Smirak

I have been sober almost 6 yrs now, but back in the day it was blantons.

Traveling light? 😂😂

Engineered Angler and Marling Baits. I’m a woodworker by hobby and am getting into painting blanks currently, with hopes to make some of my own..

Experience? Newbie? Budget? Where are you located? This helps some decisions as far as baits/techniques as well. You’ll get great info here, but you’re pretty vague right now bud!!!

That’s the one

Thank you Dean! My oldest had a roommate in college named Kelsey. Total slob, wouldn’t clean up after herself. So, whenever she does something at home and doesn’t pick it up, we call her Kelsey. However, she is the mother of my granddaughter, so she get some leeway.

Haha - thanks darth. I appreciate it. In spite all of my shortcomings, I think they came out alright…

Yeah, I married the best mom a kid could ask for. That’s what I did right!

Thanks all! I used to tell people that were complaining about a kid coming to get in the bed with them…”let them come get in the bed with you until they don’t want to anymore because there will come a day when you wish they would come lay with you”. That day is today…

Thanks @Kayak Koz! Will do.

I am a couple weeks away from turning 51. I got married at 19, to my wife and her, and now my, 6mo old daughter. We were married in 1995 and had 3 more children together. Our oldest is 31 and has a successful career as a nurse anesthetist. Our second is a successful HS English teacher that has a heart of gold for her kids. Our third is a mil veteran about to start nursing school. Tomorrow at 11 central, our 4th will be graduating high school. He has a full ride scholarship to University of Alabama Huntsville to study physics. I turned off my alarm that I’ve had going for the last 27 yrs ensuring all my kids awoke on time and made it to the bus, car, school, etc. yesterday morning. If you are young and you have kids that are still in school, you envy this day. If you are old and your kids are out of school, you are celebrating this day with me.

@Kayak Koz Wife may be traveling to Warner Robbins in the near future for work. If so, I will let you know early enough that you can tell me where to fish!

Before I “retired” it was a Kershaw. Now that I generally wear shorts 364 days of the year, I don’t EDC a pocketknife. However, one is always within reach. I found a small unopened smith and Wesson folder in the parking lot of academy one night. I play with it while driving flicking it open and shut. I’m surprised I haven’t cut off a finger yet. I have one on my pfd and another kicking around in my pod on my kayak. I’m also a woodworker by hobby and learned how to free hand sharpen all of my chisels and plane blades and that led to learning to sharpen double bevels. As much as I hate sharpening, it is cathartic and satisfying.

When I travel, I “rate” the city by their donuts. Here in Huntsville we have Bigfoot’s Little Donuts. Think Little Debbie snack cake donuts. $6/box. One flavor per box. Usually about 14/15 in the box. Flavors like raspberry lemonade, cinnamon roll, etc. I bought a tshirt from him once and it got me out of a speeding ticket, so I’m pretty loyal… I know they have a touristy following, but the best I’ve had are voodoo. Last time my wife and I went to Denver for “medicine”, we door dashed voodoo donuts three nights in a row. In your neck of the woods, I don’t know. I’ve had Duck donuts before. Wasn’t too impressed. Also had Status Dough. Wasn’t impressed either. Where are the good donuts in Knoxville? Now, as to the original theme of the post, I have it on good authority that the bait monkey actually hacked @Swamp Girl’s account. She is SOOOOO not done with the monkey. I just bought the bronzeye shad and hate it. What’s your address. Seriously.

7’2 MHMF St Croix Victory, The Cranker, is a great rod for chatterbaits from what I’ve heard/read. That said, I have a MB Orochi XX Diablo Spec-R that ALWAYS has a 1/2 oz bladed jig on it. That’s the only one-trick pony rod I have, but I absolutely love it for JHs. It’s probably not even the right rod for a bladed jig, but I use it and find it wonderful. I fish my senkos on whatever happens to be free at the time…usually, it’s on a 6’9 arid-x spinning rod.

I throw my big gabot’s on 50# suffix 832 (pretty much my standard for everything).

I’ve got that 10# flouro on something. I can’t remember. I just bought it the other day. Maybe I bought it for leader material as I don’t remember spooling anything with it… As with most offshore manufacturing, it is likely that this line is actually Seaguar (or another name brand) line branded as XPS. I have heard that their flouro was just re-branded Seaguar before. Was led to believe the same thing by the fishing dept at BPS for the one week I worked there 😂

You said shaft… Sorry - I’ve raised 2 boys

Mine is a pre-Rap as well. I use it as my go to topwater rod. It almost always has a frog, walking bait or crawler on it.

I was bank fishing a local lake yesterday. I have to imagine there were in the neighborhood of 1000+ bluegill around the banks. This is a little over 100 acre lake that attracts tons of fisherpeople. Anyway, dude (hs kid) walks up throwing a big 9” glide bait. I thought, “ok, this kid might be on to something. Maybe he knows a little more about this lake than I do?” He says “Hey man - when do you think the bass are going to spawn down here?” To which I replied “well bud, I think you’re late to the party. See all them bluegills down there?” “Nah, they haven’t spawned yet”. Ok, you’re probably right. Saw him a few hrs later and he replied “man - there are no bass in this lake.” I then pulled out my phone and showed him a pic of my PB, which coincidentally was caught in that lake in June a few years back.

I have to admit, I am a 6th sense (what’s the word for someone that prostitutes their body for money)? Rhymes with oar. I love their baits. Is that a 13 fishing rod? Fate black maybe? I bought one on clearance for about $16 one day and wish I’d have bought the entire lot.

“Eye see” what you did there…

I don’t care what anyone out there says about buying baits, spending money, etc… It really doesn’t take much to satisfy us… 😂😂

We apparently are more alike than we know! My grandfather was in the Navy and Air Force as well. He was an engine mechanic. He could hear an airplane in the sky and tell you what type of engines it was running and if there was anything wrong with them. He was stationed in WA state at Whidbey Island before my dad was born. My grandmother always told us that if her mother hadn’t gotten suddenly sick and died, we would’ve been born in WA state as that was the most beautiful place they ever lived. I agree. The PNW is absolutely gorgeous and I envy people that live out there. He was stationed at NAS New Orleans during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was lying in the belly of a Douglas RB-26 taking pictures of the decks of the cargo ships. He said they would fly over one and you couldn’t see anything, then the next one was so brazen that there were military pieces all about the deck without being covered up. And everything in between…

What’s your friend’s name? I don’t get seasick, but I like “brownies”.