FryDog62

The struggle with cardio exercise is real… A friend of mine is an exercise physiologist and helped set me up on a program years ago. One day of cardio, the next day weights and resistance training. Gotta be honest the hardest is the cardio for sure. But he always told me if you’re going to skip a day or you miss due to travel or whatever skip the weight lifting day and stick with the cardio. I try to do that but yeah life gets in the way sometimes. I started on the exercise bike years ago, and it sucks. But I try to do 45 minutes every other day. So in the winter I turn on the DVR and watch fishing shows lol. In the summer I turn on Twins baseball and watch that. It’s the only thing that passes the time enough to get through the workout many days. But with a family history of lots of heart issues, I know I need to stick with it. Whatever you decide to do to keep active is great. Some form of movement every day I think makes a big difference. Yeah easier said than done but you can always find something to do.

I threw about your velocity when I was in junior college. Took many years off and then partially tore my rotator cuff at 41 lifting weights. Never thought I’d throw again... then my boys got into travel baseball and they needed a coach. I started throwing again gradually and eventually 500-1000 pitches a week in batting practice. When the boys got into 9th grade I needed to get the velocity up again. Although I’m sure I never hit 80, I did snap a few curve balls off and froze a couple guys that that were starting to tee off on me. That made it all worth it. Bottom line, if you stretch out ahead of time, get good and warm and don’t try to overthrow, you can get there again. Good luck, stay healthy...

Trick worm guy for many years and made the switch to T-Mac and never looked back. Trick worms seem inconsistent to me, frustrating when some are semi-buoyant, but others are not. T-Mac is great as a shakey head and also Neko.

Am fishing a pit in FL right now... spawn either has or is going on. Best to try to find anything that resembles a "flat" at all, even if just a small area. Drop-shot, Ned, wacky. If they aren't there, go mid-water column like the others above said with a fluke style bait. If you see anything busting the surface out deeper be sure to pull the fluke through that area quickly. Last resort is to drag a football jig down deeper, 10-15 fow, across any rocks you can find.

Skipping a weightless plastic with a b/c was the hardest transition for me. Until I started using a Daiwa SV spool I was 50-50 on skip casts. Now I'm 95%+ with the occasional overrun. After several years skipping with an SV spool, I thought maybe I've just gotten better with more repetitions and its not as much of the SV factor as I thought. Nope, went right back to 50-50 when I experimented skipping again with my Abu's, Lew's and Shimanos.

Go with 3/0...on the 3.5 inch tubes. I use 1/8 oz 90% of the time, and 3/16 oz the rest if in deeper water and/or stronger current,

I throw both the 2.5 and 3.5 Maxscent tubes for smallies and LMB. Which size is usually based more on depth/cover. FWIW, I do throw the 3.5 in both lakes and rivers - usually on a 3/0 1/8 oz Owner Phantom Tube hook. Fantastic rig especially around rocks, weeds, lay downs. It’s a little more center-weighted for that lazy, spiral falling action vs. Texas rigging which just nose-dives and can get hung up. I throw it mostly on Medium or sometimes MH baitcasting gear, 10-12 lb fluoro. Spinning would work too.. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&searchtext=Owner+phantom+

For river smallies, best lure I’ve used is a 5 inch Caffeine Shad. Unlike the standard fluke it has an air bubble in the tail. If you throw it on an Owner Twistlock Light hook along the bank, depending on current it will basically swim on its own horizontally (unlike a regular fluke that will just nose-dive). After 4-5 seconds of swimming with the current, give it a couple twitches and it will come to life again and then continue swimming. Best colors for smallies are white, chartreuse and PINK! Works in lakes for green bass too - even novices can catch them with pink Caffeine Shads!

Yes, there’s a good video on this subject out there but unfortunately not a site I can post on BR but prob can be found on the google.. ?

Gary Yamamoto has said the primary method he fished his famous 5 inch Senkos are on this specific hook - sometimes weighted, sometimes just the hook. He said he doesn’t rig the Yamasenkos wacky style, or on a regular EWG hooks much any more. When rigged on the Twistlock Light hooks, the worm still shimmies as it sinks, but you can also twitch it like a dying bait, then it returns to a slow fall like a wacky. He prefers it because you can cover water quicker and more effectively than wacky style. And the soft worms are more durable with the Twistlock than a plain EWG hook. Also great for skipping.

I use both b/c and spinning for drop-shotting. In reality spinning is better presenting the bait. You use more of your finger tips in the grip and use finer motor skills to provide subtle action, motion and feel. I prefer a baitcaster for heavy/Bubba shotting though..

The 4/0 Twistlock Light 3/32 oz hook with a 5 inch Caffeine Shad is the single best lure/hook combination I have ever used. So much better than a standard fluke. The action on its own after you twitch it a couple times is other worldly ~

X2

I bought an inflatable this winter and after attempting to assemble/inflate a couple times, returned and bought a kayak instead. And, the kayak cuts through waves and tracks in the wind better. Not perfect, but on a full day on the water it makes a difference. Frustration level is a big factor when picking any boat, I think inflatables are right up there on the aggravation scale.

I’m hesitant on most anything in the St. Croix lineup (until you get very expensive) - to go to a MH. Their rods weigh a lot and I find quite tip heavy and fatiguing when you go up in power from a Medium. I still have a Mojo in a Medium I really like but sold all my MH and Heavy Avidx, LTB’s, etc. Other rod manufacturers make lighter better balanced rods IMO. I haven’t fished the new Victory however, maybe it’s better...

I’m buying!

Thanks I did order some rail mounts... they haven’t arrived yet and thought I might still find a crate with them. Will see how they fit on my Boonedox rail and see if/how to fit a crate in/around it..

So I’m new to the kayak thing, but liking it. One thing I’m having a hard time figuring out is why rod holders (in the hull of the kayak, or on crate boxes) stick straight up or at a slight angle? If I could find a crate with rod holders at a very low trajectory going backwards and out of the way I would buy it. Otherwise, I’m always casting at awkward angles so I don’t hit my other rods on the backswing of a cast. Maybe they exist, I just haven’t seen it...

He's more likely to get a billboard like that with my picture after he beats me (again)...

Yep, I'm a bit slow on the draw... Here's best so far in 2022. 21 inch post-spawner... not in Minn, but at least I had my Twins hat on lol. Someone should get one through the ice soon maybe...

Yes, its the old "with friends like that" conversation, but of course best friends usually do give each other a hard time like no one else does... I think its a great idea and have 2 people in mind for the next billboard! lol

Apparently that "Minnesota Nice" thing is fiction ?

Smallies like flash. When the bite is slow or in colder water - I will throw 3-4 inch Keitech Easy Shiners on underspins like a 1/4 oz Hogfarmer WarPig. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=30&searchtext=Hogfarmer+WarPig

I absolutely remember saying that a year ago...

I think you'd be best off with 2 rods frankly, but if you want one that would work for: "Jerk and crankbaits, whopper plopper, spooks, jitterbugs" - I would opt for a Dobyns Champ 685c in the crank bait series. Great for trebles, and your best chance to keep hard-charging smallies at the boat pinned on cranks. If you want longer the 705c is the same, but from a canoe on a river I'd opt for the 6'8" version at $239. Pair it with either a Fuego CT or Tatula CT reel, whichever you can afford and stay under your budget. Soft plastic swimbaits, worms, plastics would be a different rod ~