FishTank

It's been years but my old fishing buddy use to buy five new ones every year. He was retired and fished all the time, all year, and everywhere. These reels would be shot after a year's use. Some were held together with glue and duct tape and missing paint. He might have one that would be almost new. He would trade them in at the spring sale. BPS would take all of them no matter the condition. He would save up $500 for it and that would be his fishing budget for the year. I can't say if they were good, bad or just fair but they were not made for the abuse my buddy put them through.

Hate to tell you but in recent years I have purchused 12 NRX+'s and 2 IMX Pro crankbait rods. I didn't pay retail for any of these. Deals are few and far between but they can be had if you are in the right place, at the right time or if you know the right guy. Patience is required.

The guy I was fishing with was older (maybe 75). He knew what to look for and he had probably fished this lake since the water was poured. He had specific way points already set in his graph that we were targeting. He would fan those areas. Then, at this point for once, I was the guy that got technologically lost. He would point and tell me where to cast.

I don't have FFS on my kayak yet but have been out on a couple boats that have it and I have seen two approaches. One was a guy looking and chasing fish. We didn't catch a lot using this method. Next was a guy that new what structure to look for. He would find brush a pile or a pile of rocks, cast towards them and out of nowhere the fish would come out. The key for him was patience and sometimes multiple casts with a bait just sitting in front of the fishes face. This is were the video game fishing comes in. You just sit, watch for the fish to move and then move our twitch your bait. Again, I'm no expert but it is a weird way to fish.

I got shingles when I was 24.... Yes 24. It was bad. The pain was awful. I had it on my back then across my stomach, chest, and right shoulder. I still have a few scars from it. When I got it, it came on quick and the pain caused me to pass out at work. It made for a fun day. It took about two months to get it fully out of my system.

I have say the Carolina Rig as well. There are too many other techniques that I can fish. A close second might be a tube. There are too many places to get hung up with it at my lakes. I've tried the stupid tube but I would rather fish a Fat Ika.

Owner Wide Gap Plus 6/0.

Currently, LC LV500 but it use to be the Xcalibur One Knocker. Great bait.

Went to DSG for some Yum hellgramites and found a few extras. They had buy five clearance items get five free. I had a coupon and some score card cash. I got all this for $45 but some is for a buddy of mine. I didn't need any of it. Thanks Monkey.

It's been a thing since I was in grade school and unfortunately hasn't gone a way.

I am not familiar with the newer Minn Kotas and to be honest, the MotorGuide is still sort of new to me. I have had it out about 4 times since I got it this year. For my kayak, it came down to the shaft length, the ease of install, and I wasn't sure how to install a Minn Kota on my kayak (there was plenty of info on how to do the MotorGuide). I looked at the Old Town Auto Pilot and really liked it when I got my Hobie but I liked how the deck and storage was laid out, especially the rod holder system. Once I got it out on my favorite lake, I knew I was going to need a trolling motor to battle the wind and get from point A to B without wearing myself out. For a while, I regretted not getting the Old Town but now my Hobie is just the way I want it. Also, the Old Town from what I can tell is kind of slow based on which model you get. I think the one I wanted had a top speed of 3.6 mph and my Hobie will do around 5.2 mph with perfect water. Doesn't sound like a lot but if your lake is 4-5 miles (1,400 acres) long like mine, it makes a big difference in your day.

It has wrapped once and it wasn't bad but I did figure something out. If you hit the Anchor button on the remote while moving, the spot lock does not account for this and tries to return to the exact position that you hit button. This can cause the head to turn all over the place. It helps to be still or close to it and have the head pointed forward. You also have to consider that your rudder needs to be straight. I do like the straight line routing it has. You just point the head straight, hit the button, and no matter the wind, it goes straight ahead at a set speed. I have also recorded a route to troll with. You hit the record button, then store it, and on your next trip you get close to your starting point, hit one of the stored route buttons, and the trolling motor repeats the exact route you recorded automatically. Pretty cool.

I have XI3 on my Hobie PA 14 and really like it so far. Be prepared though, if you want the GPS version with Anchor Mode (SpotLock), it was around $2000 when it was all said and done. $1349 Trolling motor $250 LiPo 10A Battery $80 Motor Guide Quick Release Bracket $150 One Objective Mounting Plate $175 Wiring Kit, Battery Box, Registration and Misc Hardware

Nothing too impressive with my paddling if you look at the fuzzy black thing at the end of my kayak. 😀 I would have been toast without the trolling motor and its spot lock feature which is a work in progress for me. It's kind of all of the place sometimes.

Went out yesterday on my kayak and it was 40 degrees with 20+ mph winds. I don't know what I was thinking but the kayak itself did fine. Battling the wind and the cold was something else. I did catch a few but only one nice one. Oddly there were more bird watchers out than fisherman. They were there to see the weird duck below.

From what I can tell this is a super fine wire finesse bait. I have a few from Picasso and Gan Craft that are thin wired but this bait from Jackall looks even thinner. I usually have to net my fish with ones I have. I would suggest doing the same with the Jackall.

There seems to be no limit to what Berkley will copy. I know this is nothing new to the industry as a whole but it's gone too far with these guys. For me personally, as of this year, from line to lures, I will no longer purchase anything from Pure Fishing. Even though this will hold me back from fishing a few baits I really like, I think I have seen enough. I would rather support companies that create the originals. Besides there are so many good baits out there, I will never be able to fish them all.

By the trees at my lake, catfish are often caught in abundance. There are even catfish lines hanging off of the limbs. I don't know who put them there but they are either brave or really stupid.

One lake I go to has bank filled with them. The trees they flock to are partially dead but they stay white all year round from the large amount of bird 💩.

Under certain conditions, both can scare fish. Spot lock works great for deaper water but I like an anchor if I'm wanting to hold closer to the bank, especially if it's shallow.

Wacky rigged senko and a small shallow running crankbait.

Over the 20 or so years that I have been fishing the 110, I have only broken 3. Megabass replaced 2 of those. Based on the amount of time and years I have fished them, 3 isn't too bad. I also don't tend to loose to many compared to say crankbaits. My advice, don't bounce them (or any lure) off of a dock.

I use fluorocarbon for almost everything except two spinning rods, one BFS setup, one crankbait rod and one topwater/jig rod. On the spinning rods, I'm braid to leader and on the topwater, I cut the leader off depending on what I'm doing and go straight braid, especially in vegetation. For leader, I like Seaguar Gold Label and Sunline Grand Max. For straight fluorocarbon, I like Sunline Sniper Invisible and BMS. I'm testing out Varivas AAA and so far, it's as good as Tatsu. For mono, I like Sunline Machine-gun Cast. I have never had an issue with fluorocarbon but have several issues with mono and braid. For me, mono only lasts a few outings depending on how and where I fish but I can get a whole season or two with fluorocarbon. I have had Tatsu last for four years and only changed it because it was running low.

Went with #2. I'm always out for a big fish. I would rather catch one epic fish than a bunch of dinks.

I keep everything in a card board box I got with an order from Japan. I keep extra parts and stuff in an old Plano box. I suppose at some point I should get a small tool box to store the stuff in but what I have has worked for me so far.