Darth-Baiter

the Mustang Topwater Foam vest looks kinda nice and is $99.

for me it is the color fade. that's it.

nope. my trolling motor battery is a Dakota Lithium. i love the robust warranty. now? i would get the flat Newport Vessels battery without question. it is made to fit under the kayak seat which is straight up brilliant. very innovative.

haha.. this saturday, i finally found a victim.. i mean associate to fish a spot i have always wanted to try. we have to (legally) lift our kayaks over a gate, and walk thru a narrow opening to reach new waters. we will have to drag our kayaks down a trail. hahah. solo i would kill myself. i have a willing partner. very off the beaten path. the opposite of mainstream.

IMA suspending. and LV500 for me. i'm boring. i have a really cool looking mystery one i have had since i was in my 20's. i keep it to torture myself. it is fishless. if i snag it and lose it, i will laugh.

That’s a funny story! Haha.

Thanks bud!

No rainbow arching casts, no spinner baits. everything aerodynamic, best I can. And I adjust my expectations and move my kayak in closer to the target. If casting from shore (I’m looking at you Lake Texoma), and a windy day blowing into my face brings the fish in, I will really use slender baits and go with 3/4oz versions. And I use a Curado DC and shamelessly click it to Number-3.

I only know the people that fish around me. If they are mainstream, I am not. They all get attached to local lakes. Even if the lake is hot, I’ll still step outside my comfort zone and try new waters. I’ve gotten comfortable with the risk of a skunk. You know what? I don’t skunk often. I have had friends call me to ask me where I’m at and to show off awesome fish pictures. I'm slugging away at a new lake just struggling to find the first puzzle piece. I love it. They think I’m foolish. But when fishing is tough, they all seem to follow my lead. Hahaha. It pays to be uncomfortable at times. This applies to many aspects of life. Like exercise- it’s uncomfortable. Job interviews are uncomfortable:D. Slipping out into a new lake with nothing in my strategy than some mental images from Google earth. Uncomfortable. But when I’m catching new bass? So sick!

I used my culdesac as well. Went surprisingly well. I made it a point not to ask my wife to help.

The old me showed up today. Jig-skunked. I threw a variety except my finesse ones. Nada! heck, I was catching the with a chatter bait and crankbait, and I’m famously not great with those either. Haha.

they dont seem to mess with the awesome LMB populations in those Mexican lakes. and they have a metric ton of Tilapia in them.

that is a bucket list fish for sure!!! I do however hope to catch it in Malaysia. but the only trips in I find are 21 day mega events. $$$$$

me. easy. my second day ever fishing at Clearlake. I headed for a cove. but first I had to come out of a cove where the ramp is. I had to weave my kayak thru a flotilla of bass boats. I mean maybe 50 boats. I just put my head down and did my best to stay out of their casting zones. "excuse me, passing thru". I felt I did a good job and even went way around in some instances where they were bunched up tight. they left me zero room in that cove, so I just found open water away from them and started fishing. the amount of S-Talking I got was legend to this day. "where is that idiot going?" "like an annoying gnat" were some good ones. hahah.. I posted up 100 yards outside the bass boat town meeting and just casted out. I remember it like yesterday. drop shot with a 6" Zoom grnpumpkin lizard. the tap was immediate. I hork out my best Clearlake bass of all time. a humble 2lb. then it was on!! fish after fish. good ones..all around 4 lbs. you know what? the flotilla decended on me. got up in my casting zones, but it was all good. I would drop my worm between them and I was crushing them. of all those boats, only one person asked if he could slip in next to me. I waved him in happily. he looked at me and said, "wait, are you drop shoting a lizard?"....yup. I asked him if he wanted some lizards and he said he cant take them from me. hahah..I suppose some tourney rule? he was a cool dude and he got into them as well with a jig. after about an hours the motors roared to life and they raced off in a impressive show of force. a total armada!! I stayed and picked off a few more. I was a total GNAT.

the trend? more $$ = more love! someone mentioned the Curado MGL 150. I have two. one is magic, the other one not so much magic. it even rattles a bit. hahah.. I need to send it to mr DVT, but I dont even need it much these days.

is that a spinning rig? If so, I use braid. I just dont like light braid on casting reels. just me. on a casting I am almost always 12lb flouro. bottom contact spinning?? for me I like the Albright braid. it is sinks better than my Suffix. I dont have to contend with the long section of line floating on the surface and gradually drooping down to my bait. it seems to improve my sensitivity, if even only in my mind.

yea. I just felt you didnt have all the info. even the biggest bass is never out of the water longer than 30 seconds with me. the leash is a huge part of it. it why I rarely weigh fish. I got the leash because I do occasionally weigh the fish. I dont have my scale in my hands at all times.

your camera is in your hand ready to go? bump board in place where you are taking the pic? you feel the same way about live wells? hard criticism from a dude that didnt know what a Donkey Leash is. some people keep fish in net,..with my leash, I can unhook and everything with the fish in the water.

his is list is fine. but for Nav light, the Guardian Angels system is better for me. they are multi taskers. i use them to rig up my kayak in the dark. i used them to help me change my flat tire in pitch darkness on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. one to light up my work, the other to set up flashing light if an offroader came up on me. i have clipped a light to my dog on night runs. i use it to light up the darkest confines of my gun safe... endless.

i am a rookie. but i think rods have a sweet spot, called the spine. how the carbon fibers run make a difference. i learned this in archery hunting arrows. i have been told my rods have a spherical carbon layout that allows the rod to not rely on the spine. they are good in multiple directions. AND... the rod makers can tailor the weave to make the tips faster, less fast, etc to get the attributes they seek. a rod can be stiff, stiff, stiff. Then they change the weave orientation closer to the tip to get you awesome castability. a bespoke rod action. having said that, as a rookie i didnt have a AHA! moment where it all came together and notice the glaring benefits.

nope. i clean them, sharpen them, or toss them. i figured i owe to the fish i am trying to fool. plus i dont want to stick myself with anything but the best either.

I just did a mullet. Business up top, all party down low.

epic range of responses. thanks. i will hit the lake again Saturday. fresh jigs loaded. the lake had a week of consistent weather. go time.

reel mower was luxury!! i had (TRUE STORY) to get on my knees and go around the house with this pair of hand shears. the shears had the blades in a horizontal orientation, and the squeeze handles were in a vertical orientation. the shears were made to trim the grass the mower couldnt cut, right next to the house foundation. i scissored around the house when i was 8! hahah..i still remember the blisters. the shears were too big for me and rubbed my hands wrong.

me too. I had hay fever bad!! my pops got me a dust mask...which I immediately coated the interior with snot. hahah.. we had this edger that was essentially an electric motor with a long handle. it has in inline switch to turn it on..and it stayed on unless you felt down the cord and found that switch. the spinning wires were replaceable hard wire you clipped on. zero protection from the spinning wires. the most dangerous tool I have ever operated. no kill switch, no guard, no eye protection. I wish I could find a pic of one. it was like dangerous!!! I worked that thing like a pro when I was maybe 8years old. today, child protective services would have had words to say. hahahaha... I lived. I found a pic!!! this one has a guard.. ours didnt.