TOXIC

I swat a lot. But seriously, I have found that if I light up a cigar, the bugs disperse post haste. It's a win-win for me.

If you are going to fish a weightless Senko T-Rigged you better get very good at line watching. All of the tips in the world won't help until you develop that skill....and it is a skill. No matter how much slack you have in your line there are 2 places to watch. First, where your line enters the water closest to your bait. Second, where the line exits the water leading up to your rod. The difference between the 2 places is your line laying flat on the water. On the fall, I watch the first spot. Once on the bottom, I watch the second spot. The only tension I have on my line is to make sure there are no loops of line laying on the water from my rod to spot 2. The more you do it, the better at it you will get.

Having represented many sponsors in BPS and being pro-staff with them for 15 years, they have an internal distribution system. Their corporate buyers order product from the manufacturers and it is then stored in centralized locations for shipment to the individual stores. The employees of the stores place orders to the distribution center for their store. Products are then dispersed according to sales numbers and product movement. In short, there is a "pecking order" for which stores get first dibs on available product. Those facts aside, "name brand" products that are not BPS "store brand" are in much shorter supply for distribution. Profit margin is much higher on BPS branded products so naturally, there is much more of that available for order and why you won't see the latest and greatest in the retail stores as well as smaller local manufacturers. Stores used to have the option to buy specific products directly from the manufacturers and have it drop shipped to their location but I don't know if this practice still exists. Probably much more than you wanted to know but that is how it works.

I don't allow any bug spray in my boat. Period. And for sunscreen, it has to be cream not spray. Both of those products will ruin sonar screens and I have seen them even etch fiberglass. I have used my Thermacell in the boat but since it has a heat source, I am very careful with that as well. It can be hung from a belt.

I've caught a lot of untargeted species on Bass Lures but the "Coolest" by catch was in Wisconsin throwing a crank for bass and caught a Tiger Musky. Not a trophy size but just a neat catch and rare in its own right.

That is a very odd tournament setup. I'd wager there's going to be a lot of dead fish. Those that I know that fish electric only tournaments have pretty extensive setups.

We use a big Yeti on our week long trip to Michigan. No cooler is going to perform if you are constantly opening it up to get drinks or whatever. The Yeti is used to hold our bulk bags of ice. Other coolers are used to hold drinks and drink ice. The Yeti will keep ice for the entire week and we don't have to restock it but then again, it is getting opened very sparingly. For that purpose, yes it is worth the $$.

Nice to know that if I fish with you, you will take them off the hook and hand them back for pics. Great vid.

All of my spinning reels have either mono 90%, Co-poly 5% or straight braid 5%. Fluro is reserved for my crankbait rods and baitcasters. But that is what I am comfortable with. YMMV.

I had an Afghan Hound that was a beast. Afghans, besides their "girly" appearance are hunting dogs naturally (sight hounds) and 2 of them can bring down and kill a snow leopard. Their long hair is designed to mat up and protect them in their native environment. They have 3 times the jaw strength of a German Shepard and twice that of a Doberman. Top that off with the fact that they have been domesticated for a much shorter time that most all other breeds and you have a dog that needs a very knowledgeable owner. When I lived on the farm he was fond of running down and killing coyotes and anything else that came around. When I moved back to the city, he spent a lot of time in the dog pound because people would not leave him alone inside his fenced yard despite all of the signs warning them. I would have rather had a pit bull turn on me rather than that dog. Thank heavens he never did.

Great advice. If you enjoy being outdoors and spend any amount of time outside, protect yourself. When I was guiding, it was an annual trip. I have some American Indian ancestry and my Dr. says my chances are extremely low based on my natural skin color but I still get checked. I also take more precautions now that I am getting older.

Make sure you post up some pics and how you like the boat. Glad to hear you are getting back in the game.

Nature of the beast. I would have hoped that the newer generations of fluro figured out this problem that had plagued spinning reel applications. From what I read here some are better but it is still a problem. I won't spool a spinning rod with fluro. Not worth the hassle and there are other lines that behave better. PS....it doesn't matter if you get the fluro spooled with -0- line twist, it will still act the same way.

Another fun Senko Fact: Hold a 5" Senko by the head vertically. They are not straight. They will have a curve to them. For those of us who are obsessed with rigging, it just adds another "factor" to consider.

I've relayed this before. There are Senko differences in the different colors due to the pigment, differences between different flake type/colors and differences in the laminates. Some skip better, some sink a little faster, some are a little more durable, etc. Takes a very experienced hand to notice the differences but they are there.

If you want the center coin box (that's what Ranger calls it) you are obviously not going to fit it in that space. Likewise the 3rd seat won't fit in that area either. I took my 3rd seat out and put in the coin box but mine is an 05 Z21 so it might have a wider beam.

Bass will hit ANYTHING that creates a commotion on the top of the water and that they think will fit in their mouth. They are opportunistic feeders. I've seen them eat baby ducks, snakes, birds and most anything that is live and they can get their mouth around.

I'm never gonna complain about getting bit regardless if I lose them or not.

Do you powerload the boat or float it on the trailer? From where the scratches start, it looks like you load with your trailer pretty shallow. Some scratching is expected but that is pretty excessive. I've got a 2005 heavy Ranger 21 footer and I don't have that much scratching. But......I float load my boat with a little assist from the big motor.

This pesky rain is keeping me off the water. I have not been out since I got back from Lake St Clair in Michigan.

There's good and bad in every manufacturer. I tend to keep my vehicles a long time. I have a jeep Wrangler that is at 351,000, a Lexus SC430 I bought when I was in Florida as a fun car that has 211,000, my wife's 2008 Equinox that has 230,000 and I replaced my 2004 2500 Silverado with 194,000 on the ticker (got $15,000 trade) with a 2016 1/2 ton Silverado High Country that just rolled over 37,000. My 2004 got the gauge cluster replaced under recall and went through 3 intermediate steering shafts plus the dreaded HVAC blend door actuator but other than that it was a very solid truck. Other than the dand side steps peeling off the chrome coating, my new truck has been great and actually tows better than my 3/4 ton did (same boat). Roll the dice, get what you want but check out the dealer more than anything because they will make your life easy or miserable depending on how they handle you as a customer.

No factory installed killswitch on a 1981? Was it removed? Have you looked by the hand throttle/gearshift? I can't believe that year didn't have a killswitch.

As long as it's covered under warranty let them keep fixing it. You shouldn't have to go through corporate to get a covered repair done. On a much smaller scale, I have had a deal where first the drivers side chrome side step started peeling the chrome off on my 2016 Silverado. I should really say chrome covered plastic because it's not the chrome of yesteryear. The dealership replaced no questions asked. I was within my 3/36 warranty. I just got back from my annual trip to Michigan and rolled over 37,000 miles on the way home. Once home I was washing the truck and noticed major peeling of the chrome on the passenger side. Called the dealership and got a solid Nope it's out of warranty. My next call was to the new car/truck sales manager who sold me my truck and who I also hooked up with a KeelShield for his bass boat. My new sidestep should be in this week.

As I wind down to retirement in a couple of weeks, your post reminds me of a conversation I have had with my Brother in Law who has been a top level executive with fortune 500 firms. It revolved around who's job (his vs mine) was the best path to take. He's now retired at mid 50's and I am retiring at 62. I have been with the government for 34 years and he has bounced from company to company as is usually required with his level of employment. There were a couple of his positions where he was let go for the exact same reason your wife was. New management, new crew. It's expected at his level. No malice, no ill will, it just comes with the territory. He was a top level exec at Pepsi and he told me there was a saying within the executive ranks that the day you got hired, HR fired a silver bullet and you spend the rest of your career dodging that bullet. He made fantastic money but always knew there were no "older" execs at Pepsi and there was a reason for that. I, on the other hand took the safe route and worked my way into an SES equivalent position with the government that I will be retiring from. I don't have the bank that he does but my wife and I will be very comfortable in retirement. His position is that although he is very well off, his job(s) caused a lot of stress, pressure and travel. He missed a lot of his 2 daughters lives. Same for me but far less. I relocated 4 times and spent 3 years away from my family. Moral of the story is that every time he had to find another job, he did and so will your wife. Look at it as an opportunity not a setback.

When I was guiding heavy, mono every other month. Braid every 2 years reverse spool and then replace after 2 years. No client rods were ever spooled with braid. Just mine. I do not use leaders.