Kayak Koz

That not fishing weather - that's surfing weather.

When it comes to soft plastic stick baits, we all know about how productive the Yamamoto Senko has been throughout the years. There's no denying that. I love the Senko. They catch a lot of fish. But they tear easily and after a while that gets expensive. Then one day at BPS I picked up a big bag of beefy Stik-O-Worms for $4 or $5. I have caught a ton of bass on these both wacky rigged and Texas rigged. Best of all, they hold up well for multiple catches. It took me a while to go through the bag. Today was not an ideal day to fish anything other than a Texas rigged stick bait in the cove behind my hotel. There's not only tons of pollen on the water, but there are these stringy seed pods from trees all throughout the entire water column. So it was either throw a frog on top or a stick worm throughout the column. Unfortunately for me, bass were not fooled by the early appearance of a frog. But it was good going on the Stik-O-Worm. Good enough that I didn't even break out a Senko. So next time you need to stock up on stick baits you may want to grab a package of Stik-O-Worms and give them a try.

Just a quick update: I've had this reel for two weeks now and love it even more. I'm sure there's a lot to be said about $250+ reels that make them great and worth every penny, but I'm a budget angler and my comfort zone is spending $150 or less on a reel. By far this reel is THE best I have purchased. I'm so impressed that I'm going to go out and buy the 7:5:1 reel to go along with this 6:2:1. While I'm at it, I also want to mention that I LOVE the Dobyns Fury 703C MHF that I paired this with. I'm late to the Dobyns party, but now I'm a huge fan. I'll pair that next KVD with another Dobyns. The sensitivity is great all around and it's lightweight, meaning I get less tired when using it. My only regret is that the fishing here has been slow and I haven't caught much on this new combo. I've caught some 1 pound black crappie and a few bass under 1.5 pounds. As luck would have it, all the bass I have caught over 2 pounds are on my old gear. If you're a budget angler like me, I suggest checking out the KVD reel and the Dobyns. You won't be disappointed.

Lack sensitivity? Really? I bought my first Dobyns recently (703C MHF) and this rod is fantastic. Not only is it sensitive when it comes to structure and getting bit, but I also feel the bait with the tiniest of twitches when I'm working the bait. I've never used a Falcon, but I strongly disagree on your statement that the Dobyns lacks sensitivity.

On a normal weekend we have more than enough designated capacity for our normal weekday and weekend guest. No hotel - not even the Ritz down the road - is designed to hand boats when there's a tournament with 200+ boats. Again, we have tons of marinas around here including at the tournament launch site. These groups were booked well before I took over the property. Had I been GM then or if any of these other tournament groups come in the future all of this would have been worked out in advance including letting only 1 or 2 boats per team park on our property. I certainly don't understand why some boaters feel entitled to take up 4-6 slots when they can easily pull through and occupy 2 spots within the confines. Or why they think it's OK to block lanes of traffic. Or risk injury by running power cords in walkways even when told why we cannot allow that.

I use the pull test and back it down slightly, then adjust if needed when it's "Fish on!"

We already have water and power hookups in our designated trailer spots. We have 6 of those spots for our 81 room hotel. We also have 8 boat slips with power. In addition, we have light poles throughout the parking lot that also have outlets. However, these are owned by the county and not all are working. I placed a work order over one month ago and follow up every week but they still have not been repaired. Technically, it was a fail. I don't like any guests to be unhappy and I'm sure we'll take big hits on negative reviews. But the bottom line is I refuse to compromise on safety and if I let this one guy go then it negates the entire safety program. There were a ton of additional life / safety issues when I got here and most have been taken care of. The last one is to level our sidewalks. In the meantime there's yellow caution paint everywhere.

It got even better tonight. One guy kept plugging back in despite being told not to and my staff unplugging his extension cord numerous times. He then became verbally threatening with the staff including my son. Then the guy tried to pick a fight with me. I told him that if he didn't comply I would call the police and he would be escorted out of the hotel. He dared me, so I walked away and called the police. At first the guy refused to come out of his room until the police threatened him with arrest. Then the guy was such a jerk he nearly talked the police into arresting him for disorderly conduct. I told the police he could stay if he complied and apologized to my team, otherwise he would be trespassed and booted. He grudgingly sucked it up, but I will inform the school they are no longer welcome at the property. The police asked me if I would reconsider, however I reiterated it was a safety issue and if I gave this guy a pass it would mean everyone could do the same. It's hard to believe this guy was looking to pick a fight. Guest safety and protecting the hotel from liability comes first. If you don't like it, then park at the marina. That's what it's there for. Heck - the marina has a giant, secure warehouse to park your boat - that's more secure than a hotel parking lot.

We ate the cost. While we have cameras throughout the hotel, there are none in the stairwells. As I mentioned in another thread, I recently took over this property and there a ton of issues that need to be addressed.

You need to be really, really careful when choosing a personal injury lawyer. I think the best way is to get a referral from a family attorney if you have one. The only lawyer I have dealt with is my divorce lawyer. He treated me fair and honest and he was spot on every step of the way. I had to use him for my divorce and the two subsequent custody battles when my ex kept trying to get custody.

We have a HS bass fishing tournament going on at Oconee this weekend a a number of teams are staying at my hotel. We had them last weekend as well. I normally turn down this business because it's always a pain and these are no exception. But these groups were booked before I took over the property. Last week we had guest room damage and two of our stairwell railings were ripped out of the wall. Today, so far, someone ripped all of the signage out of our elevator. But that's not the worst. The worst is the people that come with their boats and trailers. The other week we had a tournament "pro" who thought it was OK for him to park across 8 parking spaces. We have 8 boat slips on the water and 6 trailer spots with hookups. We explain to these groups that we have limited parking for cars let alone boats and trailers and they should plan to park at the marina 1/2 mile down the road. That marina is also where they are launching for the tournament. They are forewarned that we have limited parking but then show up at 11 pm screaming that we don't have a spot for them to park. We're a small, 80+ room hotel - not a major resort or a marina. We have each of them sign a form that states the parking rules. Among those, all vehicles and trailers must be within the confines of designated parking spots. So what happens today? Joe Extended Cab and his 22 foot trailer block one of the aisles so cars can't pull through the parking lot. When I ask him to relocate he gets ticked at me. I had a number of boats move - including out of our grass - under the threat of towing their vehicles. Guest are also told that they may not run power cords through our parking lots and over our sidewalks. It's a HUGE trip and fall hazard where the hotel can face major liability. So what do they do? Of course there are power cords not only running over our sidewalks, but also in our main front entrance. They were warned. I pulled all of them and will confiscate them next. If a guest trips and falls and gets hurt you can bet they will sue us for as much as they can get. Again, the marina - where they are launching for the tournament - is a half mile down the road and they won't pay the $10 or $20 to park their boats in a secure lot. I've had these guest swearing at me all day. Sorry, but the safety and comfort of ALL of my guests trumps your need to charge your trolling motor. Then I have guests complaining that we don't have enough spots for 30 tournament boats when they were already told it's first come, first served, and we do not have enough parking for boats and that's why we tell them to park at the marina. I had one guy screaming at me because the restaurant next store wouldn't let him park there and our lot was full. I calmly told him that if you go to an Atlanta Braves game and their stadium lot is full you wouldn't complain to the team, you'd go to the next lot (which in this case is the marina). That ticked him off even more. So Monday I'm buying some "No Boat or Trailer" parking signs and in the future there will be a $50 or $100 charge to park a trailer at our property for these tournaments. Our regular guests are welcome to park for free. Sorry folks, this may not be popular but the safety and convenience of all of my guests is more important than tournament anglers charging your trolling motor, blocking access to my parking lot, or parking on my grass and in my flower beds. Use the marina.

I hate to say this about any angler, but that guy Tuliano's story is BS and the picture is proof. The guy and his son were out fishing together and there was no official weight recorded nor other witnesses. The only way that thing weighed 14.2 is if it was stuffed with lead. He told his story to a gullible reporter or friend and got his name in the paper. The "Outdoor Writer" was in cahoots with him or simply doesn't know his stuff.

In the winter months I get more strikes on a chatterbait with a lift and drop technique. I don't necessarily let it get to the bottom, but I do lift up and let it drop. Some people also drag a chatterbait like a standard jig. I've tried that as well but have had zero success with that. In warmer months I'm more likely to do a straight retrieve and occasionally add a pop so the bait changes direction.

Straight braid and sharpen your hooks. I would guess that most of my chatterbait hook sets are sweeping, but it really depends how I'm fishing it. I have the rod tip up if I'm trying to swim it higher in the water columns or navigate around different structure.

BUZZBAIT!!!!!

I heard a rumor that a gang of Asian carp was responsible...

Very interesting takes from everyone. Personally, I know I've caught more big fish on sunny days than cloudy days.

I had Apple once ask me to clean up something before they would publish it. And as you stated, they are big on keeping the app components updated whether it's a a newfound javascript exploit or something in a wrapper like phonegap or Cordova.

Our water temps here on Oconee in GA are about 63 with some warmer pockets. The winning boat in the HS tournament this past weekend caught only 13 pounds. We just haven't had one consistent week of warmer daytime and nighttime temperatures yet, As soon as that happens I expect all heck to break loose.

15 pound braid is great until you run it up against a rock or a log. Keep checking your line for frayed bits when you reel in.

My best guess is over 4 pounds and less than 13 pounds ? ( looks about right, Great catch!

We've had wonky weather here in the south and have yet to see the pre-spawn feeding frenzy. There was a HS bass fishing tournament here on Oconee this weekend and the winning team came in at just over 13 pounds. That's brutal. The shad spawn usually starts in the first week of April and hopefully that starts on cue and the fishing picks up. I've caught more 1 pound and less bass here in 6 weeks than I would all year in my old SC stomping grounds. The biggest I have caught was only 2.5 pounds. I keep telling myself, "Next week..."

I used to write apps for a living. Trust me - Google does not have a thorough process in vetting code. There are numerous articles and papers on it. https://www.zdnet.com/article/mobile-malware-attacks-are-booming-in-2019-these-are-the-most-common-threats/ https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/mobile-malware https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167739X18331601

Malware. For example, phishing text messages for a supposed UPS delivery that are actually links to malware. The malware you have to worry about most is the malware code that hasn't been written yet. It's coming.

Yes - you do need the production. As handheld devices become more of the norm than the exception the attacks are becoming more sophisticated. It doesn't matter if you use Apple or Android, although Apple does a better job of keeping malware out of apps. But it's not just apps that you have to worry about and that's why you need the protection.