Cryoglobin

Great reels! If I had not just bought a new reel, I'd have tried to do the same thing you did when those were posted.

TX, OK, LA, MS, GA, CA, KS, CO, AZ, NV, FL

McPherson County SFL. My MIL lives 20 miles away. The bite has been really tough, but those tough times are good for any fisherman. It forces us outside our comfort zone and makes us use lures and techniques we might not otherwise touch. I have had those hardheads and hydras in my bag for weeks, and had never used either apart or in combination until today. At least I am at a place that I know has bass of size and in numbers. That is far from a given in this state as it was in Cali or where I am from down in TX. And then, as I was leaving, I discovered that what I thought was a herd of cattle making a ruckus over the hill was actually a herd of bison! Pretty cool!

I am in transition spending some time in KS. It is very different from NorCal. Lately, I have been hitting one of the local lakes, and it has been very slow. 1-2 fish per 5 hour trip. I had thrown out just about everything I could from the bank....several different variety of plastic, square bills, a few topwaters, lipless cranks, chatterbait, etc. This morning, I decided to do something different.......a larew biffle hardhead with a texposed damiki hydra evolution. Much better results with 6 fish in 3 hours with a 4.07 pounder leading the pack. I might have to mess around a little more with the combo in the future. Too bad those hydra are so delicate. They are truly one and done, and there are only two left from the package I bought. Also, after a couple of hours dragging a hardhead across a rocky bottom, it is down to bare metal. But, I doubt the fish care too much.

What he said. Even if you do get a hook set in that situation, you'll usually end up hauling a pound of salad (feels like 10#s of fish) in addition to the fish. Mono won't get it done.

Roll n' lock bed cover and a locked tailgate. That is how I store rods, reels, and tackle. A few have tried to force entry, and none have succeeded. Those bed covers are worth the cost, IMO. They are mostly waterproof too. In fact, when I want something safe, I remove it from the cab and put it in the bed.

Well, this is kinda funny and kinda not........... But, one summer (mid-July) morning I took out a little john boat onto Caddo lake. If you don't know Caddo, it is on the TX/LA border. The TX side is a huge maze of cypress sloughs draped with spanish moss. There is no visibility, and it is VERY easy to get lost. I knew the water pretty well, and even then, I did not stray too far outside what I was very familiar with. Well, there is this one hole I knew well and had caught some good fish out of. I almost always went there to start. It was about a 30 minute drive through some of the maze to get there. Well, I came around a corner in a channel and found two very bedraggled individuals in a boat similar to mine waving me down. Turns out they went out the previous morning fishing (with zebcos and nightcrawlers) and managed to get lost in the maze running out the battery on their trolling motor. They were too scared of gators and snakes to get out and swim/walk. In the heat of the afternoon, they polished off all their water and made the decision at some point to drink the lake water. Bad call. During the night both of their bowels had cut loose. They reeked, I mean I could smell it before I got 20 feet from the boat. And, on top of that, both of them had mosquito bites on every piece of exposed skin. I am talking hundreds of bites. I loaded them up and took them over to the state park. Then I went back and towed the boat back. Honestly, it is a good thing I came on them because between their rear end discharge problems, no potable water, and the heat, I am not sure how long they would have lasted.

I don't fish Clear Lake a lot, but I have been there 10 or 12 times. Had success last year with a green pumpkin 1/2 ounce chatterbait with a super fluke trailer, similar results with a RI beaver trailer. Also, I watched my buddy last year do pretty well with mattlures bluegill swimbaits. The phantom hitch mentioned above is a good option as well. But the dudes on the ground there should be able to give you solid intel as to what's working now.

Random muttering. Incessant mosquito spray in all general directions. Asking to borrow random items. Ask them if they have a daughter, and if so how old.

I use it sometimes, when I remember or if things are especially slow. But, it is definitely not one of those things where I do not feel confident if I don't use scent. I use Bang spray, a couple of different flavors. Its all I will use because it comes out of a spray can. I don't like the drippy messy crap that gets everywhere. The spray bottle is pretty contained.

Never fished it myself, but I have heard good things about Little Grass Valley Reservoir.

Bingo. Someone tries that bush league nonsense on me, I will remind them how shore fishermen are terribly inaccurate casters......especially when we have lures covered by brand new trebles. Or, if I am really irritated, and it isn't a bright day, I will bring out a 2 million candle power Q beam on a 12 volt battery.

Its getting nice here, low down to 42-45 at night, mid 70s during the day.

My uncle was doing a not so smart thing once flounder fishing in chest deep surf and putting them on a stringer around his waist. When he came out of the water, all that was left on the stringer was heads. He said he felt something brush him a couple of times but thought it was just one of the flounder.

I have bumped up against 6-7 foot alligator gar a few times in a float tube. They aren't overly aggressive, but they are definitely powerful and have a serious set of teeth.