Darth-Baiter

i think NONE of my rod tips are flexy enough to walk a frog beautifully. i really have to abbreviate my movements. i can almost do better just going wild with the reel handle.

i understand the laws of my state and texas, where i am from.

that is pretty annoying. i drifted into a bass boats "water space" yesterday and go out of there ASAP. stupid gentle wind lulled me into cluelessness. i wouldnt say nothing. i would fish as darn cleanly as possilbe. i love lifting up big fish and yelling to them, "hey, you all missed one!"

@AlabamaSpothunter are you throwing it on a baitcast setup? or spinning?

i have a new Toyota Tacoma. i have an appointment to get the windows tinted. my truck has the rear passenger door window and the rear window with some sort of colored (dyed) glass, so i will leave them alone. i am NOT trying to get everything to match. i am thinking 35% on the sides, and i will do the windshield with 70% passing. i am developing cateracts according to my eye doc. i drove my old tacoma with naked glass for 16 years, and i just want to try tint with the new rig. my wife's EV is tinted and it is way more comfortable. i noticed i can run the AC lower and still be cool. it's getting warmer and brighter these days. anyone running tint? i dont remember the last time i had my car done. i am going with ceramic tint. the Xpel stuff.

Tough day. But we didn’t blank!

Yup. My wife insisted I go fishing for my birthday. There is some added pressure to fishing on such a day. You really don’t want to stink it up. Haha. My friend and I found a brief pattern and knocked out 6 almost identical fish (3 each). I got the biggie at 3.8lbs. Total “belly shirt “ bass. Fat! my BB. Birthday Bass.

okay. i glued the rod/reel into my hand today for the most part. i did wander a bit. but the Zillion is breaking in or something. i am getting some impressive yardages. very accurately i might add. the bass didnt love it as much as i did.

True. ‘’but two things: 1. I don’t cast far either, for the most part - but it’s nice to know I can if needed. 2. Lately, I find if a fish sees me, it will not bite. Ever. It takes a longer (blind) cast to trick them. Not sure why things have changed here.

Woody. That last sentence kills me. Haha. I went to a park with my only thing close to a practice plug. A bouncing Betty. I think it’s a salmon fishing thing. it flies like a bullet. I had to thumb brake hard to not hit a picnick family. Whoa! I’ll fuss with it on the water tomorrow.

I am taking family out tonight for dinner. but tomorrow, my wife has to work. I took the day off. (please reference my "playing hooky" thread) a buddy and I are going to fish Clearlake. the lake has been JANKY. only the best sticks have figured out the pattern. I am not even a regular stick. I did call a friend and he gave me his best intel he gathered this past Wednesday. they dropped the lake 4 feet, so the fish won't be in the surrounding forest like they were last time. I am gonna search the deeper tule lined edges. I have high hopes for an early morning popper bite, then a swimbait bite moving forward. gah..this lake is daunting.

@Woody B nope. I have hours of unintended GoPro footage of me standing and peeing off the side of my kayak. I am in trouble if the lakeside residents have binoculars or (worse) a telescoped trained on the lake. hahhaa..I prefer for my fishing friends not to see my junk, so I face away from them. and usually towards a lake house. (sorry folks). I subscribe to the mantra..."anywhere is better than in my pants"

I talked with a bartender once. she was smoking hot. she was also a bourbon drinker. that is WHY you add water!! she said you add water to get the bourbon to your level of booziness. heck, that Australian youtube bartender preaches the same thing. ice allowed to melt if you have time, or add water from the get go if you are in a hurry.

it's no joke. it is the only reel I have multiples of. no doubt, these are going to Brazil with me. they are solid reliable.

I just grabbed a single pack of 4/0 Owner Cover shot hooks. super super sharp. I hope to use them on a weightless something. straight shanks hooks just seem to never miss a bass's lips for me. on a big fat 10" worm, give the Owner Haymaker a look. I bet a 6/0 hook would be the perfect ticket. sorry about the heartcrushing loss of a fish. I get it.

I messed with the tension. The reel literature is silent about “zero-adjuster ” or anything. I got a slight side to side click and I tightened it a minuscule amount. I’m at Clearlake tomorrow for go#2.

Who’s worried about hurting them?

I think @Dye99 gets it!

I say fall->early winter. Spring is nice, but the wind is frightening.

They get that nasty wet moldy towel smell sometimes. Add a hint of seafood….yea I wash them.

I’ve been around this forum to know you should probably preemptively eliminate the “neither “ responses as well

I have only a Hobie Outback. It isn’t the gold standard of stability, but I can stand to punch easily. It’s actually better than a boat since I can let the current push me into the mat and I can punch around me, move to a new spot and repeat. Skipping isn’t a problem either. Well the standing parts is great. I skip a bait like a moron. I never know how it will play out. I have skipped like a pro and I have skipped where I was happy nobody is watching. some kayaks are super stable. Wildly stable. But $$$.

100% I am buying the same gloves. 1.5 years of wearing these fishing, washing, hang-drying and repeating. No doubt, the holes start when you bury a treble hook into them, so be careful. The fabric is strong and will grab a barbed hook with enthusiasm. But against the sun, I find them the best. I was skeptical about the goat-skin palms, but they are still intact. Permanently stained, but still okay. I loved them clinging to rocks and boulders trying to find virgin shorelines for striped bass, to dragging my kayak a quarter mile down a goat-trail. They make fine kayak paddling gloves. Lipping a bass? Yup. Pulling line tight to cinch a knot? Okay. (I still tape my fingers, because I pull off my index finger-sides) I’m having a one-man moment of silence for my gloves. great gloves!

I would love to test drive that setup. Cool!

thanks PhishL. Monday is going to be hot. the grease will melt. hahah..I'll mess with the spool today. you almost need Hobbit hands to finger that knob.