IYAOYAS

So my wife sent me this today. lol I guess she decided to be a bears fan for life. lmao

I don't follow NFL much anymore but my wife will be at the Bears game tomorrow. Her uncle and her are huge Bears fans and he won tickets and offered one to her since, well everyone else in their family is already gone or has no interest in foozball.

The East TN. fish show and expo is coming up here on Jan. 22-25 in Knoxville at the Knoxville Expo Center. I was just wondering if anyone planned on attending? My middle son(He's 22) and I will be going fri morning bright and early! I never miss a show and I always find some great deals and usually find a local vendor that makes a great custom product I discover I can't live without. Also lots of pros and local guides giving some really good free seminars! It is quite literally one of the best fishing shows in the south and definitely the best one I have ever been to. If you are planning on going, especially on Fri, let me know and maybe we can meet up and hang out and walk the aisles! https://easttnfishingshow.com/

My goals are twofold. Fish a tournament schedule and not finish last and build more confidence with jigs. I am not bad with jigs as it were but i could be better and I want to become great with them.

Nope. Fat fingers and old eyes make this a task I cannot complete. I use the old trusty double uni for line to leader connections.

I wanna see everyone's first fish of 26! Haven't caught one yet? No worries I'll be right here waiting when you do. Let's post up them new year lunkers for everyone to see! Here's mine. Lake Hartwell Cold water spot down about 12 feet on a rockpile with a finesse football jig caught -01-08-26.

shakey head with a Z SMH worm on it.

During the cold months I switch to a Rapala Shad Rap instead of a DT. Tighter wiggle and less pronounced action seems to work better for me. I also throw lipless crankbaits with a REAL SLOW yo yo pattern off the bottom, and flat sided cranks such as the Rapala OG slim if I find them shallow at all.

I will add that my boat is a fish and ski and doubles as a family pleasure craft during the summer months. If I can get on the water to be honest I'm down however were going. I'll ride in a floating kiddie pool if the fish are biting. Here's my two special ladies.

Touche Mon Ami

My front dry storage is a sea of ziploc bags with the plastics sorted into like type baits by bag.

Maybe it's the American in me or even the Gen Xer(that's probably more the reason) but as soon as somebody says I don't NEED something I want it all that much more and will do whatever it takes to get it. 😂

Kayakers and boaters getting along? Why don't you just ask cats and dogs to hang out together. 😂

Big gun guy. More specifically precision target shooting. I used to be a C&R dealer(think antique firearms) back in the day but I let my license lapse.

If you end up not liking those. The best shakey head I have ever used and I will not use any other kind now that I have is a Picasso Rhino Shakey head. It was designed by Aaron Martens and it is the most weedless best performing shakey I have ever seen. Little more expensive but WELL worth it.

I have 8 kayaks(One for each family member) and a boat. My "kayak" is a 13.5 Native Titan Pedal drive. I started off in a kayak because i couldn't afford a boat, but, being a disabled vet it was only a matter of time before the kayak became too much of a demand on my body that i just couldn't handle anymore, so I got a boat. It is much cheaper to operate a kayak and I think that's the most alluring part of it for most. Each trip in the kayak cost me approximately 40 bucks in gas if the truck is empty. Each trip in the boat costs me 100 bucks in gas if the truck is empty and the boat is ALWAYS empty. I still take the kayak from time to time but I am recovering for a week after taking it. I love kayak fishing just as much as boat fishing but for me a boat will be my best choice.

I made my own BFS. I had an old Berkley Cherrywood medium 7ft rod that is super flimsy and an old Shimano B-200 I rebuilt years ago and has been sitting on the shelf. Spooled it up with 4lb. flouro and I'm going to try it out and see what happens. Handles an 1/8 ounce pretty good so we will see where it goes.

I only use two different brands. Berkley Frittsides, and Rapalo OG slim.

It's super clear and it sinks.

If you were to send me out on the water without my Spybaits, Chatterbaits, Ned rigs, Shakey Heads and Flukes, I'd be lost. I can't remember the last time I caught a fish on something else. Oh wait, last spring I caught a 3 pounder on a Carolina rigged black grape lizard.

I have a Fish and ski and my 20 year old Maxxum just quit on me so I upgraded to a powerdrive with remote control. I didn't think I was going to like it but since my whole boat is humminbird my MinnKota plays well with my graphs.

I have nothing but Abu on my boat. I guess we will just have to see what happens. I don't want to make a brand switch but it is not out of the realm of possibility. I had heard pure fishing has been in financial trouble for years. The Abu I have onboard now work well and I love them. It's no big deal to replace them with something else as they wear out. I'm gonna hate the day my SX Rocket fails me though. I've caught hundreds of fish on that reel since I use it for my fluke rod.

Hartwell has no go zones for me and I'm on a 19 foot fish and ski. lol I still however think Keowee gets rougher.

I'd definitely eat more chips.

I've always told the wife "You can keep your livescope. I just want a spot lock trolling motor and I'll be good." So... I've been looking at the new 2nd gen FFS here recently.... 😂