QED

Tackle Warehouse acknowledged my order for the newest Steez CT SV so I hope to see it soon. The old one (2019) doesn't suck either. First time out, I had infrequent, random bird nests. Turns out the default setting was 0 brake. So I'm glad my thumb muscle memory was good enough to mostly deal with that. Brake at 2 and relaxed tension/compression knob settings and it casts pretty well. Highly recommended.

Wow. You might have OCD issues. The choice isn't between all or one. Picking a handful of high confidence baits is also an option.

For sufficiently large fish, the fish cheeks are considered a culinary delicacy. Cutting off the heads is a no-no unless you are using them for fish stock.

Sorry, don't know which type. But F&G also noted that we are having a "natural" fish die off, so it is not the benign type.

Park rangers just posted signs about the title subject at my nearest, small lake. It was a tough lake to fish before. How bad is this new information?

Sounds good. For the more elaborate SE Asian preparations, banana leaf wrapped steamed fish would be my preference.

Battered and fried fish fillets with fried hush puppies are always good. But steaming with aromatics provides a much different and more delicate presentation. Both have their appropriate use cases.

Having the right gear in and of itself doesn't make one a better fisherman, but it is a prerequisite along the journey to becoming proficient at light/UL presentations.

I am not a better angler than you. But I enjoy fishing at least as well as and possibly better than you. I work in tech and did some deals that changed your life in ways you won’t recognize and ended up in B-school case studies. But the simple act of fishing trumps that.

Striped bass are good eats. They work well steamed too, but are too large to do whole. Caught this one on an ultralight casting rig. The reel in the picture is new, but the rod is the real deal.

The deck height of where your thumb rests is a bit lower on my Shimano reels. I have Shimano aldebarans and Lew's custom lite and magnesium reels for reference. That may not matter to you, so this is just one data point in a multi-dimensional optimization. Honestly, it's a pretty high class problem to have in choosing from your available options.

I prefer the palming ergonomics of the smaller Shimano reels vs the smaller Lew's reels (BTW, I own both and so am not biased by brand loyalty).

I'm not a huge fan of fried foods for home cooking (too lazy to do the cleanup of adjacent areas and oil disposal is a pain), but corn starch makes for a lighter fried coating than flour or corn meal, which works well for delicate ingredients such as fish and other seafood.

Fish from the SJ County delta system have high levels of mercury and other pollutants so one ought not eat them regardless of one's view on catch-and-release.

Agreed, but I don't consider aromatics, shrimp paste, and sesame oil to rise to the level of adulterated. I only do catch and release fishing and no kill hunting (i.e., paper targets) these days, not for any particular F&G management purpose, but rather because I live in CA where hunting (even varmint hunting) is regulated to the point of being annoying.

If you are serious about trying this, then go to an Asian market and pick up a SMALL jar of fermented shrimp paste. It is some funky, smelly stuff, but works well in the above recipe. Many Cantonese restaurants use the shrimp paste on both sides, but I think my version works better for the western palate. Some recipes also include soy sauce, but I usually don't. Use a small oval platter just large enough to hold the fish and a steamer rack under it. Steam just long enough such that the fish meat is opaque and flaky, but don't overcook it. The green onion (scallion) should be cut in short segments with a diagonal cut and the ginger should be julienned (French cut) with a high ratio of scallion vs ginger. You can garnish with a bit of cilantro if you are a stickler for presentation. Or just go to a good Chinese restaurant and try it there! ?

You taught me a new word, which doesn't happen frequently since I scored in the 99th percentile on my SAT/GMAT/LSAT exams. Kudos. BTW, my math matters more since I majored in theoretical mathematics! ?

The San Joaquin County delta system used to be a fertile and healthy fishing environment. Not so much now and eating fish from there is ill advised. But largemouth bass can be a pretty tasty, delicate dish when prepared properly. I’ve been to several three Michelin star restaurants and a bass as prepared above would fit in well on such a menu.

Post your favorites. A bed of green onions and ginger and a drizzle of sesame oil on top of a whole bass in a pan/pot suitable for steaming. The secret is using shrimp sauce on the lower side and salt/pepper on the top. Had the largest one mounted but ate the rest. YUM...

The law of diminishing marginal returns applies to most things, including fishing gear. If you can appreciate and afford high end gear, then that is a nice option. But note that many sponsored bass fishing pros do fine using what might be characterized as mid/upper tier consumer grade stuff. Get what you can afford and enjoy the fishing!

This is a vintage UL (yes UL and not BFS) Shimano graphite Colfor casting rod with a 2019 CT SV TW reel with 6lb test. Caught thousands of fish with the rod but the reel is relatively new. Just had the rod guides double rewrapped by an awesome custom rod shop, so better than new (PM me if you want a reference to a great Silicon Valley custom rod artisan). Pre-ordered the newer 70 CT SV TW so I'll note the differences when I can.

LT makes great small frogs (1/4oz range) that work fine for UL/light gear (not ideal, but works!) but I'm not so enamored with their other stuff. The lipless crankbait stuff is just OK - have a couple of light A-rigs but haven't tried them yet. Mustad is a trusted brand so I hope they'll do a better job running the subsidiary/acquired entity.

I already have the 2019. The Steez 70 CT SV TW is a newer model. Note the addition of "70" in the product name. Google it.

First vendors I looked at last week didn't have them in stock. Tackle Warehouse has an expected arrival date of 10/31, but given the current supply chain crisis, I wouldn't give much credence to that ETA. That would be The Steez 70 CT SV TW.

Sorry to hear that, but glad you landed on your feet. In large, public company M&A scenarios, one of the main cost reduction measures is to remove redundancies as a part of what is euphemistically referred to as "synergies." In most cases, the acquiring company employees win out in that scenario, though I've seen the reverse situation where portions of the acquired company take precedence over the the acquirer's corresponding people. But when acquiring startups or other small, private companies, we usually use "golden handcuffs" for key employees.