FryDog62

I have the same vest - change out to cartridge every 18-24 months whether it needs it or not….

All due respect to him and his family - a real tragedy. But wearing a PFD while in a kayak at all times is a non-negotiable.

Yep. That’s why they gave me Doxycycline - gets rid of Staph in addition to other things. Had a staph infection 10 years ago - went undiagnosed/untreated for 3 months. Lost partial vision in one eye. Staph is nothing to mess with!

South Dakota. Huge fish on the border at Big Stone, or further West into the glacial lakes region - Cattail/Kettle, Roy, Clear, Horseshoe, etc. Always found it much more productive than the Western waters of Wisconsin.

This has happened before - going to carry a bottle hydrogen peroxide in the future 👍

White bass are worth the risk!! (A top 3 species for me personally)

I hate to say it - but shouldda seen it yesterday morning when it was 3 times that size and all pus. Eeeewwww!

Best of luck Clayton!

Ever wonder how many times you get pricked by a hook point throughout the year? Probably not every time out, but every handful of times on the water I stick myself with a hook point... especially if jerk baits are involved. Was out last Friday and kind of remember getting stuck briefly on my middle finger with a hook - don't think it even bled much. Forgot about it the next 2-3 days and then all of a sudden my finger got sore. Woke up yesterday morning with a white head blister the size of a marble! Popped it and now on Doxycycline and it looks much better although still a bit swollen

My old college baseball roster guide had me listed at 6 foot and 170 pounds... I don't think either were correct then or now Funny, my right arm is still a solid inch longer than my left from throwing all those years. Now when I cast the sleeve of my shirt "hikes up" on the right and I get a little one inch stripe of sunburn between my sleeve and fishing glove, but only on that side lol. Thought forever that we were German/Norwegian, but in the month before my dad passed away he started talking about his heritage from Ireland. My mom scoffed and said he was just getting senile. But he was an only child and his father died at age 34 so no one really knew. So we had DNA testing and sure enough I'm 51% Irish. I knew there was a reason I never like Sauerkraut or Lutefisk!

I did not like the Expride 6’10” Medium at all - the 15 inch handle is way too long and a PIA to fish jerkbaits or poppers for any period of time. A 13 inch handle is about perfect IMO. I have both a Dobyns Champ 685cb and 705cb and they work really well for jerkbaits, cranks, topwater/poppers, square bills, flat sides. Pick your preferred length between those two models, but the handle/action is just right on these rods. A friend of mine just switched from the Expride over to the Dobyns as well.

Work schedule permitting - I'm hoping to fish Dale Hollow so stay tuned 👍

I ran the upper Mississippi and Rum River in Minnesota for years.. fish (especially smallmouth) migrate great distances throughout the year. If they stop biting in a particular stretch of river more likely means that they’ve left the area. You either need to move or wait until the following cycle/season for them to return.

ziinnnnnnnggg or Zzzhhhunnnttt - we speak the same language !

I know that sound! 👍

The sound made on a big sweeping hook set on a bladed jig or swim jig… where the drag slips for a split second before the hook embeds … Zzzhhunnntt! Don’t know how else to describe that sound but it’s golden 👍 What other sounds in bass fishing do you like best?

Have you also tried the BPS Wake Up call? Same weight but bigger profile/jointed. Was deciding between those two when I saw this post.

5 inch Caffeine Shad on a 4/0 Owner Twistlock LIGHT

Just out from shore in 4-5 fow… 51 degree water temp pre-spawn. It was a cluster of a time. Net got caught in a rod/lure behind me, went to net it and the entire rod/reel went in the drink. Still stuck on the net though, but I couldn’t get the fish scooped up. Fish then dove and the line got caught on a notch in my paddle. Pulled that loose and I grabbed her jaw as the paddle floated away. Couldn’t get the camera in the cradle to take a photo. I heard a voice of someone that had floated up to me and watched the whole thing. He snapped a few shots from afar as I tried to unwind everything and release the fish. Doesn’t look like a 24 incher, picture doesn’t do it justice but I put it on the scale at 7.35. I did not deserve that fish, I need a different net with a shorter handle in close quarters in a kayak, this has happened before where I lost the fish.. - -

Shout out to @Siebert Outdoors. Until today I had ZERO confidence in red Chatterbaits. Ordered a couple recently and whattayouknow - 24 inch 7.35 pound LMB. “Hot Sauce” is my new favorite color

Admittedly, I tend to be an impatient person and have a low tolerance for stuff that doesn’t work. I like things new and under warranty. Less chance it got used and abused by the person that owned it before me. New stuff can still hiccup, but you minimize the chances, and many times have a decent warranty to get a replacement if needed. That goes for vehicles, boat motors and fishing equipment, etc. Worst thing for me is to finally get quality time off to go do what I like and - the truck doesn’t start, the outboard won’t run, or my reel yaks up a hair ball.

So, what I’m wondering with ALF - is it that they are just so short-staffed, or they don’t have the leverage of Tacklewarehouse? Or is it both? For instance, I’ve had a very common/popular Daiwa reel on backorder with them for weeks/months.. and during this time TW has it continually in stock. Now that backordered reel just went on sale at ALF while still on backorder! Is it they are trying to build demand and prove to Daiwa they are a major player and need to be a higher priority and receive more stock regularly to keep their customers happy? Or is it just a sad reality that the bigger retailer (TW) is simply higher volume and Daiwa treats them as priority over the smaller ALF’s and Omnia’s of the world? This has happened to me with other product/backorders at ALF too not just this reel. Lots of back orders, but that’s not the case nearly as often at the evil empire also known as Tacklewarehouse. Yes, ALF’s follow through and detail orientation seems to have slid backwards since the Covid era started. Lots of tackle companies have had the same experience, but they just seem to always be behind and details suffer. I had a new rod sent to me a couple weeks ago that was on backorder for 6 months. I had cancelled the order and purchased something else from them 5 1/2 months ago and the rod still showed up. Had to send it back even though it was marked paid (It didn’t feel right to keep a free $550 GLX rod!). Would have liked at least a future discount or points added to my account for returning it. Other credits/refunds are getting to be like pulling teeth at times… I think they need more people that aren’t spread so thin to be honest. Otherwise a good company I’ve enjoyed doing business with, really like their trade-in program… but yeah it’s starting to wear a little thin..

The best lures I have found to tick bass off in cold water are a jerk bait and a blade bait. If you are waiting for bass to get hungry and slurp slow moving lures, wait til spring...

That old state record needed to get reclassified as I’m pretty certain it’s fiction. I can see how that one came about - It’s 1948, and a couple of guys are fishing somewhere in Northern Minnesota and one of them catches a nice one… no scale or tape measure but let’s say it’s a solid 6 pounder which is a nice fish anywhere. Later that night around the campfire after a dozen Hamm’s the fish grew to at least 7 pounds… By the time they drive home and are greeted by neighbors and friends, “Oh my gosh you shoulda seen the 8 pounder that Oly caught !!” Of course - no scale, and it was right “even” at 8 pounds and unknown ounces, no tape measure, no photo, probably no idea the difference between a largemouth and a smallmouth, and just a bunch of crushed Hamm’s cans as evidence…

Here’s the part I don’t get - he self reports the violation and he not only gets DQ’d - but did I hear right that he also got fined? I can’t see how they could fine him unless there is more to the story…