NYWayfarer

Only open water around here was the mighty Hudson River. Took a scouting trip today with rod and reel in hand. 52 degree temps felt so good, I couldn’t sit at home. Trudged through ice, snow and mud to get to a nice current break. Soaked some worms for a few hours. Threw a Ned Rig. Nothing. The water temps are still in the 30’s and nothing has moved upstream yet. These are the times that really test my patience and pissy levels. The fishing is so close I can taste it.

My child is my first priority with any move I consider. My goal was to move to a good area before he was ready for school. Check. Done. Second goal was to stay in that area so he could go from elementary to graduating high school in the same area. Check, so far, he is a high school freshman and we still live in the same area. I remember relocating twice during my educational years. Once in elementary and once in high school and both times were traumatic. I vowed not to do the same to my child if I could help it. Next move will be wherever we retire. The other scenario would be to move wherever my son ends up if he eventually needs help with taking care of grandkids. Family first, job, hobbies, etc. second.

Life’s too short for cheap wine or fishing gear. One persons expensive is another’s garbage. The key to happiness is falling somewhere between these two sayings.

Slush on the driveway this morning. Tonight will be interesting as I live on the dividing line temp wise of a storm that will roll through. I could see a coating to 2" of snow or 3" to 6" of snow overnight.

I agree. Also use one of the price scanners to check the price of the rod. Sometimes Walmart items are discounted but someone forgets to change the sticker. Got an Abu Garcia Rod for $8 last year doing just that. The sticker price read $39.99 The rod wasn't in the clearance section I only scanned it as it was the only rod of it's kind on the rack.

Thanks for the heads up. I only leave lures tied on if I plan on going out the next day. I also wrap my lures with the Rapala lure wraps so the hooks are not exposed.

Was this caught on St. Patrick's Day?!?! Grats! Fantastic catch and prize!

I prefer the Winn grips. I also prefer a darker color Winn grip as they get filthy fast. Care guide that came with them says to clean with a damp cloth to preserve the tackiness of the grip. Plain damp cloth doesn't cut it on my Neon green Lew's Mach 2 grips though.

Hard to beat Berkley Big Game in the budget line category. Other budget lines I like: Stren Sufix Siege, Elite and Promix Kastking Flourokote Kastking Superpower braid

Good find. Mine only has one model, spinning, medium heavy on sale for $25

Reelsnot. I have used both that and KVD but I have gone back to Reelsnot. Main reason is it seems I have to apply KVD the night before I fish. Reelsnot has been a one and done application for me. a few sprays while spooling the line and I am good to go usually until I have to respool.

You have control over the drag, more or less with a quick turn. Same with getting the line where you need it when you cast. Loosen the drag and pull some line out, then tighten it back up. I prefer the drag. Nothing like hearing it when hooking into a big fish that makes a run. Too each his own though. I respect those that have mastered backreeling.

30lb braid is the lowest I go on a baitcaster. Anything lower than that goes on a spinning reel.

LOL! Roland has been pimping fishing stuff for decades. Some of those products he was spot on about like GYBC Senkos and Megastrike Oooo wee son! Still love the watching the Great American Fisherman, now on YouTube. LOL! Roland has been pimping fishing stuff for decades. Some of those products he was spot on about like GYBC Senkos and Megastrike Oooo wee son! Still love the watching the Great American Fisherman, now on YouTube.

I wacky rig 3" Yum Dingers. Killer bait and rig for pond green bass. slow fall and wiggle get them every time. Sounds like wacky rigging a Strike King Dreamshot might work the same as your surgical cut finesse worms.

I am also going to try straight braid again. I bought a spare spool for one of my spinning reels just for that purpose.

I use Trilene XT for baitcasters, Trilene XL for spinning reels. Since I use spinning reels for finesse and light lure presentations I won't spool anything greater than 8 pound line on them. Any line 10 pound and above is going on a baitcaster. I use a Piscifun line spooling station. It rotates the spool the line is on as you are loading it on your reel. Once you get the hang of it, those line twist issues are solved. Some line conditioner might help in this case.

IPhone 7 and above are waterproof. No real need for the pouch. If you have a 6 or below I would suggest getting a Lifeproof brand case. This will protect the phone should it get wet or submerged. It can be difficult taking pics with your phone while in a kayak. I find taking multiple pics of the same fish helps. Same fish different pics to give some perspective. Sometimes no matter how hard you try you are not getting all of the fish in the pic. At that point a vid of the release helps.

I always carry a scale with me when fishing. My LMB PB was caught years ago big old bucketmouth I could fit my fist in. I didn't have a scale at that time and I vowed never to go on a fishing trip without one again. I test my scale every so often by hanging a 1 pound bag of coffee or a 5 pound dumbbell from it.

One of my favorite clearwater baits is the Rebel Bluegill squarbill crankbait in natural bluegill color.

Going to try the Hudson River near me next weekend. Locally we are going to have 40-50 degree days this week. No ice on the river but the water is cold. Gonna try some Jerkbaits and float and flies for Smallmouth. If that doesn't work I am going to soak some worms for Catfish and Suckers in the feeder canal. Those fish swim up the canal this time of year looking for the fish that got trapped in there before the freeze and died. Talk about frozen dinners.

To confuse you even more, Favorite has a second brand called "Select" It seems their rods that are $100 or less are in this brand. You will notice it on rods like the Defender. It says Select in the reel seat and has the words "powered by Favorite" on the rod.

Grats to Ott! Hard fought tourney for sure. Glad to see Ike finish strong. I would have loved to join him for a beer at his Ike live after party.

Woo Tungsten. They are having a classic Black Friday sale. Love that little finesse kit from them. Only $5 https://wootungsten.com/collections/classic-black-friday-sale/products/finessekit

Especially that Lunkers TV version. It is basically the Defender rod with a different color scheme and a price tag that is $25 more.