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73 - 77, USN, Central Pac 95 - 15, US Army National Guard, US Army, Kyrgystan, (98, MTARNG), Bosnia (02 -03, 25th ID), Iraq (04 - 05, 116th CAV)

Well, it is interesting this topic surfaced as I tried a bait caster for the very first time yesterday. It was an old Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Mag ll. How should I put it ??? it was awkward. Still, I got to the point I could cast probably 20 yards or so, using 12 # mono.I have no idea what a "decent" cast is with this gear. Am I handicapping myself with this old reel?

always remember---The lottery is your friend! ( not mine, evidently, but the hope still lives)

Bank, if you have ever guided, you have heard it described as a business where you rake money in with one hand, while shoveling it out with the other. And there is much truth in that statement. All the local guides I know are having a very tough time with Covid quarantines and travel restrictions. Add in the forest fires, low water years, economic factors, and it is a very tough business. And newbies in a kayak with a fish rod are always problematic. (Whoops! I dropped the rod!)

I typically use a fly rod, but a spinning (or bait caster?) with a casting bubble should work as well. I buy the bigger (23mm) articulated shanks, although traditionally using a 7x long shank with the hook bend snipped off will work. You can link 2 or 3 (or more) together to increase length, and I use cactus chenille to increase girth. With the price of good hooks, i think the shanks are cheaper. I either weight them, or not, depending on desired water depth. We have very clear water here, and when shallow, a delicate presentation is important. I am currently trying a "suspender", using foam and lead wire to achieve that. And I am thinking to try a full floater, especially at night. Another development is tying them weedless, so I can fish the lily pads so prevalent in a few lakes. My favorite is sight fishing to cruising bigmouths in 3 - 4' of clear water. They cruise in areas almost devoid of cover, with a light silt bottom. I use a boat (canoe, kayak, or skiff) as the local lakes are mostly to brushy and timbered to back cast. For presentation (but not casting) DT 6 weight line works better than a WF, with a 9' floro leader, as the fish are spooky. On that note, I prefer fac tapered leaders, as my homebuilt knotted leaders create a series of ripples (at every knot) when fished on the surface. A sinking leader avoids this. If there is any cover I get the smaller pike as well, but they usually snip the line. I put the hook point in the final segment to avoid this also. I did catch a 12# pike two years ago, and amazingly, he did not get the line in his teeth. Send me a PM, and I can send you a few flies.

I think you are correct, they do eat micro organisms, but it gets complicated targeting them that way. I generally have to fish larger flies in an attempt to avoid the d**n sunfish and perch. I have caught smaller bass (10-12") on #6 Wooly Worms, but the sunfish are a nuisance with that size. This year, I have switched to larger (2-4") articulated Wooly Buggers, hoppers, and eel worms. That makes it an all or nothing proposition. I did hook (for about one second) a large Tiger Muskie on a #12 nymph years ago. But I cannot effectively fish small flies on the heavy leaders required for bigger bass and pike.

You are singing my song, Brother! Every winter I swear I am going south until the local lakes thaw out. Maybe this year.

Pearls of wisdom, Sir!

Sorry, I just rechecked, and it is required here now as well. A few years ago it was not. I apologize for the misinformation. I see it is a USCG requirement now as well.

they do that locally also.

One of my favorites! With sage stuffing.

Brian, you do realize that Milk River is not technically in Montana? We consider everything East of the Rockies as "West Dakota".

Well done! For what it is worth, I always replace my treble hooks with a single hook, They are required in many places, they snag less, and they catch fish (at least trout) just as well as a treble. And always sharpen your hooks with a stone when you tie them on.

Years ago, I had a friend who owned a saddle shop. When you walked in the door, front and center was a gaudy, tooled leather saddle with all the brightwork. And a $2500 price tag (about a years wages at that time). I asked him who would buy that, and he replied "Probably no-one. But it makes all these $400 working rigs look like the deal of the century".

LOL. No, they are usually not. I watched 4 WT bucks cross the pasture last week, and although still in velvet. they all had good racks.

Big Hands, I am laughing as I have not heard those terms yet, but "tour-ons" (a tourist/moron cross) has been popular for years. My personal favorite has always been "weenies". If we migrate south in the winter, we morph into snowbirds. As well as weenies and tourons. I have done a fair amount of travel around the world, but never as a "Tourist". I have always been a "visitor". Seriously, we all travel, and all fit into those categories at some point. Montana has no monopoly on clowns, and we export as well.

"Being a born and raised Marylander, there’s only one real crab"--- You are correct--The Icy Bay Dungeness. (LOL)

I sense a relationship here, Brother! (but our bass are dinks)

Sphynx, come on over, you are welcome to camp in my pasture. And borrow the boat. Papa Joe, "shoulder season" is the term the marketing fools (chamber of commerce) use to denote Spring and fall, rather than peak tourist season (JUN, JUL, AUG). Sep has always been my favorite month, as it cools off, fishing improves, the tourists are mostly gone, and the weather is usually good. Usually is not an absolute, as it starts snowing also. Mar and April are usually cold and wet, May can be great in a good year. When it is not cold and wet. Does anyone in Texas need a roommate for the winter?

"You can be extreme, dedicated professional and passionate about your chosen hobbies without being a total ****** about it" Most folks are really decent about fishing. I guess that was my point--It usually is, but doesn't have to be. I have no idea how many tens of thousands of dollars I have spent on fly fishing and spinning tackle and trips over the years. It is substantial, but I can separate the gear into categories of really wanted, vs just what I needed. A lot of it enhances my enjoyment, but not necessarily improves my catch rate. And the the two do not share a linear function. Was it money and time wasted? Not in my mind. My objection is when folks use the discretionary income factor to display their supposedly master status or ego, vs just admitting they really enjoy a given sport. When folks ask, I just say "I fish frequently. And sometimes I catch". I use the title "experienced", and let it go at that, because things like enjoyment, satisfaction or enrichment cannot be measured. Some days I think maybe golf would have been cheaper.

Let me count the ways! You cannot find a campsite anywhere in Western MT right now. The tourons have invaded and occupied my ancestral homelands. Evidently, under quarantine, the thing to do is buy a boat, a motorhome and "escape". Between the jet skis, speed boats, water skiers, and the "splash and giggle" group, I am relegated to fishing the bigger (anything with a boat ramp) lakes for a few hours in the morning, or the last hour of daylight. I use my canoe on the smaller waters to escape the hordes, but that is discounted by sharing the water with all the other locals doing the same thing. I am concerned that we will not get the Labor Day evacuation this year, as so many cannot go back to school. The Chamber of Commerce has been advocating the "shoulder Seasons" to tourists for years. The shoulder season in Montana this year will fall on a Thursday.

You are absolutely correct. I started fly fishing in the late 60's, when it was just another technique. In the late 70's it became trendy, as the yuppies "discovered" it. I love the improved gear and techniques, but really, it is still just fishing. When I teach fly tying classes, I always emphasize this. It is no more expensive than any other fishing, if you want it to be. Trout and Salmon are incredible species, but no more so than bass and pike, and dozens of other fish. About 10 years ago carp were the "trendy" fish. Now you have to be "extreme, "dedicated", "professional" or "passionate" about your sport. I miss fishing and hunting when they were just pastime's. Before they became industries.

We are sharing a boat! Being pretty well blind in my left eye, I am hopeless doing anything left handed. Years ago, I shot completive pistol, and when the match required "Weak hand engagements", it was Clear the decks!

That is the crux of the issue. I have always used RH spinning reels and fly gear, and cannot fathom using my Left hand for rod control. It just strikes me as extremely awkward. Granted, I am an old dog.

Well, I discounted humans, though I have seen several foul hooked. Some of them fight viciously. I also left out my 100 pound Airedale terrier. What species of duck?