Big Hands

Please define "crowded" as it applies here. My local lake is 2235 acres when full of water. The main launch ramp has 18 lanes, and another has 6 lanes. They have the capacity to park around 500 truck/trailer combos (so up to 500 watercraft at any one time), and it does fill up. The line to get in on weekends can be up over a half mile long and it can stay that way most of the day as people wait for others to leave so they can go in. Good times! Oh yeah, I almost forgot the most fun part of the whole deal. They inspect every boat because of the Quagga mussel deal. You can have a wire attached from your boat to your trailer as you leave, so it won't have to be inspected when you enter the lake, but that means you can't go anywhere else. If they lower your motor, and a single drop of water dribbles out of your lower unit/prop, you can't come back to even try for another 8 days. If they pull the plug on the transom, same thing. If the see a drop of water in your bilge, not gonna get in. If you have a damp dockline, you're not getting in. If you have water in an ice chest from a bag of ice. . . . sorry, no go. Deck carpet wet? Bzzzzzt, come back in 8 days and try again. Check out these videos for the inspection process, LOL: Yes, that's how thoroughly they inspect your boat if you don't have it wired to your trailer with their seal. Try to fudge it, and you're off the water for 30 days minimum. Welcome to Los Angeles County, California!

It gets a little mixed together with county officials appearing with the mayor of the city each day on their TV updates. I live in an unincorporated area of the county, so I have nothing to worry about with regards to any city (unless I need to go there for some reason, which I mostly don't), so I only have to worry about what the state and county say. There you go, clear as mud ;~)

Tackle Warehouse is three to four hours north (depending on which part of LA you're referring to) of LA in San Luis Obispo. I live in northern LA County about 160 miles from SLO. And we do have both the city of Los Angeles, and the county of Los Angeles, and they both have their own edicts and guidelines, and may have some areas of each with different levels of 'lockdown' rules to follow. The city of LA is within the county of LA, but there are also other individual cities within the county as well as unincorporated areas in the county. Currently there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about what applies to whom.

The DSG near me has moved all of their fishing gear out of the store entirely. I have no idea if there are any other DSG stores in the surrounding area, but I won't likely be needing to find out in the foreseeable as we have an excellent local tackle store, a Turner's Outdoorsman, Big 5, and three Walmarts in the local area to choose from that were always better than the meager offerings that Dicks had before they made room for more clothes and shoes.

I have the first iteration of the Flambeau Ike backpack. It was $40 and came with 4 @ 3700 size boxes, making the cost of the backpack very reasonable. It has room for all four of the 3700 boxes and I can squeeze in a 3600 box in the main compartment too. Each side has a roomy pocket with a mesh pocket on the outside of that. There is a heavy duty ziplock on the inside of the top lid that will hold a wallet and a phone. There is also some rod loops on the back corner that will easily carry two rods. It's pretty light and comfortable to wear even when I am riding my bike. It also has two plier holders built onto the outside that makes them quick and easy to get to. There is also a provision in one of the pockets to put a spool of leader line into and a hole for it to protrude so you can get some leader line without having to dig around in the pocket for it. Since I keep most of my tackle in size 3700 boxes, I like that I can use those in my backpack, and that was one of my criteria for selecting a backpack so I would not have to put what I am going to use in a completely different box to go fishing just because a backpack only held size 3600 boxes. Everybody has their own unique set of circumstances to consider, so get the backpack that works for you and your system.

Hey Moe! Hey Larry! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. . . .

Rita Hayworth ? ? ? ? ??????

Looks like you may have been back in Penson Bay (next to 2946) at the end of the first segment? So much fun when you get 'em figured out like that. I can watch videos like this all day long. Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes stupid fixes itself.

I love watching Lake Fork fishing videos. It's such a cool place to fish. Thanks for sharing.

I think I'd be out there draggin a slab around that snapping turtle den for that STX Gen 4. I'd rather catch that than a 5 lb bass.

Try something smaller like a spinner such as a Blue Fox, Mepps Aglia, Rooster Tail, or Panther Martin. The fish might be too small to stick to the Dardevle. Tiny Kastmasters also work well.

As far as I know, the Black Max and Silver Max are pretty much the same reel, with the Silver Max having the "Rocket" button feature that is a way to engage the reel (from freespool/casting mode) without having to turn the handle, which may or may not be useful to you. If it's not a feature you'll use, you may as well go with the Black Max. I have a Black Max, which you can find new at $35 to $40, $49.95 or something like that being MSRP. I have one, and a couple of Pro Max's. Compared to the Pro Max, the Black Max is just OK. For $20, it might be worth it to learn with as it has a fair amount of adjustability with both a magnetic cast control, and the normal tension on the spool shaft adjustment.

Did you drop a pin where you lost it? I think I would get some Mike Long Signature snagging jigs and go fish for that setup for a while.

I don't normally go anywhere near this big on a rod or reel, but I sold off some other gear to fund this big swimbait setup: Phenix PSW 869H Deck Hand: $300 Shimano Tranx 400: $300 Total: $600

Back in the early 90's, I caught a 1-1/4 lb bass on a full size AC Plug. The only one we ever caught on the plug that was under 5 lbs. Many bass have met their untimely demise trying to swallow a bluegill, only to have it lodge itself in their mouth/throat. The spines on the bluegill act like barbs on a hook making it difficult to impossible for the bass to spit out the bluegill. Then you see the dance of slow death play out on the water's surface.

If you're in Cleburne, TX, you're ten miles from Squaw Creek which is a pretty decent fishery year round because it's a power plant lake and the water is relatively warm all year. You're also close to Granbury, and lots of small soil conservation ponds, which are great places to fish if you can access them. You have a TON of excellent lakes within an hour to an hour and a half from you.

Pig Sniffer Hog Snogger Stank Face Sack Stretcher Monster Master of Monster Smasher Swine Stacker Bayou Buffet Bayou Bisquit Bayou Brisket Bayou Brunch Hog Hollow Mack Jigger Pig Labowski Over the Slot Dancing Millennial Spring Fever Strong Point Pig Sniper I need a life. . . Reminds me of this scene from Joe Dirt

Chunky Chaser Harvey Wallhanger Lunker-Liscious Fatty Finder Hawg's Bollocks Jiggy-Widdit Fatty-Whacker Tally-Whacker Lunker-Lifter O.M.G. Hog Gobbler Donkey Caller or Donkey Collar Fat Sack Bearded Weirdo Pig Puller Hog Flogger Dirt Diggler Laughing Sow

They have the Daiwa Revros LT2500-XH for $29.99. I bought two of them. I like that particular LT reel for a couple of reasons: 1) It has a 6.2:1 gear ratio 2) One of the few LT reels that doesn't have the "D" (deep) spool. While it's not the "S" (shallow) spool, I don't need way over 200 yards of 6lb line (or a bunch of filler) on my spinning setup. 3) The LT spools are interchangeable with the spool on my LT Legalis, and may other LT reels, so if I want to use a deep spool, I can swap spools.

Thank you James for the thoughtful reply. I actually went with Owner ST-36 hooks in the same size, and put a red one up front.

I cut them into 6" lengths and them tape them to a hole saw. Then I use my cordless drill to remove line from reels. I also use short lengths of them to reinforce shipping containers so vulnerable parts don't get damaged.

And to further muddy the waters, so to speak, line and lure ratings of the same model casting rod are sometimes different than the spinning rod version.

Sounds like a decent combo to get started with. Fish it for a while and the $35 you spent on the rod will be like an extended rental so you can figure out your next move.

My wife had a meningioma removed five years ago and that type of surgery is no walk in the park. Him being discharged today absolutely is "amazing" in the truest sense of the word. Great to hear this news.