Darth-Baiter

this guy was in a Native. it looked like it was 13 feet long. he was doomed. he was pedaling as hard as he could and he was not moving forward. he was probably slipping back. i was kinda shocked when we held onto each others boats and i could move him alone with my pedal drive. when he joined in, it was easy peasy. you dont need fast if you are in lakes. but if you forsee a river or maybe a tidal water situation. i think you should consider something with more juice. wind too. i only have the 180 drive. i have the turbo fins. i can go 4 mph for a veryvery long time. 3 mph forever. i dont even get winded at 3mph. the mirage drive has a (best description) a holeshot. many times i am tying a knot and not looking around only to find myself about to get washed into a tree or something. i can kick once twice an i am moving along. it holeshots when you pedal. my friend has the PA12 with the 360 drive. he loves it. he had to warranty his hull once already when it cracked at the mirage drive hole. it is pretty elaborate. my 180 is simple by comparison. going forward and reverse took some getting used to, but i can swap super quick now. too add. i took my friend's PA12 out for a spin. it felt like it was nose heavy. the seat is not a seat. it is a friggen chair. comfy, and it sits high so standing up is just like standing up from a camp chair. you just pop up!! but the boat is big and heavy and you feel all of it. i didnt like it coming from my Hobie Outback. it felt like a raft, compared to my boat. but if i had started with the PA12, i bet i would have loved it. i am just used to what i am used to. Stabiltity on the PA12 is almost a joke. it is like a raft. truly.

And two more… Windbuster. And maybe Dark Sleeper or mad bull then I’ll be done.

Swim tights. Hehe. I already have a woman…..

I can’t fish without quality sunglasses. Why? The sun alone. I can’t stand bright sunlight. projectile protection is just the gravy.

I would much rather break a rod while fishing, than to a car door or something.

The Hobie mirage drive is powerful. I had to tow a Native against a tidal current and wind. He was making zero progress. I moved us both.

I have one more Dobyns Fury, so the discussion is quite possible. Haha.

I am 100% covered. Okay. 95% covered. my solution for summer are swim tights. I bought one size bigger in hopes that they were longer to cover my ankles. They are just long enough, but they are baggy tights. I look kinda stupid but I’m feeling good about my skin. Cancer killed every male a generation back on my dads side. Every male. I take it serious my weekend attire:

I’ll need suicide watch if I ruin this one. One of the smaller ones.

Too soon

I was so on my way towards a skunk. Conditions were tough. Zero fish. I sought out deeper waters, and I headed for narrow sections of the river. in the semi-clear water I could see boulders. Working a creature over rocks in deep water was the key! I actually crushed today! I turned it around. 8 fish! With a 4.5lb ass my big. This river was never known for anything but dinks. I need to learn how to fish rivers better. For starters I should be a better caster.

I hit the local river today. I went early to get as much peaceful fishing in, before the bikini SUP brigade woke up and hit the waters. I only had a spare Curado 150 mgl, so I used that reel. The rod is light. Really light. Oh. Rod is a P5 X-Bites. The tip is flexy, and the blank gets stiffer in a hurry. It feels like a different rod 15” down the blank. It’s sensitive beyond what I’m accustomed to. I had a nick in my flouro, and I could feel it go thru the first guide. Guides, might be my imagination, but they seem really low-profile. I had no issues casting it. 14lb flouro, and a 1/16 bullet weight with a 3.5” plastic creature. My accuracy was quick to develop. Fish bites were easily detected and just leaning back put the hook in. My barb was crushed down, and the rod fought every fish like a champ. I love the thing, and I horked in 7 larger bass. Big fish was a 4.5, hiding in front of a boulder, which was behind a fallen redwood tree, underneath a willow canopy. My cast was epic. It center-punched the boulder, and fell straight down. The water swirled visually at the same time I felt the tap. I set the hook and had to play that fish over the log w a barbless hook. im in trouble. I want to try other Destroyer P5! only complaint is minor. That tiny stubby trigger knob pushes into my ring finger since I hood rods weird. I’ll adjust. my new rod is filthy. I love it.

I like to go thru the lure eye twice with any knot. Double improved clinch, double San Diego jam knot…double anything.

I use fly fishing knot glue.

I didn’t mean anything. Just quoting something I heard.

Normal. Tight normal.

My person that I talk to say a it’s not really a disorder until it disrupts normal life. Just a thought.

DVC is gonna get a few of my reels for a cleaning. I had one done locally, and it’s smooth but kinda noisy. id rather try to fix if needed and keep,them nice as long as I can. I have a few reels I’ll donate when they act up. I got them free, and they aren’t great or even beloved by me. I just use them cuz I’m cheap. I don’t like a disposable culture.

My friend stores his boat at a marina. When he wants to fish, he calls them and they put his boat into the water. Charged and fueled if needed. It’s a great service, but it means we launch from the same place every time. The water is murky there. Heading north it improves vastly. So we blasted north stopping to fish a few places. I got 4 2lb fish almost immediately with my magic creature bait. Then it was all day dink-fest. But lots of dinks. Dinks Jack up delicate plastic baits just as much as the bigger fish. I went thru lots of plastics. But it was fun. 4 feet water visibility, high tide was at 9:00 and we had an outgoing for the rest of the day. I love the CA delta. It’s fun in my kayak, but d**n near luxurious in a bass boat. Ironically, I only brought a punch rod and two flipping rods. I broke one today, so I was lightly armed. I just don’t love a big rod selection in the rear of the boat. the scary part. My friend wanted to see how long it took to get to his new favorite spot from his home marina. He gunned it home. I’m just not used to skipping precariously on the surface of the water at a high speed. He said I was white knuckles. I cinched down my PFD and just tried to relax. Hahaha. No winds or waves, thankfully. Tomorrow I’m kayaking - slow. Real slow. im back folks. Let’s do this!

I felt a bass pick up my bait. I set the hook and felt the hook/bait lock up. I “think” it went into wood, maybe. I thought it was a big one, so I leaned into it. It snapped halfway down. I’ve snapped 4 rods since I took up fishing again at the beginning of the pandemic. All four rods are Dobyns Fury 703’s. I’ve replaced a few w the DOBYNS $70 program. One was the direct result of blocking a tungsten flying back at me. this time I put it in the Marina’s Dumpster. I’ve had GREAT TIMES with that very humble rod. Great times and countless fish. I use it mostly ;y for light t-rigs and finesse jigs. Like the other 3x, I called my wife. She said, “no big deal, you had a rod tube delivered today”. it’s all goood. I have one Fury 733 left. I throw jerkbaits with it. oh well. Things happen. But none of my buds break their Fury rods.

Depends if the reel is “lucky”

I met some 75 year old on the lake. He told me he has never caught a bass. I led him and his kayak out and showed him where to cast. Rigged up a bait for him. Man, he was awful. He zeroed and I crushed them. I couldn’t NOT catch a fish. And I was casting way less frequently than him. Never been so happy to get rained out. It was awkward.

Just as soon as I burn the receipt! (she knows)

Tomorrow. my friend asked if I wanted to go bass boating…..err. Yes! My boss is cool as heck. He endorsed tomorrow’s sunburn. let’s do this.

cut then in half, lightly drizzle with oil and roast them.