JackstrawIII

Been using the FG knot for years. I never re-tie until I run out of leader. I’ve only had a knot fail once… and that was when I was trying to pull my lure free from a snag. Based on my experience, I don’t worry about it. FG knot is awesome.

I’m also not a huge brussel sprout buff, but I’ve had them cooked this way twice and both times I couldn’t get enough of them. Delicious.

In my opinion, the list of appropriate deer cartridges (depending on the hunting situation) begins at 223 Rem and ends at 300 Win Mag. Anything in between those will work for a certain hunting scenario. If I had to pick one… 308 Win.

I'm a premium member, but didn't get the email. However, the code worked for me. Thanks.

I throw large spinnerbaits on 7'1" MH/F rod with a simple Lews Speed Spool 6.3:1 and 15lb YoZuri line. I've always been pleased with the results.

Not sure from a scientific standpoint, but yesterday when the ash was really bad the fish didn’t bite much. Today, when the ash was less, the fish bit like crazy. Coincidence? probably?

Lucky. They keep forecasting rain, but it keeps messing us.

I live between Rochester and Syracuse and it’s been bad up here. Fished for an hour yesterday with my eyes watering, nose running, and a solid cough. Hoping it’s better tomorrow morning!!

Yuppers. The plastic stays on for 0 seconds.

Fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, what a story. I'm always moved by acts of selflessness.

I live in apple country. All the fruit farms around here hire Mexicans, Jamaicans, and Dominicans to do the picking because they do a better job. It's literally more cost effective to transport people from other countries, build housing for them, and pay them a wage than it is to just hire a local kid who will bruise the fruit. It's wild. But, on the bright side, I've gotten to meet some really cool guys from around the world who are here picking. So, that's cool.

Great answer haha.

If you ever decide to move them to a home where they'll get used... let me know haha.

I do it ALL THE TIME with guns, guitars, fishing stuff, etc. As a dad of young kids, in a field that doesn't pay a whole lot (church work), if I want to buy something, the money has to come from somewhere. For several years, I had a very profitable side business as a knifemaker. That money is now my play money and I "recycle it" through buying and selling stuff whenever I want to try something out. My policy is, I only keep something if I absolutely love it. As such, I have a handful of items that I really love and won't sell. Everything else is on the chopping block. It's just stuff...

Yeah for sure. That’s the #1 boat on my list. Would love to find a nice old one. May have to settle for a similarly laid out Starcraft or similar, which would be fine. Haha this is true. I don’t imaging trying to fish with the whole family at one time. Mostly will just hang out on it as a family, pulling tubes and such. The fishing will be for me and 1 or 2 other people at most ??

We definitely would have to trailer and haul it. We don't live on the water. Yeah, that's what I was picturing when I said "open bow". That's what we call them around here (upstate NY). Budget is not huge. We'll be looking used for sure, under $10k. Usually there are lots of options in that price range around here, as boating is very popular here in the Finger Lakes area. As far as towing, most would be fairly short, but I could definitely see us bringing it up to a couple hours towards the Adirondacks or down to the southern finger lakes area. Two-man trailering could be a deal killer, as I would be using this by myself occasionally. I should have been specific. My kids are 8, 6, and 4 years old... so we're talking 2 adults and 3 little ones. As far as fiber/aluminum, I'm leaning heavily towards aluminum due to several conversations I've had with boat-owning friends. And I'm leaning towards an outboard, vs I/O as well. As far as size, I'd like to be able to store the boat in my garage. After doing some measurements on my garage and my friends' boats, I think I could fit up to a 17 footer (with trailer). 16 would probably be safer. This is one of the reasons I was thinking a pontoon, which tend to be shorter/wider... but as I think a V-hull would be more practical for my normal usage. Any other thoughts or tips?

Hey gang, Finally got the wife on board with the idea of getting a boat… on the condition that we get one that the whole family can use for recreation. So, I’m trying to weight out the different options for a boat that will be comfortable for 5 people to hang out on, swim from, cruise around the bay in, etc., but that I also use for bass fishing around docks, river, etc. Since I won’t be getting a bass boat or a jonboat, I’m looking at options. Looks like something like an open bow or a pontoon might be the best option? What do you guys think? Who fishes from a pontoon boat primarily, and what are the pros and cons? Would you rather have some sort of aluminum open bow for these two purposes? I’ve never owned a boat, so feedback from all of you would be very helpful. Thanks!!

I use Talley 1-piece rings. And no, lapping is not necessary at all. Buy good rings. Don’t lap them. Done.

It’s not necessarily the bullet weight, it’s the bullet construction. VMax is meant to do exactly what it did, explode. Some people want that sort of performance, I prefer an entrance and an exit hole. If i was hunting deer with a 243, I’d use an all-copper or bonded bullet to make sure I got penetration. In a copper or bonded bullet, anything over 80 grains would be sufficient. My fav deer loads are a 125 grain all copper bullet from a 308 Win for normal range hunting (0-250 yards) and a 118 grain all copper bullet out of a 6.5 PRC for the really long shots. Truth is, though, basically any cartridge that delivers an appropriately constructed bullet of 24 caliber or higher with at least 1000 ft/lb of energy at impact is more than adequate. That basically means 6mm ARC and up, with the sweet spot (for me) being the 308 based cartridges (243 Win, 260 Rem , 7mm08, 308, 338 Fed, 358 Win). If you need a bit more powder behind the bullet then the 270, 6.5 PRC, 280AI and such are great options.

Ironically, people seem to have trouble with the TSX in the 257 Wby. On paper it should work great with all that speed, but I’ve heard several negative stories over the years regarding that combination. Over the winter I’ll be working on a new load for the 6.5 PRC using a 118 grain CBB copper bullet. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to use it next year.

Yes, the fingerboard and headstock are ebony. Top, sides, and back are mahogany.

I play drums well and guitar fairly well. I actually don't have a drumset now (gave it away years ago when my wife and I bought our first house and I didn't have room for it). I play at church periodically and have kept up the skills somewhat. I mostly play guitar these days. Always been a Taylor guy. This one (a First Edition 524ce) is my favorite of those I own at the moment. I've had 800 and 900 series Taylors, but those are gone and this one is still here:

Very cool. I'm so impressed by people that can train dogs well. Must be a blast to get out and work together with her. Love it.

I have a follow-up question about skipping. What sort of rod would you suggest I start off with? I've read that lots of folks like to skip with shorter rods. The only casting rod I have under 7' is a 6'6" Triumph M/F. Love that rod for throwing small paddletails and spinnerbaits. Would that skip well? Or would you use one of these: - 7'1" BassX MH/F - 7'1" Tatula MH/XF - 7'2" Tatula H/F Ideally I'd like to be able to skip frogs, paddletails, jigs, and misc soft plastics. I've had some success skipping senkos with a spinning rod, but never anything heavier.