FryDog62

That's where I cut my teeth on white bass - with my dad fishing near Wabasha, or Camp Lacupolis, etc. Back then we didn't have electronics, we'd just watch where the birds would land in the water and cast a Mepps. Ancient times lol...

There aren’t any Stripers or Wipers in Minnesota… but there some rivers and lakes with a good population of White Bass. When I lived there I found 2 lakes with low-medium density, but the average size was 17-18 inches. A friend of mine and I caught some 19.5-19.9 and within a few ounces of the state record (4 lbs 8 oz). They were great to catch before the bass season opens in Minnesota in Mid May (silly, I know). Whities were legal all year round yet very few spent any time pursuing them. This despite being ferocious fighters and good table fare. I’m not sure which fights harder - a 3 pound smallmouth, or a same sized White Bass. If I had to put a wager on it, I’d probably pick the latter especially in cold water. When I first got Livescope a few years back, I really learned its value in chasing around wolf packs of those silver slabs!

…or anatomy

Friend of mine who lives in rural MN, actually had a hose that went out his bedroom window and off the back porch. Propped his bed up just high enough, and rolled over to one side to pee and let gravity do its trick. He said he never had to get out of bed, and the urine scent kept the coyotes off his deck so that they could let the dogs out early morning without concern. Now that's killing 2 birds with one stone !

I started on Alfuzosin a few months back - used to get up 3-4 times a night to pee... now down to 0-1 per night. Between that and the sleep gummies above, best rest I've had in years ~ Try the sleep gummies above... straightened out my messed up sleep pattern when nothing else worked.

Catt, have you used their floating lizard for Carolina rigging? Looks like a good potential option…

NetBait T-Mac worms look the same but float much more consistently than the Trick Worm. Many of us that swore by the original Trick Worm for decades have switched to the T-Mac (check out the past reviews on TW). I also use GrandeBass Airtail Wiggler worms. Both superior to the Trick Worm IMO.

I wish I had a photo, but if there is room behind your garage - you can make a bump out "box" that fits the dimensions of your outboard. Can buy you a couple more feet for a couple hundred bucks if you're a good handyman.

I cherish sleep but it became tougher in recent years when BPH would get me up in the middle of the night.. couldn't get back to sleep. Start taking 2 Charlotte's Web sleep Gummies and now I get right back to sleep. Best rest I've had in years. Most nights 7 hours of sleep, sometime 8. All good ~ https://www.charlottesweb.com/cbd-melatonin-sleep-gummy

At the time that I bought, Trivex was only offered for prescription lenses unfortunately…

I have the green mirror progressive Costa lenses and they are awesome. The fact they are prescription, Costa makes the lens out of a material called Trivex - it has the clarity and scratch resistance of glass, but lighter weight and more shatterproof like plastic. The perfect lenses IMO.

Best one I’ve used by far is the Strike King Jointed Structure Head. It goes thru and around the rocks as well as any… but the slightly triangular head is just enough to nose thru weeds/cover without bringing back a clump of salad.

A black VMC Marabou “Flashabou” with the subtle tinsel in the tail is the bomb for smallmouth. That little bit of tinsel makes a huge diff. 1/16 or 1/18 oz on BFS is a hoot👍

They sure are cute, but go the otter way if they are around. Fish know they are carnivores and tend to move out of the area..

I find myself (although somewhat reluctantly) converting some of my set ups from fluorocarbon to braid. Sometimes it's just harder to get a positive hook-set in a canoe or kayak when you can't use your legs, or its windy and you're just holding on, etc.

Touche' but you may have to give me a triple tongue-lashing if we move again in a year to South Carolina, or somewhere else!

No doubt, but being in a deck-outed bass boat with extra speed and a plethora of storage for gear, lures, etc. will allow you a few more liberties and flexibility to change a plan on the fly, when the fish or the weather tell you different than you planned. I do miss my PVB, if I had to buy another bass boat today I'd be hard-pressed to get anything else...

Less range and less rods, tackle, etc. makes you really plan your trip out ahead of time and work high percentage spots more thoroughly... yet you have to know when it's time to pull up and cover more water. Sometimes just picking the ramp with best starting location in a kayak is the #1 factor, whereas in my bass boat, you just pull up and rip 50 mph across a large body of water to the next spot.

Moving from Minnesota to Florida has been a big change for me. We may end up here or likely somewhere else, so it didn't make sense to haul my bass boat 2000 miles and store it here and probably the next place. I already had a motorized kayak here in Florida, so I'm making the most of that. It does change your range and how you fish though. I will likely buy another boat eventually when we get settled someday, but I can say for certain that fishing from a kayak will make you a better angler. You are forced to become much more efficient in terms of how and where you fish.

I had a Lucky Craft 1/16th oz crankbait at one point... threw it on BFS and 7 lb fluorocarbon. If it wasn't windy, it was a blast to throw. Eventually ended up on a lilly pad stalk deep enough that I couldn't retrieve it. Fun while it lasted though ~

We do have them in the Golden Gate canal system in Naples (2 hours away from Sarasota). Not the prime time of year for Peacocks, but we are catching a few too on some nearby lakes. If you need a guide for Golden Gate this woman spoke to our fishing club last year. I didn't go out with her, but a couple other members did and did well. She's $350 for either 4 or 6 hours I think. https://www.shefishes2.com/about/

Probably true, I know my Dobyns are similar weight but balance soooo much better. I think a lot of people find many models of SC to be very tip-heavy..

My guess is because although SC makes excellent rods, they are some of the heaviest and that data didn't work in their favor...

Feel free to list a couple if poss… I’m starting flat-footed here 👍