the reel ess

Too many irons in the fire right now. LOL. I bought a 1981 Z28 back in September that takes my "spare cash". I have a laundry list of things I want/need to do to it and have only marked off 3.

Lake Wateree, SC is about 20 miles from here. My family had a house there from before I was born until a few years ago. There are three small bait shops and one marina on my side of the lake. I love to walk into a place and smell the minnow tank in a place where you can also get a cheeseburger or chili dog. I know that's disgusting, but I associate that smell with so many good days in my youth. And these people will tell you exactly what the fish have been biting (yesterday of course). Luckily, there aren't enough people there or cities nearby to justify any big chains moving in. Whoever purchases for the local Dick's (45 miles away) doesn't seem to know what species we have nearby and they're seasonal and have to clear out for hunting season. But, for this reason, they always have some baits on deep clearance. Walmart is always out of what I want or they don't even carry it. I want specific brands in specific sizes and colors and won't settle for whatever power buy they have. I mean, try to find a gold shiner spinnerbait in Walmart. They force mfgs to provide merchandise at discounted wholesale. Thus, you're possibly buying an inferior product. Their exclusive Norman's DD cranks used to come apart if you hooked a striper or big cat. They would take the back hook off and keep swimming. Plus I just HATE going into Walmart. I drove 20 miles there one night because I was fishing the next day and my boat drain plug broke. They had an empty box on the shelf. Doesn't matter how cheap they are if there aren't any. I went home and rigged mine back up with a washer and nut and bought a new one the next day at the mom & pop on the lake.

I've been doing it over a decade. I'm 52. I feel it now. But how else am I going to get into a 2 acre backyard pond for $800? A tube, maybe??? As I get older, I think more and more I want a jon boat with a casting deck, but we live in town and I'm already short on space. Honestly, standing up all day doesn't feel much better to me than kayaking.

Just my $.02 here. That kayak looks to be in fine condition. But that seat will wear you out after a couple hours. You'll be lifting your butt off the seat to get some blood in it and your legs. And your lower back will be sore through the next day. Find one with a stadium style seat, preferably one that sits up a bit. Go to a kayak shop and sit in different models. You'll be glad you did. And adjustable foot pegs are a bonus. Now, if you only fish a couple of hours it will suffice. I'd offer le$$ though. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=kayak+stadium+seat&atb=v314-1&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.shopify.com%2Fs%2Ffiles%2F1%2F1778%2F5045%2Fproducts%2FStadium_Seat_for_BigGame_Pro_and_Pedal_Pro_front_other_angle_2048x2048.jpg%3Fv%3D1576109347

Scrape off the numbers. Or better yet, put a sponsor sticker over them. I'm all about the cheap fix. ?

Probably felt it with the lateral line

The bass heard all that bass.

I bought a 1981 Z28 back in September. It has a detachable face radio. The face has stayed in the dash since I bought it. I took a cruise with the wife today. She said I need to get that radio going. I told her to listen to "the music of my people" coming from the car. As for fishing, I never listen to music. I'm out there to find some peace. I might miss the sound of a fish chasing bait.

I've owned 3 MBs. One finally gave up the ghost. I sent it to BPS to be repaired. They called and said they didn't have parts for it. They offered me a refurbished Johnny Morris Carbonlite less than half a new reel cost and I said sure. Other than color and cosmetic differences, it could be the same reel. I also bought 2 Lew's LFS reels. I love them. One is my jig reel because I got an 8.1:1 model.

I don't usually bring it up to someone who I know doesn't care. If someone asks me I'll gladly engage them. Sometimes people will ask a complicated question and I'll try to answer without them getting the 100 yard stare. You know when you're getting too technical.

If only I could catch them often enough to callous. I fished 6 hours, two days in So FL with a guide for bass and peacocks. They turned my hands to hamburger. I told the guide he needed to keep some golf gloves in the boat. I discovered a good remedy: Chap Stick. But yeah, I love coming home with an excruciating case of bass thumb.

Aside from being a good husband and father yet again this last year I caught an 8 lb. even bass pitching a junebug Ocho stick worm.

Mine was also caught on a junebug stick work, Ocho actually. I was pitching it with a pegged weight and dropped it off the edge of lilies. BOOM! 8.0 lb and possibly my PB. I caught another 8 a few years ago, but weighed on a different scale. This one looked bigger.

Kalifornia happened. it is apparently the easiest state in the union to get cancer.

I've caught more bedding bass on the lizard that any other bait. In the summer when I can't buy a bite I'll rig up a "finesses C rig" and small lizard. You can do it easily with a split shot. But I usually do it the conventional way with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight.

Another vote the Carolina Keeper for mono. I guess it's good for fluoro too since it's also stiff. But doing it this way eliminates the retying/pretying.

Among all types of lures I feel like color matters the least with a topwater. The fish see a silhouette unless they get right up next to the bait and eyeball it before biting and I usually use them in shade or low light conditions. And a lure on the surface could represent pretty much any animal. That said, I still buy colors that are most effective in other hardbait types. I like gold, baby bass or anything with an orange belly. Frog patterns and roan (firetiger) also seem to work well. I guess they all work. LOL. If I drove all the way to BPS to buy a specific model Spook and they didn't have my color I wouldn't leave empty handed.

Ours is $10 for an annual resident fishing license and there are no extra species costs. There are several different trout restrictions and regulations to know. If you order online you pay a fee of about $3 for electronic processing. You can buy a 3 year for $30, which on the surface sounds dumb because there is no savings, except the processing fee. I don't know about hunting since I never do it.

Braid is the BEST line hands down for spinning. I don't go below 20 lb. though I could. For panfish I still use 4 or 6# mono.

If not for all the people, I'd probably move to So FL for the combination of big bass, peacocks and invasive species like snakeheads. But Fellsmere and Okeechobee look like fairly jerkwater locations, population-wise.

I think the best fights I've gotten from bass are in the 4-6 lb range. The 8's I've caught, and that's only two bass, were initially strong, but didn't have much stamina. Stripers are some real beasts for their average 5 lbs. But pound for pound, I haven't caught a stronger freshwater fish than a peacock. You'd swear a 4 lb. peacock is much bigger until it's in the boat. And it doesn't give up when you lip it. Mean! Mind you, I have not caught a smallie. Yet.

I have a friend with a mountain house. Years ago I handed him a spinning combo and he immediately cast it in the trees on the other side of the river. Now he fly fishes and has a $400 combo. I have considered asking to cast it and throwing the entire thing across the river. LOL.

My ex-monster-inlaw "accidentally" threw my Zebco 33 combo about 30' from the dock once. I wasn't totally bummed out by it since it was the cheapest thing I had and really for friends and company to use. But several years later, after the divorce, I caught it with a crankbait and salvaged the rod. The drag was locked on the reel. Now, I have no idea what came of the rod. It was a $20 graphite composite rod I bought at Tad's hardware store near Myrtle Beach when I was about 13. It was the first rod I put a baitcast reel on. I have only ever dropped one rod in and that was because I had three on the deck of my kayak at once. I was able to fish it out because it was only about 3' deep there.

I haven't used them and won't comment on their quality. But I've learned over the years you generally get longer service out of metal frame reels, especially if you abuse them. Just my $0.02.

I'm far more accurate with BC gear than spinning. I use each for what they excel at.