NorcalBassin

Not a great bite but always appreciate any topwater action.

Felt a little helpless when I ran out of my favorite wacky jigs. Can't allow myself to ever run out again. Ever. ? Also couldn't pass up trying the ghost Magdraft.

Pops with one on a senko. I picked up a nice one on an underspin with a 2.8 on 4# test. That was a good time!

I'm on the same quest and just pulled the trigger on some Hokas, so apparently I don't have anything to offer you. ??

That's a classic right there ?

"I'm here to help"... after chewing off 2/3 of the handle.

Black Friday is 20% items (not gift cards), others are 15%. Gift cards don't usually go on sale until their 25 days of Christmas though (after BF sale ends), so they can't be stacked unless that year's Minn Kota just so happens to be on sale as part of the 25 days of Christmas.

Seems like the spots I catch don't start thrashing UNTIL I lip them!

Had to grab some plants at the nursery and figured I might as well see if the liquor store nearby had anything interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a bottle of the new JD single barrel, barrel proof rye I'd been hoping to find somewhere. This one is 138.2 proof... thinking I may need some ice with that pour!

Picked up a new chicken coop after snowmaggedon destroyed theirs this winter. They loaded it with a forklift and then it was quite the sight to see me, my wife and daughters unload it from her pickup. No injuries + no fight + it's still in one piece = success!

Always great getting out early enough to see the sunrise on the water. Solid one on a spinnerbait Pops with one on a Keitech First whopper plopper fish of the year. Really lucked out having the hook fall off as it went into the net. Good reminder to check those split rings. ?

Tough to beat Sniper or Tatsu and I've had good success with both all the way down to 4# as long as the drag is adjusted down.

Ended up going just a little over 5 lbs. She just knows how to pose with a fish to make it look even more impressive. ?

Between the boat and kayak probably 50x/yr with weather keeping it from being 60+. Before I got into bass fishing I was happy to fly fish the high country a few times each summer, but now that I'm a bit older and that's my "medicine" I feel like 50x isn't anywhere near enough. Funny how that works.

My daughter just got back from college and said she wanted to break her PB this summer before heading back in a couple months. Well, that didn't take long...

Yep, been 15% for as long as I can remember. Seems like 20% has only been for BF for the last several years.

IMX Pro 966 will handle hard glide baits that size plus do a solid job with top jig hook soft baits up to an 8" Hudd. One of the very few "do all" SB rods plus the lifetime warranty is tough to beat. For 2-4oz the Dobyns 806 is tough to beat, but if you're going up to 6oz you'll appreciate having the 966.

First fish of the morning on a spinnerbait. Looked topwater-ish, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. Few casts later and the first topwater fish of the year. Topwater is so addicting and now that the bite is on it's going to be a few months before I leave that rod at home.

Tough postfrontal, windy day but still came across a few. Weather is looking good over the next week, so hopefully that combined with the upcoming full moon will bring some of the big ladies up shallow. Not sure if I like the new tactical underspin or the og coolbaits better. At the moment I'm leaning towards coolbaits with 2.8's and tactical with 3.3's, but I'll need some more reps before making the call. Hadn't thrown a brush hog in a long time. Figured why not and it delivered.

Congratulations!

See your doc for a checkup (plus an x-ray for OA?) and get into PT. Not being limited by pain should make it quite a bit easier to "fix" vs waiting until it eventually starts to hurt.

Been wanting to try the new Tactical underspins to see if the lack of a top keeper will make Keitechs last longer than the Coolbaits underspins I've been using for years. Also needed some more senkos and they threw in a bag of chigger craws for free.

Had a few hours over the weekend to sneak in a post frontal solo trip. The hot spring bite wasn't happening, but I was still able to get quite a few by slowing down. Been fishing this lake regularly for nearly two decades and never caught a pikeminnow/squawfish. Thought I had a biggin' until I saw how long and skinny it was. Water vis was around 10ft everywhere I fished, but on my way back to the ramp I noticed a big mudline along the edge of an island on the main lake. Figured I'd make a few more casts with a spinnerbait and ran into a wolfpack of 2 pound spots that kept me entertained for about 20 minutes. Fun way to finish the day. This fella was either mad as heck or had bloodshot eyes from hunting in the mud. ?

I usually like bourbon neat, but that one is my favorite to have over ice. It sounds like it's readily available most places but took me a long time to get it in my neck of the woods.

1792 is solid as well and I almost pulled the trigger on their full proof version prior to seeing the guy pouring samples. This Chestnut bottle was in the $60 neighborhood (90 proof), but the bottled in bond 100 proof allegedly from the same barrels was nearly twice as much and only marginally better. It was a very easy decision to go with the 90.