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I don't think too much about it when I'm keeping fish honestly. We humans have a tendency to really anthropomorphize everything (assign human attributes to them) and most of the time it's really a faulty way of thinking. Fish don't "want" anything. They don't consider which way to die would be better than any other. All they care about is getting away and surviving, but that's a basic instinct, not a conscious thought. Any considerations we take on how to treat a prey item is based on ideas that have been socially constructed by humans, not something that is uniform across all species. That said, I'm not going to go out of my way to ensure the fish dies in a miserable way because I do have a general respect for life. I'm also a realist. I realize that in order for anything to live (with the exception of autotrophs such as plants) something else has to die. I don't necessarily think it matters whether you bash a fish with a rock or let them suffocate. Myself, I tend to try and see to it that the fish dies humanely but I realize I'm doing it to make myself feel better about killing something, not for the actual benefit of the fish. So just act ethically for your own sake is about the only advice I could give.

I coat all my cork rod handles with it. Love it! It did not change the cork feel. When coating a used rod, use a magic eraser to clean the cork before applying!

Only thing you should be buying from vietnam is levi's

I thought i was on his mail list but obviously not! I seen i missed the 68 special sale he had just bf 4th of july. I heard he sold out in just few hours! Not sure why he doesn't bring them to full production.

That reminds me of a lake me and a buddy fish. We would throw lip less baits all day. For some reason once and a while we could catch fish as big as the bait. I once also caught a small mouth smaller then the stick worm I was using. I felt the tap and went to set the hook. the dang fish comes flying back at me.

My best friend and fishing buddy has been with me for over 47 years. The reason it has been that long is she is always ready to explain, "Remember the wedding vows - till death do us part? One of us isn't getting out of this alive." I may not be the sharpest hook in the box, but I got a pretty good idea who she is talking about. If this is purgatory, I'll stay a while longer.

I'm probably the tightest "tight wad" on this site, but I really don't get the "cost" issue when making knock-off comparisons. Most folks spend hundreds of dollars on various combinations of rod, reel & line; then skimp and gripe about the cost of what is actually put in front of the bass! The bass never gets to see your rod & reel after all, right? The durability factor could be a consideration, but the Yammy baits flat out produce - for me anyway. The Fat Ika was made by altering the Hula Grub mold, which is is a great bait in itself, as well (especially for smallmouiths). The Ika is all I've ever needed for both LM & SM bass. I have had no desire to explore the various knock offs of this basic design. As long as the originals keep producing, I'll keep buying them. I also use the original Senko exclusively. I have actually tried some of these knock-offs. Have had some successes too. But I just have more confidence in the original is all. my mistake! edit: picked up a nice, fat 3 1/2 lb. largie, just this morning, on the Ika down at an oxbow lake near me.

A drop shot rig is still productive around rocks etc... I am not sure what presentation you used however, try a more vertical presentation and when fishing cover, start at the outside of cover and work your way in, if it starts to get hung, don't pull at it, try to make it wiggle, a bass will pick it free from the cover for you.

Use round weights for rocks, and don't fish wood with an exposed hook.

Ebay has buyer protection, if you get stiffed, or a broken rod, or the wrong rod, you are guaranteed your money back. I prefer to buy things off of ebay closer to home, but sometimes these sellers in Korea and other Asian countries have some cheap deals. I say go for it, your money will be covered in the event of a scam. I have bought and sold thousands of things on ebay, and have never lost money, I have been scammed and have had sellers not ship the stuff, but have always been refunded by Ebay.

Why would you buy a rod that is made in the USA from Vietnam? All sorts of alarm bells should be going off...

Well, considering what a boss told me years ago, that statement is not conclusive. His comment regarding his wife went like this. "I wouldn't take a million dollars for her, but I wouldn't give you a dime for a dozen more just like her."

Channel 16 is the official hailing and distress frequency of the Coast Guard. It is used for calling other boats or the Coast Guard. When you make contact with another boat you need to switch to another "working channel". Channel 13 was/is used by commercial traffic such as tugs, freighters, cargo ships, etc. Haven't used a VHF since '97, but I suspect that most if not all VHF radios have a feature which monitors channel 16 (it was either an override, or priority feature), while tuned to another channel. If the Coast Guard, or anyone else uses channel 16, the radio will automatically switch to 16, then switch back to the channel it was tuned to. It may also have a scanning feature which monitors a few or several other channels. Because I sometimes had lobster gear set in a shipping channel, I would scan 13, along with the other channels we used for conversation. Initially, most of us used channel 6. But it became popular with recreational boaters. There was incessant chatter during the summer season, so we switched to a less used channel, which happened to be 8. Channel 13 was most important on foggy days. I'd see a large target on the radar moving along the channel in Buzzards Bay, and would call them on 13 to let them know who I was, what I was doing, and find out what they'd like me to do to stay out of their way. Those large vessels are not very maneuverable, and cannot stop or turn quickly. One bit of advice. Your conversations on the VHF can be heard by any and all with a VHF radio. Don't say anything you do not want the world to hear, from divulging a hot spot to personal matters. A VHF is much like a seagoing CB radio. We'd "hail" (call) each other on eight

Don't do it! It sounds "scammy".

Welcome Home!

From what I understand, there is a 'Mayday' channel. There are also other calls to signal distress without using 'Mayday.' I believe that 'Mayday' means the boat is sinking. If your boat lost it's motor but not it's bilge, you would not call 'Mayday.' Hopefully somebody with more experience will respond; I hate to give improper information concerning safety situations. I will do a little research and post tomorrow if someone hasn't beat me to it.

welcome to the site man, I live right off SR54

Booyah Pad Crasher.....

tis true what Jon says. But, nevertheless, i have that much more respect for this young man that he manned up and set the story straight. A 7 is still a monster out there. Congrats to him. He can stretch it and tell the truth while fishing. The best of both worlds i guess.

Sorry to hear of your pain. I'm glad I'm not in your shoes. My bride of forty-two years is my best friend. I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Welcome................

$200 for a spinning reel? You cray cray.

It was very difficult for me to get myself to use the "TURD" (that's what my uncle calls it, haha) because the are the dumbest looking baits out there. I tried a bag out and I gotta tell ya, they flat out catch fish. They aren't high on my list of top baits, but that's just because I can't get used to using something so dumb looking., haha

That's good to hear I went ou and got a new tackle bag and a few soft plastics and crank baits so hopefully I get something tomorrow. I am goin to check out that spot on the corner of bartram and race track and I am going to this pond that I saw behind publix on race track, that shoppin center has been there for a while an when I went to pick up some things couple days ago I saw a few nice size bass close to shore so I know it has some fish in there

Get a jig and count it down in a body of water you kow the depth of(swiming pool) Easiest way is to find one combo that falls 1 foot per second. Then count it down as you cast it out! Jeff

go swimming

Avid 6'8" M/XF.

best to slit there throats while alive and let the heart shoot all the blood outta em... gut em out right away... then toss em in a cooler full of ice. if i catch em and going to eat em they are treated as food... it does make a difference!!! bleed em out, best way to kill anything thats food, granted 99% of you probably couldn't stomach your meal screaming and bloods shooting out all over the place... could ya? and were talking about how a fish dies... how bout some lamb for dinner, lets go get some nice farm fresh lamb chops... mmmmmmmmm good... .how bout if you want to save the blood for cooking also, then you gotta hang em upside down ALIVE over a bucket, sounds fun huh. any raise rabbits for food, only way i know is is hold by ears over barrel slit throat and let bleed, mmmmmmmmmm huh that's some life education right there.... how bout raising birds for dinner quail and stuff, hold em over a barrel get the big scissors and snip snip while alive off goes there head,, you think its done by walking up to a cage and shooting em up with a bb gun, yea i wish but no its not done that way on a farm..

There comes a point when you knit pick about killing a fish and looking at it with a humane prospective, you shouldn't be killing it then.

Yeh I went yesterday and this morning caught a couple just some dinks not the size I usually catch at them. shakey head and wacky rigged senkos are the only things getting bit right now

I hope so man, will be good to get back to normal. Also I feel the full moon weeks are hard to fish normal fishing hours too. But regardless you had a great day, nice work! Congrats on all your records man!

Well like I had said before it has been hit or miss for me lately. Today it was HIT HIT HIT. My friend and I went out fishing on his boat today in the Lake Woodruff area. We put 45 Bass into the boat, including 9 that were real nice sized keepers. Two went 3 lbs and several were over 2 lbs. Today we set three records for us. My personal best for Most Bass Caught in a Day, Our Best Day fishing as a Team, and for my friend the most Bass ever landed in his boat in one day. Maybe things are starting to change back to normal after TS Debby.

Welcome!

welcome to the site bud

Welcome to BR

Bluegills hang out around pretty much anything but anywhere that there will be aquatic and terrestrial insects is going to be your best bet, docks, weeds, brushpiles, coves with mud bottoms all seem to hold bluegill. As for bait and tackle, get a light spinning rod or spincast combo 4 or 6 pound line is probably ideal but the 10lb stuff that's on most spincast combos will work. Keep it simple, but some nightcrawlers or crickets or get some Gulp crickets or crawlers. Put those on a small aberdeen hook, a size 8 is about right, pinch on a small split shot or two, set it under a small spring bobber not a round one, the pole shaped ones are easier for fish to pull under so they're less likely to let go after they eat the bait. Make it about him catching fish. Take an ultralight and toss a little grub or something if you want to fish but him catching fish should be the most important. Take plenty of snacks and drinks and when he wants to go, go. Don't get frustrated if he gets impatient and don't get mad if he keeps getting tangled or snagged. You want to make sure it's a good experience for him because you're fishing for a big one here, a potential life long fishing partner and a way to connect with your son. This is what my dad did with me when I was little and to this day if we can't talk about anything else we can always talk about fishing.