BrianMDTX

To be honest, not everyone has the financial ability to purchase an Avid (or similar priced) rod.

I got nuthin’! ?

I’m proud of myself. I stopped at WM to get a pair of insoles for my shoes due to plantar fasciitis and I knew I needed another Plano 3600 for the new XZone baits I have coming. Bought the insoles. Bought the 3600. That was it. Now I guess I will suffer the wrath of the BM.

I have to say, you guys may think you are making lures, but you're actually making works of art as well. Some of those crankbaits are absolutely gorgeous. Losing one must be painful!

I have zero experience with the Mojo, but just picked up my first Bass X. My other rods are two Daiwa Aird X's and a Procyon, and two Fenwick HMX's. All good rods IMO, but the Bass X's sensitivity is a good bit better than those. I really like the rod. Maybe I might like the Mojo better, but I cannot complain about the Bass X, from fit to finish to sensitivity to balance. It's a really nice rod for the $$$.

“The canal was angry that day, my friends!”

Interesting. A few weeks ago I hit the local pond from the bank with my new St. Croix Bass X and two other rods. The spot I fish is right off a walking trail and about 30 minutes in here comes totally oblivious soccer mom and her 9-10 year old son. I kept hearing a pinging noise and saw he was carrying an aluminum baseball bat. At that time I was fishing a TR from a baitcaster and had another one and a finesse rig (the St. Croix) leaning on a tree about 3’ from me. Sure as heck the kid walks through the trees right up to me as TOSM just keeps on truckin’. “Whacha doin’? Catch anything? Can I see? Can I hold one of these rods?” That was the last question and as I turned to say “No!” I heard ping! The little moppet pinged my new rod with his bat! Luckily it did no damage but I was pretty hot. Of course, by the time TOSM was almost out of visual range she starts bellowing like a colicky cow for him to catch up. Actually, I’m still ticked!!!

Yes, box turtles are a terrestrial species. Even growing up in Baltimore (not downtown but still within city limits) we used to find box turtles all the time when I was a kid.

Or my bows!

Hey, that’s great news!

Just an FYI. That’s is not a box turtle, of which I have seen many over my decades living in Maryland. That is a Texas tortoise. Which is actually pretty cool as it’s listed as a threatened species in Texas. We had this female box turtle lay eggs in our front garden in MD just before we moved to Texas. Weeks later they hatched. Most left before we noticed but we did see this one baby box turtle. I like turtles, but the ponds I fish here are loaded with them. Getting a hook out of one is a real mofo.

Truth be told, I like to eat more than cook lol. But I have my moments. I got this Maryland Crab Soup recipe from my wife’s grandmother. No one else has it but me as no one made it close enough to her standards for her to pass it onto. She was Baltimore old school. Made it in the summer kitchen in the basement and if a thunderstorm popped up in the middle of making the soup, toss it and start over (that’s an old wive’s tale that a T-storm would ruin the soup). Maryland Crab Soup Start with a lb of beef cubes, cut into smaller cubes and add to 3-4 quarts of water. To that add: 2 beef boullion cubes 2-3 white potatoes- diced 1 small white onion- minced 3-4 cloves garlic-minced 3 16 oz. bags frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, lima beans, corn and peas) two cans of crushed tomatoes one can of diced tomatoes one can tomato sauce 1/2 cup of barley (rinsed) 1/2 head of cabbage-shredded 4 soup crabs, devil removed, cracked in half 3 bay leaves 7-8 dashes of Lea and Perrins Worchestershire sauce 4-5 dashes of Tabasco sauce dash or two of cayenne pepper Old Bay and black pepper to taste 1 lb jumbo lump MD crab meat (added just prior to serving) FYI- “soup crabs” are leftover steamed crabs sold in Maryland seafood shops for use in crab soup. If you cannot find soup crabs, either omit them or if you have access to live blue crabs, buy a few and steam them yourself and add to the soup. “Devil” is what we call the gills (some call them dead man’s fingers). And while Maryland jumbo lump crabmeat is best, substitute any jumbo lump or lump blue crab meat. Serve with bakery rye bread and Keller’s Irish butter. It’s a meal in a bowl!

Honey Old Bay wings for sure.

So...as many humans are color blind, I wonder if X number of bass are also color blind? And if some areas (or water types) tend to have more or less color blind bass? I do do believe the water color makes a difference. The ponds I fish are very green in summer due to algae. So much so it stains my line green. I was killing bass on green pumpkin Senkos in summer through early fall. Once the algae bloom died off and the water clarity improved the bite was off on those colors while watermelon and red/copper colors improved.

Gorgeous bass!

I have an inflatable, not a yak. I use this one which is nice as the handle folds out of the way. You may need more reach with a yak, though.

Looks great, A-Jay. Look even better towing the boat in a month or so!

Have you tried a WR with an o-ring? It won’t rip the Senko and often get many bass off the same bait. That said, if this works for you...fish it!

Exactly. Which you could simply tie off to the main line or leader without the snap. I’m trying to figure out the “why”. In a normal WR the stick bait sinks as the ends flap like a bird’s wings. In a weightless TR it sinks/glides straight with some tail movement. Is the goal here to get it to spin around as it sinks?

That’s a good deal. I’ll have to check my local store. I will say they seem to stock a lot of baits and tackle, and a wide assortment of rods and reels.

That looks good!

This is just my observation. I do not believe the Bait Monkey influences the purchase of rods and reels. If you are like me, you may purchase new rods and reels frequently, but I rarely buy 2, 3 or more rods or reels similar (or exactly) like the ones I currently have like I will with Senkos, Zoom Tricks or any other baits. Based on this, I believe there must be such a thing as a Rig Monkey. Has to be!

lol. No trolling motor in my inflatable. Maybe too much wind drift? ?

Actually, that was the way I first rigged them lol. Backwards and forward. Maybe I need to try it like a Neko rig lol.

Fish grippers are the way to go. Protects you from the hook and IMO much more secure than fingers.