schplurg

Nice! I went crazy when I finally caught my first bass. Never forget it.

I've read about people using the poles with a an anchor trolley. What keeps the pole upright? Seems like it would just fall over unless you really stab it into the ground. Do you add another component to the trolley?

Can stake out poles damage the scuppers? Say you stand up in it and the yak rocks around a bit. I don't anchor in current, just wondering if I should be concerned before I make one. Making it thin seems like a good idea.

Pay to park, pay to launch, pay for inspection. Costs me $17 to launch my kayak. Yay Cali! Santa Clara county.

Sorry I couldn't resist! No offense intended, that second beer went to my head

If people really want a clean butt toilet paper is not the answer. Water and soap is, or a bidet, or a wet cloth you can rewash if you really need to. Ask a dog how clean you really are. You're not. Get a cheap bolt-on bidet on amazon for $35 bucks and eliminate many issues regarding toilet paper usage (cleanliness, irritation, the jalapeno effect ), including the cost and environmental impact. TP is so 19th century.

My tacklebox is very diverse - as per California law. I can't legally discriminate on the lure's religion or political leanings, and I don't even wanna know their sexual orientation. I have lures of every color - they all matter, even the rainbow ones. And they all came with a Prop 65 warning because according to California, they cause cancer. We also can't call them "jerk" baits here because someone may get their feelings hurt - we call them "anger-prone, yet still accepted" baits. I still call them jerk baits though. Anyways, catching with a jerk bait, a jig and a stick worm are on my list this year as I have yet to do any of them (I'm still pretty new).

Nice. Still looking for my first.

I guess this means there are at least a dozen all around best jigs! Can't you guys all give the same answer for once?

"Fishing Rod Mischief" might make an interesting Youtube channel.

Maybe we should design clocks so that noon is always when the sun is "straight up". Sundials? Run clocks at 24 hours and one minute per day or sumthin? All of our phones can sync to this master clock - they kinda do already - and we'd never notice. Something like that anyways. I think changing the clock twice a year is ridiculous. There are better ways.

That's California for ya. I live in the Bay Area for just a few more months, thankfully. Ahh never mind don't get me started.

How do you store your rods? I've seen rod holders that tilt (somewhere), and I have two mounted on the rails that can be tilted down, but I use a 3-rod holder on my milk crate. I don't carry many rods so maybe I can rig up something.

Hi, Michael! That's my name too! Admitting the problem is the first step. And maybe the last? I mean what's the next step? Is this a one-step program? I've been on the wagon for three days now. Sunday I slipped up while I was at Walmart buying a picture frame. My Bait Monkey is cheap, so I only got hit for a $2 degorger. It was just sitting there and I didn't have one. I looked for other stuff but was able to walk away - I mean it's not the greatest fishing Walmart - the selection is small. Lost my red crank though so I'll be back for a replacement(s). My stories are boring because I'm cheap. Oh I should have bought one for my E.F.K. (Emergency Fishing Kit) I stash in my truck too (which is now complete!). Forgot about that! Telescopic rod, Trion reel, and a bunch of other goodies in a cheap backpack. You guys all should have an EFK...

Count them? No. Organize them on a spreadsheet? No way! Open them and look at the pretty crankbaits? Ya kinda! I don't have enough baits yet to worry about keeping an inventory. I'm not organized (or crazy ) enough to do it anyways! Does anyone make a bait inventory app so you don't have to manually type in every bait? I wouldn't do that either (well ya never know), just wondering how you guys do it. I'm still buying mostly cheap baits so it's no big deal if I have duplicates.

Call the craziest group of environmentalists you can find and get them on it. I'm in California so there's one on every corner here. Get video evidence, maybe license plates...if you wanna go that far yourself. That's messed up - people suck.

I caught the same bluegill (I know not a bass) twice in less time than that. It was on a bed 4 feet from shore. After the second catch he would swim away when I brought the bait back by him a third time, so I stopped. He definitely remembered that bait then! He never left his bed which I was happy about. There were many 'gills fighting for beds that day, chasing each other away so I messed with them a little bit. Seem to behave exactly like black bass. First time I've encountered that. Was very interesting. None of them abandoned the area after I released them (8 fish). They swam straight back to their spots every time.

Not hooked bad yet, but in a few of my videos a lure can be seen zooming just past my head at Mach 80 (hmm where'd I get that phrase from? ). One almost hit me in the face but the line was short enough that it stopped short. I show those in super-slo-motion. Last summer a friend hooked his finger bad, all the way past the barb and past the hook curve a bit, right next to his fingernail, top of his finger. Buried. I thought we were going home for sure, and we'd just launched. He pulled it out and saved the day. He wouldn't let me record it, but wow - a real hero!

Must be winter in Australia. What bait would YOU use to catch a Versace necklace?

I hate that. Those guys are out of fish too now. Some people just can't think long-term. Good ol' landscapers.

What is the purpose of the upper barb and the open loop?

I'll tell you what I don't use anymore - hemostats. Those things fail with heavy hooks that are hard to remove (at least mine did). They end up like a pair of scissors with the ends slipping past each other. The first time that happened was the last time I used them. There may be better hemos out there, but I'm fine with my multi-tool pliers, and a needle nose pliers deep in my back pack if I should need it. Edit to add: I just bought the Texas Tackle split-ring pliers and they work great for that.

I'm thinking about buying a whole bunch of my favorite baits now so I don't have to pay for them years down the road for a lot more money. I'm talking about enough to last years. For instance there are a few cranks or poppers I know I will use forever. So why not buy 20 of each (money permitting of course)? Especially if they're on sale. Saves gas (or shipping costs) too. If I do this I will keep them in the packaging. Most baits I buy can be opened and put back in the box if I want to inspect them. I rarely keep baits in the packaging as of now, even if I have a duplicate. I figure I'll lose one anyways, plus I don't own a lot of tackle yet.

Myth. According to science, cattle lay down when it is cold because it keeps them warmer (body heat), storm or no storm. It is often cold before a storm so that's how it got started. The Daily Mail and Farmers Almanac may say otherwise, but there is no scientific evidence that cows predict weather in such a manner.

I'm no expert, yet, but I just use the little bit of leftover line from the spools I bought. I just started using braid so like I said, not an expert, but I don't see myself buying special leader line for bass. I use maybe a 4 foot leader.