desmobob

I'm one of those lucky folks that aren't affected by it. There used to be a big patch of it next to one of the fairways on a small 9-hole golf course near me. There was a sign warning of the poison ivy. When I was a kid, I used to wade right into it and pick up lots of golf balls. I'm 61 and still am not affected by it, thank goodness.

Lighter spools are essential for BFS but lighter spools are better for all bait casters, right? It's a good trend.

Yesterday, the front door; today, the back...

Spooky old place...

I'm sure it's to build positive reviews. But the "bribing" part, as schplurg described, is merely an attempt, not a guarantee. Everyone has their price and, I can assure you, mine is higher than a twenty-dollar pair of sunglasses! ?

I got a response from KastKing support... the offer is for real.

I have purchased a few things form KastKing over the past couple of years. About two weeks ago, I got a promotional e-mail from them offering a chance to "spin the prize wheel" or something like that in which I was guaranteed to win some kind of prize. In my experience, the "prize" in these kind of things usually is a percentage-off code, or something like that, but I gave it a shot anyway. I won an assortment of bladed jigs: my choice of either their 3/8 oz. or 1/2 oz. bladed jigs in all five colors. I was skeptical, but the five lures showed up in the mail shortly after, in a nice plastic case. The free sunglasses thing is a bit different. There is an Amazon.com link to KastKing's "Innoko" polarized sunglasses and the e-mail promises a refund via PayPal after purchase. Sounds a little sketchy, eh? I forwarded the e-mail to KastKing to ask if it's legit, just in case... ?

I believe the Bearing Blaster and aerosol spray is more likely to dislodge bits of dirt or sand that may be fouling the bearings, while also being quicker than soaking. On the other hand, it is a bit fidgety to use. And a BIG caution when using aerosol brake cleaner: keep it away from sensitive surfaces and materials! I turned a section of the paint on an expensive reel's side plate to "wrinkle finish" by letting it come in contact with a rag that was damp with brake cleaner. I also destroyed the finish on the front of my coffee table when I decided to do some bearing maintenance while watching TV in the living room. ?

The brand and model I have is "RPM Bearing Blaster" and it can be found on eBay and Amazon.

I have about a dozen Lew's reels and have replaced the stock bearings with hybrid ceramics on most of them by now, mostly because I like to tinker with my reels during the long northern NY winters. In my experience, most of the times I think a bearing has gone bad it turns out to merely be dirty. I have a very handy bearing flushing tool -just an inexpensive plastic device from an R/C shop- that allows me to really flush out bearings with a few blasts of aerosol brake cleaner. I think this is far more effective than just soaking them, and certainly a lot quicker. Once a bearing is flushed, a couple of good spins will tell you if it's OK or if it's damaged. If it's OK, it gets a light application of bearing oil (White Lightning, etc.) and reinstalled in the reel. If a bearing is noisy or rough when spun after cleaning, it gets replaced. That has happened a few times in my reels, but not very often. It's satisfying to check a bearing, clean and lube it, and then see how much easier and longer it spins after maintenance.

I use a similar hook and, yes, my hook-up ratio did go down, but probably not as far down as it went using the weedless Shroomz hooks with the wire guards. And my ratio may have gone down because I tend to fish Neds on ultralight BFS set-ups where it's not all that possible to whack 'em with a vigorous hook set to get the hook point through the Elaztech. I guess weedless Neds need to be fished on slightly heavier gear than I've used.

Interesting. I also run the biggest tires I can. I'm a big guy and both my bikes are aluminum-framed, so a little extra cushion is nice. Years ago, when I was racking up lots of miles, I settled on Continental Gatorskins. I don't think you can get a puncture flat with those things... at least I never did. (Maybe just one goathead puncture in western Kansas on a Biking Across Kansas ride...) I tried some nice, soft 35s on my cyclocross bike and got three flats on one ride, the bike returning home on top of a pile of stripped shingles in the back of a roofer's truck after I stood by the road with my thumb out, too frustrated to fix another flat. I haven't been in the saddle for a long while. I really need to get the bikes out and get riding again. Photos of your beautiful bike are always an inspiration.

Love that bike... what tires are you running? They add to that classic look.

It looks cute in that photo... as they seldom do look. I always remark that while most wild animals look well-groomed and beautiful, possums usually look like old bums who just crawled out of a dumpster. ? One managed to push open the storm door and get onto my front porch one time. I hooked the door open but couldn't get it to leave. I let my springer spaniel out onto the porch in hopes of him either scaring the possum out or carrying it out. Instead, the possum "played possum" and rolled over on its back looking very dead. The dog wouldn't touch it. I put on a pair of heavy leather gloves and carried it out myself.

The ice is almost ready to go... (L.George, NY)

Don't forget to take photos of your fiends and family fishing. Those photos of me on my first fishing trip were taken by my oldest sister. She had no interest in fishing but knew that documenting that outing was a good idea. I'm so glad she did it!

I have a pile of Lew's reels; mostly Tournament Pros but also some of the other models. The brakes can get pretty noisy on some of them and they'll squeal when casting (although it doesn't seem to affect the distance). I usually take a Q-tip and some alcohol or brake cleaner and clean the inside of the brake drum, then put a small drop of oil on the other end of the Q-tip and run it around the drum. That usually does the trick.

Suffix 832 Power Pro Fireline for L/UL spinning

Discovering jerkbaits can get expensive, especially when you get a look at some of the luscious JDM versions and start hitting the "buy" button. ? My newest baits are similar to schplurg's new stuff: jerkbaits and micro baits (from Bait Finesse Empire).

By all means... take photos for whatever reason you want and share them. Photos are absolute magic; they freeze an instant in time. I love looking at photos, especially of fishermen having fun. My first fishing fun photo... on Lake George, NY around 1964 with a neighbor in a wooden rowboat. Clobbered the pumpkinseeds that day! (Before live wells and Yeti coolers there were big galvanized steel buckets...) Latest fishing photo on Core Banks, NC. My first time fishing in NC and my first-ever redfish. You will likely eventually forget a lot of fishing outings but all it takes is a quick look at a photo to bring back the memories.

The only Long John Silver's restaurant in my area has been combined with the only Taco Bell. It is definitely the dirtiest, nastiest fast food joint around with the lowest prices and the scariest clientele. I eat there occasionally... ?

That's a bold statement I'd like to personally verify. I'll be trying the Doritos version at the earliest opportunity! ?️

1/2 oz. jig with the largest Berkley Pit Boss trailer.

I got out on the water yesterday. The top ten inches was frozen, though... The scenery was interesting!

Nothing tastier! The local lake where I fish is full of them. The interesting thing is the size... When I was young, you could catch all the big 10" yellow perch you wanted. There was no limit on "panfish". Now, there's a 25-fish limit on perch because people were getting crazy, catching hundreds and selling them to the local bait shops that had started buying them at attractive prices. But now, you're lucky to catch any over 8" or 9". Guys say that's because they were overfished. But fisheries management experts have always said that stunted panfish are a sign of overpopulation... ?‍♂️