Eric J

Nice! I was planning on going to the one in Ct with a buddy but family decided to come over.... Got my priorities all mixed up...

I looked at a couple today. I might invest in one. They're super organized...

lol... I use an actual back pack. I carry 3 Plano boxes of varying size with lures etc... Bank life... The struggle is real...

Swivel snap...

I'm primarily a bank fisher though I do jump a boat occasionally and am looking to invest in a Kayak for next season. However the bank is my usual. So I always use a packed back pack rather than walking with a tackle box. I'll bring a box to leave in the car and put in several lure boxes with lures, hooks etc... and packs of plastics, line and pretty much whatever else I might need. This allows me a lot of freedom. I constantly see people fishing banks using boxes and how inconvenient they seem. Who else uses a Back Pack when fishing? Eric J

Is there a significant negative impact to attaching a topwater lure directly to a swivel? Cranks, paddles props etc... Eric J

I stopped by one of my local lakes for a couple hours of casting therapy before heading to work. Yesterday the waters were relatively calm and I had a great morning of fishing. Today the water was literally raging with Carp. They were wrestling everywhere. The noise was intense. I mean it was a Royal Rumble of Carp orgy!! As a result, I am assuming here.... nothing was hitting. Is there anything you can do at this point? It was so crazy me and a couple guys I met who were also fishing just started laughing. It was that nuts. Thoughts?

Slowing down was the most important thing for me to learn. Taking my time. Spending all day with 1 rod and bait till I learn it. Today I pulled 5 lunkers on rage tails....

That's awesome. The Rage Tails I used are from my first LTB shipment which arrived last night...

Used Rage Tails today for the first time. 6" Lizard and a Magnum bug. Quiet first hours I was just trying to get the touch/feel for these baits. Finally got the feel and took several hefty strikes but kept missing the set. Lost one lunker as I was reaching down to grab him. I examined my T-Rig and decided to let more of the hook point stick out of the lure. I also took a little more time before setting the hook and BANG! Best day of the season for me so far!!!! Really had to finesse these and had an absolute blast learning Rage Tails... Eric J

Just have to say that after some great advice here on BR I took a single rod and practiced on nothing but Texas rig and wacky. Worked nothing but these two methods for the past couple days. Took me a while but I landed several nice sized Bass. Feels good to take the time to study and practice and get a great return... thank you all who took the time out to give me great advice. .

Anyone fish Hessian? Been too many years since I've fished there. Any words of wisdom? Eric J

Very true... I am a native of NYC. Born in New York City and grew up in New York City. When I was ten my parents bought a house up in the Catskill Mountains. I spent my summers there with my grandmother while mom and dad worked and came up for the weekend. I quickly became "adopted" by a family that owned a huge piece of the hill and several kids my age. They owned hunting lodges as part of a family business. I learned to love the outdoors fishing and even some hunting. I was so outrageously blessed to have had that experience. When my daughter turned 8 I decided enough was enough and the wife and I bought a house i. The Hudson Valley, NY. Been here for 27 years and cannot ever imagine living without all this nature around me. Every kid should have a chance to experience this... Thanks for the post.

Welcome! Newly returned myself! Eric J

Thanks all for all the advice and input. Truly appreciated! Eric J

Just youtubed it. Wow... Saw Kayak Bass Fisher land an 11 pounder. That is a serious piece of hardware!

Thanks much. I've been watching lots and taking notes!

Yup... 5.6... first day with my new Lew's Carbon Fire rod...

That is the plan!! Eric J

Nobody was having any luck last week until I landed this big badbass out of Rockland Lake, Congers, NY...

I'm an Endurance athlete; Bike racing, triathlon, swimming. If I'm not on a bike or running mountains, I'm at the beach in the surf. At the age of 58 and a couple surgeries and a near death car hit while training for a race I don't train to race any longer. I just enjoy the riding, running, hiking for the joy of it. Leaving the competitive race scene gave me a chance to reignite my intense love of fishing. This is my first season back and I am LOVING it! I also play tabletop wargames, some historical while others are Fantasy/Sci Fi... I'll sleep when I'm dead... Eric J

I can deal with losing that bite as long as it's not caused by something careless like a badly tied knot. I once lost a rod while crappie fishing of all things. We were trolling and I didn't make sure the rod was set right in the sleeve. Just did not get there in time :(. That absolutely sucked!

As I said in my intro I have been away from fishing for a good 13 years. I've gotten back into Lure Life recently and am stoked. In my previous life I was major into Trout, Crappie, Smallmouth and other lake fish but Bass, Bucketmouths were more incidental. I'm fairly confident with spinnerbaits, pulled a 5lb'er last week and am delving into soft plastics Texas rigged. I fish mostly from shore right now. Should I be concentrating on any particular bait/lure types for now? Any I should stay away from? Is there any logical progression here or can I jump into lipless cranks etc...? Any advice is appreciated...

HA! You and I need to grab a whiskey sometime. You can keep the overtime. I live for the outdoors. If I didn't have a rod in my hand I'd be on a bike, shooting a bow, swimming the surf or up in the mountains... So I'm cool with the day...

...than a good day of work and I am living proof! It's my birthday and I'm off. I got out twice today, once in the am and then late afternoon on two local lakes. Nothing was hitting on ANYTHING except of course the lunker that stripped a spinner bait right off my line HA! In fact I lost four lures... FOUR! Fact is nobody, in a boat, on a kayake or on shore was hitting on anything... Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant... But... I met some great people out today, A semi pro with whom I got into some great talk about fishing and some other folk. Able to practice casting and finessing with my new rod. Spent a day in the sun away from all of life's headaches. Yup, a bad day of fishing but what a good day it was... Eric J