Jar11591

I have a storage/workbench for all my gear. It’s well decorated with TW and other fishing brand stickers.

I’ve had many different birds follow or attack my lures, mainly seagulls with poppers and loons following my spinnerbaits. Never an owl though. Must have been pretty cool given the fact you didn’t hook it.

Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Inexpensive and very good. I use it on all my spinning set ups. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&searchtext=Yo+zuri+hybrid

Poppers, weedless frogs, Texas-rigged 7”-10” ribbon tail worms and spinnerbaits are my top producers in the summer.

The Berkley Shock gets a lot of love as far as value for the money. I own one but haven’t fished it enough to give an opinion on it as it’s an emergency backup rod, but they seem to be highly regarded by some anglers on here. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Berkley_Shock_Spinning_Rods/descpage-BSSR.html

A few weeks ago, a buddy and I took my boat up a very small river. 30’ wide at its widest in most parts. We must have caught 200 smallmouth in a few hours. The biggest was 15”, but most were 10” or so. I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a blast. Now it’s not the kind of fishing I want to do regularly, but reeling in feisty little smallmouth every single cast on light tackle can be a lot of fun.

Buttered and grilled with a coating of this: After trying this I won’t have corn on the cob any other way.

I catch bass on baits that resemble all sorts of things, and baits that resemble nothing. But I always have a little boost of confidence when I have a yellow perch patterned bait tied on.

Pflueger President XT casting reel. Thing is amazing for an $90 reel.

Looks like that model retails for $150-$200, so $60 if the guides are still in good shape seems like a good deal. As far as being an all around rod, this model isn’t ideal. Something 6’10” to 7’ and medium heavy with a fast tip is generally the best option for an all purpose rod. Spinnerbaits, Texas rigs, jigs, topwater trebles and frogs can all be fished on a 7’ MH-F, but these techniques won’t be as suited for a 7’6” M-M.

Model or model number isn’t visible. May be a good deal if the guides are in good shape. The cork that is visible looks to be in decent. A 7’6” medium/moderate isn’t the best all-purpose rod but will shine in some applications.

Talk about cookie cutter! Minus that last chunk. That’s some consistency!

I’ve never done this, but on one of my reels that have internal brakes I was being cocky and convinced I didn’t have to adjust them and could dial it in with just the spool tension knob. And for the most part I could, but when I finally started adjusting the internal brakes out of boredom one day I found the reel to be a lot more versatile. It now slings 1/4oz Pad Crashers a mile even on a mag heavy rod.

Bass will eat anything. I saw somebody who used a 1/2” drill bit to make a plastic mold, Texas rigged it and caught a bass. And if a wacky senko gets bit, anything will. I do think that there are times where using a bait that resembles the local forage in looks and action can increase your odds, but I think bass will eat anything that looks like it could make a meal.

The loon family I’ve become acquainted with over the last 5 years. They haven’t had chicks in a few years now. Good for them.

The shape of bullet weights make them really prone to wedging into the cracks of rocks and getting hung up. You could try a lighter weight bullet, or forgo the Texas rig and use a football or roundball jig head with the same trailer as you were Texas rigging. The same presentation for the most part but will be less prone to getting snagged in between rocks.

Air temperature was 49 degrees at 5 am this morning according to my truck. It’s nice to walk outside in the morning and not be hit by a wall of sticky air, but I’m always amazed how quickly the air temps in the 40s arrive in late summer. Last week we had a 99 degree day.

Congrats and good on you for adopting! My whole pack (3) are rescues.

They’re not made anymore, but if you can find a Fenwick Methods, I can recommend them enough for a travel rod. 3 piece rods but a 5 piece set, so depending on the model you can swap out the mid section as well as the tip to make it a medium or medium heavy or heavy, and the action can be moderate fast or fast. They come in a hard travel case as well. The Methods served me very well traveling to go bassin in Mexico. If you can find them available anywhere, snag them up and also let me know where you find them!

Fish pictures give me something to look at when I’m not on the water. That’s why I love the Latest Catch Pics Thread, and I like contributing to it to. Any noteworthy fish usually get pictures. 4lb and over will most likely get a picture. If it’s a slow day, the 3lbers may get a picture. It’s nice to be able to look back and remember what scenario or decision led to that fish being boated. And sometimes its good to send some fish pictures to the girlfriend so she knows what I’m actually doing on the boat for 12 hours in the beating sun. And from Dec-April, all I have is fish pictures and frozen lakes.

My daily driver, boat hauler, and landscaping truck is an ‘07 Dodge Dakota SLT V8. Just hit 95,000 miles. My second favorite truck I’ve owned, behind the old white Ford Ranger. R.I.P.

Fall bassin always gets me excited. The bass become much more predictable in the lakes I fish, and my average size always goes up in September and October. Not to mention fall means sharing the lake with fewer pleasure boaters.

My Pflueger President XT. One of the cheaper reels I own, but it’s my favorite to fish with. Comfortable, looks good, it’s dialed in so that I couldn’t backlash it if I tried, and it slings 1/4oz Pop Xs a mile every trip out.

When frog fishing, a Pad Crasher is never a bad choice. I use the standard version for lily pads as opposed to the popping style because I find the pointed nose comes through the pads easier. The popping Pad Crasher is great for emergent weeds with open pockets. And the Pad Crasher Jr. is great for when you want to downsize. Pad Crashers are quality fish catchers and can cover pretty much all frog fishing situations. And I believe they make a Popping Pad Crasher Jr. now as well.

Monofilament and hybrid: Clinch Braid: Palomar Backing to mainline and mainline to leader: Alberto