TOXIC

I don’t dropshot a DShad. My preferred rigging is Texas with a 4.0 EWG. I fish it a couple of ways. First like a soft jerkbait which is casting to open water and twitching the bait back in a walk the dog fashion. The faster the retrieve and how I position the hook will set the depth it runs and if it climbs or drops on the jerk. I will throw it in heavy vegetation and let it sink in the open spots or work it across the top and finally, I have dead stacked it and dragged it drift fishing for smallmouth. It is one of my favorite baits and I always have one rigged up on a dedicated rod/reel.

That’s why I have a trailer hitch!?. Have boat will travel. Florida in February, Michigan in March and Wisconsin in August. Luckily here in Virginia we can get out of the really bad heat in some of our rivers that keep the water a little cooler and the oxygen levels up.

If you match the hatch, most water bait species have lighter bellies and darker topsides. Shad and craws for example. I try to rig it with that in mind and even carry it over to laminate Senkos.

Me personally, I only throw the Yamamoto DShad. I’ve just gotten so used to the action and fall rate, I can’t use anything else. Same plastic and formula as a Senko. They aren’t cheap but well worth the coin.

Fishing for me has filled a lot of voids. It has allowed me to meet a lot of my closest friends. As a guide it allowed me to feel the joy of getting a kid his first bass and experienced fishermen their PB. It gave me a break from a very high stress job before I retired and allowed me to recharge. In tournaments it fed my competitive spirit. It gives me the joy of running a boat WOT down the lake. It allowed me to bond better with my son and daughter. It has spurred me into traveling to fish different bodies of water. It is my one hobby. It puts me to the test every time I get on the water and finally, I feel my grandfather sitting next to me every time I fish. He introduced me to the game when I was a kid and I lost him to leukemia when I was 12 but not before he took me to Canada to fish for pike, musky, walleye and smallmouth.

I don’t wear my vest when I’m standing on the front deck fishing. I have an inflatable and I have 3 full vests. The inflatable is used when I’m on the front deck in very rough seas. When running, I prefer to not to have to trust my inflatable will work as designed and always wear a full vest with a neck collar. It stays attached to my kill switch.

It hasta be Shasta.?

Post script: got home and ran a small cable tie through the pee hole on my motor (didn’t have any weed eater line) and water spurted out and it was muddy. Dang mud dauber must have got me. That explains my intermittent motor temp spikes. I left the cable tie in there now I just have to remember to remove it the next time out. ??

My office was at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, my vehicle was in an underground garage in one of our other buildings at 800 17th Street. When it became clear what happened and the intel was that the White House and/or Pentagon was a target, we were all (as was most every building in DC) evacuated into the street. All communications were down and we were being “herded” down Pennsylvania Avenue towards Georgetown to get out of the danger zone. I broke free of the huge crowd and headed to where my vehicle was. I was able to get it out and started the 8 hour ordeal to get home 50 miles away. Many detours later I had to go by the Pentagon and saw it in flames. Once I broke free of the city the roads were deserted. It was very eerie. When I got closer to home it really struck me because there on the side of a deserted highway was what had to be an 80 year old veteran, in full uniform sitting in his wheelchair on the side of the road holding a full size American flag. I got home to a hysterical wife because she could not reach my cell phone or work phone. I will never forget, I will never forgive.

Well, I got out and after an hour drive to the lake the wind decided to whip up and it got a little sporty out there. No matter, boat ran well after what I think was a stuck thermostat finally kicked in. True to form the lake was a dinkfest but it felt good to get my string pulled no matter the size.

I’ll be fine. It’s not risky but just time consuming and going between 2 doctors and multiple procedures with extended heal times in between. Thanks for the well wishes.

Used a lot of Nichols. Also have a lot of Yamamoto buzzbaits and spinnerbaits but I am going to try some of the Bassman Baits from Australia. Got some directly from him before they were available here in the states. He sponsors Carl Jocuman.

3.42 locking, limited slip is the gearing. I had 4.10 in my 2004, 2500, 6.0 and pulling the same boat, my 2016 with the 5.3 is much better. I attribute that to the 8 speed transmission. I had to go check and found there’s no more codes on the door. It’s in the glove box. My truck also has the AFM that shuts it down to 4 cyl when needed. My buddies 2019 shuts down to 2 and actually shuts off at a stop. I have been very happy with my truck and only had it back at the dealer for a weird problem with the chrome running boards. I just put a new set of Michelin light truck tires on it and replaced the factory installed passenger car tires that were on it.

I was getting the urge to shop and wondered if the Ford eco boost engines were holding up. When I saw the redesign of the tundra I was interested. I almost bought a 1794 tundra when I ended up in my High Country Silverado with the 5.3. I just drove it from Virginia to Wisconsin and bumped up my all time best mileage which surprised me. With the price of trucks what they are now, I’m going to hold on to mine. Btw, in case you can’t see it, my readout is set for the 400 mile average. I was consistently 20-23 mpg on most of the trip.

Ok, back to crystal clear. ?

I have the original 8ft power poles. No remotes and I have to deploy either in my seat with a switch on the dash or on the very front of the boat via wired foot switches. I’m happy with them. I would be just as happy with Talons I’m sure but the deal popped up for the power poles and I jumped on it. The debate about just getting a TM with spotlock is moot because they don’t do the same thing. Spot lock is fantastic in some situations and power poles are fantastic in some situations. I have used the power poles on my buddies boat to fish a 1/2 day straight and never put his TM in the water. Likewise we have spot locked in river current 20 feet deep where power poles are worthless.

Weird thing is that I feel fit as a fiddle but come to find out I have a heredity bone problem and need to have sinus reconstruction and bone grafts in my jaw. That then requires a lot of dental work that really has me upset. I’ve put a lot of money in my dental care and now come to find out it’s all for naught with what they have to do.

Dropshot with the bait rigged Texas on a #1 ewg hook.

Only available with a twin turbo V6. Higher numbers but concerning to me.

I have no excuse since I’m retired but after our annual St Clair trip in May, I have not been out much. Combination of heat, rain, wife’s 60th birthday party (lots of planning, she wanted a big affair so I did it), a week in Wisconsin where I took some rods and baits but not my boat and got in about 20 casts from a pontoon boat and then just put them away. Weather has cooled and since we always take my buddies boat, I am on my way out the door now to check my 21 foot tackle box for lower unit grease and battery health, I may just hook it up and head to the lake this week since the holiday crowd should have gone home, my buddy is TDY overseas for a month and I am coming up on some surgery that may put me down for a while. My boat has been sitting for at least 4 months. I need to get it out and at least run some fuel through it.

I’m cheap and lazy ? I just use a piece of heavier line and tie it to my mainline where I want the float to stop. Trim the edges and it slides pretty easily through my rod guides. I only use floats for crappie fishing though.

Nice one to pull up out of the archives!?. Personally, I neve used to throw anything but the 5 inch Senkos but with the Ned rig becoming one of my standard baits, I will throw the 4 inch (and 3 inch) when I want a little more bulk and less length than a Yamamoto Cali Roll. Threw them a lot on St Clair this year on beds when I couldn’t see the bass.

Bad news for sure. I can’t tell, is it from a blown tire or did he get hit?

How is it nobody has mentioned the line method of pulling out a hook? I’ve done it dozens of times both on myself and others. I’ve seen it done dozens more times. Simple, easy and a lot less painful than pushing through and snipping the barb. I will say that if I ever get hooked close to an eye or other vital, I’ll be off to the ER.?

I have one that I used to use as a dropshot rod. Wish I had more of the originals. Have a friend who was the pro staff director for them and he had a cardboard 55 gallon drum completely full of them. He sold them all to Jason Quinn when he was fishing the elite series.