TOXIC

At home, it’s at the gas station with corn free. In Michigan, we are on an island and marina gas is stupid expensive so I carry a 14 gallon portable and 2, 5 gallon jugs that we fill right before we take the ferry across to the island. Those with a full tank in the boat will get us through a week of running everywhere we need or want to go. I use a portable pump instead of doing the monkey hang over the side of the boat with the 5 gallon cans. The 14 gallon is on wheels and can be gravity fed from the dock with its own hose but it’s much faster to use the battery powered pump.

I am a D Shad faithful. I throw it a lot. I have posted my rigging suggestions and it’s waaaay more involved than most realize. Here’s my day to day DShad box. Never leave without it.

I upgrade my vehicles when they start to cost more to maintain than they are worth, OR……when there are new features that are a “must have”. My 2004 truck made it to 175k when I decided I needed a new tow vehicle in 2016. My 2016 is currently at 108k. There are a few things I like in the new trucks like the baby Duramax and some trailering monitors and cameras. I had my truck into the dealership for a state inspection and I mentioned to the service guy how I was tempted with the new models and he looked at me and shook his head no. Told me the more they add, the more there is to malfunction and the new trucks are so loaded with electronics, they can cost a fortune to repair. No more DIY driveway mechanics. I bought my 2016 as my “last” truck but if I keep stacking up the miles, I may need to reevaluate. 😉

I don’t fish for crappie until after the first hard frost. Certain species will bite in the cold water but they all have to eat. Just look at what gets pulled through the ice. 😉

Putting the “code” together is not as simple as honing in on one factor I.e. clouds vs sun. As I have always said when guiding, every day is a new day and if I am going to be successful, I have to put the pieces of the puzzle together to find, pattern and catch fish. It varies by species and even when you take into account all the puzzle pieces, which are numerous, you also have to take into account how the puzzle pieces affect other puzzle pieces. That just doubled or tripled your considerations. Cloudy before a front, cloudy after a front, sunny with wind, sunny with dead calm, so what I am saying is that the sunny/cloudy factor can be influenced by a lot of other factors and is not a stand alone puzzle piece.😉

That’s exactly what we would have to do…… or gut them and put them in the live-well filled with ice instead of water. They are the only species I have ever encountered that have more slime than carp or catfish. Just not worth the mess. Because they are invasive, the VDGIF wants fishermen to kill them even if you are not keeping them, a lot of guys carry knives to slice them before throwing them back. They also say you can live release them, kind of confusing. Originally, they wanted them all killed but I think they have come to the conclusion, they are here to stay. Popped up a whole industry of guides that fish for them with line and hook and bow fish them at night.

The one in the second picture came 4 feet out of the water before I even set the hook. Delicious table-fare if you want to take the time to clean them. They are sold in some grocery stores and fish markets as “Channa” and are quite expensive. Problem is that it is illegal to posses them alive so if we were to keep any we would have to kill them and put them on ice. Bass boats aren’t set up for that.

Day 2 out on the river and we had a tougher time of it. The tides have been really pulling /pushing and clouding up the water. Caught a bunch of bass the size in the pic, no really good ones but I did have a couple nice snakeheads. They sure do pull hard, especially on 6lb mono and a Ned. I’m taking next weekend off in hopes the fall feed bag gets started. Truly blessed to have a resource like this river.

Going back out tomorrow. I don’t think they have put on the fall feed bag yet. That can be a magical day if you hit it right.

Shameless plug here for the baits that consistently produce for me no matter where I fish. The dropshot is king in Michigan, the Senko has been the top producer for me in Florida and here at home the Ned is a go to. I used all 3 this week on the Rappahonock River here. My Ned rig was a 4 inch Senko, my dropshot was the Scope Shad and my Senko was a 5 inch tipped with a screw in Bullet weight to counter the ripping current. There are a lot of plastics manufacturers out there but I always end up back with Yamamoto Baits. Often imitated, never duplicated. For added show, a seaplane skimmed our heads and set down in front of Hicks Landing. That was pretty cool.

For those of us with brakes on our trailers, don’t forget to check those lines as well.

First and foremost, I am a finesse fisherman. That means I have the patience of Jobe. Can I burn a spinnerbait? Sure but it’s not what I am comfortable with and “I” feel I catch more fish. Now, if you ask KVD, he built his remarkable career fishing faster than humanly possible. The number of casts he makes in a day of fishing is unreal but it obviously worked well for him. His philosophy was to target the aggressive fish and not waste time finessing them.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t judging and I didn’t read any response that was, I just had a “scratch your head” moment. I know there are reasons for why we fish from what we do but I find it interesting how what started as an economical way to fish, got all wrapped up in the marketing and huge cost jumps to stay current with all the add-ons. I could care less how somebody spends their cash. If I were to be judgmental I would have to say it’s the kayak world trying to be like a bass boat and experiencing the costs that go hand in hand with that.

Upfront confession…..I don’t fish from a kayak. I “have” fished from a kayak but do not own or regularly fish from one. From a virtual outsiders opinion, my problem is this…..Kayaks were originally popular because they offered a more affordable way to fish. No tow vehicle or trailer (truck bed or car top), no maintenance, no gas, good exercise, access to places a boat can’t go, and a few other positives. Now take a look at what it’s become…they look like miniature battle cruisers with multiple electronics, trolling motor, power poles, and some even have electric outboards. The “fully outfitted” now require a trailer and the cost of one fully rigged with all the latest and greatest including trailer has got to be in the same range as an entry tin or fiberglass rig. Am I wrong or has the market taken the kayak to a place where it’s no different than a bass boat?

Just a comment from the peanut gallery. It’s a well known fact that if you throw a bait you like or have more confidence in more often, you will catch more on it. I had that pointed out to me at one time when I commented I catch so many more on a Senko than a jig and my buddy said “ Well duh, it’s because you are throwing a Senko 75% of the time, of course you are going to catch more on it.”😂

Logic tells me a bass has to have some idea what they are eating otherwise they’d be chowing down on sticks, rocks, weeds, or anything else that is in the water. We have a tendency to overcomplicate things. If it looks like something they eat and moves like something they eat, they eat it.

@gim a bladed jig to me is like a dropshot to you. 😂

Plastics is one bait class I have not realized any advantage of “custom” manufacturers. Where hard baits may have a more appealing action or color by manufacturer, plastics I want consistency over customization. I found what I feel is the best plastic made (Yamamoto) and after putting it up against a lot of cheaper/more expensive/custom/mass produced/hand pours/injection molded, etc….I always come back to Yamamoto. Just to avoid any broad brush criticisms, I’ll refine my comment to the Senko. 😉

SteelShad has 2 or 3 mounting holes, depending on size, on the top of their blade baits to allow all types of retrieves including vertical jigging.

Years ago I manicured the 3 acres of forest I own to look like a park. It took me 3 years of work to get it cleaned up and the saplings kut. I had an 18 horse lawn tractor and I kept it really nice. Then the job put me on the road a lot more and I decided to let it go natural. That left me with about 1 acre around the house to maintain. When we first moved in we had it professionally landscaped and that included all new plantings and sod in the front and seed in the side yard. After about 5 years, the rain stripped the sod away even tough it was on mesh and after continued seedlings it just never took. A tree guy stopped in one day and told me that there’s no way I would ever have a front yard without watering every day because I have a huge sugar maple that per him drinks about 150 gallons a day in water during the summer months. I thought about taking it out but it shades the house well in the summer, keeping our ac bills down. I sold the tractor and now have a lawn guy come and kick up dust every 2 weeks. 😂

Waterproof, Cooling Patch Activates when Wet.

In a nutshell, there are colors that are better for skipping because the amount of pigment either helps or hinders the ability to skip. As far as fall rates, with Yamamoto there are different size flakes, combinations of flakes and no flakes which all can change the characteristics of the Senko and its fall rate as well as action. More flakes makes the bait stiffer. The unmatched “shimmy” of a Senko is very, very, delicate and for the very reason it’s so hard to duplicate, makes it susceptible to minor changes.

I’d like to think AI wouldn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know by looking at a map and weather forecast. For me, part of the satisfaction of fishing is to be able to put the puzzle pieces together. That’s the challenge. When I went to Big Green lake in Wisconsin having never been there, sitting at the dock in my boat looking at my gps map and putting a game plan together, then executing it and having it pay off, was much more satisfying than if I had just punched in AI for an answer. I wonder if AI would have helped on St Clair this year when we were having a heck of a time finding the smallmouth due to the fact there was a warming trend before we got there, then a severe cold front while we were there which caused the fish to pull back to some pre spawn spots and we ultimately found then looking at a google earth map of the area we were fishing and found an oddity in the bottom that was very isolated. We went there the next day and tore them up. In order for AI to predict those factors it would have to take into account past weather, current weather, bottom composition and be able to locate a specific spot germain to the species of fish we were after. Historical data would need to be looked at for years past to determine how current conditions varied from the norm. Could AI do that? I can. 😆😉

I have a set group of baits that are standard DS baits. Gear depends on how I am going to fish the bait. Cast and retrieve, verticle, bed, or dragging. Since Yamamoto discontinued the California Roll, I use a Kut Tail and the Pro Senko that’s pictured. Favorite is the Shad Shape Worm which now comes in multiple sizes and a floating version. The weight is a Quick Drop. Best weights out there.

I have a pair of Cuda gloves. First ones I have ever used. They have a Velcro sweat patch on the top. I have used them hard for 3 years and washed them multiple times and although the rubber nub grips have worn off, they still are going strong.