bulldog1935

Not recommending this device, because it's crazy expensive, but it's an exceptional concept, and really well-made https://texaspowerpaddle.com/products/ Their lithium battery is in a sealed pelican box with controller hook-up, the drive options include a swing-plate on your pedal-drive well, or a powered rudder blade.

well no, I wasn't trying to fish the stonefly hatch, I was witnessing a phenomenon - the schooling bass were waiting for something exceptional. These are big insects that live underwater for 3 years, hatch without a mouth, breed and die - a huge abundance of fish food and activity in a few hours every 3 years. You've never seen anything like it - hundreds of bass milling just below the surface and waiting - it was the spectacle I was trying to describe, not the fishing. Fishing is easy - nature is freaking awesome if you can see past the fishing.

I witnessed a stonefly hatch in a cove on Lake Travis, a hundred bass sitting just below the surface, and you couldn't buy a stike. Similar, white bass sipping a trico hatch, and you could only catch them on dry flies. Also a plague-like migration of red sphinx moth, which bass would impale themselves on any red popper you threw out, and their bellies were so distended, you couldn't imagine where they put the next one. This endemic bass hen lived at a vent to a bat cave, where the aquifer takes flow off the river. Our endemic bass are the only bass that will retreat into aquifer caves to survive drought. She certainly got to this size eating the baby bats that fell in.

Borrowed photo from my buddy Josh. The Medina River has never before stopped in history. While the drought is only in its 2nd year, they're normal every 15 years here. This is caused by population growth, corporate farming, and excessive use of groundwater. I'm tinkering reels and bikes and planning for fall bull tides.

My dad and I kept them that way fishing crack-of-dawn jumps on Lake LBJ when I was a teenager. I bought my first fly rod for white bass at 16. I've given a talk on Fly Rod White Bass several times, can find and catch them in the river when most people don't know they're still there. The photo above was a wet year, and 5 miles upriver from the story below. My absolute best dues-paid day came from a good call watching the weather, and a 3-mi bust down from the parking. The "sunken" low water bridge was exposed from the low lake level - the entire lake was sitting in front of me on a flagstone table and trying to get up the single riffle running through the bridge. White bass were spawning at my feet on the gravel bar I was wading. I caught 50 on consecutive casts, slow, crawling bottom bounce on cats whisker and Teeny T-130 sinking line. I only wanted to fillet 17, but kept fishing until I released my double limit on consecutive casts. I got into flounder that way one December day at Cedar Bayou, the pass between Matagorda and San Jose islands. Released 40 small ones on consecutive casts, stinger hook fly that glided on the sand bottom. Was fished out by the cold and anticipating the cold 15-mi ride back to the boat ramp.

No offense @T-Billy Leaning rods drives me crazy. I like these portable stands with carry handle to take on this annual winter trip. Rods leaning on chairs and the cleaning stand can be a nemesis when you're trying to be stealthy to keep the schoolies visiting your dock light - they have many to choose.

this is 65-y-o high grade cork um, no I don't believe you do see - that is 65 years' wear here's equivalent AAA cork on a new rod. The difference between grades is how much plastic filler will be needed to fill holes that turn out when the grip is shaped. Also, those deeper holes are going to crush and break out over time.

the white washer on this surf reel is the spool shim On this reel you have to remove the drag click-spring first (easy enough) You simply snap them in to adjust the spool position on the spindle and get perfect line lay. ...........................................................................................45-lb X-braid on this spool You can recognize the need for a shim with a few line layers up and down the spool. I simply loosen the drag, take the line back to the source spool, remove the reel spool, install the shim, and try again.

Mild acid passivates aluminum - white chalk on aluminum is active corrosion. Vinegar removes the salt and passivates the metal. You can't cure scratches in the anodizing, but you can darken them with a jeweler's aluminum blackener (aluminum is bronzed with arsenic + sulfuric acid). Just avoid Birchwood Casey, it turns everything blue. You have to be careful with aluminum with soap and alkalies, but aluminum likes mild acid. (Magnesium is the opposite, you leave residual soap, but don't get acid anywhere near it.) When I'm touching up scratches on OP's valuable antique Hardy, Meek, etc., I use a product made by Jax. (below is 1917 St. George, definitely all-time favorite fly reel)

Both @Eric 26 and I fish 13Fishing ML rods using the same blank MOC. They're lightweight and appropriately fast, good backbone. Since my exact use for mine is 1/8 oz Texas Eye jigheads inshore with long casts and big fish, I can't comment on your choice for crankbaits. I have a different MH rod for big surface plugs. Seems like the more moderate action would be more useful on shallow crankbaits, and lighter in hand for long days.

ps - if you've ever read anything about sail fishing for sharks to haul surf baits Way Far off the beach... ...many people use their kayaks off the beach to haul their bait farther out than they can cast.

Looked up the SDS for Reel Magic Isoparaffinic hydrocarbon carrier is alcohol, either iso-ethanol (denatured alcohol) or isopropranol. The difference would be evaporation temperature and time (longer spreads the active ingredient farther). The proprietary ingredient is probably a wax, which dissolves in the carrier, and forms a film on the line. The wax film is not going to hurt a composite reel frame. My thought is that if the carrier is a detriment, it would hurt the limited-cross-linked line before it would hurt the resin in a composite reel frame. The composite resin is going to be similar to epoxy, chemically cross-linked when it cures (even better cross-linked if they use a thermoset resin). No solvent short of methylene chloride is going to dissolve it. Though if you left the frame soaking in a beaker of the carrier, it would soften over long time exposure. In normal use, the carrier is going to flash away, and leave the wax on the line. I wouldn't worry, even if you end up with wax on the reel frame.

Went to next level on my Black Cherry - braid-raced 4600C. Added a graphite magnum frog blade to my Smith Super Strike handle, 3/8 to 1 oz, to compliment my Top Water Light S-glass blade. The color match is pretty sharp. Unfortunately, didn't get to cast my frog today - it rained - but you won't hear me complain about that

I've filled many stripped-thread holes on antique reels wth JBWeld, and then drilled and tapped them. Since helicoil came up below, it's a big investment for a single repair. EZ-Lok makes more sense than helicoil, but you need enough metal foot and thickness to use it. example, I converted some kayak track nuts from 1/4-20 to #8 for a plastic stringer cam cleat. If you don't have enough Metric nuts lying around to identify the thread, you may not want to take this on. But I can promise you tapping a JBWeld repair is reliable.

I used to fly Conquest puddle jumpers across south Texas to South Padre, and check my 8-1/2' GL2 in an Abel square tube. Since added a slightly shorter Simms round travel tube that fits 8' 2-pc. Both fit 4 rods each, and I load them up when driving far south. That said, you can Always carry on 3-pc rods. My kayak hold has back-up 3-pc casting and spinning - both rods fit in the case that came with the TackleDirect Silver Hook travel spinning rod. (plus fly rods) If you really want respect at TSA, pick up a leather document tube at Etsy to carry on your 3- and 4-pc rods. Most of the guys who sell rod socks on Etsy and ebay will make you whatever you want. A dozen trips to Alaska carrying 3 rods in this 35" tube. The Daiwa is a good choice, and so are the JDM Daiwa BBB telescoping rods. The Daiwa rods should come with a travel case.

Texas coast is lined with barrier islands - the bays behind them include 15,000 sq-mi less than 2' deep, and the best place I can think of for a kayak. The tackle we use interchanges with bass tackle, almost never need more than MH, and even a quarter-ounce jighead is a race in deeper water to keep the lure from grassing every cast. Can't think of a reason to cast more than a 7/8 oz Corky's in winter (6" mullet), also when BFS imitating tiny glass minnows pays off the lion's share. Most of the year, we're fishing ML and MM, 1/8-oz Texas Eye jigheads, or neutral density 1/4 oz TSL Grasswalker on unweighted swimbait hooks. Bait on popping cork, you could go to 3/4. The big swimbait rods you mentioned would have less use inshore, but might be pretty effective in the surf, beyond the surf with a kayak, and especially on the jetties. 1 oz Kastmaster and heavy tandem jigs are great on the jetties for mackerel and trout. I used my 7-1/2' inshore MH in the surf with 2-oz spider weights all through the 80s - got spooled by a few bull reds, but landed many, as well. I wouldn't be casting more than 1 oz lures in the surf, have seen results of heavier Tady surface iron fished from the jetties, but my 3 oz in the surf would be spider weight + meat on a 10+' long stake-out rod. I've bridged the niche from inshore to surf with Steelhead rods such as this Lami Rogue River Special (discontinued). Pretty useful keeping your rod tip high while seated in a kayak, and excellent for casting lures in the surf. Tyler who owns corpusfishing website also goes here for surf lures My surf lure rod is a Rich Hedenburg custom I've always liked this IM6 MM Crowder for inshore kayak. but at least part-time-shelved it recently for this wider range Valleyhill JDM rod, which will fish my TSL Grasswalkers, Corkys and 1-oz surface plugs. My bread and butter inshore is ML Not recommending a purchase here, but if you'd like to see how others outfit for gulf coast inshore, look at the line of Waterloo custom rods. https://www.waterloorods.com/collections/high-performance-rods Off the beach, beyond the breakers, is near offshore, and you can go really big trolling Halco Max 110 or a ribbonfish bait-harness behind your kayak for mackerel and jacks. (Halco will take kings even when it's sitting still) Most go to 7' e-glass rods. My friend Glenn uses his Seigler lever drag both for trolling and casting surface plugs, though spinning tackle is usually easiest here. Posted one of Glenn's videos again here, because it's such a riot. Whenever Glenn drives down the beach, there's already an armada waiting to follow him to his launch and to offshore structure. also keep in mind, these guys are geared - big group - MMSI-VHF radios, everything needed to get them back to the beach. I don't think they're more than a mile out on this man-made reef, but Glenn will go out 10 mi to the platforms.

my buddy Jeff et the state fly rod record - oops it would have only lasted a few years, when John caught this one (5 Big rainbows in its gullet)

For the sake of pure curiosity, you might enjoy this thread on antique reels.

worldwide, only 6 species in the temperate bass family

Never gets discussed here,but the worm-drive Daiwas from the '90s still have a fan club, and they're still making the same basic reel as the SS700 Tournament today. Pretty sure Europe is their biggest market.

The reel that continues to surprise me most for its versatility is Lew's Super Duty G - looking for One reel, that would be the One. I agree with others who say specialize toward the lighter end. Might consider a CT-size like Daiwa Alphas 800, especially JDM price is under $200. Start off with 10-lb mono, and it would later make a great platform if you want a swap-in BFS spool. @Ekman231 You can only check for unloaded spool tension after you depress the casting button and are in freespool. If you own a Daiwa, you should tighten (or loosen) the spindle end cap until there's just noticeable side-to-side movement of the spool in freespool. With skills, you'll probably do the same with all your reels. What you described about free-fall to set tension is the way you did it on an old Ambassadeur - newer reels have better brakes, and that's costing you distance. Set properly, only your thumb can stop the spool at the end of your cast.

I have terrible memories of my dad fishing 808 while I was fishing Mitchell 300. I bought his first Ted Williams (Daiwa Millionaire) baitcaster, and later a couple of birthday Lew's. In terms of mileage and total results, Lew's BB-25-SW, which I just retired 4 years ago. Close second is a Penn 4200SS, which both I and my daughters used. Much better memories of my daughters fishing Zebco UL-1. In terms of immediate results and insane reliability, it's my Zillion with Ray's spool and light braid in ML niche. It wouldn't know what a backlash is.

I had work in Alaska every summer for a dozen years beginning in 2001. Life analysis on land-based gas turbines, which make all Alaska electric power, drive pipeline compressors, also drive the North Slope. where they're pushed really hard. Our Alaska business ended with the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, when liability insurance requirements far exceeded what a small firm can afford to buy. First thing when you arrive, your client asks what your plans are when the work is done. If you don't have any, he gets PO'd - I bought you a ticket up here, and you're not going to take advantage of it... I pretty much fished every week of summer - paid my dues on the North Slope in winter, too. I had a guide buddy for life - long story, but a Kenai float with me elevated his status from fill-in to staff at Gwinn's Lodge, and he moved on to his own guide business. I could guide Kenai creeks and the Russian, and did when a buddy flew up to meet me. OK, now I remember why I posted - one trip flying out of Anchorage, was at the airport randomly with other friends from Texas, and the world record halibut had just been boated - 600 lbs. There was a photo in the paper of the fish draped over a pickup truck bed - hanging over every side. I could post a dozen pages of photos, some on electronic camera, some are png's shot on 25 ASA Fujichrome (the one below is electronic). You leave part of yourself there, and you take part of Alaska with you.

@FryDog62 I'm fishing down to PE#0.8 (0.15 mm) on Steez w/ shallow Roro spool, and no line dig. Sufix 832 in 15-lb is 0.21 mm. The 18" snook is hopping off the table, and went right back into the channel. A lot of fun on finesse tackle (it was on a size smaller plug than this)

That's not exactly true. Mass dampens vibration. Heavy rubber knobs that come on most reels are the worst. Rubber is the industry-wide vibration damper. High-grade EVA is super light, still dense, and transmits plenty. I'll say again about my Zillion above with the Avail handle, matched with the right rod, I literally feel every blade of grass through that rig.