desmobob

There's something about rock bass and Rapalas... I caught my first double when two rock bass bit a Rapala count-down minnow fore and aft. BTW... I do have a Rapala Super Shad Rap in perch color, but it's only about 5.5" long. I don't know if I could cast a four-footer! ?

Nailed it... I have a buddy who posts photos of every 1.5-2 lb. smallie he catches and refers to them as "another four-pounder." He does not own a scale. If he gets one now, it will only disappoint him. ?

One reason I went with a Thule system vs. OEM is the ability to customize and use the number of attachments available from both Thule and Yakima on the standard rectangular-section Thule crossbars. I use a Yakima kayak cradle on my Thule crossbars. I purchased crossbars long enough to put two canoes on, side-by-side. The factory crossbars are far too short for that. I also bought the Thule Outrigger loading aid that slides inside one of the crossbars. This thing is a huge help and stays stowed away when not in use. They don't offer it any longer...

I use the Mustard Fastach devices on several of my outfits. At one time, I tried some Owner Snagless clips that had a ring and post sort of system to lock/strengthen them. Unfortunately, the ring was on the end of the wire that opened up, and it wouldn't fit through the eyes on several of my lures. I tried the Norman Speed Clips and gave up on them after watching a couple of baits sail away on the cast. I haven't had any issues with the Mustads. They aren't quite as quick and convenient as a clip, but close.

My little Forester has been a workhouse, hauling my boat, canoes and kayaks. No problems. But I didn't buy the OEM racks; I installed a Thule set. Here it is on Cape Cod with my buddy's Whaler on the trailer and a pair of Wilderness Systems Pungo 140s on the roof racks...

I just got an e-mail yesterday from the place I ordered the new side plate from... They're sending me a refund because the part is out of stock. I couldn't find one anywhere so I guess I have to live with a little bit of wrinkled paint!

Tackle Warehouse seems to have plenty of them....

The same as on solid ground... Perfectly?

I don't know if PVC floats... I don't think I've ever owned any PVC waders. Over a lifetime of trout fishing, I've crossed the fine line between wading and swimming plenty of times, usually in moving water, wearing everything from old-school Hodgeman waders to modern breathables. The point is, water filling your waders isn't going to suddenly "pull you under like an anchor." If something weighs less than the water it displaces, it will float. If it weighs more than the water it displaces, it will sink. If your waders fill up with water, it won't have much affect at all on your buoyancy. Don't panic if it happens; that won't help you.

That is irrational fear. Water weighs the same as... water. You have pretty much the same buoyancy with your waders full or empty (a little less due to whatever trapped air there might be inside them). Water in your waders won't sink you. Neoprene waders are actually very buoyant and will float you! Take your neoprene waders down to the water and try to sink them. Full or empty, they'll float just the same.

I put one of those sticky traps up in the suspended ceiling of a place where I used to live and attached it to a piece of wire. When I got home from work I got up on a stepladder to check it. There was a flying squirrel stuck from his belly back to his tail on the sticky stuff and his front half off the tray. As I was carefully unhooking the trap and taking it out of the ceiling, the phone rang. I answered the phone with the trap in one hand with the flying squirrel hanging off the end of it, struggling to get free. Without thinking (the back story to most screw-ups) I switched hands with the phone and trap. As my hands came together during the exchange, the squirrel reached out and bit my index finger deeply. I yelled. My girlfriend, on the phone, asked exactly what in the holy heck was going on. I told her I was just bitten by a flying squirrel. You can imagine her response. "What the... ?!" I never bought another glue trap.

Well... better to have frogs chasing your hollow-body frog baits than northern pike. A few seasons ago, there was a huge pike hanging around my favorite frog-fishing spot. He ate at least three or four Scumfrogs over the course oft the summer, slicing easily through the 20lb. InvisX leader I was using.

It's just some wrinkles in the paint but it will tick me off every time I look at it so... I found a right side plate for the reel. About twenty-four bucks, to my door. I ordered it. ?

I have a "Think Stripers" sticker on my car from the old Orvis shop on Cape Cod. I was telling one of my buddies how often someone will look at it and, despite the fact there is an image of a striped bass on the it, will ask "Think strippers?" He shook his head and remarked that some folks never learned third grade spelling rules. Two minutes later, his mom walked out of the house, looked at my car and said, "Does your mother know you have that sticker on there? 'Think Strippers!' That's awful!" ?

What a Boga lacks in accuracy, it adds in durability, reliability and versatility. It rocks at boating big pike, bowfin and channel cats and greatly reduces the risks involved with lipping bass that are hooked on hard baits with multiple trebles while allowing a decent weight reading at the same time (with no batteries to replace or be dead when you really need them). Order one, cry about the price until it shows up, then forget all about the money spent when you realize what a great tool it is...

I started to do exactly that, but it felt like the bit was up against something hard and I didn't want to risk going too deep with it. With my luck, I'd drill a hole into the gear case... I wonder exactly how deep it's safe to go in a Mercury ELPT 40HP four-stroke's pitot hole? ?

I've fished my new KastKing Zephyr BFS reel for several hours now and I'm very happy with it so far. My Fishband GH100 is a bit better with really light baits, but I have not been able to cure its occasional pinion gear problem that causes some grinding/binding every so often. It also seems to be a big step above my other cheap import BFS bait casters as far as fit and finish. It's quite nice, and my new favorite budget BFS toy. I also have a KastKing Assassin, Stealth, and Legend Royale. The Legend Royale's individual centrifugal brakes no longer will stay disengaged when adjusting them, so it has to be fished with all four on. The Assassin and Stealth have worked well but I haven't really fished with them a lot.

My boat's speedometer occasionally stops working or reads very low. The lake I usually boat in is full of silt, weeds, wood, etc. and the pick-up hole for the pitot on the lower unit of my outboard gets plugged fairly often. I keep a large sewing pin stashed in the carpet near the motor well for the purpose of picking debris out of the opening. So far, that has always got my speedometer working again. Except for this time. I'm wondering what my next course of action should be. I was thinking of trying to blow some pressurized air back out through the lower section of the pitot tube from the joint near the well, but I'm not sure how to disconnect it (or if it is able to be disconnected there). Any thoughts?

I think the "empty" reading is in regards to the pressure. It still might be full of active ingredients but have no pressure to spray them out...

The good ol' Vexliar Deptherm is the tool I had in my tackle box before I bought my first fish finder.

That would be a fun project! I have a Croozer Cargo trailer for my Bianchi Axis that I used on multi-day trips. It works very well, tows perfectly and can really haul some weight (88lb recommended limit). Using its basic design as a template and adding an extended tongue, it seems like you could haul a light kayak...

The bass were not cooperating today. I got bored and started going through the tackle boxes... Hey! There's a brand new Megabass Vision 110 Magnum in "Elegy Bone" color that hasn't been in the water yet! After about three jerks:

Yes. Choose the conventional sonar screen, then keep turning up the gain until the thermocline shows. Same as with most any unit, as far as I know.

Big, hard-fighting, and delicious! ?

I bought a pair of Abu 5.4:1 "Winch" reels and a Lew's BB1 5.1:1 reel to help slow down my retrieves! They do make cranking large deep divers a piece of cake though. Heck... use a rod sweep for the "burn" and crank in the line on the "pause"!