Josh Smith

I've acquired a canoe. I plan to primarily use paddles, but would like to find a low-powered, light, efficient trolling motor for longer trips. The one I had in mind was the Minn Kota 10 with 8lbs of thrust, figuring that, with today's electronics, it would sip electricity. Unfortunately, it appears it's not been made in some years. What's today's equivalent? I just want a lightweight stick-controlled transom mount trolling motor with around 10lbs of thrust. Thanks!

I've been looking for a collection of Tom Mann's stuff. Haven't found much on YouTube or anything for order. I suspect this is all copyrighted, but there's not enough perceived interest to release it.

Smallmouth, because they're my favorite. Followed by Rock bass, because they're feisty and get no love.

When I was a kid, there was a small lake I loved to fish at. Caught all sorts of bass, and especially large sunfish. Today, the bass are still there but smaller, and the sunfish are all really small. Part of the problem has been vegetation that prevented the bass from hunting the sunfish effectively. Another part, I'm sure, has been overfishing. Lakes do go through stages. I have a couple books that describe these stages. Artificial lakes, if I remember, are faster to change. Haven't read the info in a while, so could be wrong on the details.

AT&T ticked me off. They claimed my new phone wouldn't work after they switched off ? 3g. I knew it would. Argued with them for months about it. They sent me a new SIM card and a junk phone with VoLTE. They weren't supposed to disable my old SIM card, but they did on the shutoff date. No biggie; I ran through activation with the junk phone so I could switch SIM cards. Except mobile internet didn't work on the new phone. They had entered the wrong friggin APN settings, and I couldn't fix this without rooting the phones. I swapped the SIM cards anyway, and went without 4g internet while I researched new carriers. Ended up buying a Moto G Stylus, which is more powerful than my Samsung A10s and allows me to run most of my business from it. Specifically, it has more RAM, which I needed. Because AT&T ticked me off several times over the years, I specifically went with Sprint/T-Mobile, through Patriot Mobile. While I'm sure the marketing hype for Patriot is largely a gimmick, I had a code that kept me from paying setup and switchover fees. So far I'm happy. I'm not getting unsolicited marketing texts from AT&T anymore, and only the occasional political text. I can opt out of these any time, too, if I get tired of them. Performance in this area isn't any better or worse than AT&T. They're shutting the Sprint towers down very soon, so we'll see after that, but I anticipate no problems.

That sucks that they're so fragile. I'm hoping the hidden hook will let me swim it in seaweed, but the hook isn't terribly well covered so I'm unsure.

These look like they'll fit my style of fishing. Any experience with these?

Yep, Francho. Watched Dad go through it. The other issue is I've gone through my life without ever being knocked out, and the thought makes me nervous. Josh

Dude, F society. I'm 42. Every year older I got was marked with either indifference, or accomplishment. If you're doing what you need to do and are happy doing it, then that's all that matters. I started my business in my mid-30s. Got married a little later, and have a couple great kids I spend a lot of time with, as I can make my own hours. I carry a little extra weight that I have to lose, but I overall take care of myself. I do have arthritis in two of my fingers in my non-dominant hand, and a bit in my left jaw. But, if it bothers me at all, I take ibuprofen. It's not a big deal at all. Honestly, the only thing I'm not looking forward to is a colonoscopy. I'm late by a couple years since my dad had colon cancer. That's really the worst part, for me. Overall, I feel as good or better than I did when I was 18. Some things are worse, but most things are better. There's a net gain. Turning 30 is only as bad as you make it. Josh

I used to go by size, but I've been fishing so many diverse bodies of water lately that I've come to rely more on the health of the fish, and its spunk. To me, a 12" fish that takes a while to land is worth more than an 18" fish that just comes in almost willingly. The one that my daughter caught on my recent thread was a nice one -- bigger for that body of water, and very healthy. However, it didn't fight too hard, maybe due to being spawned out. Didn't really check. Josh

I'm still amazed she does best with a baitcaster. I wasn't using one of those until my early teens, when Dad bought himself a Quantum 1310mg and I inherited his Ambassadeur 5000. Josh

This is why, when I returned to fishing and upgraded my gear, I went with the Ambassadeurs. They're still made in Switzerland. If/when I replace them with low-profile, I'll go with Shimano, made in Japan. Life is too short to have crap reels. Josh

... and I'm OK with that. I've been teaching my 6-year-old, Bella, how to fish for bass instead of sunfish: I found that lefty Quantum Bill Dance thing in my box of reels. It only needed a handle, so I put one on. I'll be danged if she can't use it well. It's hers now. The bass was caught on a Yum crawdad of some sort, rigged up Texas style. Josh

Hello, Wife wants fish. I don't generally keep bass from public waters, and rarely from private (only when I'm asked to cull.) It's been years since I did anything with crappie. Brushing up, I was watching YouTube videos. Crappie seem to act like small bass -- cousins, after all. So, beside tying a downsize jig or crankbait on and going at it, is there anything I should know? What are some differences? Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone knows of new production metal squarebills. I bust one up about every other fishing trip, and, though it gets results, I'm tired of replacing them. I'm investing in some old Mudbugs, but, so far as I can tell, those are out of production. Regards, Josh

I crush the kids' barbs down. Recently, I've discovered deepthroat hooks that have only rudimentary barbs to begin with. I suspect I'll be buying more of those and crushing them down. Regards, Josh

I'll try setting the hook harder. A couple places I fish are very overgrown, and a sweeping hook set is not really possible. I did switch to a slightly faster action rod for the lighter stuff; we'll see if this improves things. I've never had a problem setting hooks before, so I do wonder if it was that rod. That doesn't explain the miss on the jig, though. Regards, Josh

I'm having trouble loving much of the newer stuff. The Jeep Grand Cherokee post-WJ has independent suspension. I wanted a live front axle, so that meant the newest GC I could get was a 2004. Additionally, I want a lever to control the transfer case and transmission. It's bad enough that the WJ wasn't offered stateside with a manual tranny ? My parents just bought a 2019 Blazer. That thing is pretty awesome from a mechanical point of view, and it's not as flimsy as some of the other modern vehicles I've seen. Too many push-button controls, though, and the engine is sideways. Still, it looks to be good for its intended target customer. I digress. Regards, Josh

Hello, I've been catching bass more consistently this year than I have since I started fishing regularly again. However, I've also lost more than I ever have, and I'm wondering what I might do about it. First time this started happening, I'd caught smallies on a spinnerbait and a crankbait. Fun times. They stopped biting on those, and so I rigged up a Yum Crawdad on a weighted hook. Presentation was on a medium/fast Daiwa rod with a tuned Ambassadeur 4600c3 spooling 30lb test braid with an 8lb fluorocarbon leader. A bass took that thing right away, and then jumped and spat it out. I threw it back out there, and the critter repeated its performance. Looking at the crawdad, the hook hadn't even come out of the plastic. Maybe TX rig with the point exposed next time? At a lake I frequent, I was using my jig rod (MH/F Jimmy Houston Signature, tuned Ambassadeur 5500c3, 65lb braid) throwing a 1/2oz weedless jig with a Yum craw trailer. Drag was locked down, though I've been thinking about backing off of it some since the weeds have been treated in this lake this year. I hooked up to one of the bigger bass I've seen in this lake; set the hook hard, and it was hooked. When it was close to the bank, it flopped and got off. Is this a drag issue, tearing up the mouth? Same day, I threw a craw as above and a bass took it at the lake, but again, this one didn't take the hook. A couple days later, at this lake, a bass took the Creme Worm right off my hook on my wacky rig. Same day, I tied a 17lb fluorocarbon leader on the jig rod and rigged a 10" Texas Rigged ribbon tail worm. Bass took it, but again, avoided the hook. It fought, and jumped and spat it -- the hook hadn't been touched. Should I run a trailer hook on a worm this long? Why are they not trying to eat it head first? I can get away with not burying the hook in the plastic at the river, but not at the lake. The lake has a LOT of vegetation, even though the algae is mostly gone. Lots of grass at the bottom, and the water is usually very clear. (I should mention, I've had a lot of luck using fluorocarbon leaders in this lake where I'd not had luck running a more visible line. Not sure I believe in line shyness, but a visible line certainly increases the size of the lure.) Thoughts on any of this? I'd really like to not lose any more fish this year. Regards, Josh

Just because I've only caught one or two in my lifetime. Also, it might be fun for the kids if we concentrate on smaller creeks. Of course, big smallies are in those smaller creeks, too. Just some semi-random thoughts. Regards.

Hello, These days I'm running straight line in most applications. 1. Jig and heavy plastics rod: Straight 50lb braid. I generally use this in places the vegetation is so thick that the braid blends in. 2. Frog/heavy topwater rod: Straight 65lb braid. 3. Crankbait rod: Straight 12lb XT Trilene. 4. Spinnerbait rod: Straight 12lb Trilene. 5. Light plastics/jerkbait rod: I just put this together this year; it's mostly for lighter plastics rigs. I run 30lb braid with a 12lb fluoro leader. This setup might change. 6. Ultralight rod: 15lb braid with 8lb fluoro leader. I figure I can get away with running a bit bigger diameter leader by using fluorocarbon. Regards

You know, I'm rebuilding my childhood fishing boat, and am debating adding a swivel gun. Regards

I'm enjoying a KVD that I picked up a couple years ago on clearance. It's like 7'6" or so, and made from glass. Alternately, the Cherryrod HD works well, though I'd prefer better eyelets on it. I might upgrade to a MH/M graphite one of these days, but more for weight savings than feel. Regards, Josh

They seem to cast further, for starters. Also, no noise and little vibration. I'm leaving bearings in my 4600s since I use them to cast lighter lures. For my frog rod, my jig rod, and my spinnerbait rod, however, I want bronze bushings with the axle lightly coated with Lucas Engine Assembly Lube. Feels friggin' amazing like that. Regards, Josh