Darth-Baiter

I punted and bought the Bandersnatch. I won’t have the reel for two weeks so it will be pure speculation at the point. I could pull a reel off something but I’m feeling lazy. i could spool up an old Abu reel, but nah.

I have a Bantam on my FMJ. That rod (for me) has my best hooksets. So much backbone with that easy to cast softer tip. I use it for my 1/2 jigs -plus trailer and it’s fun to set the hook. I feel like YouTube is watching! I enjoy that armored tank feel of the Bantam on that rod. the same combo throws a weightless Deps poop bait like no other. 16lb flouro mostly but I can go down to 14.

Dang. My words suck at happy topics; Now? They don’t exist. I wish you the best my bud. Love you right back my friend.

In no particular order. Sandhill is yummy but it’s so beef-like. It’s easy to love. (Fun to shoot!) Of the hooven beast. Axis deer is tough to beat. rounding out my list. Wild hog. But making it delicious is low hanging fruit. Sweet and sour pork tastes store bought.

Kuiu is down the road from me. Having said that, I prefer Sitka. I was an avid bow hunter and Sitka pants just held up better. My Kuiu attack pant pilled-up on the first outing. I have Sitka 90% jacket that’s has miles and miles on it. Using vests and other outer wear I could keep just warm enough for everything I encountered. The jacket is huge now that I dropped so much weight and I seriously should donate it. It’s still in great condition. no idea on any waterfowl stuff. I’d prob wear Simms in the water.

To close this thread, I picked a reel. As luck would have it, a friend/coworker’s wife is in Shinjuku - Tokyo. She is buying him a combo and they asked for my advice. We are both getting a Zillion SVTW. she texted and the shop had a righty (me) and a lefty (Dave), in stock! For Dave he is also getting a sick travel rod. Mainly because she didn’t want to deal w a full lengther. thanks everyone for the awesome advice. Always appreciated. man stuff is affordable over there! Even more so in-person!

my boat goes 4mph (kayak) and it has the kill switch..I am not in a good place if my kayak leaves me in the middle of the lake. I am (pun) on board with the switch.

Ice!

I usually go out in January with a single thought.."please dont let me fall in, and if possible not skunk" yesterday was no exception. I was headed to my secret lake when my wife texted that current temps up there was 27 deg. (!). nope. I hooked a right turn, and headed to another secret lake. going there was sketch. I got sideways on ice on a mountain pass road - with my kayak sticking out the back. the rest of the drive was at 7mph. slipping out into the foggy lake, I looked down at my fish finder and in tiny shallow cove I launched into..the water was 40deg. main lake was 43. daunting, and my confidence meter was on low. fish seemed on the bottom..so I went deep. at 10:00 am it was zero fish..when I felt a tic at 20 feet. I bring up what I call an aquarium fish. a bass I could take home and put into an aquarium. it was 4". I look up and," thanks...technically that can be called a no-skunk - funny"... sun is up, I am not chattering anymore and I can finally stand up in my kayak. up till then, my boat was a sheet of ice. I stayed in the seat and if I had to pee, I beached it. then I rolled a jig down the face of the dam. BAM!! I got smashed!! it was a jig day!! I ended up with about 20 keepers with a few 3lb kicker fish. total blast!! I had the lake entirely to myself on the water. shore dudes showed up at 11. I went home, washed my muddy kayak, washed my muddy truck, and was in a really good mood the rest of the evening. January has never played out this well for me. Feb is gonna rock as well!! headed to Mexico!! (I try not to skunk any month of the year. its my thing)

ahhahahahhahahha...

if I had to guess. members on this forum have created a bigger buzz on some gear for me. I would have never tried a Zillion if it wasn't for the Zillion-Cheerleader squad on this forum.

I try. And fail. it’s effective for sure. But I try when I go from spot to spot, but urgency gets me and I ALWAYS pull up my bait and haul-ass to the new potential juicy looking spot. I can’t go that slow! I have no patience. None.

My friends have them. They are wet inside. 10 footers mostly. Some bigger. They all stand up easily. One guy can pivot and cast behind himself. (I’d go for a swim) the instant reverse is cool! Makes me jealous sometimes. Here is why I’m in a hobie. The hole shot. Nothing pedals with more power and authority than my pedal drive. I’ve towed Natives caught in currents and wind that can’t make headway on the California delta. They don’t move! I can move both of us. (There is a Blanchard vid where his friend Mike has to do this for Greg). having said that. Native is a great fishing kayak. You just stand up. Pop! Standing in Mine is a bit of a yoga move. I pedaled my friends 10.5. It’s slow and noisy for me. But it’s stable and the seat feels like a chair. And pulling weeds from the prop is for real.

it is now on comfort mode since the regular mode is fairly anemic. the single motor version is fairly vanilla in acceleration. I am good with it. I am never in a hurry to get to problems that need my attention.. it's a good car, nevertheless. I just charge while I sleep and the next workday, good to go. the best thing to do to coworkers is to set their Teslas into FART mode. hahah...took my old boss a week to figure out what the heck was happening.

I buy 600 yard bulk spools. Usually on sale during the off season. It never fails, at the end of a spool - it’s like playing chicken. “Do I have enough to fill my reel?” I don’t know for sure how much line I’m filling. It would be fun if I used exactly 100 yards each time, but that can’t be true. you just go with it? Sharpie mark?

SHREWD!!! hahahha

hahha...this reminds me I have to go fix a DC reel. hahah.. casting an A-Rig against the wind is a loser's bet.

we have a humble 3. it scoots!! I cant imagine a Plaid. my work car is an even MORE humble 3. the lowest end model, and that car drives surprisingly tame. its like they turned something off. hahahha..

I'll sneak this in, despite today being National Quitter's day with respect to resolutions. I vow to be more comfortable fishing solo. I am a kayaker, so there are inherent risks., but I'll stay safe (100% PFD). I am talking about not worrying about my circle of bass fishing kayak "friends". not worrying about what they are catching, or not catching. not worrying about not getting invited, etc. Just fish ME. I'm the keeper of secret lake locations anyways. I already hit a far lake solo and I did well. I dont even post pics of my catches to them anymore. (unless it is a WHOPPER!)

and its BLACK? nice!!! thanks.

I use the Simms SolarFlex Guide gloves. I get two years out of them. my Peacock guide on the Amazon had the same size hands so I gave him a pair. super good grip. kinda pricey. but I launder them often and still get the two years. I am about to try the Orvis fly fishing ones to save a $20.

so. muddy water time. the Zillion HD has a longer handle? same spool? this is solid advice, since it is more available.

chatter baits, shallow cranks. etc. I know I am mixing apples and oranges, but I tend to not break up baits I have a tight line running to. just me. I have a Bantam. I havent warmed to it fully. it does cast beautifully,. it feels dense, if that makes any sense. I have it on a heavier rod (mass) and it feels at home there. on a lighter rod, not sure.

I am still wading through my Metanium choices. Met 20 or Met 100 <----all a bit confusing, especially on a Japan website. I have a Zillion SWTW, that I adore. the Zillion is on my light bottom contact setup. the new Reel will send out and bring back moving baits. it will ride on my new experiment, the MegaBass Oricchi X10 Bandersnatch.. I can see myself looking for longer distance casts to target super clear water spooky fish. I wouldn't mind your thoughts on this. thanks. tried and true Zillion? or go Shimano? I dont want to drop the money on a Metanium DC. not even Japan money. I casted my friend's DC and that thing can cast FAR!! but he has a wife that poops money.

I buy new cars. my reasoning is I seem to keep them for two decades. so amortize the cost upfront, it doesn't seem that bad. I pay cash up front as well, because interests I have no interest in. having said that. the Crosstrek is cool. I love the boxer motors and we dang near drove a 2005 Forester forever. we just got rid of it. it still ran and looked awesome. we got the turbo version so we got tired of buying 91 octane. my brother just bought a Crosstrek used. he sought and found a stick shift!!