CountryboyinDC

I'd recommend him. He's very up front with that information, and he has a reputation for putting folks on big fish. I have only fished with him once, but depending on what happens over this winter I would like to go with him or one of his guides in March/April. I think it's okay to like to do things yourself the way you want to do them, but it might be tough to find a guide that accommodates you.

When I first glanced at that I wondered why Mike Tyson was on the lost children notice of a milk carton. After I looked closer, I got a second laugh.

A couple of the charities I volunteer for cater to people whose main problem usually is, even if they're multiple amputees, PTSD. The goal of all of these organizations is to reduce some of the symptoms through fishing, other outdoor endeavors, and comradeship, not increase them. I'm sorry that you're finding that fishing increases your anxiety. I don't know how active or helpful the Tulsa chapter is, but Heros on the Water usually caters to veterans that are going through similar things as you are. You might find that the other aspects of their events take your mind off those skunk days. Project Healing Waters is another group I've volunteered for, and their focus is on fly fishing (for trout where I am). Their events are much less broadcast and usually smaller, so if that seems like it may be your medicine, a Trout Unlimited chapter may be a good place to find out more. Regardless, make sure that things don't get out of control before you reach out for help. I know that many have told me that the guys they serve with turn their backs on them when they know they're struggling, which just plain sucks. Let the people who care about you help.

I'm glad I'm not named Mike. That name seems to attract alligators.

My neighbor's sister swallowed her Fitbit while we were fishing. I don't know why she had the Fitbit off at the time or how she swallowed it. I believe that the part that came off the band (and the part she evidently swallowed) was the size of a horse pill. I just know that we were trying to find it using apps that do that sort of thing. Then we noticed it was moving the same way she was.....and she wasn't wearing any clothing in which it could be stored. It was noon and we hadn't cracked a beer either.

Not to be smart, but physics/mathematics. All other things being equal, when you loose the bait from a longer lever, it will be starting at a higher rate of speed, and therefore will travel farther before gravitational force returns the bait to the surface. I know not all other things will always be equal, but as @MickDpointed out, anglers that need to cast very far in order to be successful relative to bass anglers use longer rods. We may never notice this in our own experience, because the lever increase is pretty small (we don't use 12' surf rods) and our technique change may offset any potential increase rod length offers when we move to the longer rod. This is very true!

I believe I would ask the guide up front, and let him or her know that was your intention. I know that a lot of guides would get pretty ticked if you did that, particularly if you didn't mention it up front. I don't take a lot of guided trips, so take this for what it's worth. For example, there's a guide on the New River in Virginia that won't let you have a powered-on phone on you on the raft. If you want to take pictures, bring a camera that has no GPS capabilities. I understand and respect what they're doing - I know how long it takes to find spots. But there may be someone else like @Bluebasser86 that can show you a more general approach of fishing a lake near you.

I may come to you with advice about living. There's not much I get to use all those years in school and a lab for these days, so it's good when I can put them to use.

Usually mine turns out right pretty, but I really had too much turkey for the smoker this Thanksgiving (2 breasts and a 15 lb full bird). The ones I had tasted good, and of course the people I shared with said it was good (they're polite folk, not family).

Those drum are nothing to sneeze at either. Nice fishing.

I doubt it, but at one time I made a.living as a chemist.

I'm pretty sure it's copolymer. Technically it is a monofilament, as the 'polyfilament' we use is braided line (usually 4 or more strands of Spectra or Dyneema polyethylene) . Usually the monofilament nomenclature is used for a single kind of nylon (there are many molecular structures of these polyamides, after all) drawn into a single fiber. So I would imagine there a couple of these kinds of nylons in this line made into a single fiber, making both terms technically applicable.

Those boats are HDPE, lots of choices for keel guards. Pretty much any kit or method that would work on Royalex, 3 layer polyethylene, or rotomolded polyethylene should work. How well it works usually depends on how much care is given to the prep and application of the fiberglass or aramid guard. Easy would be https://www.keeleazy.com. Much more durable would be something like skid plates https://www.austinkayak.com/Harmony-Kevlar-Skid-Plate-Felts-for-Royalex-Canoes/ACK9764P.html and resin https://www.amazon.com/Kayak-Repair-plastic-system-universal/dp/B01CM1WDSG.

The ones around here looked right poor a few years back. One was eyeing my boy while he was riding his tricycle in the driveway. I reached into the recycling and grabbed a beer bottle and threw at him. It only moved a little, didn't run off. My wife took our boy inside. It seems the storm sewers have provided a pretty reliable food source for them.

If he's anything like my grandfather that knife was only wiped off on his pants after cutting steers (for those of you not from a farm, they were bulls before this 'cutting' process) before he started cutting those apple slices. He was sharp about things though.

I see this fox most days if I'm not 'at work' (these days that's a room facing a different direction). She goes into the storm drain, and usually comes out with a rodent or 2, usually mice. I haven't been able to catch her on camera coming out - she makes a beeline to the woods. Ahhh, nature from the suburbs of our nation's capital. To think of what I used to see sitting on a tree stand 5 days a week this time of year when I lived in God's country.

I was skeptical the first time I saw a small Keitech swimbait in the ashtray of my outfitter's van. I mentioned it looked like a desperation measure. The driver, who I know fishes the river 4 days a week or so before work smiled and replied and said wait until we stop. When we did, he got out his phone and showed me 5 16 inch plus smallies he had caught on them. I know people that are fishing Dale Hollow or Millie Lacs won't be impressed, but those are very nice fish on the South Fork Shenandoah. Honestly, the tiny Keitechs still represent a desperation measure of sorts for me. I only use them on those low flow, July-hot, super clear days where it is hard to get a bite of any sort, and I just want to say I caught what I came for, species-wise. I've never used the 2" Keitech. Unlike the larger Keitechs I've used, the ones pictured (3" and 2.5") don't come in the nice packaging and run straight right out of the package always. They're pictured by a size 4 offset Gamakatsu EWG which is how I rig the 3". I try not to add weight; even a 1/16 bullet weight overwhelms this bait. If I can't get the casting distance I need, I Mojo rig. Well, that's the closest rig to what I do with it (I don't carry split shot and haven't seen a Mojo weight in stores for over a decade). The 2.5" gets a small Owner CPS or Do-it Hitching Post rigged on a 2 drop shot hook. I secure the coil hitch to the hook with a small piece of shrink wrap tubing pierced on either side of the hitch by the hook. I can imagine this might be a place you would use a circle hook too, although I don't carry any of those, either.

You needed to have those instructions so that you could get oil slung all over you, the engine compartment and the garage as you set the lash and not wonder if you were doing it right. I don't miss the old days with cars except for the 60s-70s styling. I don't know which category I'm in, but I definitely think the skillset is changing and there's a divergence among the younger generation. There are some that are fiercely independent and try to know how to do everything, and others that make twenty bucks an hour and still pay someone to do everything for them including washing their clothes. We had person interview with us still in college that had her personal assistant set up the interview. She was what was essentially an assistant job.

It's the photographer. He's been that way all his life, though.

Probably a little late for this, but if you need to get kayaks tighter to the ceiling, a couple of eye screws and a cam strap help with that. I had to end up buying a tupperware shed for the bikes to make room for things in the garage. The hoists just left things hanging down too much.

Come on man! Can't let a little thing like blowing up a reel keep you from trying new things. Shoot, I do that about a dozen times a year or trying to skip?

Somebody in a canoe skipping about all the baits you would think would give a problem. Kind of shows it depends on who's doing the casting. He didn't skip an Alabama rig, though. I can skip a Senko, unreliably and with poor accuracy.

I'd second the POD idea, especially if you aren't comfortable driving the truck pulling your car. I've never moved without a tight deadline, so I've never used one. While driving a box truck with a vehicle on a trailer doesn't bother me, the fact that the POD is on the ground rather than above a truck chassis would make loading/unloading easier. I'm not sure about the cost difference, but the one- way (or roundtrip) moving truck rentals, etc. can add up.

I have 2 ALX Zolos - the Trickster, which is a light/finesse spinning model, and the Brawler, which is a pretty brawny jig rod, some might call a flipping stick. It's hard to say with the Brawler for me, I don't really have a good Loomis or St. Croix comparison. But the Trickster, which I just got less than a year ago has become a favorite. I've been using it for small plastics on a light jighead mostly (Nikko helgrammites on a 1/8 oz jig). I'd say it compares favorably with a St. Croix Avid, maybe not quite as sensitive as a IMX Loomis. Components are good, I'm not crazy about the grips but they don't bother me. Although this looks a lot like an Ikos rod of their's, I think this is a much better line. I have the Shake and it's fine but not great; it gets left at home a lot. The 2 Zolos I would buy again.

I knew Saturn made whitewater rafts and cats, I didn't know they made this kind of boat. The people that I fish with that have inflatables in this size range have them on utility trailers, and they definitely don't inflate/deflate them when they get to the river. Usually they just carry the cataraft/raft to the river or drag it off the trailer to the water if there's a ramp. Yours is heavier still than a raft and frame, and with a motor, will be a beast to move if you leave the motor on (although I think you should be able to find a sub-175 lb outboard to move that boat along as fast as you can safely go). A pickup truck with one of those trailer hitch bed extenders might suffice, but a trailer is really going to be the best solution. With the weight of the boat, you possibly could get away with a Yakima Rack and Roll trailer, which folds up really neat. It isn't cheap, but they resell really well if you go to a type of boat for which that isn't suited. @TnRiver46 has the solution that offers more versatility, but it does take up more space.