FryDog62

It's not the year, but the miles...!

I’m a year older than you, just had my first stent and am on my second season with an AP 120. Boat control and motoring to your spot is the way to go. I spend so much more of my time fishing than fussing with getting into and staying in position. The Autopilots are a beast - both good and bad. It’s tough and rugged and nearly indestructible (mine survived Hurricane Ian). The down side is moving it. If you have a trailer and a good way to launch/retrieve without injuring yourself, you’ve won the battle and it’s 100% worth it.

Careful when you Google things you can catch from beavers… ?

I used to wear the bass thumb proud, until I ended up with a Staph infection once. (I'll spare you the photo ?). I guess that's what you get when you have soft, wimpy desk jockey hands like I do..!

Part of my ambivalence to foam vs. cork is I wear Fish Monkey gloves... so the grips all pretty much feel the same. And no "bass thumb" any more either!

About half my rods are cork and half are EVA. I switch between rods all day long and don’t even notice the grip change. In fact, I had to sit here and think about a couple of my favorite/most used rods and if they were EVA or cork… surprising because I’m a bit OCD about a few things..

I have a 7’2” Medium Heavy+ ALX Toadface. A Medium-Heavy tip to cast hollow frogs a log ways and a Heavy butt section to pull fish out of cover. This balance also allows multiple other techniques including swim jigs, Chatterbaits, and larger walk the dog lures. Really, one of the more versatile rods I own…

Yes, I got the new lower unit out of that drought ?

I remember the discussion last Fall about drought and if we’d ever catch up… Looks like we have!

I agree, when everyone beats the bank over and over on the same lake with poor results, time to try something different. I usually find with speed trolling out a little deeper that I catch less fish but the ones that hit are a bit bigger and more aggressive. Fun to break it up once in a while…

Trolling DT14 at 2.2 mph in 77 degree water - caught a couple 5 lb largemouth, 13.75 inch crappie and a Peacock bass to boot!

Good friend of mine is 9 months into his recovery after having his prostate removed. He can look back now and feel very good (mentally and physically) that he got it done in time. You'll get there soon too!

Looking great Rick! Will be interesting when you get on the water and start doing adjustments to FFS but can't imagine you won't really like it. Also have always admired your rod set up - something I only think about whenever I hook a rod behind me on my backhand (frequently)!

There is so much on the topic of jig retrieval... even if they say they are doing the same thing - it varies a lot from one person to the next. Would be great to see video of Tom and Catt retrieving jigs... a lot of subtleties to learn from watching versus reading.

Do you use Arkie, finesse jig, etc? Yes, this is why I use the 3/4 and 1 oz Dark Sleepers. They are so compact anyway and to properly drag them - and keep them - on the bottom you need some weight. Otherwise they rise up, stop and hop...

Catt, when you do this is it primarily/exclusively a football jig or something else too..?

Would be interesting to know how the 7'1" (3/32-1/4 oz) BFS rod compares to their 7'1" (1/8-3/8 oz) "regular" baitcasting rod (which I have and like a lot). Hopefully this new BFS model isn't as light as Dobyns 700 or 740... the tips on those can't pull much of anything in/near even light cover.

Lol, technically you should be ok w/ping pong… but maybe wear eye protection and a flak-jacket just in case!

My wife just talked to a friend of ours staying a mile away... was just playing pickleball yesterday and another woman in the group fell, separated her shoulder and broke her arm... The wrath continues ~

Not the rod, but the line might be your issue, not on the hook-set but keeping fish pinned. May sound counter-intuitive, but I'd consider some line with more "give" than braid. 12 lb mono, fluorocarbon, or co-polymer might do the trick. Prevents the fish from getting leverage against a non-stretch braid, which can create a split second of slack, and the ability to spit the hook. Bank fishing around cover/rocks I'd recommend Trilene XT, Big Game or Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Those are thicker lines so you can probably get by with 10 pound test with a spinnerbait.

Not quite yet, although no longer officially a resident. Will be good to be back this summer ~

With my wife on the DL and a return trip to MN date unknown, I may miss my beloved white bass run shortly after ice out. Time will tell, but I'm twitching to toss some jerk baits !

Wish I still played racquetball... back in the day played a lot of tournaments in the Low A league... A blast!

Been wintering at a place in Florida the past few years that has a 500 acre freshwater lake with bass, golf course, tennis, pickleball, bocce, etc. I played a lot of racquetball back in my 20's and 30's and have been strongly encouraged to get into Pickleball here. I KNOW I would like it - probably a lot. But have resisted because I keep hearing of all the injuries. After getting fitted with a Stent in January, my priority is to be fit enough to launch and retrieve my heavy kayak and fish/cast a lot so I don't want to risk injury and mess up my priorities! The workout facility I use here overlooks the pickleball courts and I have seen 2-3 people since January get hauled out by ambulance - broken arms, shoulder injuries, etc. Not just all old people, one kid in his late 20's. Then, my wife succumbs to the pressure to get into Pickleball. Takes 2 lessons - and then CRUNCH. She plays her first game, is going back on a ball and trips/falls and breaks her back. Compression fracture of her L3. You can see from the photo the top and bottom vertebrae should look almost square from this angle... the one in the middle is compressed to about 60% of its original size, there's a fracture, and plenty of jangled bone fragments. Almost everyone I talk to has a war story about injuries playing pickleball. So here's my annual PSA warning: "Friends don't let Friends play Pickleball !"

I looked up Tugaloo and that looks like quite the scenic lake. Not big, but if it's 25hp or less, a kayak would be fun there. I couldn't get much info on whether the fishing is good or not, just the species they catch there. We were planning to be in Greenville next month, but my wife recently fractured her L3 so maybe in the Fall or next Spring.