the reel ess

I'm with you. They're fishertainment more than fishing videos. We tried really hard to shield our daughter from those type things when she was younger. Because once a kid has heard a word or seen an image, it can't be unheard/unseen. I believe an age of innocence is important in the early life of a child. I avoid a handful of them. You know the ones. Even among that certain group there are a couple of mature acting guys. Collaborations make it harder because old timers will collaborate with these young guys to get crossover views. A few I like are: Brendan Miller, Creek Fishing Adventures, NDYakAngler, Brian Latimer. They're all content and very little silliness.

I like the Trick Worm in bubble gum or limetreuse. It makes it easy to see if they take it. Also a lizard is good, but they're usually natural colors that blend into the bottom. It's generally up to the fish whether it bites or not. They're not really eating.

I fished a day with a guide for peacocks once throwing a Super Spook and a Walking Boss most of the day. Those peacocks do not just give up like largies when you lip them. So I wanted to boat flip the fish. After a few the guide told me to lip them. He said they can be damaged more easily than a largemouth. I informed him I've lived a half century without getting a hook sunk into my flesh past the barb. And I didn't intend to lose that streak with a 2-5 lb. peacock flopping around the boat. Later we used some shiners with a small circle hook on spinning gear. Much easier to handle. He made me lip those because the rods were custom made and high mod graphite. But that was the worst case of bass thumb in the history of bass thumb. It was basically all of both hands. My wife suggested I use Chap Stick on it and it worked wonders.

IDK. I paddle around a 30 acre lake, whatever that is. But sometimes I skip half of it if I know the fish prefer one end.

Sunlight and swings between extreme heat and extreme cold might affect it. I had a couple of combos leaning against the wall over a baseboard heater one winter. That line was useless come spring.

I just bought a new kayak because the old one was the old molded in seat design. My butt would ache and eventually my feet would fall asleep if I didn't get out and stretch. My two biggest must haves were a good stadium style seat and and light weight. I ended up with the Pescador 100. 10-6" long ad 57 lbs. A very comfy seat. Can't wait for the maiden voyage. Now, I know this is a cheaper kayak than some. It's also more expensive than some. I had a Feelfree Lure with a trolling motor. It was more trouble than I wanted to deal with. If I wanted to spend $2K on a boat I'd get a jonboat with trolling motor.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt just because I like the man. I don't play fantasy anything.

I have a Pescador 120 one generation earlier than yours. The thin seat finally rotted to the point I just removed it. I was in Dick's and bought a foam stadium seat cushion that is much better than what it came with. Later, after my dad died, he had a seat cushion in his Jeep. I just put it on top of my cheap foam one. I tried a folding cloth stadium chair, but it sat too high in the kayak. It was tippy. But I just bought a Pescador Pro 10 with the 2-position stadium seat. Can't wait to give it a shakedown cruise.

I still have an old Shimano Bantam BC reel and some more of my dad's old stuff. Most of his stuff was cheap. He was not one to waste money on frivolous fishing gear. But some of his rods are quite serviceable and I use them sometimes. It makes me feel close to him.

The wife and I saw this guy with Chris Stapleton and Marty Stewart. I was an instant fan. He has 4 albums and has written several songs for other artists and most people never heard of him. This is a sweet video, but the lyrics are coming from a darker place. This one was too easy.

I haven't been to Edisto. I'd like to. We spend a good bit of time around Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island. My sister has a place at Garden City and my nephews live in Murrells.

We are thinking of a last move. I love FL. But I know the wife won't love the heat. I think we may end up compromising and heading toward the SC coast.

It was good. I loved it. But I knew I would. I like westerns, modern westerns and western scenery. And I had already read the novel series. The showed pretty much followed the novels.

I fished with a FL guide once who said he had to shoot one in his entire career. He said it got bolder with every visit. He was pretty sure it was the same one because it was uncharacteristically bold. Eventually, it tried to get onto the aft deck.

I use Tactical Anglers clips on everything I want to be able to change out quickly. That's pretty much all treble baits. I haven't had a problem with any fish bending them yet. They're rated from 50-175 lb. I'm in the kayak so versatility is key.

What used to ruin a trip for me was too many other fishermen or other rude boaters. When my family still owned a lake house I used to go over on Friday evening, put the boat in and make sure it ran fine. I'd get up before the rooster crowed and get out to whatever spot I thought was going to be most productive. It got to the point I was usually the third boat into some of those places. Or I would have to take a weekday off to avoid crowds. Then I was down to plans B & C. That got old. I know people think it's cheating to fish private waters. But I didn't change to catch more and bigger fish. I changed to keep the hobby fun. It was becoming a lot of work for little reward.

My normal and best spot is less than 2 miles from my house. I can load the kayak and gear and be on the water in 15 minutes. I have three other regular places within a 15 min. drive. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

I have all these rods plus a M-F spinning for those lighter treble baits. I will sometimes take up to 8 rods because I might want different baits of the same type tied on. Then there are times, like right now, that I only take 3 rods.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Are the exotic species in them as well as largemouth?

Can you just pull off the side of the road anywhere on Everglades Parkway (I 75) and walk and fish? I see YouTube videos of people fishing canals beside the highway and I would guess it's there.

Hear Here! Big Game is one of the best bang for buck products in all of fishing. I keep a 900 yd spool in my bag. I use it for backing on reels spooled with braid. I have had to cut the braid off my jig reel due to a very bad backlash and I just filled it back with 15# BBG until I got home. I was on vacation and it saved my fishing trip. I also use it for spinnerbaits/buzzbaits. I've gone to braid as my main line on most combos and it seems to be working well. I may end up with braid on all my combos.

Pegged is fine. Just keeping the weight and the bait in one smaller package. I use the bobber stop.

Bass are pretty resilient. You just don't want them to swallow the hook. If that happens, there's a thread on one of these pages about how to deal with it. If all else fails and you kill it, eat the bass. They taste alright. When your hobby is sticking hooks in fish, a few are going to get hurt.

It looks a little light on the hookset to me. But it was obviously good enough. My dad taught me to "cross their eyes" with the hookset, just to be sure. It's not as necessary when using light wire or treble hooks. Now, when you start using jigs or flipping hooks, you have to set it hard. The thicker the hook, the harder the hookset. I should also mention you don't need to set circle hooks or finesse hooks hard. Just reel into the fish and it will do the rest.