Choporoz

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball

I use no fee credit card for everything. Haven't carried a balance in over 15 years. I get 1.5 - 2% cash back on every purchase, even on bill payments....several hundred per year 'free cash'.

No cash on me for years. I do keep $20-25 in the console for ramp fees at places I don't have a pass

Medium Spinning, 15# braid to leader. Almost always lose them in first few seconds.

40# braid

As @WRBasked, 'what line and what hook?'

I didn't cash a check until last tournament of my second full year fishing tournaments. Finally won one in my third year, and was competing for AOY from fourth year on. The most humbling was probably Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship on Guntersville. I went down expecting 100" days from such a storied lake. Three days of tough pre-fishing and I still wasn't smart enough to know I was in trouble. I had trouble just putting a limit on the board each day. It wasn't much fun....should have been, though. I was much too serious

Thanks for sharing. Glad you are ok. Only three things really scare me in my kayak. Rocks in current are one. But stumps and wind are the other two. Stumpy lakes in high wind can be terrifying. I've had a stick-up jammed in my pedal drive hole in the middle of the night....frightening and disorienting, but not panic-inducing. I appreciate the warning about getting in the water any time other than summer. Getting out of a stuck kayak any time is a tough decision, but water temps will be a much higher consideration in the future.

I have a heck of a time keeping anything other than dinks pinned on 65's

I don't doubt that there's plenty who have cheated or tried to cheat. However, maybe I am naive but I suspect there are very few at the top of a regional or national level that do so. I don't know....maybe it's the idea that jackwagons like these two, or like Mike Long make such big news. If it was rampant and routine, more would be getting caught, I'd think.

I use them a lot. But there are two situations where I will throw them every time - well defined grass lines with any chop on the surface - pulled across horizontal laydows right at, or below the surface...hits come hard as spinnerbait his the wood or comes off the near side One thing that still amazes me after many years is how many hits I get as the casted spinnerbait hits the water. For example, the temptation with a stump can be to cast past and bring it alongside tight to the the stump. But I have gotten more confident casting it right tight against a stump....never even get to start the blades a lot of times. Jigs and trigs can trigger same bite a lot of times, but the spinnerbait seems even better much of the time. It isn't the perfect aerodynamic lure for target casting, but it is worth putting in the practice.

Pheasant, with partridge not far behind

I spent a lot of years telling my boys to 'shake it off' and 'get back out there'....and I've taken a lot of shots at the NFL for getting soft. But, I have to admit that I was rethinking my thoughts lately. Especially after listening to Chris Nowinski (former WWE and now neuro-surgeon/concussion advocate) on the radio this morning (106.7 in DC) - https://www.audacy.com/thefandc/authors/the-sports-junkies click Chris Nowinski on 30 Sep --- this after listening to a podcast where Brandon Marshall and Shady McCoy just 3 days ago suggested Tua was probably a lot worse than Fins were going to acknowledge -- interesting conversations -- one doc puts it on the player (Tua) - says he needs to take himself out in the first game. (The former players said the radio doc is wrong because Tua couldn't even be expected to evaluate himself after getting dazed). Other doc says nearly everyone in position of authority in Miami org should be fired. I think NFL is likely going to get a lot more heat than they thought can handle *I should have properly credited the Marshall/McCoy conversation - If you're looking an interesting, smart sports podcast, give a listen to 'I Am Athlete' -- I don't like listening to 95% of most athletes - but I find this a fascinating listen

No 'permanent' docks allowed on my lake. Every single dock is a pontoon boat stripped down to the deck and attached to shore with ropes and ramp. So, while there are no poles or posts, there is a pontoon skipping gap on most. A good number put a ladder at the gap, so getting under those isn't an option. But most of the docks hold fish year round even without the underwater structure.

If you disappear one of these days, we'll let the authorities know to start with the rod makers. I have often said that I feel many, many bites first with the thumb and forefinger of my reel hand.....but how that bite transmission is affected by the rod 'sensitivity', I don't know....and don't really want to think about.

I haven't noticed that. But I value your observations. Reading the environment AND relating those observations to expected/predicted bass behavior is huge and something I am working on

I'd need to see them in the water, but based on photos, I agree with @Bankc. Bitters look like Grass Pigs, not Keitechs. I'm not a swimbait specialist, but I seem to recall a vid somewhere saying that Grass Pig style for when you want more body roll....and S.I./Rage when you want more tail wag. (I haven't gotten in deep enough to know when the fish prefer what)

Yes, the fighting bass releases some sort of bass-drenaline that warns off all other fish....probably yells a warning, too. No, one bass eating something just makes the others hungry. Never mind..reading isn't my strong suit...I answered a different question....something about catching a fish turning off the bite Why would releasing a fish affect anything?

How different lines sound moving through water might be important. What about the sound of line coming across a dock beam, or rubbing along a lily pad stem?

Don't know how I totally forgot an important one....especially since I have probably overthunk it lately: sound -Sound - does it annoy the angler? -Sound - does it affect the fish?

The 87th different thread this year about line got me thinking once again about why this is such a difficult topic to get much agreement, even among pros. Aside from the fact that anything about targeting bass leads to differences of opinion (at least until the bass start talking). Just off the top of my head, I came up with a list of variables that might maybe should be considered before making a decision about what line to use. I'm not here to argue what line gives you best solution to any one of these....just thought it interesting to step back and look at why this is a difficult decision - and why many of us change our minds on the 'answer' - sometimes a few times a year -Slack-line sensitivity -Buoyancy -Visibility (to fish) -Visibility (to angler) -Knot strength -Risk due to multiple knots -Strength -Abrasion resistance -Cost – initial -Cost – over time -‘Castability’ -Likelihood of developing loops on spinning reel -Likelihood of getting a weakening kink during a backlash -Risk of leader knot catching on guides and creating backlash or wind knot -'Durability' over time as affected by heat/cold/sunlight -Stretch – many ‘sub-variables’ here….stretch that’s ‘desired’, like for trebles – stretch that’s negative, like for hook setting – lack of stretch for slicing vegetation or straightening snagged hooks....stretch that may damage line? -Sound - does it annoy the angler? -Sound - does it affect the fish? Not looking for answers or comments about best line....just thinking out loud about why this seems complicated

Absolutely zero consensus. Go right ahead. Some do. Some won't. Some will tell you it is dumb. Some will say it's genius. You have to decide what factors and line properties are most important to you. Sorry. No right answer.

Impossible for me to generalize. There are so many variations of both fixed and floating docks. The most common floating dock that I encounter has few, small gaps and rides on fairly thin poles. These aren't worth a whole lot of time and effort. But, there are also floating docks built on 'regular' wooden timber poles. Those can be worth the work since the cover of the poles is more significant. Some floating docks have bigger gaps between floats that make skipping worthwhile. There are plenty of fixed wooden docks with facing boards down to and below the waterline that make them near impossible to get under, also.

YZH is outstanding leader material. Cheap, neutraly buoyant, abrasion resistant, less visible than braid, and just a little stretchy. I started using it because it was what I had around when I first tried braid to leader. It is just about all I use now.

Helium for $200?! All day every day....and buy 2 on Sunday.