schplurg

I had an order all set at Academy. When I went to submit it it says "We are not shipping to California at this time" I'm guessing it's a CA Prop 65 thing (worst regulation ever written). Dang I was mad but probably not their fault.

Wow that's bad packaging. I just received a rod from a small store in Minnesota "Joe's Sporting Goods" and it was packed in a very thick cardboard tube. Had to use a machete to cut the tube up for recycling.

What a way to go.

I bought a Daiwa Fuego CT for the rod. I thought about spending more and going to the next level, but no. Can't right now. Maybe if I'd spent less on the rod. Was $82 on ebay. This will be my most expensive combo so far (about $200). And all because I found some rods LOL. Dude's coming by today to pick up his lost rods. If he offers me money I won't take it. Tell him to pay it forward to someone else. Or maybe pick up some trash at that spot

Thanks guys. Even the bait monkey is leaving me alone to figure this one out. I only have one baitcaster as of now and my friend gave me that one. Black Max isn't bad for me really. I could spend a little more. I'll search through the "Best reel for $100" (or less) now that I'm done doing the same thing for the rod. Pretty funny. Okay who's the next bait monkey victim/poster going to be? I know I'll be back with my new reel soon enough.

Update: I got an email from the guy who lost the rods. It's been almost 4 weeks I'd say. So I'm going to lose the reel haha. Now I have to buy a new one to go with the new rod.. I'm happy to return the rods - there were two - but it just figues it would be the day after I spend $100 on a new rod It deserves a little bit better reel anyways. He sounds really excited to get them back so that's good. I had put up a sign at the creek plus I had a special temporary video on my Youtube channel about the found rods. Someone sent him a photo of my sign. I'm actually pretty happy about it. They aren't high dollar, one had a Walmart crank bait on it, so they may be his only ones. Very happy, I don't wanna keep someones only gear.

I saw a river I want to trout fish and it winds through a lot of rocks. There's a very big sign that says "People Drown Here". Thought maybe I'd wear a PFD if I ever go back. Auto inflate since the rocks can knock me out. When I was a kid "nobody" wore lifejackets on the lakes unless they were being towed behind a boat. Even in the boats. My Dad built boats and I've been in them since I was born and rarely had a vest on. Well probably as a small child. I also sat in the back seat next to a big block V8 with my legs a foot or two from open headers sometimes, so - different times

Saw my FICO score slipped a few points. I'm like hmmm what's up? Ooooh I see, it says I may not use my credit card enough. I looked up from the screen and the Bait Monkey was looking down at me. "Didn't you find a casting rod with a Black Max on it recently?" (I tried to find the owner, still am). "Yes, but it needs a new whatchamacallit........ROD! You're a genius monkey!" Bought a Fenwick HMG M/F 6'6" that I was looking at but hadn't bought, just received it today. Credit card. Paid it off already haha. $99 +$10 shipping (but no tax). I looked at a lot of websites before I finally found one in stock. This place just came up in a search, no affiliation to me. If you ever run into "Joe's Sporting Goods", they're legit. I called them first because I didn't believe it was in stock. They're in Minnesota. One store location. Ordered Friday, got it Monday. Nice. Sounded like a good rod according to the BassResource gang. I read some old threads I googled. It's always mentioned in the "Under $100" threads. Gonna try it tomorrow. Serious point though - I would have waited and spent less, maybe on a different rod too, but I couldn't find anything in stock that I wanted. I mean it was all backorder only. It's now my most expensive rod. Tip o' the hat to the monkey.

Okay I'm back already. No fish, no bites. Heck the water is so low even by the dam...man that's depressing and it's not even summer yet! But I got out and fished. A few other guys were around. No bites for them either, could hear them talking. I have little confidence here anyways, but when I catch a bass it's usually pretty good and healthy looking. A guy arrived with one rod and a jerkbait tied on as I left. He looked like he knew something I didn't. I intended to night fish but I got there way too early. But man that low water. That's why I like the creek, it's always full! I wanted to fish longer but I got frustrated and left after an hour. I mean I'm like 2 fish for 15 visits here so my confidence is kinda dwindling LOL. But the main point was to get out and fish and I'm glad I did. I could have gone closer to home but I wanted to try the lake. I'd say water is at least 35 feet low. Tried a crankbait that was already tied onto my BC, then a plastic thingy on spinning for about 10 casts, then a chatterbait the rest of the time. Two hours ago (that's a cast not a catch). PS: The UV shirt (Hanes from Amazon $18 for 2)) seems good. It was pretty warm today and it kept that heat off my arms. Never fished with long sleeves before. Didn't try the gloves (Kast King). One more thing - I've had my best days and a PB on days where I wasn't sure I really wanted to go but went anyways. You just never know. Edit to add: Fishing helps take my mind off of things. I hope others here like you GTN-NY can get that out of it.

I want to go fishing, or maybe I feel like I have to, today. But ya, it's hard sometimes. Like I said before not sure what it is with me. Depression from a tough year, maybe had Covid awhile back and didn't know it. Tired too much! Today it's kinda hot, so I will wait a bit and hit either the creek or the lake. Better chances at the creek, but kinda tired of it. The lake - it's like I'm talking myself out of it. "It's farther, hardly catch anything, kinda warm..." Since when do I make excuses NOT to fish? What happened to "show me a puddle and I'll fish it"? I think I'll do this to take pressure off - bring food, bring drinks, and plan on getting some fresh air...and MAYBE I'll catch a few in the process. Sometimes it's all about how you look at things. I'm goin doggone it!!!!!! And nothing I say to myself will change my mind haha! Everyone who sees this msg tonight, just go! Edit: Oh cool I got my new UV shirts and my new UV gloves today, gonna try them out and do some UV fishin'!

Are there any nearby creeks or rivers? I have several lakes within half an hour of me but I usually fish the creeks because I catch fish there. Our lakes are tough, and from shore it's like playing roulette. Feels like it anyways. I may hit the lake this evening but these days if I want to catch fish I hit the creek. At least I can cast the whole thing. If there's a fish around he's seeing my bait.

* Yep and I have yet to see one Steelhead! That's why we have to use barbless hooks, and probably why we can't so much as touch the water. Frustrating.

Anyways, we torment fish for fun, don't we? It bothers me to injure one, but I think I'm kind of a hypocrite because of it. I choose to fish because it doesn't bother me enough to stop. If fish screamed in pain would you fish? I work with someone who isn't against fishing but is an animal lover. I have a hard time explaining that I care about animals while pulling fish out of their homes with metal hooks embedded in their faces. I fish because it doesn't bother me enough to stop. I tried. I'd like to know where he got his statistics on that. Maybe I'll watch the rest later. But my comment before this pretty much sums up how I feel. He's talking about total number of fish though, not how many killed per fish caught. Of course more non-tourney anglers will kill more because there are so many more anglers. The ratio of fish living vs dying though is lower, it must be a lot lower given the numbers. In other words, tournament anglers kill a lot more fish per fish caught.

I disagree with that last part. These are tournament numbers. You can't assume anything from them about normal everyday catch and release. Keeping a fish in a boat all day is what raises the mortality rate per fish caught. That is why some events do not use live wells anymore but weight the fish and release it immediately. There is a big difference.

Have any evidence for this? I could see high numbers in tournaments with fish sitting in live wells all day, but I doubt 30% of my quickly released bass are dead. Not even close.

How about a more direct question. Could a bass go up that fish ladder?

I'm wondering if a largemouth bass would travel along a creek, and over certain obstacles. Those obstacles are: - a fish ladder (see photo). - short stretch (150 yards) of super shallow (8' to 12") rocky looking "rapids" though not very fast moving. A bass could scoot through there. - a 2 foot waterfall (doubt it could go up it, but ???) - fast narrow areas A few days ago I caught the same bass for the 2nd time, same exact spot as 10 months ago. There are some small pools created by the creek and I fish those a lot. Maybe it lives there. I'm wondering if a bass will travel from one main section of a creek to another, and what obstacles might keep it from continuing. I know bass can travel long distances in lakes. This creek is many miles long (20 - 30 I'd guess) and flows into the bay. I've only fished the same 5 miles or so. The creek, brief description..... It is fed by a lake. The creek where I've seen it is 2 to 3 feet deep on average, and not much deeper in most places. Ponds are probably deeper. There is a group of ponds near the start (got PB there), then the creek flows a few miles to a 2 foot (or less) drop waterfall. Another half mile is the shallow rocky rapids area. Then we have a large pond, then finally the fish ladder. This is all within 4-5 miles. After the fish ladder is the rest of the creek. Another large pond, and areas from there that can hold bass. The fish ladder looks tough but I don't know what bass are capable of. If they can't go up it then that means all fish that went down it can never return. I'm trying to figure out where most of the bass would be, and if they would ever move from there. My guess is that most are in the ponds. I've caught my biggest ones there, but much less numbers of bass per trip. There is extremely limited bank access at the ponds. Would a fish bother travelling up or down the creek from a good sized, decent looking pond? Seems like there are almost zero ponds downstream from here either, so wondering if I should bother going there. Fish ladder... I hope this all makes sense! How much will an average bass travel in this scenario, and why?

The rare times I fish with a friend I consider it a good day if either of us catch. I wouldn't say I've felt bad, but there have been times I worry if the friend will want to leave. He drives himself though so, c ya! I did feel bad for a fish recently though because I caught this little guy before about 10 months ago. Confirmed with video. And I worked at catching him this second time. Shallow and full visibility. There's a bigger one in there I keep missing. Anyways, his mouth is partly missing on the right side. Was like that both times. About 1.25 pounds or so. I caught him in a little isolated "cove" or pool in the creek and I think he's one of few fish there. I'm gonna skip that spot for awhile now Good news is he's still alive and healthy, and a little bigger.

Aww now everyone needs love! I ordered a box of Walmart/Ozark cranks at the start of Covid just in case. Of course I've been into plastics ever since so haven't used them haha, go figure. I'm a cheap fishing date when it comes to baits I found two rods a few weeks ago. One is an Ugly Stik Striper with a Black Max reel. The other not worth mentioning. I went outside now and tried it with the unweighted plastic I found it with, casting into the street. Seems decent, sounds okay. Handle may be a little loose. I've never used an expensive reel but whatever, it feels solid. I did post a sign at the creek for "found rods" and put up a video on my channel for a few weeks but nobody claimed them. And I fished far later that day than I would have in case they came back to find them. I'm keeping one, or at least the Black Max reel, and probably giving away the rest. I'd like the owner to claim them still, but then again I found them next to a ton of trash, so if it's theirs I won't lose any sleep over it.

Ya don't play the lottery, your odds are astronomically better in Vegas. The Lottery is for the mathematically challenged (yet everyone claims they're ahead haha). I have a lot of years working ahead too, I'm just making this a priority. I also have no kids to worry about or other such responsibilities. That was deliberate though

I was a video game designer and had my own game in the Apple App Store Top 10 in 2011. I worked 5 years before that managing my brothers strip bar. Most recently I am a graphics designer working for a pot store here in San Jose, designing everything from product labels to billboards. I'm about done with that job. For my next job I do not know. I'm 53. I am going to probably do my own thing and make sure it doesn't interfere with my fishing. No more will my life revolve around work, it's going to be the other way around. I only got one life and it's probably well past halfway over. I'm taking control. I will not be a graphic designer who also fishes (and no more heavy computer work). I am an angler who also works, and only because I have to.

People are afraid to train their dogs properly sometimes because they feel like they're being "mean" to them by raising their voice, etc. Some people seem to raise their kids the same way. They ask their kids to behave at the store, then when they don't...silence. As if discipline is child abuse. It would be comical if it wasn't so pathetic. You might get a glare from these dimwits if you yell for your dog to "come" too loud. Seriously backwards thinking. Some mental giants brought their dog to the campgrounds a few weeks ago and it barked at everyone who walked by until after midnight. They'd say "Be quiet". When it didn't stop, they apparently just gave up. Clueless morons. Dogs want you to lead them unless you're dumb enough not to assert yourself as the alpha. It's in their DNA and that's why they are awesome pets. People these days....

Beer!

I stick to "bright sun" patterns regardless of the spring/summer temperature. In the shallow creek here almost all catches are from fish hiding under cover. The air temperature has nothing to do with it. The bright sun does. Like Roland Martin likes to say: "Fish don't have eyelids!" LOL

Saw a kid on Scott Martins Youtube channel fishing and he only had one arm. He'd hold the rod between his legs sometimes, and had other tricks. He could cast, land fish. I practiced once because I may have tendinitis surgery at some point. It ain't easy!!! But he did it so it's doable! Not sure I could tie a knot or land the fish, especially a big one.