Darth-Baiter

I love light gear. Light in mass. Not light in backbone.

All good. I’m fully armed for tomorrow

Steep banks!

you described my early days. i just fished with an UL rod with a 1000 series reel. had a blast, but weak hooksets. i switched to Braid and it was GAME ON!! i would go with a longer rod if you have open areas to cast.

so interesting. I once fished with a pro-guide. he was super sarcastic and was a total S-talker. you blow a cast, and he would reward you with, "well, you just S'd the bed". hahah..maybe I have anxiety from that. haha. anyways, every time I am out with a guide, I tend to backlash his gear. or any casting accuracy I built up over the year, just vanishes. "I swear, I typically cast way better than this!" I am going out on a big trip in Oct. I am bringing my own reels and will use guide rods. I'll bring several, just in case I "s the bed". my friend joked at me. he KNOWS I backlash guide gear. he has seen it 3x. one time fishing for Walleye in Oregon, the guide yelled at me. tried to tell me how to fight a fish into his net. dude!! I gave him a look that indicated his gratuity was in peril. My last Clearlake guide was a 17 year old kid. super cool, super hardworking. my first cast..yes. you know it. total bird nest. he quickly handed me a new combo, and picked out my disaster. no lip. I did bring a few of my own setups, tho. but first cast!! gah. it was a lefty reel and felt really odd. I seriously have performance issues with guides. great.

net already in the water, then fish comes to the net. I dont want no troubles.

yup. if you never watched a 5" Yama Senko, with a heavier 3/0 hook rigged weightless T-style: it dives at a 45 deg. in any direction, it happens to land in. the tail gently undulates and wags. It looks so good. if my hook is too light, I add a 1/32 splitshot crimped right up next to the hook knot.

Found some. 9” Reaction Innovation. Green pumpkin because I’m boring. go time!

my garden pathetically produced 7 tomatoes so far. 7. but they are huge.

we are of the same mindset. I dont like going over 1/4 either. the worm itself is already so heavy.

I looked into my fishing box and noted I was woefully low on some sinkers. I searched locally and failed. I ordered them from TW with a few other things tossed in..for science. I should get them today, rip the box open, restock terminal tackle box and go fishing tomorrow. this is cutting it close!! I would hate to splay out that line clamp on a clip on regular dropshot weight to make it a free-rig weight!!

when I wade-fish. I bring one rod. my light bottom contact and just go for it. to be clear. I hope to only own 5 rods after all is said and done. maybe a few more. .but in general, only own 5 or so. I am not talking about how many few I can bring on a trip.

i once hooked (but didnt land) a very good bass when i put a 10" worm on a regular football head jig. that big Zoom worm, on a jig. it looked ridiculous, but it worked. i was so unprepared for the hit, i just sat there like a dumbstruck knucklehead. by the time my brain caught up, i put the worst hookset of my life into that bass. it shook it easily on the first jump.

on big worms, are you upsizing the sinker?

i think i am going to target 5 rod/reel combos. i was asked this same question about kitchen knives a long time ago. i said, three to that question. chef knife, paring knife, bread knife. i have a few more than three currently, but i could if i was being honest with myself get it down to three and not live horribly. i imagine the same fate with fishing rods..target 5, end up with 8. i can live with that. as a kayaker, i would like to fish with mininum gear. 5. lighter bottom contact, heavier bottom contact, reaction bait rod, spinning, and a punch/frog combo. my list is based on how i fish. my own thing. heck..i see a flaw already!! i need a few travel rods and i can see myself falling in love with big swimbaits.

i think there are worse things we can do to a caught bass. laying it on a hot dry surface, or grass. keeping it out of water too long. i had a friend catch a 5lb fish and he was alone. his friend were not around. he carried that fish, and kicked his kayak to find them..while holding the beast. everyone was cheering him on, and i said, "let the fish go". it didnt survive. i saw him coming from ways out, holding that thing.

i think that is gonna work!!! congrats

at this point, the long shot might be finding the worms. hahah.

I’m going to Clearlake tomorrow. My MN friend asks, “you ever throw a giant worm there/“. it was a great idea! So I went shopping. Nope. I’m not finding them local. I think a big juicy looking 10”+ worm would confuse a big bass just enough…. im going to my BUL today to make a dump run for him. I’ll hit the stores in his city. Fingers crossed. I neko rig a giant worm. I like it.

It’s annoying in grass for sure. I feel like a gardener. Sometimes a bullet weight is then better answer. For me.

This is $20 I think. I leash my phone. I hate insurance.

yea. but most items are hight theft value. a Hobie drive is $1800 new. i see them for sale from dudes that dont know jack about them..

by old people. back in the day, you were old if you lived to 50. a rotting tooth would kill you.

right now, i just put it in the bed of my truck with a bed-extender. i have been kicking around the idea of driving around to fish some bodies of water you all talk about. my current method would work, except luggage and stuff. my truck interior is fairly packed with pedal drives, boxes, etc. not to mention my rods. game over if my plan for my wife to fly occasionally to meet me. i really wont have the space. i am thinking a trailer might be my only option? my luck, i'll be the Typhoid Mary of Zebra mussels and spread them around like johnny apples seed.

for those that dont visit a doc regularly...or dentist. wow...best of luck to you.