yourself more marketable and move up the employment ladder.
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What am I doing wrong with the Frog?!
Good advice on here for sure. I am with @Bluebasser86 in that if i don't see the frog I am setting the hook. Makes no sense to wait longer than you have to, I understand the need to wait some but that is the same with any topwater fishing except in frog fishing you absolutely have to hammer it home. The hooks are large and heavy and need a powerful hookset to really make it happen. I fish a frog almost all year long here in central virginia and have one tied on from probably early march through november. And the term cross their eyes means to set the hook so hard you cross the fish's eyes. Kind of like when you watch the TV shows and the guys really lay into them.
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Need some pond/kayak rods
Seems odd to buy lower end stuff to use while in a kayak. I buy what I want to use and use it everywhere and yes, I am a kayak fisherman. Only wear and tear I see on my gear is from laying it in front of me but that is my fault as I have plenty of rod storage space I just like having it in front of me but it hasn't hurt any of my gear.
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Single Willow Blade Spinnerbait
just buy a double willow and cut a blade off. should take all of about 5 seconds
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Can anyone recommend a quality PFD?
I have an inflatable, not the HIT version which i would like to have, and also a foam version that i use for rivers. I wouldn't go to anything but an inflatable unless i have to. One key to finding a good PFD is to try it out in your kayak seat. Some will work better than others.
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Best Soft Plastic Storage?
I go back and forth on how to do it but here is what works for me in my kayak. I recently changed how i do things an it seems to be working well. I have one of the 4700 series boxes that I use for craw types and trailers, another is used for paddle tails, a smaller box is used for flukes and stick baits. Anything else i either just leave in the bag and throw in the crate or put in another smaller box that has no dividers. My plastics selection is pretty simple as I have refined it over the years and I realize i don't throw a lot of them anyways so no need carrying them. I do adjust based on the water i am fishing though as needed.
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Working to Stay Lean ~
I personally hate working out for the sake of working out, well not hate but strongly dislike kind of like cutting the grass. As i have passed 40 though I have noticed that I take longer to warm up when cycling and recover as well so I decided to start a workout regime. I am on week 3 now and I follow, albeit loosely, the p90x routine. I basically do their weight days and do my own cardio type work on the days off. I also don't do their ab routine as my back doesn't do well when performing laying down ab type workouts so I do hanging ab workouts or use an ab roller wheel deal. I am lucky that I have never been overweight really and I keep myself pretty active between cycling, kayak fishing and doing stuff with my kids but I am determined to not be that guy I see at my son's soccer games who is overweight and struggling to just walk to the field and sit in a chair to watch. I keep my diet pretty basic, pretty much all the lean protein I want to go with al the vegetables I want as well. I do like my carbs but I don't try and over do it at any point in time. Hell, I will even drink a mountain dew when the feeling hits My job keeps me on my feet all day, i am an elementary school teacher, and I don't even eat lunch per se other than a protein bar on most days so I guess I have been doing the hot new thing of intermittent fasting before it was the hot new thing lol I do enjoy hearing al later success stories and I wil halos echo that making any type of change it has to be internal first then the external will happen. Don't be unrealistic, which i tend to do and think back to my glory days of cycling 600 miles a week, set realistic goals and try and reach them and then make another one. I do think for me at least, once school starts back up it will be more difficult to maintain working out regularly but I will see what I can do. Keep up the good work fellas...
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Hard to find help nowdays
Finding good people has always been a challenge. My dad had his own electrical contracting business for 20+ years and he always had issues getting good people. It isn't a now problem, it is an always has been problem. He had all the programs in place to get people to be at least journeyman electricians and even offered to pay for their classes that they had to take. he had a few take him up but he fired or had quit way more than he had stay on for many length of time. Work ethic is something that is both taught and internal. There are some people who just work hard and there are others who don't. Corporate america type jobs are no joke either. Sure you aren't sweating all day but you will go home tired mentally. I have been blessed with the opportunities to do all kinds of construction work in high school and college and also work in corporate america for almost 10 years as well. Doing construction was easy really, once you got the the physical side out of the way and were in shape. Corporate america type jobs offer a different type of stress, a stress that after you analyze a certain set of data (in my case anyways) the decisions you make not only impact customers but could impact lots of employees and their jobs. That is not to be taken lightly. Now I am an elementary school teacher in a very rough school so i get to do both physical and mental work lol
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Frog?
easiest frog to walk is the megabass pony sabot but unfortunately they aren't super durable. pretty much any frog can walk just trim the legs down some, make sure you have slack in the line after moving and shorten the motions dramatically than you would with a spook. I prefer popping frogs but there are times were a walking frog is what they want, i saw it this past weekend. I couldn't buy a bite on a popping frog but the walking frog was on the menu.
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Marker buoys
you could just get some glow in the dark paint or tape
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Marker buoys
pretty sure you weren't the one to tell me what they were but you did start the post so I will negotiate down to half the total bill
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Tell us about your wading bags!
I use a chest pack when I am fly fishing but when i am using conventional gear I prefer one of my timbuk2 messenger style bags. I can adjust it to ride higher on my back, it is pretty waterproof (assuming you don't dunk it) and can hold whatever I need. I usually only take a box or two, my pliers which have line cutters and fish grips in case i get into some toothy critters. My bag is also large enough to carry a water bottle or two but if i am going out for a longer day, I just use my camelbak bladder.
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Have You Heard Of The : "Free Rig" ?
So i actually watched the video, well part of it, to see what it is and it is just what I thought, nothing really. It does remind me of what Jimmy Houston used to do when he was hawking those stone sinkers. They had pretty much the same setup as the "free rig" and i remember seeing it many years ago
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Marker buoys
I have them but haven't used them but recently discovered the casting circle feature on my electronics and now when I make a waypoint I just use the casting circle and anchor up if needed. I fish from a kayak so positioning is always a challenge in open water but I can manage pretty well.
- Is fishing allowed?
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Best Retrieving Rod in the ~$100 Range
Some people throw square bills on crank bait rods, I just don't prefer it. Square bills generally are thrown in shallower water and banging off things like rocks, stumps, trees etc...I prefer the MH F action for this application. Other crank baits I prefer a moderate action to help keep the hooks buttoned up. I do use copolymer line for square bills and crank baits to give that extra stretch. As far as retrieves go, you are right but for crankbaits you want to be running them into something whether it is rocks, wood, tops of grass, the bottom etc...swimbaits you can just reel them back and generally that is what I do with the occasional stop or twitch. Depth of bait for swimbaits is up to you to let it sink long enough, crank baits are designated a running range based on their design
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Best Retrieving Rod in the ~$100 Range
Medium moderate would be fine for crankbaits but not square bills or swimbaits in my opinion. I prefer to throw smaller swimbaits and square bills on a MH F rod. I throw all other crank baits up to about 8' deep on a M moderate rod. As far as suggestions go on a crank bait rod I have no clue lol I have a Kistler Helium I bought used and a Dobyns Fury that I just picked up used that I have yet to use. I have heard lots of people rave about the BPS cranking stick though in your price range
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Bass attractants... something to invest in?
they aren't that expensive and they last a while so sure, why not. I use mega strike myself and while I can't say if it makes a difference, I always use it so I don't have to wonder.
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ICAST 2019 and KAYAKS
I do like the break away option for the fins and I am not sure what I think about the 360 deal but I do know that price tag is pretty crazy but people will buy it for sure. For that money I could get myself a brand new ATAK and torqueedo and still have a couple grand left over for electronics and rigging or even a trailer. I know torqueedo came out with some new stuff too so maybe that means the original will drop in price some. I really want one for my boat so i can do river float trips by myself.
- Is fishing allowed?
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Rapala DT series issues?
Never had any issues out of the norm. I have had some break but it was to be expected as I was grinding them through rocks for a few days smallmouth fishing on a river.
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Ever accidentally hook a bass?
i had my hand slip off the line once and i made a cast behind me instead of in front and ended up catching a bass. When i used to teach fly fishing it was pretty common to have people catch bass on their back cast if they let it hit the water behind them.
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Direction of Hook
5" senkos cost about .75 a piece and a pack will run you around 7.50. That isn't that much considering most people probably spent that much in gas getting to and from the water. I don't mind getting baits chewed up as long as it means i am catching fish.
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Popping or Plopping frog in wind?
only time i don't use a popping frog is if vegetation is such that I have no other choice. I seem to get more bites on the popping variety, chances are if i want something that isn't a popping frog, I go with a buzz toad type bait.