J Francho

I came to post some of my experience, and found that Dwight nailed what I'd have said, and then there's an awesome report back. Congrats, looks like a good time.

As far as I can tell, they really only wreck the trees with their poop. Their roosting spots smell really bad too. Otherwise, fishing seems fine where I fish. I can see a flock devastating a pond or small isolated lake though. The problem with that is they don't seem so transient. It would make more sense for them to hang around a sustainable fishery. They aren't invasive, so they've been where ever for thousands of years. I'd say they probably aren't the main cause of a declining fishery. I'd be more concerned if they disappeared.

Looks like a two pounder. Good for it. Herons can eat even bigger fish. Koi almost 30" can disappear from ponds.

I keep bottles of GG Gel all over the place. The stuff works so well.

I use a Plano jig box. Some of my wire tied living rubber jigs are several years old.

I still keep two F-7s in my box at all times, a silver and black and a gold and black. Almost everything will strike it.

The Mako I caught in Ocean City, MD were just over 6' and some surface slashing but no jumps. The fight was pretty grueling, since they run all over the place. We caught them on jigs made from tall boy Budweiser cans.

@TnRiver46 epic.

I've done the snook and baby tarpon thing in Florida and those tarpon are about as nuts as stream run steelhead. I have a funny story about hooking a monster steelhead, probably around 12 lbs., in really tight quarters thinking there was no way to land the thing. It promptly launched 7' in the air, into a tree. Fight over, lol. Dumb thing. Let him go so he could get a rebate on the next fight.

I dislike any line bigger than 6# Tatsu on a spinning reel. My PB smallmouth was caught using this line on a ML rod, just a couple inches longer than 6'. Before anyone cries foul over catching in open water, it was from rocky, zebra mussel encrusted water in 38' is water and bulldog'd me the whole way up. No jumps, no dancing at the surface. Just held the bottom and eventually came up slowly. If I had lost it, I would have thought it was a huge drum. Not a great fight, but a great catch.

Bass fishing is more about the puzzle. Fishing for a fight is satisfied with northerns, salmonids, and in the past carp even. If carp jumped, I'd only target them. The last decade or so, it's northerns for me. They are miserable and I love them.

If you can get next door to Chaumont Bay, that place is magical. I've run from Henderson to Chaumont during tournaments and done decent $$.

Lake houses are year round cottages 😂

Is that what she calls it? Then she's right.

This will help clarify things: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9nSfRygHca/?igsh=MWd5M3dzZ3IyMWdieQ==

A cottage is on the water and a cabin is in the woods. That said, your wife is right. Go with that and you'll never fail.

Send it to DVT Mike.

I like either, but many of my largest bass came mid day. It's probably because I'm grinding out spots by that time of day.

I've done it, though I'm not sure why. I'm not sure it makes a difference, and if it does, I would have no way of knowing. Why would a fish prefer black braid over white, pink, yellow, blue or green?

Not really. Their construction are just different. One thing I never liked was the course thread screw that was the only thing holding the thumb bar on Shimano reels of past. I had a few customer reels that were stripped out or broken. It was an inexpensive replacement.

An internal combustion C8 would be a REALLY good put away car. Last of a breed.

For most, a Mazda 3 or Toyota Camry will get the job done. This bait is like having an SF90. A Corvette would be a smarter choice even. I remember having the same discussion about a Roman Made Mother over a decade ago, and that bait was like half as much. Same exact replies about it. It's good click bait.

I'd upgrade to a SS version of the same prop spec. I'd also see about repairing the Al prop and stowing it as a back up.

Act fast people - there's only four silver trout left! At 16", I can't see this ever being used for typical bass fishing.

My two other past time endeavors are drums and skateboarding. While the latter is pretty inexpensive, drum purchases merit serious discussion and consideration, as do her guitar purchases. Even maintenance items like heads and sticks get a line item in the budget. As long as we talk about it, we figure out how to make it happen. Fishing gear or a new deck is a drop in the bucket when compared to a new Taylor guitar or Black Beauty snare drum. I'd say that anything around $200-$250 triggers a discussion.