Eric Matechak

St croix rods are good quality but I am not a huge fan of the bulbous handles. My hands aren't massive and I have trouble getting a firm grip on the reel with the thickness of the rod. Leads to poorer hooksets. I don't like these rods for my arsenal

fish the CA aqueduct. I fish it hard up by Fresno area. nice stripers and bass in it. big carp too but haven't caught any yet. I assume the fishing near lancaster/palmdale is good enough

I want to try carp fishing there. I've had poor luck fishing big CA reservoirs from shore in the past. Boat fishing is where it is at.

Something about stocking fish in a pond is so satisfying. My dad had a 1/4 acre pond built on the farm when I was a teenager. Almost 20 years later, re-energizing the genetic pool with 11 yellow perch (6-7"), 6 bass 7-9", 18 channel cats, 200 fathead minnows, 100 1-2" bluegill, and 6 koi. I know it's a relatively small amount but exciting for me nonetheless

my best advice for you is to follow the patterns. Fish follow specific patterns in every season. A few oddball fish will break from the general pattern and do their own thing. You don't care about those screwy fish. Figure out what the bulk of the fish are doing and meet them where they are, biting what they are. That is how you'll catch fish. You can't use the same approach from lake to lake and regardless of season and expect it to always work. find the current pattern.