cheezyridr

if it wasn't for the honeysuckle vines that are pulling my fence down, there would be very little green in the back yard.

in delaware, we have copperheads, black snakes, garter and ribbon snakes, and moccasins. but i want to tell you of an encounter i had in maryland... i used to have access to a little fishin hole near millington. me and 3 of my buddies fished it regularly, but no one else did. you couldn't fish there without getting covered in mud. but it was worth it. well, one day i was walking through a fallow field on the way in. i saw the waist high grass moving and something was coming my way. i assumed it was a groundhog, so i stopped to let it pass. next thing i know, a massive snake does a periscope maneuver, and looks me right in the face. his head was bigger than my fist, his neck, the size of my wrist. it was bronze colored, with a yellowish-white underbelly. i'm not tall, only 5'7". that snake was about 14" from my face. of course i froze. no weapons, all i had was my fishing gear. i was alone, and no one knew i was there. after a few seconds, it took a dive to my left, and continued on it's way. i watched 12' to 15' of snake pass me by in the grass, the middle of it might have been 4"-5" in diameter. i never told anybody, because i never thought anyone would believe me. however, i also never cut through that field again, i never came without a weapon, and never came back alone. i also never saw the snake again. fast forward 25 years... i haven't been there in ages because i don't know who owns the property anymore. i was talking with a buddy about how much i missed going there, it was a great fishin hole. he says to me "i used to love going there, until i saw a giant snake, and never went back again." i can't find any pics of a similar looking snake. i have no idea what kind of snake it was. surely not something native to maryland. i feel like i was real lucky that day. if that snake attacked me, i would have been a gonner for sure. thank you Jesus, for keeping me safe

on the left, is sneakers. on the right is kuro. sneakers is super affectionate, and is usually only happy if she's touching me somehow. kuro can be affectionate too, but it has to be her idea. if it's your idea, then forget it, she's not interested. they are beagle/border collie. they are stupid, and lightning fast. when they were pups, they chewed everything. brand new pair of work boots, 5" hole in the wall, the kitchen linoleum. i have yet to see any toy last longer than 17 minutes. even kong stuff. my yard looks like the surface of the moon, and cutting what's left of the grass is pretty tough. but, they are also super obedient. doesn't matter how you try to distract them, if i call them, they come runnin as fast as they can 100% of the time. they also learned potty training faster than any dogs i ever had in my entire life. forget cutting their nails. it ain't gonna happen. they have techniques that would impress houdini, and they are relentless. best dogs i ever had, and i love them with all my heart.

i would remind you guys that regularly being under-hydrated is one of the things that leads to kydney stones. if you never had them, trust me on this - you DO NOT want them. the pain is beyond what you can imagine.

i'm not buying that for one second. certainly braid has far less stretch than mono. it's half the reason to use it i fish a spinnerbait 75% of the time i'm out. i set the hook and if it's big, i give an extra yank to be sure the point goes all the way through that's definitely true, and sometimes, it's very hard to avoid a moment of slack. that's what makes a good hookset so important. go watch any youtube video by 618 fishing. every single time he gets a fish, he's saying "ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod don't come off don't come off don't come off" it's because his hookset game is weak. he loses ALOT of fish. most times, he's using a circle hook, and they say you aren't supposed to set the hook with those. i watch him and it looks to my eye that if he'd just up his hookset game he'd lose fewer fish

when you lose a monster bass, you'll wish you swung for the fences, used a better hook, tied a better knot, fished better line, etc. eliminate the hazards you are able to before they happen

the one that produces the most for me is the army green chatterbait with a green bandito bug.

you need to make sure you visit lake biwa. tell her it's for historical purposes.

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the only time that my bfs rig won't do what a spinning rod will do, is when it's windy. for those days, i have alot of guitars, and a motorcycle.

when it comes to german rock, i listen to hardbone. they only sing in english though. i listen to 4 swedish bands, thundermother, drain sth, bullet, and mustache. they all sing in english too. i would post links, but they'll just show up as videos bands that i listen too that are not in english, that kick ass, are below: ningen isu is japanese. they've been around since the 80's and they're bad-ass band maid is also japanese. this album is great. the rest of their catalog is...not for me the hu is chinese/mongolian. this is the only record they have out. it's unlike anything else. most folks i know don't like it, but i do. i'll give an honorable mention to babymetal. i figure you've heard of them already though. they have 4 or 5 songs i like, but that's about it really. also, if you don't know about loudness, check them out. they're japanese, also from the 80's.

i laughed when i saw the thread title, because i thought it was going in an entirely different direction. as a bank fisherman, i don't always have the option of deciding where i fish on a pond or creek. that means sometimes i have to cast into the wind. using a casting reel in that scenario comes with it's own set of problems. throwing a buzzbait into the wind with one can be comedic - to people who might be watching you. parallel casting helps, and it's when i actually use the dc part of my curado. but on topic, i've used buzz baits on windy-ish days and had good success with them, but those conditions cause me to throw an actual spinnerbait first. however, 35 mph winds? count me out, i'm staying home. overhead cranes shut down long before that. on really windy spring days if i am fishing, i'm throwing something more aerodynamic than a buzz or spinnerbait. usually, a square bill or a large jerkbait. i have a good thumb, but even hank aaron didn't homer every time.

that's awesome to know they can still be had! also, that video was spot on. really well done. that guy covered everything.

...pork rinds? i used to put them on a johnson silver minnow and i did pretty well. now that they're gone, what has replaced them? do any of you even fish those spoons anymore? come to think of it, i haven't seen them for sale for a while

i don't even own a spinnng rod

good for you, it's nice knowing someone out there is gettin some gravy ?

for me, i often find it's not so much the having of something where i find the most joy, but rather the pursuit of it.

i can imagine getting bored if i repeatedly went to the same place over and over and over. especially here, where the fishing isn't great anyhow. i'm in no danger of that happening though, because there are so many other things i want to or have to do. last year, i don't think i went fishin even a dozen times all season. some days i went riding instead. some days i had to work, or i had work to do around the house. some days i went to the range with my son and grandson. sometimes i went to my grand daughter's so she could thoroughly trash me at archery. she's 10, and she is pretty good at it.

the slow days, i think of them as "casting practice"

holy cow ?

i don't like being cold. once the air gets below 50°F i pack up my gear. i don't care what anyone thinks about that. i have a buddy who calls me almost every day and says "hey lets go fishing" and every single time, i tell him the same thing. frick off, i like staying warm, if you wanna go fishing, then go have a great time, good luck, call me in april. usually, in the winter, i'm laid off. when that happens, i stay home, play my guitar way too loud, bake, sleep in 3 hour stretches. i do my best to avoid having company, leave the house, or spend money. i like fishing - when it's warm out.

10 lb'er at low tide

gloves, hat, warm clothes

indeed, times sure have changed. the 70's today