NorcalBassin

I just upgraded to my new top dog. Stella FJ 1000 for the 822 NRX. When I got into bass fishing 15 years ago I didn't feel right spending more than $50 on a combo and I only had 2-3 rods for each trip. Funny how things change!

I almost pulled the trigger on a 6.2:1 since that's all that was in stock, but I'm just going to hold out until the 7.1 or 8.1:1's are in stock. Came close to getting the DC instead, but the new specs on this one look even better at a lower price point.

When I wacky rig a senko or ocho it's always on a light jig head. I used to use the red Gamkatsus but the head would eventually break and spin on the hook and I lost more fish than I'd like, including what would have been a PB teener just a few feet from the boat. The Owners are pretty much all I use now and they've been great as long as you don't keep your drag too tight. Caught my PB on it last year plus catfish 10+ pounds and a carp that had to be 30+ pounds. Love that setup. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Owner_Ultrahead_Wacky_Jig_Head_4pk/descpage-OWJH.html#customer_reviews

Needed to get geared up for small swimbaits and also needed to replace a spinning reel. I took the "logical" route and decided to buy a reel to put at the top of my lineup and cull others down. Felt a little uneasy shelling that out for a reel, but at 25% off for a reel I'll have the rest of my life the bait monkey told me it was definitely worth it... That 1000 size seems like it's going to be perfect on the 822.

Looks awesome. I've been keeping my eyes open this past year on three sites that carry their baits from time to time and I just barely missed it when one of them got a small shipment. I'm looking forward to hearing how you like it.

Been a while... things have been crazy at work the past couple months and one of my girls asked me if I'd like to take a break out on the lake. Obviously couldn't turn that down and as luck would have it that day (4/3) was the last day any of our semi-local lakes were open.

Made it out for an afternoon trip and got it absolutely handed to us for the first 4 hours with zero bites on a plethora of baits. I can't remember the last time we were skunked (you can almost always slump bust with a couple dink spots on bad days), and it almost seemed inevitable the multiyear skunkless streak was going to be over. Fortunately just as we were about to call it Pops came through with one of said dink spots. As we came around a main lake point I noticed a mudline in the top of the water column that extended well off the bank, so I took off the shad colored TB crankbait I'd thrown earlier and changed it out for a red 5xd. After a couple hundred casts hauling nothing but water the xd came through on my 3rd cast. And then a few casts later came another... And then a 3 pounder to end my day... Pops caught one last one for good measure as I was cleaning up before the ride back in. Heck of a 45 minutes before the darkness sent us off the water.

I like it for a midsized glide... nice s-pattern plus it seemed to respond well to a rod twitch, pause cadence. There's something about the Antidote's action I still like best for this size and price point, but the Arashi will definitely be staying in the rotation and getting some more time next time out.

Hadn't been out in weeks and finally had a window open. My home lake has a 145 boat ProAm going on (usually only 35-40 bass boats on a typical day this time of year), so I decided to hit up a smaller nearby lake. We've had spring like temps all week and I was hoping the big girls would be on the prowl with the new(ish) moon and willing to hit or chase a swimbait... no such luck but it's gotta be getting close. Only picked up 5 for the day but at least it was a no dinks day. Smallest fish of the day... and it was on the swimbait. 2nd biggest of the day... and it was on a Ned. Biggest of the day... also on a Ned.

Still can't even order anything from them due to some silly CA regulation (prop 65- basically everything may cause cancer and needs to be labeled as such).

I'm a big fan of the 894 with a Bantam on it. However, I'm casting jigs quite a ways away (clear, pressured water), so I can't speak to how it feels if you're just pitching.

Bummer no bites but at least you know some good bass were willing to bite with 2 bags over 20 pounds. If you had another hour it would have been worth throwing some finesse baits (DS or Ned), but it can be so hit or miss this time of year next time you may smoke them on the things you just tried.

I probably only have 10 or so beers in a given year, but when I do my first choice is always a Guinness (or stout) with a Corona or Pacifico with a lime during outdoor BBQ season being option 2. IPA's have always been way too hoppy for my taste buds, but they seem to be the choice for most people around here.

Funny how things can vary from one place to the next. My dad is far from a tube fisherman but when he decides to throw one when the bite gets tough it's always a Gitzit Chub Tube in brown craw salt and pepper and quite a few times he's slayed 'em. I'm a Dry Creek Outfitters fan and have had really good luck with their drop shot and tournament tubes.

The raccoons around here have that same reputation. Sometimes we hear reports of a coyote, bobcat, or even skunk getting into a coop to kill the flock, but the vast majority of the time it's raccoons working together like assassins. I built our 8x24' enclosure with a hardware cloth apron that I buried extending out 18-24", and we've been fortunate to only have one (unsuccessful) attempt in the 4 years we've had it. However, I'm sure the two Saint Bernards patrolling the yard has probably helped keep the raccoons on the other side of the property.

Tranx 300 would be tough to beat and it will be within your price range during the next round of sales. I have a couple of them on swimbait rods and couldn't be happier.

We have a 20 degree temperature drop and some precip coming in tomorrow to put an end to the springtime weather we had this past week. I expected that to trigger a great bite and it didn't, but I still found some willing spots on neko rigs to make it well worth heading out.

I gave away a couple spinning reels and the bait monkey demanded I cull up with even better reels. I also had to take part in the DD cranks like everyone here. I never throw cranks in winter and I'm curious to see how they do. Also needed some more DS hooks.

Finally decided to upgrade the 859 I've had on the bow the past few years with a Helix 10 so I can use all the network features with the gen2 Helix 9 that's on the console. Can't wait to get it out on the water and have a split screen I can actually see. I also put a graph glass protector on it (thanks for the video instructions @A-Jay!).

Dream shot, bomb shot, and hazedong shad have all produced very well for me, but there's probably another 4-5 I mix into the rotation that produce nearly as well (nose hooked mosquito light sz 2, mostly in/around rock).

Lived one heck of a life and revolutionized an industry. May he rest in peace.

Hadn't planned on going out today but when my daughter asked if I wanted to there was no way I was passing that up. Not hot by any means but still picked up 10 or so in 4 hours on the usual finesse baits. One of her better ones of the day. Last one of the day. Of course, just as the winds kicked up with a storm system heading in and the light of day about gone we found an incredible school of fish (she likes the fish ID on in 2d). I gave her a couple minutes jigging a kastmaster while I cleaned things up before the long run back to the ramp but unfortunately no takers before running out of time.

So sorry to hear that and the only words that come to mind are of the four letter variety. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this has to be for you and your family, and as the days and weeks go on my hope is you'll be blessed with an abundance of wonderful memories that will forever keep him close.

It's about 45+/- minutes to a ramp for my 3 closest lakes. I would love to live on a lake someday, but the only one of those 3 that has homes on the water starts around 7 figures for a small place... my wife will need to pick up a second job to make that happen (no sense in that being me otherwise I'd have no time to fish). ? For being in CA and a world class fishing lake Clear Lake is probably one of the least expensive lakes to live on out on the West Coast. Sad thing is there are a lot of reasons that make people not really want to live on those parts of Clear Lake.

Happy Birthday! I'm not too far behind you and it's pretty crazy to think about that milestone. Might be all of the semi-regular on the water time to get away from things, but I sure as heck don't feel anywhere near as old as my birth certificate alleges.