Darth-Baiter

nervous. wife has plans, and I just need to go. I am excited and I even bought $80 worth of new baits I think would work in the cold months. (plus a few that sell out every spring). shipment gets here Monday so it is of no use tomorrow. I am swinging wildly for the fence and will probably launch somewhere I haven't visited in 3 years. RodMans Slough. its the north end of the lake, and it used to be good. let's do this. I am two reels down :(. but I'll manage. maybe just stick with 4 rods. 3 revolving around the dropshot. Haitus needs to end.

not to hyjack, but the first time I tried to do the front brakes on my older tacoma. it was winter, and I couldn't break any caliper bolt loose. I put the wheel back on and took it to my buddy. no thanks. he did both bearings in front just recently. I'll more than likely sell the old one soon. I had doing musical chair parking with the two trucks.

that's better than an oil and lube on a car around here!! my new Tacoma has the oil filter cartridge. my first time ever doing a cartridge type. nervous kinda. I might let my mechanic buddy do it the first time and I watch.

I am constantly seen holding a treble bait hook next to the rack holding the Owner hooks. most likely the ST-35 replacement hooks. I just did it, two days ago. I think Owner changed the packaging.

that's wild!! happy for you it's tempered glass. but sorry for the troubles.

hook-sets are no problem with respect to hook penetration. make sure hooks are like surgical needles. if you are asking about stability..that varies. I have seen a dude so thrilled at the bite, he hookset himself right overboard. he had a video about it and he panicked a little until he stood up waist deep in the water. he still got the fish. I would love the ride a big big BIG bass would give me on my kayak. the catfish rides are awesome.

no. she was given prior permission to outsource. nobody wants to eat her chili. i never live my life by a hard set of rules. sometimes beans, sometime no beans. and my no rules, no limits chili....did i mention? i won. next year, i am doing my Chili Verde. i dont need to win twice. hahahha my chili verde is dope. really good.

right or wrong, for me it is a volume/quantity thing. i change it when the reel spool runs lowish. usually a good epic wind knot sends me to the store for fresh braid. other than that, i go and go.

i just googled the Antares DC. am i reading it right? still $550+ for JDM? (stepping away from the computer now..backing off slowly...slowly avoid eye contact)

The Delta is fire, consistent at least, but it takes skill and knowledge. i flounder around and do okay.. i dont love their plant-life mitigation policy, but i understand why they do it. i have my secret haunts. fun places, pristine. 0% chance that this doenst become a chit-on-CA, thread.

here is what i did: i got 3 of each chilis out of my pantry. dried whole pods. California, Ancho, Guallilo. i roasted them in a 425 oven until i smelled them. i burned the first batch, so careful. once toasted, i cut off the stems, dumped out the seeds and put them in a blender. i put in 2 cups of the finest store bought chicken broth money could buy . i dumped in a big teaspoon of Better than Boullion. and a couple of fistfuls of fried tortilla chips. blended until i got a smooth paste. i put that aside. i spread (thin) all the ground chuck (2lbs) out on a sheet tray and broiled it. i watched it carefully. about 10 minutes it was deep brown, and i pulled it. during the broil i had to scoot the tray to and fro to even out the browning. my oven kinda sucks. i let it cool some on the countertop. into a dutch oven. okay, i used my chicken shaped oval thing. i dumped in a big squeeze of olive oil, and in went one chopped up fresh poblano pepper, and a med red onion, some salt, both diced best i can. i got them soft and dumped in about 6 smashed and diced garlic cloves. at the same time, i broke the broiled meat into a crumble. i left a lot of the oil behind. my meat was fatty. some was saved and used. i left meat in a big mixing bowl in went some dry stuff. 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 2 tbspoons of dry chili powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1.5 tablespoon of SMOKED paprika. big ass pinch of pepper flakes. i toss them in and bloom the spices. in went in about 1/3 a can of lager. i used japanese Orion, and i deglazed the entire pot. it looked like chocolate. i dump in 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. and i pour in the stuff from my blender. stir. once combined i put the meat in. and stirred it in. lid goes on and i put it in a 300 deg oven, which is a perfect braise with my oven. yours i assume varies? it went for 1.5 hours. lid on. after that i pulled it and i tasted it and added salt, some sugar, and some vinagar. here i like Brians idea. i dumped in some mexican hot sauce. i used champagne vinegar. all i had left. and i put in a tiny can of kidney beans (too meet chili contest rules - only). i would skip this if i was back home or anywhere near a texan. i put it back in the oven, lid off for 45 minutes and i called it done.

Clearlake is a mere shadow of the lake it used to be.

^^. Bluewater lake!! that's it. they got big muskies apparently.

I don't even watch tournaments. I can't get on board. that double fisting two fish in each hand pic I see occasionally...mmm.. not my jam, so I just stay away. all I can do, is do what I like and want. I think pulling a spawning bass off a bed and relocating her has to affect numbers. it's not a deer where she has 1-2 babies..and we can't shoot deer during that time of year. a bass has LOTS of babies. fish rely on the numbers game. to outnumber their odds against them.

ahhh...so the original Drift Boat!!

I'm kinda shallow. I do admit I snap a pic as proof. or to showoff. my friends wouldn't believe me if I got a good fish. "sure you did.."

there is a lake in NM. Blue Lake(?) that has a healthy stocked population of Tiger Musky. it will be a stopping point on my road trip for sure. my brother and his then girlfriend (I'm kinda glad she is goners) both got good Musky.

my theory. your backing has aged out. it is simply old. and the problem was exasperated by running your spools low. so the backing would occasionally see a load. just a theory. my local pro-shop can tie braid straight to the spool with this triple cross overhand knot, finished with a Uni, that locks it in. no tape, no backing, etc. the spool never spins line off unless I want it to. this is proven on big big fish. no troubles. I love those guys.

I not to brag but… we dominated! 1st place. (Paint still drying on the trophy. Had to put it in the backyard cuz fumes)

What is jet slide?

Ethan at The Hookup saved my butt. he found and sent me a replacement reciept.

i dont set Jig hooks hard. first i almost exclusively use the Keitech Finesse jigs. hooks are on the smaller side, and needles. i imagine the jig is in the fishes mouth. i dont want to jam hard, because i imagine the football weight acting like a battering ram, and popping the fishes mouth open wildly. just a theory. i lean into the hook set with a sweep.

my friend doesnt even tie to the holes. he just threads it thru and starts cranking it down tight. some of my reels are hole-less

I fished my friends 744 and it was so light. But I was casting 3/8th jigs I think. You might be right.

sometimes, i dont know why i try. my wife entered a chili contest at work for Halloween. last year i came in last place with my Devil'd eggs in a contest. the country folks just were not ready for my korean inspired Gojujang Deviled eggs, and even less so for my Miso Eggs. hahah.. LAST PLACE!! my wife cant cook. so i cooked the chili for her. i did two dry runs, the final chili was THE BOMB! i stayed w traditional red-chili, since the sting of last year is still fresh. my neighbors all helped me eat my chili dry runs. haha. well, i sent her with instructions, which she immediately ignored. hahha..contest is at 11:30, and she already started heating up the stuff. i told her, our cooker isnt a slow cooker and to wait until the last minute to heat it up and shut it off so it doesnt burn. she said it burned to the pot. i give up. i hope she brings some of the winning chili home so i can ladle it over a hotdog. it will probably be some groundbeef and ketchup mixture.