PhishLI

I have to miss it, but tomorrow my buddy's doing his annual trip guided by PM. Next year hopefully.

I just received the email earlier today. It's on.

Yeah, and then came my psychedelic phase, so add that.

? So, we're an army of two then. I'm thinking it couldn't have hurt.

I'm not a spaz, so I do what I like, and that's use both equally well, but there's a reason why I can so easily. I was cranking dials using both hands on Bridgeport milling machines and Hardinge tool room lathes starting when I was 12. I needed to use both hands for cranking at a controlled speed, and precisely. Coming from that, and with left and right handed reels being available, the idea of switching hands while casting never even entered my mind. I'm sane, so why would it? On top of that, I was using bait casters before I'd ever thought of looking at a fishing forum, so who knew that certain kooks took a hardened position on the matter? ? Had I known there was a debate beforehand, my mind wouldn't have changed anyway. It's a trivial matter, so... Eh, do whatever you like and be happy, just like me.

Just like stocking foot waders, go 1 shoe size up to allow for heavy thermal socks and you'll be able stand in near freezing water and remain reasonably comfortable for hours. Great reels. The new Curado 300 with old timey VBS is fantastic too if you get another itch. So nice. You'll really appreciate the Tat 300 with heavy copoly, fluoro, or mono. It just flows out of the reel, and the cranking power is sweet.

First Tat 300? You're gonna love it. Monster. So nice. My favorite big reel. ? LOL

XX% off for another Tat 150 and some finesse-y trinkets was simply too much for my tender heart to bear, so I smashed the BUY button! Weeee!

Hardcore, man! Hardcore! ?

You have my prayers if you chose to have it shipped by them. It'll get the corrugated triangle box treatment instead of a rod tube. Torture test it asap. At least they're good about taking stuff back. Good luck. Hope it works out for you.

If this is actually true, that it's his favorite, then that's all it means. It doesn't mean best. I have a bunch of pizza joints near me. I've decided which one out of all of them has my favorite slice. There's an equally good chance that upon tasting it yourself you'd think it's just meh or your favorite too. It's difficult to qualify what someone else's tastes add up to unless they're literally your clone. All you can do is try it out for yourself and see for yourself. Also, if you've followed their buyer's guides over the years, they've been heavily biased towards Shimano/Loomis which is one and the same company. Who knows what incentive they have for recommending a high percentage of that company's gear, or a particular model at a particular time. They're salesman because they need to be in order to do what they do, which is fine. There's nothing wrong with that. Whatever. Ultimately I've been left mystified by plenty of their gear recommendations in the past, so just take those with grain of salt and, as usual, roll the dice.

DNR/DEC officers here are NY state troopers who'd applied for and gotten the DNR gig. If you live here you know the troopers are humorless, not much for negotiation, and would ticket their own mother. Certain localities have authorized them to not only ticket you for no license, but also to confiscate your gear, Not impound, but confiscate. So, there 'aint no way I'm not paying the $25 licensing fee. Occasionally the bay constables will sweep through a freshwater lake along the coast, and if your chit isn't straight they'll gleefully drill you good. Get caught in any of the east end "residents only" lakes and you'll get all that plus have to appear before a judge.

Spinning or casting? I've fished with my friend's 7'3" M Envy III/Alde 50. Slick combo. Not quite as light as a Phenix Feather, but it has a really nice feel. 13's actions run pretty true to rating yet on the crisp side, and possibly 1/2 a power up in most cases. Think M+ when you buy a M and so on. The Envy is worth a shot with current sales, IMO. You can always return it if it doesn't rate for you. Just got this yesterday for distance slinging light baits.

Ah, yes. The Big Bass hit my big bait right off the bat syndrome. I know it well. Me: I'm running up for a wile. Wife: It's terrible out. What's a while? Me: Um, just a quick one. A couple of hours maybe, if I last that long. A smidge more if there's a hot bite. Wife: Oy. 7 hours later... Wife: I thought you said it'd be a quick one. Me: Well, a big bass hit my big bait right off the bat. Wife: A good one! ??? Me: Well, it hit hard, but shook off quickly. Wife: Oh. Then what else did you catch? Me: Well, nothing. Not even a sniff. Wife: I don't understand. Why'd you stay so long then? Me: Well, 'cause a big bass hit my big bait right off the bat... Wife: Oy.

I ran 14lb Sufix DNA copoly on mine right in the beginning, then switched over to 15lb Tastu, and both have been great. Personally I generally prefer using my T-wing reels with plastic lines for casting baits. They have memory no matter what type they are and flow through the T-wing nicely whereas I can feel them working through typical line guide apertures. This isn't a big thing, but it's a me-thing. I'm sure it'll be fine with whichever line you choose. Another thing is that the spool bearings come over greased from the factory, so it'll cast a bit differently especially in cold weather unless you clean and re-grease them, or simply add oil to them in place which will cut the grease. If you do nothing the grease will break down after a while, but adding oil is easy and will help the reel to open up more quickly. Rotation during casting will help to express the broken down grease.

First BF-sale delivery of completely unnecessary super necessary stuff.? I'll find out tomorrow if this stick will help to really send a 1/32oz weighted TRD out to smile-making distances.

All 4 are super solid with fully bearing supported drive trains. No need for a SV reel with what you're looking to throw.

Midway usa has a super deal on the Okuma Hakai for 135.99. Backorderable for this price.

BadAzz! ? The kid is back! Congrats!

Start saving for a yak if you really wish to unlock that place. Find the transitions from really deep water to shallow water, then work them. That'll keep you busy for some time and your best path to finding the bigs.

? ?

Yup. You're either built for it or you're not. My spots are mostly 40 acres and under which are heavily poached. Our newly arrived friends from the east are smart, and take advantage of fishing apps and local FB fishing groups where idiots post their catch locations. I know this for a fact because a few of my crew are native born to both countries, speak the lingo, and got the scoop firsthand. These poachers are systematic, sneaky, and merciless. It isn't tournament pressure. It's worse. The old timers here are always crying about how they can't catch a bass anymore, sometimes for weeks at a time these days, when 10 years ago they could knock off 15 in an afternoon without even trying. They're not that good at fishing, obviously, but that hasn't changed, so... The population density certainly has. However, if you have a clue and are mentally conditioned for the grind you'll usually catch some, and we have a nice gene pool here for size, so it's worth the work for me. I get bored quickly when things come too easily anyway, so I'm made for this.

Looks like it. https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/INFO/TECHNOLOGIES/SILENT_DRIVE0.html

Some don't though. Gotta check beforehand.

...in a belly shirt. I knew it!