TOXIC

Yep, and it’s not pleasant what they do to a livewell either. We have kept some in the past. They also goober up a net pretty good.

I’ve owned both NITRO and Ranger, currently a 21ft Ranger and I have liked both. I would need a little more info before recommending a brand. Where you fish, how you fish, how long do you plan to own, what features do you consider the most important, storage options, price range, etc., all play into a good suggestion.

If not as bad, they are a close second. ? We have filleted some but since we don’t actually target them, there is a DNR regulation that you cannot put them in a livewell or transport them alive, you need a cooler of ice to keep them in after you kill them. Otherwise it would be a little suspect to fillet them after spending a summer day in the livewell dead so we just don’t keep them. DNR also requests that they be killed when caught but it is not required and they can be live released.

Super aggressive when guarding fry. Since they gulp air, the topwater hits are explosive. Most are caught on hollow body frogs for those targeting them. I have caught them on chatterbaits, Ned’s, Senkos, DShads, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. They are not that picky.?

Northern Snakehead are pretty common around here. There are actually guides targeting them and there are a lot of bow fishermen going after them as well. I have broken a few off but it’s not as common as you might think. There are markets here selling them whole for $9 a pound.

Wild blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and Quince. Morels when I can find them, I don’t trust my identification skills with any other mushrooms. When I lived in Florida, between my landlord’s property and my property (we lived side by side) he had planted 6 actors of citrus and enough varieties that there was something in season year round. Multiple varieties of oranges, 6 if I remember correctly, grapefruit (pink, red and yellow), figs, pecans, walnuts and a few more I am probably forgetting. When I lived in Iowa I had an orchard on my property with asparagus as a ground cover. I had a 2 acre garden that supplied all of our vegetables. We only went to the store for meat and dairy. There’s something very rewarding about eating what you have grown or foraged.

CastAway Skeleton in both casting and spinning. Problem is that these rods are so tough, they never break and are super sensitive.

For sure. Thanks. I have adopted most all of my fishing to finesse and light lines. I still pitch and flip with 35lb braid but most everything else is 6-8lb mono. I have a baitcaster with 10lb mono for cranks and chatterbaits. Good equipment is the key.

Brother and sister in law just flew back to St Augustine/Cresent Beach home from their daughters wedding in Portland and hopefully it weakens before it gets to them. We are expecting some heavy rains here in Virginia this weekend depending on the path.

Personally, I’ve never had them come after me but had them swarm around my head. My 87 year old mother in law got 30+ stings and ended up in the hospital this summer. Between me and my neighbors house we had a huge paper wasp nest on a utility pole and they never bothered me but they stung my neighbor every time he mowed so he had the utility company come out and remove the hive.

Very close to my routine. I fought it when I was working because I had to be out the door by 4:30am. Now that I’m retired, I can sleep in till around 8am but if it’s a fishing day I’m still going to bed at the same time and I’m out the door at 3-3:30am. If we are on our annual trips to either Florida or Michigan, I am in bed at 8-8:30pm. I need the extra for our sun up to sun down “combat” endurance fishing days.

Yes we did. Weather was off the hook. Nice temps, low humidity and no rain made it perfect.

Does a body good to get out of your comfort zone and go experience something a little different once in a while. My niece got married in Portland and although my government career took me to almost every big city and small town in the country, I never spent any time in Portland. I did appear at a grand opening for Cabela’s in Tualatin, Oregon but didn’t spend any time there beyond the event. This time we spent a week and I got a taste of what Portland had to offer. It has its challenges but I must say I was impressed. The residents, although drastically different from me were friendly and we were all over the place. We were in a lot of breweries, winery’s, restaurants and stayed in an Air B an B in Northeast and although we had a rental car, ended up Ubering or walking most everywhere we went. She got married at the Cathedral Bridge and it was a beautiful ceremony. 3 hour time change and a red eye back to Virginia had us leave Portland at 10pm Sunday and get back to Virginia at 6am today (Monday). No fishing for me but the groomsmen did go out and catch 53 crabs.

I use a Ned made by a friend. His secret is using a trout hook. Very thin wire, wicked sharp and I have yet to break one. I have had one straighten out with a snakehead but it was me removing the hook. He now makes it with a separate barb bait keeper poured into the head and they are great. I don’t know the size of the hook but for reference, the pic is of a 5” Yamamoto California Roll.

The internet is what killed the mom n’ pop stores. We’ve become lazy and in our quest to avoid people, time, driving, and overall selection, we order online and it magically shows up at our door. The seminars and demonstrations I used to give when I was pro staff for Bass Pro Shops, we’re packed any weekend I was there, then they dropped off to the point I only did special sales, then they dropped off to only the spring and fall classic events. They used to bring in the big names and even though they still do to a lesser extent, the attendance has dropped off. I had a good friend who owned a small tackle shop that was near a Bass Pro and he made a good living carrying baits that BPS didn’t and his knowledge of the local waters and what worked. Sadly he passed away and the shop was sold but I do think it’s still in business.

We’re gonna have to agree to disagree on that. Being a guide and teaching hundreds to throw a baitcaster 95% of the problems came from trying to throw it like a spinning setup which is what most of them came from (and a few push buttons). I would venture a guess that any of the newer baitcasters are probably lighter than a 2500 spinning setup. Nevertheless, if you flick your wrist with a baitcaster (unless you are very experienced), you’re gonna bird nest. Gar-on-teed. ??

Tough one to answer. They all are special to me. I would say the best are the ones caught with good friends.

Ultimately you are going to get answers for most every situation because a fluke style bait is very versatile. I use a Yamamoto DShad in open water, drift fishing, dragging, in cover, as a topwater, in weeds and just about anywhere I would use plastics. The DShad is a bit unique because it is heavier than most fluke style baits which makes it more useful in different situations. As you can see, I use it a lot and in a lot of different colors for specific situations.

The fundamentals are completely different between baitcasters and spinning. It’s all about how you load the rod. With baitcasters, it’s done with the whole arm to the shoulder. With spinning is done more with the wrist. Confuse those 2 and you get backlashes on a baitcaster and reduced accuracy with a spinning setup. If I’m overhand casting a spinning rod, more than likely I’m going for distance not accuracy. Most of my spinning casts are timed so that it’s like shooting a rifle with the tip of the rod pointing my target and my finger releasing at the exact point of maximum load on the rod. Overhand usually puts too much line in the “arc” that subjects it to wind and excess line.

License Items DWR CUSTOMER ID 1762635 ORDER # 16616097 ITEM VALID FOR PRICE Freshwater Fishing Resident 65 and Older 09/02/2022 - 09/02/2222 25.00 TOTAL $25.00 Just got my lifetime here in Virginia for $25. Annual drops to $9 if I wanted to go that route. I’ll have to check into nonresident in all the other states I usually buy licenses in.

Yes, yes it is. More specifically a Northern Snakehead. Fun to catch, great to eat but a real mess to catch. They destroy lures, have rows of teeth and are the slimiest thing that swims.

Just an FYI, the new Ned Senko will catch a lot more than largemouth and smallmouth. We were having a tough day and this brute hit my Ned on 6lb mono. Tried a new grip on it since my partner had one knock his Boga Grips out of the boat and I had to hand land this one. I warned him, mine are on a massive float plus I always wrap the strap around my wrist. Expensive piece of equipment to lose.

I prefer mono and this thread is like a breath of fresh air?. I will use some fluro on a baitcaster, never on a spinning setup. My favorite line of all time is no longer made, it was Berkley Tournament Strength Mono in Photochromic. When I was pro staff for Bass Pro I used Excel and it was good since I got it free and changed it often. I’m still using excel but have been looking for a better option with better visibility.

Can’t wait for the fall feed bag here and some crappie for the freezer after the first frost. I’m going out tomorrow and it’s supposed to be in the 80’s but the nights are much cooler now. Will miss next weekend because we are flying to Portland for my niece’s wedding. Not too excited about that.??

Pinky was a custom cover that the original owner, a FLW Pro had on the boat. It was totally trashed when I bought it so I sliced it in 3 pieces. The sides I used for trailer fender covers and the reinforced nose piece I use over my TM prop.