Darth-Baiter

i take fresh corn and drop it into hot boiling water just to warm thru. i like it plain. no butter, no salt. i'd go as far as to say buttering corn sucks. hahaha.. i cant stand chasing that cold square of butter around a corn cob.

kayaks are inherently slow at the ramps. no doubt. but i absolutely hustle. i get it done pretty quickly, but it does kinda suck. most boaters know i am hauling buttey. i hope it is appreciated. all of our boatramps are fairly wide. i always scooch way to one side. boats have no issues squeezing in next to me. its cool watching a talented trailer backer anyways.

some gritty s-kicker educated my young self this very thing. hahhaha.. he was a D about it all so i took my time. but ever since then i am very cognizant of NOT doing that ever again.

nice of you to hire the elderly. i'm going with 20 to 25 year olds. (just kidding)

my thing about a crockpot. you still need to cook on the stovetop. you have to brown everything, collect the "fond", and move it all over to the appliance anyways. my coworker and i often joke about a stew contest. he is a big proponent of the crockpot. i havent been able to get him to commit. we buy the same cut of meat, veg, and come at the dish from our own skillsets. yum!! yes. i always am so last minute so i do it all in a pressure cooker now.

My friend calls that FOMO. Fear of missing out.

AWESOME!! welcome to the madness.

AbuGarcia RevoX or something. my buddy hated it and gave it to me. I tinkered with the settings and kept it thinking it would hold me over until I can upgrade to something that rhymes "Zhimanoh" later. here I am 3 years later and that thing still flings them out there smoothly.

one day. I'll put a couple of cases of Sonoma and Napa county wines in the back of the truck and start driving to make forum friends. nothing like breaking bread and drinking wine to make it alright. putting holes in bass mouths doesn't suck either.

someone once told me "....80% of it all is just showing up..." I wake up at 2:00 am to get to some fishing spots. I'm irritable, nauseous, etc. but I have adjusted. I bring my breakfast to eat there, and I drive myself solo (thanks Covid). once I slide out on the water, it all comes off my body..the negativity. it's go time!!

my cast iron gets washed with soap and water on occasion. the seasoning is super robust. it isn't going anywhere. in fact, two summers ago, it got too thick. I heated it up beyond hot in hot oven, knocked off the burned off carbon and then rubbed 200 grit wet/dry sandpaper and took it to almost new looking. it was light gray in color. I started over. slick as snot now.

another picture with a closeup on the model number; I bet these guys can tell you what day they made the rod? in general St Croix makes a lot of different rods.

I once met a guy on the verge of divorce. it was literally "either your pans go, or I go!". I bought a couple of vintage American cast irons from the guy and scurried away. he gave me a great deal. he had hundreds of cast iron things in a barn. and a really sad look on his face. one is a Griswold. another is an unmarked pan that never leaves my stovetop. nothing warms a tortilla better. or sears a steak. now? 6 years ago I dipped my toe into carbon steel pans. I went with a French pan. a De Buyer, Mineral B pan. seasoning it was a lesson in patience and understanding the occasion defeat. now I love the thing, but it would be a big deal if I bought another fresh pan to season. no thanks. I wouldn't call it as "easy" but with this pan, I am using my Cast-iron less and less. I think it sears better (maybe not a steak, but for sure - fish). it certainly does small stir-fry dishes way better. I love cast iron, but there is a new kid on the block for sure. I love putting the pans on my bbq grills to heat and cook. saves me the issue of heating up my house in the summer.

I know you were not being mean-spirited. my comment was similar in nature. trying to be fun, but maybe failed(?).

I just saw the Depps Scat bait in person. I should delete this thread. bass apparently will eat even a moving turd.

I was once studying for some college class while sitting at my parent restaurant. a big body builder dude showed up and just ordered steamed broccoli and white rice. I commented that was a super light meal. he looked me up and down, and said sarcastically, "well some of us care what we look like". I looked at him and then at my textbooks, and replied, "well, do you know what is the inverse of Sin(x)?" he stood there looking lost..I said, "well, those aren't the only parts of the body that you need to exercise". his girlfriend GUFFAWED.. hahah. we all come from different places. me, I am a natural tinkerer but I just get the reels to work perfectly for me and dont sweat the minutia.

the motherlode is like a Siren's Song to me. further than I am liking to go, but with an overnight stay totally doable. it seems so cool. even the word Motherlode is cool. I have kayak fished Camanche and I got run off the water by the biggest lake waves I have ever been in. freaked me the heck out. I think New Melones will be my next attempt

you guys are piling on, huh?

preaching to the choir my friend. my one trolling motor kayak guy won't even tow me. what a jerk I am a fair marathoner out on the water.

I punch with 65lb braid. I feel bad hauling a bass thru the heavy cover. it cannot be comfortable for the fish. I subconsciously seem to release those fish the quickest just a bass I caught that gets me into the Tule or wood? I have a 20% success rate. they usually own me. I'm going to load one of my bait casters with 30lb braid next time and see how that plays out.

just watched it!! I am more confused than ever. hahah.. looks like Megabass as a few travel rods. the Triza, the Orochi version and the Valkyrie. I am gonna watch the video again!!

while I love slow cooking, I dont do it in a crockpot. I have limited storage in my kitchen so yet another countertop appliance is a non-starter. I use an enamel coated cast iron dutch oven and do all of it in a relatively cool oven. 310 deg on my oven gives me that bare simmer that seems to turn most tougher meat parts into tender morsels. there is no way to replicate how any slow cooking makes a house smell. YUM! and the entire neck of a deer. pull apart meat for tacos!!

I'm in a similar boat. I went to OK to fish for pretty large striped bass. got a few. I had a Med rod I borrowed and my own 3000 series reel with 20lb braid with a 12 lb flouro leader. it was fine. I had no idea how hard a big striper will fight. it is a significant tug for sure, but I was never out matched. next year, I am going with a 2500 reel to save weight. I will stick with a Med spinning. I'll bring a casting with a MH rod and a basic 200 Curado with 14lb flouro. I am contemplated sending extra rods to store indefinitely at my brother's home for this annual trip. flying with rods is not fun for me. my local airports are pandemonium. OR buy some good travel rods that rhymes with "Negafass". hahah.. good luck.

I'm with you bud. I just get the reel and do a cast to suss it out. sometimes it bites me hard. hahah.

good on you Koz. if I have to go far, I leave early. I need to buy navigation lights for my kayak, now that the days are shortening. I "try" to put my head down and kick my pedals hard until I get to my destination. I rarely succeed because anything that looks bassy, I pull over to cast at. I'm mostly successful. this Saturday is the real challenge. I need to go 4 miles before I get there. there is almost no shot me and my buddy get there without pausing to cast. really a moot point where we are going because boats can beat us there. but for big kayak only waters, it is nice to go further any anyone else is willing to go for the peace and quiet.