TOXIC

A little late on this report but we got out on the upper Rappahonock on Saturday. Put in at Hopyard and went upriver. Was definitely a multi species day. We caught bass, catfish, bowfin, Shad, snakehead, crappie, bluegill. No smallmouth which was disappointing. Nothing big but we were catching most all day. Tide was super low. Crankbaits, Ned, Senkos did most of the damage. Water was very clear for the river. Took my boat instead of my buddies and definitely missed the spot lock troller.?

Looks to me like you explored every option. When I was regularly guiding on Anna, the key was to get on fish and stay on them. Trying to find them from scratch is always a chore on that lake. You went upper to mid and lower and that’s about all you can do if you haven’t been on the water a lot and located some. I had spots that always held fish but they were not tournament grade, they were what I called “client fish”.

Always have an adequate supply. We had to change cottages this year. Still on the island but fearing high water the owner of our usual cottage opted out of renting. We found another and it’s huge but probably won’t be able to keep all the boats in the water.

We plan a trip to Lake St Clair every May. Looking forward to our trip this year. We hope to get the first wave of spawners moving in and feeding up and spawning. Depending on weather we have hit that bonanza more than once. If we are too early, we have to fish deep and go for the prespawn. The ideal time to hit it for numbers is when the first wave finishes and the second wave is moving up. That way you can fish the prespawners, post spawners and some on the beds. For 18 years this pattern has held.?

You normally don’t expect to see a Buffalo when you are fishing Lake Kissimmee in florida.

Having been pro staff for Bass Pro for 15 years, I used a LOT of Pro Qualifier reels both spinning and casting. I am still using some of the “Wide Spool Technology” spinning reels that were made specifically for braid. Although I used a lot of JLM Signature rods and reels, some of my favorites and ones that were absolute workhorses were the Browning Midas and Citori. I am still using them as well and have a few new in the box.

Odd, normally the spawn starts down lake first and then moves up the lake into the river arms.

Nothing like putting memory on your line right out of the box?. As has been said with braid not necessary. I have never used the warm water method. I will spool a spinning reel and then open the bail and walk out as much line as I can. Then just reel it back on the spool pinching it with my fingers to give it some resistance.

If bass didnt like a little splash or noise, top waters wouldn’t work. Buzzbaits, frogs, poppers, etc. ?

Lake St Clair is gin clear and when we are bed fishing we will sometimes splash the water with our rods to get them fired up. So splash has a place in clear water as well.?

Great skill to have but you also need to remember a “noisy” entry or splash has its place as well. If I am fishing stained water, I want a splash because I know the fish are using their lateral line more than eyesight to key in on a bait. I also want a noisy entry bed fishing to get the attention of the bass and fire up their protection mode.

Moral of the story.... I’m going to Keith’s house for pizza. ??

The reasons I use a screw in weight.....For pitching where I want a direct to the bottom fall like bed fishing, for punching through vegetation, a very small nose weight to counter tide pull....I did this a lot in Florida on the St. John’s river where there were strong tides. You can actually get a vertical fall weighted in the tide pull. And finally I put a Senko on a 1/4 oz football head jig to drag on lake st Clair. The football head makes the Senko “walk” on the sandy bottom giving it a totally different action. Since I did an article for Yamamoto and came up with 78 ways to rig a 5 inch Senko, I have a lot of other weighted presentations but the ones above are the main ones.

Almost got me....reviving a 5 year old post. ?

There are only 2 ways I ever use braid on a Senko. I rig a 5 inch Senko on a 1/4oz football head jig to drag and pitch to beds in the tulies on lake st Clair and with a screw in nose weight for punching in the Potomac and did the same on Okeechobee. I doubt the test braid you are planning would slow the fall rate since the diameter of the braid is so much thinner than mono.

Couple of things to consider from someone who has stored his boat outside undercover from day 1. Little history, when I purchased my boat it had sat outside for 2 years under a bad cover and had never been run. It was so full of mold you couldn’t tell the type of batteries in it and the tan carpet was black. After a lot of hard work and looking like a coal miners every time we worked on it, we got the mold out for the most part. It’s been an ongoing battle. It takes a special building to house a 21 foot boat with a 6 inch hydraulic plate. My garage won’t hold it so I have to store outside year round. To say the least, I am sensitive to a dry and sealed boat. I used the bad cover that came with my boat and cut it up to fit the trailer fenders and I used the nose to cover my trolling motor prop when the new cover is on. I bought a new OEM Ranger cover that retails for $1,200 for $600. Although my boat is a Z21, the cover was for a 621 Fisherman if I had to guess. I would recommend that anyone who buys an aftermarket cover not tow with it unless you are good at buffing out hazed fiberglass. Even custom Ranger covers are tricky to get fit right for towing. I know guys who use towels and Saran Wrap even with a custom cover. Because I store outside I have to take a few extra precautions like making sure I remove snow and keep it snug. After 11 years, it’s time to replace and it has done a good job. For the next go around, I think I will use a cheap blue tarp over the fitted tarp just to give it a little more protection from the sun and elements without being another seal which might promote mold. I never tow with a cover so that is not a consideration.

Ok final verdict on the 303 product. I applied it February 5th did one trip to Florida, one pressure washer rinse no mitt or soap and today I went out and bucket washed the truck. Disappointed is an understatement. Absolutely zero water beading on the roof and hood. Reminds me of when you need to wax again. Sides and tailgate beaded well but obviously those are not exposed to the sun and you get the same result with any cheap wax. I might be willing to give it another try if it wasn’t so dang hard to get off my white truck. I’m going back to my old faithful routine of wash/clay bar/polish/seal/wax twice a year and wax every 3 months.

Give it a go and report back.?

Sworn to secrecy but I’ll give you a head start in figuring it out, it’s mid range in the 900 series of colors. ?. It’s a funny thing, in all my years with Yamamoto, I’ll bet I have heard most every color mentioned as someone’s favorite or “must have”. Sure there are some more mentioned than others but they wouldn’t make them in all the color options if they didn’t work. Little known fact, Yamamoto adds to and discontinues colors on a pretty regular basis.

Having been with Yamamoto for over 20 years, I have had the chance to try many of the colors and even have some input on the design of a few. My personal favorites have all been listed except for 1 that an exceptionally good local fisherman told me to try and it has become another one of my must haves every time. As for bulk pricing, they tried that and sold bags of 100 but for whatever reason they discontinued it. You might be able to find a few still floating on eBay or Marketplace but be careful, it’s not hard to forge packaging and sell a cheaper bait as an original Senko. I have friends that order custom/discontinued colors but they have to be at least 700 bags. Key to a Senko is to have confidence in whatever color you choose to fish. If I can be of any help to anyone on here feel free to reach out.

Good deal. The only reason I know about that is my 250 HPDI Yamaha was having a starting issue on and off. Once it started it would run fine the rest of the day but the initial start could be a bear. For whatever reason we figured out that if I cranked it just before the lower unit submerged, it would run fine. If I waited until it was in the water, it refused to start. We never could figure out what it was. I am anal on maintenance so it had all new filters, diaframs, fuel lines, water separator, etc., and we hooked it up to Yamahas software and it never threw a code but for some reason it cleared itself up and has been running like a top for a couple of years. ?

I decided to give the dealership another chance when we bought the Highlander because the wife wanted a dealer close by where she could drop the car off for service and get a loaner. The Highlander was a CPO used vehicle that came with that additional 1 year warranty. She put 3,000 miles on it and I told her to go ahead and schedule it for an oil change. I warned her that this will be how we know we will have to deal with them in the future. She dropped it off and sure enough about 3 hours later they called her and told her that it needed an alignment for $122, a brake fluid flush and a couple of other things. She absolutely uncorked on the service manager because we just bought it, it was a CPO vehicle and she only drove it 3,000 miles. He apologized and said it was his fault for not noticing we just bought it. Did they do any of the “suggested” work? Nope.

Be careful using starting fluid if that 150 is a 2 stroke. Since 2 strokes oil through the fuel, starting fluid fires your motor with “dry” cylinders. Just by the fact it’s starting with starting fluid tells me you have a fuel delivery issue and therefore are cranking with no fuel, you “could” damage the motor. Just passing something that was told to me by a good mechanic.

Yeah but with 14 years difference in age??? Just bought my wife a 2016 Highlander and looked at new ones as well. The only differences were in trim levels, the same trim level on the new one vs the 2016 were so minimal we saved the extra coin and bought the low mileage 2016. I’ll be interested to see what the tundra redesign looks like. I really liked the Tundra but the dealership lost that sale. Underpriced my trade, “lost” my keys while we were negotiating, had to sign and drive right then, brought the “Manager” into the negotiation, all the things I dislike about dealerships. ?

In 2016 when I bought my Silverado High Country, I looked at a King Ranch Ford and a 1794 Tundra. All 3 were in play so I test drove them all. When I drove the tundra, I was shocked. I have a fun v8 SC430 Lexus hardtop convertible I got when I lived in Florida. It’s a 2002 model, the first year they were made. All of the controls in the cab are the exact same. Heat, air, wipers, high beams.....everything. I was shocked.