the reel ess

My friend will go fishing with me occasionally. He's a do-nothing expert. No matter what you give him he simply reels it very slowly. It works. I call it the Donnie Do-Nothing method.

That explains the quantity. It's probably an exclusive they have with GYCB. They're always looking for a way to cheapen everything.

There were some in my dad's tackle when he died. I keep saying I'll use them but just haven't done it. Did you rig them wacky or weightless like a fluke?

I have 2 Pfleuger Trions. They're awesome reels for the price.

I have a Daiwa Fuego and a Lew's LFS in that range. My Lew's is the better reel. I know a lot of people like the Fuego. That's why I bought it. But it feels cheap by comparison. I will say it's a couple years old with zero issues. I also have a BPS Johnny Morris Carbonlite 2.0 that's a couple years old. Other than cosmetic differences it looks and feels exactly like the Lew's. I would recommend it. But it's $129.

nm

Mepp's Comet Mino caught everything, those little cheap inline spinners called "Shyster" that were in the local tackle shops when I was a kid, Original Mr. Twister crappie grub and knockoffs in white and chartreuse, Mann's Jelly Worm, Rebel Deep Wee R in silver/blue back.

For spinning I use 20# braid (PowerPro) and a leader if I feel it's needed. 20# has the diameter of 8# mono and all but eliminates twist. Mono can have up to 10% stretch and 6# is probably on the high side of this. So if you cast 70' and have to set the hook it can take 7' of swing to start the hook into the bass. That doesn't leave you with much force.

I've caught the same bass in the same spot a couple of times. The first time in FL, I know it was the same bass because it was so deformed. And this fish bit the same lure twice. I told the guide I was with he should keep that one because he's trying to commit suicide. The second time I caught the same male off the same bed two days in a row. The place I fish most has a good many fish that weight 4-8 lbs. and not much more than that, thus my PB. Few fish there have much of a gut, even leading up to spawn. I have caught a bass with an enormous gut on it twice in the same general area, so I believe this to be a recatch. Since Jan. 2021 I've kept a log and I've caught 23 bass 3 to 8 lbs. I'm almost certain I've doubled up or more on some of those bass.

My daughter is in a residential high school for the arts, focusing on writing. She wrote a short story about our relationship and mentioned how I would walk out on the deck and rig up my combos and chat. She mentioned my Whopper Plopper.

You tell her there's science behind this and you need all the glitters.

I took my job 9+ years ago with the understanding that I would be strictly working remote and would not be asked to come to the office except for occasional visits and a biannual conference. It's an 80 min. drive minimum. But I could work from just about anywhere with high speed Interwebs. Before that I worked as a lower manager for a micromanaging tyrant who thought it was OK to call us on weekends and talk shop. He called me once while I was driving to the lake, towing a boat. I had to pull over and talk to him because I was entering a dead cell zone. My wife refers to him not so affectionately as "The Devil".

The best advice I can give is get one with a stadium seat and adjustable foot rests. I have a Perception Pescador Pro 10. It's fine for fishing but I wish I had bought the 12 footer. The shorter ones turn easier. The longer ones track better. This model is not one you'd want to stand in. I don't want to stand anyway.

I'm 4-5 years away. My daughter starts college in the fall and I want to hang on until she's out. I have every idea my boss will try to keep me working at least part time as I'll only be 56-57 and I'm the best at my job that he has. I want to buy myself a jon boat and start a backwoods bass boat project on it. I think at some point the kayak is going to be a bit too much for an old man. I'd like to be able to fish 3-4 days a week or whenever I feel like it.

I was gonna say "...a sharp stick in they eye." But I'm not sure.

You were infiltrating the whole time! It is a yuge perk. I work from home. It also affords more time on the water because it cuts out the commute. Hours are flexible and I can usually squeeze in an afternoon or morning on the water every couple weeks.

I think of this when I see people catfishing with shrimp. What an awful exchange! I know this will inspire some hate, so here's the disclaimer: I'm joking, kinda. ?

When I was a teen I was getting into metal music and all my jeans were just right when they started to fall apart. My mom would throw them in the trash and I would get them out, wash them and wear them again. If she only knew what a forward thinker I was. Funny thing is this is now much more of a women's style than men's.

I don't believe they do a whole lot of thinking. If we could ask them why they bit a certain lure, and they had the ability to respond, The answer would be "I have no idea".

I've wondered this too. I've caught lots of bass on frogs, including onw almost 8 lbs. But I've always wondered if the bass really recognizes it as a frog or just some poor critter flailing on the lily mat. I rarely see frogs on the mat where I fish.

There was no trespassing. It wasn't even his property he shot the man over because navigable waters are public up to a high water mark. Navigable means you can float any vessel down it. I've probably kayaked on some creeks that were marginally navigable. Never encountered a landowner, but I have seen campsites and obvious fishing spots.

In SC a man went to prison for shooting and killing someone who refused the leave the sandbar in front of the man's property. Here the waterline up to high water, whatever that may be, is public. If they were standing on a sandbar, water wasn't very high. And it wasn't the man's sandbar.

I fish a couple of those too. I have 2 friends with ponds. I have access to one of the two the local city water reservoirs that is owned by the people surrounding it. We have a couple of electric only DNR lakes close by. There's a nature preserve and a couple of state parks within a decent drive. None of these would have boats running gas motors. Technically and assault, but funny nonetheless.

This is why I fish almost exclusively private places. When I do fish public waters, I choose the ones that the crowds avoid.

In many places, the water and everything to the specified high water mark belongs to the power company that dammed the lake. That's considered public access. In SC people can actually get out of a boat and walk on your dock unless it's very high and the homeowner would be in the wrong trying to stop them. It is however illegal for someone to walk through your property and access your dock or to get on a boat (real property) docked there.