Smirak

So I was finally able to try the Vertrex by Nomad Designs out today. If you aren’t familiar, it’s a vibe bait that is basically a lipless that is covered in soft plastic. I am not sure about the best way to fish it, but I will tell you that on a fast retrieve, it has a very pronounced and noticeable hard thumping action. I caught this fish by yo-yoing it. He hit it like a hammer and I was quite surprised that he was the size he was considering the hit he gave me… All in all, I like the bait. I comes with BKK super sticky hooks that I can verify are more than just sticky…they are super sharp and can penetrate a little bit of the finger skin fairly easily.

Yeah…get on their mailing list. If you ever find yourself in southeast Maine (Kittery - hence the bame) near the New Hampshire border, you owe it to yourself to go check it out in person. It is very overwhelming, but in a good way. I haven’t been in over 10 years, so it may have changed. Also, stop by Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery. Thank me later (if it’s still there).

I wouldn’t have said it was calm. I wasn’t at Guntersville, but about 20 miles down river. The wind was wicked blustery about noon-ish… 😳 The redcrest expo is in town this weekend as well. Pretty excited to go check that out tomorrow…actually may go fish Guntersville tomorrow now that yall have me thinking about it. Pulled my kayak PB out of there Monday.

I’m trying to get away from my 7’10 that I use in my kayak. It’s just too big for my style.

Good catch. Not sure where I came up with that 694 from?? Anyway, it’s the 764. I edited the original post…

Anyone know anything about the iRod 764SB? It’s a 7’6 H rtd 2-6oz. It’s only $150, so I could probably buy cheaper than build, but whatever. Anyone know of a comparable blank? Primary use would be glides most likely. Up to a Klash9/Deps250 maybe…

I caught my kayak PB yesterday. No scale, but measurements and length put her in the 5-6# range. Caught on a 1/4oz pegged 6th Sense Congo craw (I really am liking this craw BTW). Caught my bank PB of 7_14 on a weightless rage bug pulled across the tops of some pads.

I just looked at the pic again. Anyone else see the chupacabra? I must’ve missed it first time. It’s over the left shoulder in the pic.

Did anyone see the new spinning rod guides offered by Mudhole? They’re called the sky high guides…

Awesome story! I caught my PB Kayak bass today too. Don’t know weight, scale batteries were dead. She was THICC…

Pulled up so much vegetation with her, I thought I had hooked a DD…scale batteries dead, I’m thinking in the 6 range…

Any idea on this one? Scale batteries were dead…

I didn’t get a pic of the dogwoods in bloom here around Lake Guntersville, but trust me, they are bloomed. I did however get a pic of this old girl… Scale batteries were dead dangit…

That is so not a tilapia. You’re not seeing straight. That’s clearly a bull shark caught in the Mississippi north of Memphis. Just look at it closer next time and you’ll see..

Want to bring this back up as I had an additional thought: what got me thinking about wanting to upgrade was I was fishing under a bridge, pretty decent current and a pretty decent wind. My anchor would not hold. Perhaps it was just not able to hold. I was using the anchor wizard anchor. So that got me to thinking if it was the design of the anchor. Would a fluke style (tight line anchor) have held better?

I have played, coached or umpired for the better part of 45 years now. I’ve called 44 games so far this year. I started calling in Jan. I love the game. Can’t not be around it. My philosophy for umpiring is that I want to do the best job possible. It’s my profession (actually is - only job I do for money). I want a kid to come back to play next year because he loves the game, not because he hates the umpires. I make it a point to try and learn each players (be it t ball all the way to men’s hardball league up to 70+ yr olds) name and use it as often as possible. I’m fair and firm, and I am known in the area because of it. I also like to have fun, and am known around the are because of it too.

No pics, but dogwoods are abloom here in N Alabama.

They are bass for sure.

I was fishing many years ago and had a similar incident happen to a friend. Luckily, it hit his head and just dug in there. Pushed the barb thru, cut it off, kept going. But it was so much blood (right above the eyebrow) that my buddy couldn’t see and it scared the bejesus out of me. I try and remember to always turn my head at the very least when I rip a bait like that. I remember about 20% of the time. My costas have saved me more than once…

4 trebles? Jeez!! What’re they fishing for with that thing? It is really cool looking for sure though…

That was a nice looking keeper red. I’m sure it tasted fantastic!

Guess I didn’t realize that Rapala owned Suffix. Anyway, 20% off suffix line on Rapala.com. I stocked up on 832 when I found it at Academy a couple weeks back on extra clearance. Else, I would take advantage.

Thanks all. I was thinking about the culling as well. I’m not going to do any of that as their signs at the ponds say catch and release only. If it were my neighborhood, I might contact the HOA and let them know what I was doing. But, since it isn’t, I’m just going to leave it alone.

Went to a local neighborhood pond today that I know holds a few 5+ lber’s. It’s actually 2 ponds but whatever. Anyway, I started cruising the banks and noticed lots of beds with fish on them. I must’ve seen better than one hundred fish on beds. HOWEVER, I don’t believe I saw a fish over 10” on a bed. Now I know refraction and all that tells me that I might be off a little bit, but I think you get the drift. I know the lake holds larger fish, but every fish on beds I saw was very small. Also, not a one of them had an issue with a Junebug/chartreuse tail lizard being on their beds. They just looked at it like it belonged there.

A hundred years ago when I was a cop, there was a checkmark box on the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Accident Report that said (something to the effect of) re-exam required to reinstate license.