Darth-Baiter

truth. I used the most beat up equipment ever. super heavy rod and super heavy mono line. I couldn't cast it at all. the reel was supplementedly secured with wire. I thought the fish was going to pull the reel off the rod. if I could, I would send that fisherman a couple super heavy Ugly Sticks and some decent reels. hehe... it was my best fish fight to date. I'll never forget it.

gah. I almost dont even want to say.... 1/16 or 1/8th bullet worm weight, 1/0 finesse worm hook, and a Z-Man TRD Finesse. it is crazy what that tiny thing pulls out of the water. with the 1/8th, I can just cast it with my Shimano 150MGL. the stickbait adds heft for sure.

I know about them. my friend has one and I tried it. it was awful. wind pushed me around like a toy. and I am trying to avoid pumping up anything when I am there. I want to pack up something already inflated. a kayak would be a non-starter. but great suggestion. thanks

I assumed Pontoon styles would be too heavy to hike in. am I wrong? true story. I once hiked up there last year. I hear this fooshfooshfoosh sound. I look behind me and there are two ladies in bikinis pumping up a SUP. the guy fishing next to me says, "I haven't made an accurate cast since they showed up". this lake is pretty cool. lots of swimmers. all walks of life use it.

thanks. I've been searching for a good pair of shoes to wear hiking the shoreline of the Russian River!! Simms seemed like overkill. these might fit the bill perfectly! Astral Rasslers!! I also slipped and feel a few times shore fishing for Stripers. thanks for the recommendation. my friend just had the wildest mole/sun damage spot taken off his foot. he showed it to me and I immediately gave him time off to go see his doc. he sent her a pic, and she said, "yea, maybe come in today". they cut it off, and sent a sample to the lab. results pending. they also froze a big swathe of skin on his bald head. now he walks around wearing a boonie hat 100%. it freaked him out. my feet burn so easily. I keep them covered. YMMV

I have some hike in lakes. rigid boats not allowed. it got me thinking: what about a float tube with shoulder straps I can hike in? what is involved? I want to keep it minimalist. I'll need tube, Which one do you recommend that I can carry up a mountain trail. swim fins? what a pair of waders? I have some, but mine are boot-foot. I assume I need stocking-foot models? is that it? I have the PFD and fishing gear. this is uncharted territory for me.

his kidneys, not mine.

Ugh! 45 deg hill climb. I had to take a knee once. It was ugly. I’ll go back tomorrow. fished 30 minutes and didn’t skunked.

whoa!! I have these!! they cut braid?! I'm gonna try.

I friend and coworker, same age as me is having health issues. he will start dialysis soon. I dont have any issues, but seeing him go thru it makes me want to take some steps towards exercise. I have been occupying my time almost exclusively with kayak fishing. it is not entirely a sedentary event, but I dont work up a sweat like I think I need to. I thought about it last night and said to my wife, I am going to start climbing hills. hiking! then it struck me. like lighting. why dont I hike up to this lake and do some shore bass fishing? it is a tough climb with some steep sections of switchbacks. I just dug out my 2-piece UL rod and my 1000 series reel. 10 lb braid with 6 lb flour leader. I packed a few tiny bullet weights and finesse hooks. a few samples of plastic. water..I forgot water! I'll do it after work as often as I can. it is the lake that actually compelled me to buy the kayak in the first place.

......cutting braid. its all fun and games in the beginning with a fresh pair of pliers with side braid cutters. darn near pleasurable. then it starts to happen. the carbide blade and anvil starts to see some weather, some fish slime, etc. you can almost feel it happening. oh no! are my cutters starting to dull? I tried plenty. so far, my PitBull braid scissors are still functioning. but in the beginning I could clip loose braid easy. now, they cut better with bit of tension. I have a pair of Manley and Gerbers in my wish-box. I have yet to pull the trigger. I will pay money for a long lasting pair of braid cutters. out of curiosity. what are you using and loving?

I have the Red. need the yellow. but honestly a paint marker would be the better option for me on a kayak. I have red dribbles on my kayak. it is not a tidy event in my ham-hands. it is nice it wears off in a week tho. my fishing pants might be permanently stained.

is yours the 10 footer? my friend has the 10 and he put an inexpensive trolling motor on the back. it is a bear to reach to lower and pick up. in hindsight, he doenst love his setup and he will probably sell it to buy a pedal drive boat. he said it tracks funny to. with the front motor it must pivot around like a ballet dancer. I do love the carrying capacity of those things. and he pops up onto his feet d**n near subconsciously. I dont like how the seat attaches. those knobs you need to twist to tighten. I think a click and go system would have been better. those knobs are free floating, right? you can easily lose them?

I hired a guide to find me walleye in the Columbia river. We were at the tail end of the bite but still boated some good ones. It was fun. Our guide was a bit of a deke, but he got it done.

I’m a kayaker thru and thru. but this seems likes a good option. Ocean capability for sure. It would be cool out there rock fishing the Pacific Ocean. and bass fishing big lakes? I think a spot lock trolling motor would help Any Jet ski fishermen/women here? Braap!

Do you have to cut the shirt first?

I got out. My distant off road lake. My truck is filthy from the dirt road. I got rain and thunder, some lightning. My launch spot sucked. She opens at 8:00 am. And she was late. Ironically she had a map on the wall. It showed another launch. I got into my truck and sought out the other location. It’s so much cheaper and opens all the time. Downside, it’s way further from ,y usual fishing spots. If it wasn’t thundering I would have made the trek.

I also want to fish the Amazon River. I got close when I visited Peru. Not the typical Brazil visit, but I did get to wet a line. This was a neighboring river. The Tambopata River. I’ll get on the Amazon one day. a jaguar came out of the jungle near us, swam a few circles in the river and glided away. I don’t remember breathing. Adventure. oh and I did get a fish. A big black Pacu. It was my birthday:)

in order for it to qualify for my dream trip, it needs to have EPIC travel involved. pure adventure. for me, so far two trips. 1. Tuna fishing in the Ascension Islands. 2. Tiamen Trout fishing in Mongolia. I'm gonna do one of them one day. if it kills me to save up the $$. I think to fish the Ascensions, you are at the mercy of military transport planes. you come and go on their schedule. freaking cool!!

14 lb flourcarbon is the line dragging my chatter baits and spinner baits. I suck with both for the most part, so I haven't had many fish emergencies where I wish I had a different line.

We should meet up and fish together, bud.

I was in the middle of a lake trying to get to the other side, away from people. As I get closer I make out other kayakers already there. Opps. I stop and look around. Where to go? I look down and despite being in 30 feet of water I see grass. I was wind-drifting over an island, maybe. Hmm. Why not? I fling out a weightless Tex rig worm. As soon as the worm hits the water my line starts moving sideways. Whoa! A good bass dances across the surface. Luckiest cast of my life. I must have landed it in a fishes mouth. Haha. I see the other kayakers head out deeper. So funny. then it started distant thundering and lightning. What a day. I fished the rest of the day within eyeshot of my kayak launch point.

I need to practice the Rizzuto. it gets bunched up and knots up tight before all the slack comes out.

last weekend, I was casting and I noted a tag end coming off my FG. I quickly reeled in, snipped the entire thing and tied an Alberto (easier while on my kayak). I fished on. I think my thousand cast day, kinda beats on that knot. if I had an achilles with the FG, it is finishing the darn knot. I do the two overhand knots, clip the flouro and do that loop w 5x inner twist thing and pull it tight. it is my sucky 5 twist thing that comes loose. I am headed out tomorrow and I just retied all my leaders. I still suck finishing my FG, and starting is a bit clumsy. I am working, and a meeting is coming up, so I just tied my Alberto. inspiration struck!! I have a tube of line glue. it's from my days when I thought I liked fly-fishing I think. instead of saliva, I wet the knot with the glue, and gently pulled it taut. wow. it is tiny, and it will never unravel. I hit it with sunlight and the glue cured. it cures pliable so I only think of it as insurance against further unravel. I might bring that tube of glue onboard. it is the most compact Alberto knot I have ever tied. my FG knots always have a very phallic head on the end. :D. hahha.

I love the stuff. I originally bought some when I was heavily into backpack hunting, and hiking. there is no better tape to stick to blisters on your feet. I have since expanded it's use. I keep a tiny wrap of it in my kayak. that careless cut from trying to pull/yank on braid? it always ends up in a spot you will touch with every other time you try to pull on your fishing line with your hands. it is like a more painful version of a paper cut, with repeat performances. enter LeukotapeP. it is darn near waterproof. meaning it will not come off when wet. if you have to use a bandaid, use it and then cover that same bandaid with the Leukotape. it will not move until you peel it off. I have taped it to an area preemptively to prevent line-cuts. I recently jammed a toe hard and I kept the tip of that appendage covered with the tape for a week. the tape stayed put. it gets kinda dark and gross, but underneath is tight. look into it. it is a great first aide tape for fishing. a bandaid won't stay on at all once wet.