TOXIC

I’ve told this story on here before. At a tournament that was sponsored by monster energy drinks, I grabbed 5 and put them in my boat to take home and try but ran out of water and ended up drinking them all during the day. Let me tell you, you’ll only do that one time.

I also drove a King Ranch in my truck search. Massage seat? Ok, whatever. What killed it for me and I’m not dissing ford, but when I sat in the drivers seat, I couldn’t see the hood….I might as well have been in a Volkswagen.😂 Weird tick I know but when I sit in a truck, I want to feel like I’m in a truck.

Not all enhancements are bad. My buddy has a 2023 Silverado 1/2 ton with the baby Duramax. Truck gets very good mpg and tows well. Has the electric shifter and automatically engages the parking brake with the trailer attached. I like the 360 cameras and it showing on the main screen the camera on the side you turn on the blinker. Also has the trailer monitoring where his dual axle boat trailer has both temp and pressure sensors on all tires. It displays on the main screen as well.

Enjoy. I almost went with a 1794 Tundra package. When I did the test drive in 2016 it had all the same controls as my 2002 Lexus SC430.😛😂 Ultimately the discount I got from friends who were GM employees and the fact that the Chevy dealer gave me a better trade in for my 2004 3/4 ton Silverado than any other dealer was willing to match, sealed the deal. I’ve been totally happy with my truck, hope yours treats you as good.

I used to be the exact same way. Exactly. First I switched away from visor hats to full covering. Second went to lightweight fishing pants and ditched my old cargo shorts. Then went to modern long sleeve spf shirts, hooded and buffs. Finally did the gloves totally expecting to hate them. I do not. I actually wrote an article on Yamamotos Inside Line about the journey. I’m doing a follow up on the gloves now. I probably wouldn’t have tried them if it weren’t for GSM acquiring Cuda products.

Lots of good info given. I will ad my 2 cents. It works for me. We fish Lake St Clair for smallies and a Ned is one of my main weapons along with a dropshot. My Ned head is a custom made one with a weed guard and light wire hook. I have never straightened or broken a hook. I use exclusively a spinning set up. 7 foot medium smoke rod and 2500 smoke spinning reel with 6lb straight mono. My secret weapon is my bait. I use a 4” Senko for a faster fall rate the smallies destroy it. Here are a few of my smallies on that setup.

I’ll admit, I’ve resorted to drinking cooler water. 🤮

It’s actually cooler here in Florida than it is at home in Virginia. I think we’ll stay a couple of weeks and enjoy while my brother and sister in law are attending a weeding in Italy. We are house and dog sitting.

In my time in Florida, it could be a problem depending on where you are going to fish.

Just for informations sake, GSM is not a private equity firm trying to make a buck. Take a look at their website and you’ll see they have been a player in the hunting world for a very long time. Their purchase of Yamamoto and some other fishing lines have not resulted in a drop in quality. If anything they have increased the offerings. There have been absolutely -0- changes to Dobyns and there are no plans to do so. Same people making the same rods with the same materials. Not to say that won’t change but as of now it’s business as usual.

Here we go again… Alert from Fauquier County Water and Sanitation Authority: Mandatory Outdoor Watering Schedule

Those are night fishing light sockets. They are like the old headphones jacks except for lights. Google phone Jack boat lights.

I’ll bet they are in there but that’s a lot of lake real estate for them to spread out in. I’d test it out by flinging a frog on braid to see if I could get any blowups. I’d also be looking at my maps to see if there are any deeper holes or some other structure.

Using your example of a crankbait, there are a lot of other factors besides color. A SPRO won’t have the same action as a Rapala, won’t have the same vibration as a Storm Wiggle Wart, or a Bagley, and there are other variables otherwise there wouldn’t be any incentive to buy one over the other. I would tend to disagree with Mr Dance that the same color will work across manufacturers. It’s only one of many variables.

4 inch is the junior, 5.25 is the Super and 7 inch is the magnum. Personally, I use a Yamamoto DShad. 5 inches and made from the same formula as a Senko. Has a faster fall rate than others.

You don’t need to pour water over yourself of jump in the lake, just get one of those artificial chamois, the ones I have are called “The Absorber” available at your local Wally World automotive department. Dip it in your cooler or the lake, wring it out and drape it over your neck. The wetter you leave it, the longer it will work. It’s like instant air conditioning. Used it on many clients before.

What size and type of line?

Pretty sad statement when I have to go to Florida to escape the heat in Virginia. Leaving Wednesday.😂

Having been a guide and being on the water multiple days in a row in the scorching heat of summer, I have upped my hydration game over the years. I had heat stroke once and that was enough to school me on the importance. There’s some conflicting information out there as to what is “the best” For me, good ol water has always been my preference but I’m reading articles where you can actually wash out electrolytes by drinking too much water. I have tried Gatorade and other sports drinks supposedly designed to keep you hydrated and replace minerals, etc., that you sweat out but most of them swell me up like a tick. I have tried putting flavor packets in water and most of them taste awful especially if they are low sugar and low sodium. My fishing partner is a retired marine and says the corps pushed him with so much water, he’ll never drink it again if he has a choice. He drinks Propel. I can’t take the sweetness. He always is telling me that I’m going to get the silver bullet if I don’t stay hydrated (military will know what that is)😂. I do know this there are 2 things that will never be allowed on my boat, alcohol and carbonated drinks. They both are a recipe for disaster on the water.

Since you said flipping and pitching, I assume you are throwing into weeds and cover. While I am a Senko fanatic (as everybody knows😂), if I am going to pitch and flip I still use it and shy away from all of the creature/beaver style baits. Preference is always to fish a Senko weightless on light line Texas rigged but in that scenario, depending on the cover and/or current, I will go up to a 1/4oz screw in nose weight. I find it punches through cover much easier and I have used it extensively in Florida for that very reason.

Other than going back a number of years my 2 latest trucks were purchased brand new. First, a 2004 Silverado 2500HD, 6.0, 4X4, with a 4.10 rear. Truck was a beast and got 9-10mpg towing or not. Problems were a recall on the transmission, stepper motors, door lock actuators, blend door in the HVAC and regular maintenance. I was totally satisfied with the truck. Traded it in at 175k on my current truck brand new in 2016. Silverado High Country, 5.3. Just got back from Michigan towing a 20 foot Ranger and got 11.7mpg. Get 22-23mpg not towing. Tows just as good for me as my 3/4 ton did. Only issues with this truck in 95k (75% towing) have been chrome peeling off running boards (replaced by dealer) and a recall for transmission fluid change to eliminate hard shifts. I am pretty strict on maintenance so I have replaced all fluids (trans, differentials, transfer case, antifreeze, brake) just did plugs, wires and induction cleaning, did Powerstop heavy duty brakes (pads and rotors) all the way around and Bilstein rear shocks. I’m due for another tranny flush and in the near future front shocks. I keep my trucks/vehicles super clean and have never had any rust. My opinion is that if you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you. The reason I have stuck with Chevy is that I have 2 friends who can get me the employee discount and it has made a sizable difference in price.

Just be careful glueing yourself to one bait if you have physical problems. If you have shoulder, arm or wrist problems, chucking a jerkbait may be aggravating. I will put down a crank or jerkbait and pick up a Senko if my arm starts getting fatigued.

Let’s face it, the next KVD, Clunn, Hackney, Reese, Klein, and so on….have to come from somewhere. There is new blood coming into the tournament picture but the current economics don’t allow 5-10 years on tour to establish yourself and get enough paying sponsors to make it a break even career choice. IMHO in the pursuit of members/followers/customers/competitors/sponsors the industry has diluted the available cash for “Professional” fishermen. My personal opinion is that they need to condense the myriad of trails, set standards for what a “Professional” fisherman is by virtue of a standardized process other than just being able to mortgage your house and max out your credit cards to pay entry fees and finally get sponsors to fund more of the payouts so the anglers don’t. We are indoctrinating kids into the promise of a career in fishing from high school to college and those who truly can progress to the professional level of the sport can’t make a living doing it. Off soapbox….😛

I have had multiple influences on my “fishing life”. In the beginning (we’ll leave that date open) my sheer enthusiasm for the sport progressed into a side gig guiding to relieve the stress of a uber demanding job that had me on the road a lot doing super high stress activities. My fishing got more intense as time went on to the point I had a full stable of top brand sponsors and worked in shows, seminars, appearances, events and even started traveling for them. My “9 to 5” didn’t allow me to tournament fish because of my constant travel. The lake I guided on had some tournament series sponsored by various marinas and I was asked politely not to enter because they felt it would drop their participation. I obliged and actually benefitted from tournament anglers hiring me to prefish. Keeping this schedule for over 15 years kind of burned me out on fishing. Now that I’m retired, I have the ability to go when I want and I look forward to annual trips to Florida and Michigan. I’ve kept some sponsors by writing articles and other obligations and I’m still on staff for a Rep company and will occasionally travel. Long story long, I’ve got my fishing in a place where it feels comfortable for me.

I have a rule to change techniques before I waste a lot of time changing colors or other variables of the same bait. For example, if I’m throwing plastics and not getting bit, I’m more likely to try cranks, spinnerbait, etc., before I change the color of my plastics. I’m not “that” hung up on colors.