the reel ess

I have some friends who were trying to build a new house in a development at Garden City Beach, SC. The guy went down and stayed with in laws and got a job. The builder had them sign a contract and never started the house. 6 months later the contract ran out and no house. I suppose the builder never signed the contract. But he offered another contract for about $90K more. He is simply speculating on the lot. So they never moved and he's back here in town, working and back at his old job. I bought a brand new 2010 Chevy Silverado 4WD extended cab for $22K during the Great Recession. I had to shop hard to find it at a dealer going out of business, but new ones were available all over for about $30K. A comparable truck is in the 50s now. Hell, my truck is still worth more than $20K. I don't have miles on it and it runs like new. It might be 20 more years before I buy another.

I have a 6' light ABU Garcia "Harold Ensley" casting rod my dad had when he died. It didn't have a reel on it, so I'm not sure why he even had it. I have an H2O Tac 40 reel on it, spooled with light braid. I scavenged that braid for a new reel yesterday, so I'm probably going to fill the light combo with 4# Trout SOS mono. I'm not really sure what I'll use it for, if I ever do. All I've used it for so far is to toss a standard size Pop R. I'm more into power fishing. Most places I fish have a lot of vegetation. I suppose it would make a good panfish combo. Really, I'm just reaching for a reason to use my dad's stuff.

I used to carpool with a guy who dipped snuff. I would drink a Coke in the morning and he would reuse the bottle in the afternoon. Well, after I dropped him off one day I was thirsty and thought that was still a Coke. Had to pull over for a little while.

I'm an estimator for my job. I recently repriced a 14 month old quote and the material costs rose by 40%. That's our cost for them. In that time, freight continually rose and we had to increase our handling, rigging and labor rates.

All I can do is sympathize because I'm not very good at them either. I tell my wife "I could do it. But then someone else is going to have to fix it." My dad always did all our home repairs, carpentry, electrical, etc. Consequently, there were always several things in need of repair because he hadn't gotten around to it. My grandmother moved in with us when I was about 8. He closed in the carport and made it her suite. He was in the process of taking it back to a garage when he died. Had to sell the house with a carport that had no means of entry. My cousin bought it and was returning it to a rec room. Good Lord! The kitchen is the most expensive remodel in the house. But it sounds like that guy was trying to get out of the job. We remodeled an entire house for less than that, including a beautiful kitchen.

Everyone in my family hates it but me. It gives that little tongue numbing sensation that's just heavenly. Anise is my favorite soft plastic scent. Garlic is probably my least favorite. I can't smell the coffee scent. Probably because I drink strong, black coffee.

When the water is colder I'll fish the middle of the day maybe all the way through spawn. But as it warms I start shifting towards sunrise/evening. Lower light periods and better temps are the attraction down south. Sunrise is my absolute favorite time to be on the water. There's something spiritual about seeing the sun rise on a new day. But I have a job so it's necessary for me to fish some evenings if I want to go during the week. I will say that lately, I could go at 10:00AM and still catch as many bass. They just haven't been munching early.

How do fish discern the brand of the stick bait?

Partial to these two

I almost always throw a gold shiner pattern spinnerbait. I've tried others with little success, but the gold simply does the best, even in latevwinter when the water looks like chocolate milk.

I'm looking for ways to do this as well. After about an hour on the water my feet start to go to sleep. I just feel that would be better if I could raise the seat a tad. My kayak has a higher seat setting too, but it doesn't feel natural at all. The one time I tried it in the high setting, I paddled right back to the dock and lowered it.

No. My FeelFree Lure had a strap for this. It also had a leaning post type contraption that I never used. If you weren't standing, it was completely in the way.

Also, another great place to ask brand-specific advice on fishing kayaks.

nm

Tackle, rods..., boats..., and General, in that order. I check introductions about once a week and occasionally Southeast bass fishing.

I've been kayak fishing for more than 10 years. I haven't used an anchor more than twice and never a dolly. You can get out on the water without those things and add them later if you wish. With stability comes weight. I've owned a FeelFree Lure 13.5 that was stable enough to stand on. I still didn't feel comfortable standing very long. I just prefer to sit and fish. I like being close to the water. If I wanted to stand I'd buy a SUP or a jon boat, which I still might do.. I feel standing is overrated and not really necessary most of the year. Spawn is an exception. Good sunglasses will help you more than standing. My Lure weighed in at 107 lbs. Pretty heavy for one person to be loading and unloading, even off a truck bed. So I downsized to a Pescador Pro 10 and dropped 50 lbs. The only drawback here is you probably wouldn't want to stand on it, even though they claim it's stable. And a 12 footer would have tracked a bit better in retrospect. I paid about $800 for the 10 Pro. At a minimum, I'd insist on a stadium style seat. The Perception Outlaw is a stable kayak and the seat sits pretty high. It's in the $900 range new. The drawback there is it's not as easy to paddle or turn. For slow, leisurely kayak fishing on still water, you might find it ideal. And of course, as mentioned before, scour Craigslist and strike fast if you see a screaming deal. Good luck. It's an awesome experience to have a big fish dragging you around.

Medium = treble lures. Medium Heavy = single hook lures. That's how I see it. But I often break the rules. I have a heavy for jigs and worms. I have an extra heavy for frogs.

I came here to recommend a Lowrider. It's definitely $150 worth of rod in a $130 package. I have an older 7'0 MH one, made in USA. I bought it for $50 from a guy who was getting out of fishing and into motorcycles. I also have BuCoo 6-10 Pitching stick ($100) that I love. But that old Lowrider is noticeably more sensitive. I've used it for everything from jigs to frogs to cranks to big topwaters. I love that rod. To the OP's question, I now use a Cabela's Tournament XT rod for frogs. It's XH-XF and stiff as a pool cue. Not really good for anything more than frogs and casting jigs. ot enough tip for pitching. That 6'10" BuCoo pitching stick I have could pull double duty quite well.

Not on my fly rod

I had a guy squeeze between me and the bank once and I was no more than 20 yards from the bank. I cast a worm right at his trolling motor prop and he had to lift it. Then he says to me "It's a big lake."? Had another guy drive right up to the bank in front of me when I was clearly fishing that bank and let what looked to be his grandson out to take a leak. He left the motor running the whole time. I responded by buying a kayak and asking permission to fish local small, private places. Never looked back. I haven't fished a big public lake in 5 years or more.

If you've never tried the Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw, it's well worth a shot. They smell like a seafood restaurant dumpster. Fish will hold them all day. I used them for a while, but they're a little too soft for trailers. I went through them too quickly. Work great T-rigged.

If that Tournament MP is the replacement for the Tournament MB, can't go wrong. there. I have 3. The oldest one finally gave up a bearing. It sounds awful when I cast. I'm going to send it off to be fixed. I also have 1 LFS $100 reel and one on order. As you can see I'm a fan.

I do too. But it's even better if it's close to deep water.

Zoom Trick Worm, Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm, stick worms, flukes, Rage Craw, Rage Bug.

Trick Worms just taste like salt. And when you shorten it it gets more bites.