NYWayfarer

I have the Stealth, Assassin, Speed Demon, Spartacus and White Max. Out of all of them my favorite is the Speed Demon. I tend to use it and the Assassin the most.

For Ned's I have used, Med Light action rods paired with size 2000 reels and 6# Kastking Fluorokote. I went a little heavier when I caught some big Channel Cats on the Ned. A Med action rod with a 3000 size reel and 8# Kastking Fluorokote. I also throw the Z-Man Big TRD on a heavier Shroomz jighead on my baitcasting gear and 10# Berkley big game.

Amazon is having a lightning deal on the Kastking Royale Legend Elite reel right now. About 5 hours left. $45 for all models but the red which is $48

I have a corner of the basement that's all mine to store my fishing gear. Rods, reels, baits and tackle are there year round. My canoe is stored outside on a rack above ground and covered by a tarp. My kayak is on a rack in my unheated un-insulated garage.

I am glad it's for that reason and not because you see them flying off into the sunset after your line snaps.

I am going to eventually pick up a pack of their slim shake worms. That's about the only bait they make that looks interesting to me.

I went fishing yesterday as well, didn't catch anything though. It was a productive day. Fishing, then lunch with my Dad to thank him for his service. Afterwards I mulch/mowed all the leaves in the yard. My neighbor across the street was watching me mow probably thinking I was nuts. His lawn is leaf covered with snow on top of it today. Who's crazy now?!?

This is pretty much my technique as well. I was fortunate enough that the snow we got on Friday, melted off on Saturday. I was able to mulch/mow the lawn until the gas ran out of the mower yesterday. Woke up this morning to 2 inches of snow on the lawn. My face knowing the job got done

"Die Hard...With a Vengeance." I stick with the same confidence baits until the fish stop biting them. Then I throw them some more.

November 5th was the last time I caught a Bass. I went fishing yesterday and didn't get a bite. It snowed overnight and this morning so I am hanging it up for the year. looking forward to the 2019 fishing season.

First snow of the season last night. It snowed before I could get the last of the leaves up. I was stuck at work. Made the drive home real fun with no salt on the roads. DOT was fooled by our local forecast which predicted rain only. Wind advisory today and tomorrow. Fun times in the northern capital region of NY.

First snow of the season in the northern capital region of NY yesterday. Made the drive home real fun. Coated the lawn with the white stuff. Today the sun melted most of it but we are having gale force winds today and tomorrow. Monday I have off and the forecast is calm winds and high near 40. Going to try the river to see if I can get anything before taking the old man out for Veterans Day lunch to thank him for his service. If I don’t get anything I am going to hang it up for 2018.

It beats out my $19.99 red buffalo plaid shacket from Walmart. But then again I can use the $150 I saved and scratch my bait monkey itch with a new rod and reel.

Back and shoulder issues from a fall have kept me out of the kayak for most of the 2018 fishing season. My father is 80 years old and he said to me his body gave out long before his desire to fish did.

I would stay away from Quantum's cheaper offerings. I bought my son a Quantum Snapshot combo while on vacation that literally fell apart while using it. I have older Quantum reels like my Code, that cost more that are still going strong. I have seen the Cabos in action while inshore fishing and was very impressed.

I have to say I liked the original "single doorknob looking power handle" but the Hawg Tech handle blows it away in the looks department.

The Berkley Squarebull 5.5 treated me good this season. The price is just right and the fusion hooks are very sharp so no need to change them out.

Just out of curiosity, why are you disappointed that it looks like a copy? It likely means Kastking is making their reels with Banax now instead of Trulinoya. Did you check out the Kastking Megajaws yet? Seems like a great reel and lower in price ($60) than the RLE which seems to me to be a bit overpriced at $75. also a 10% discount right now. Only a few left as they sold out fast. As far as Lew's goes, you can probably get a Lew's LFS on Ebay for the same price as the RLE. Or a Tournament MB for $100 both of these are superior to the RLE IMO.

The turning back the clock this weekend couldn’t have helped matters any...

I am not a fan of ice fishing and that's the winter fishing available around these parts. I do enjoy fishing in the month before hard water hits. I am generally the only person fishing in the areas I frequent. Very peaceful. The occasional hiker or dog walker will pass by and ask me if they are still biting.

This weekend was a mixed bag of weather. Saturday had crazy temps, wind and rain. Sunday was a better day with calm winds, sun and highs near 50 degrees. I made my way down to the Hudson river and they had the d**n open. A lot of water, cold mountain water, was spilling over into the part of the river I fish. The current was strong, stong enough to move some trees that had fallen into the river further down from where they were last time I was there. My usual spots were not producing due to the current so I started walking further down the river to find some current breaks. First one I found I cast a jig and when reeling it back got a hit relatively close to shore. A few more casts produced a Smallmouth Bass that weighed over a pound. Another one over a pound shortly after that then a big Yellow Perch. Things died down for a bit and then I got my last fish, a Smallmouth that weighed exactly what the second one I caught weighed. I think I caught the same fish twice. I took the day off Monday and went fishing despite the much colder weather and threats of afternoon rain. I walked to the same spot and nothing was biting there. I walked further down the river to a bend that had a large current break that was causing a small whirlpool. There I cast my jig and caught a Smallmouth Bass. Got another one shortly after that, roughly the same size. Overall this weekend was better fishing than I could have hoped. Always glad to get anything in November up here especially from shore. I did get a sad feeling after throwing the last Bass back as the reality sunk in that this was possibly my last fish of the season. With the shorter days I won't be able to get out until next weekend and the temps are expected to be near freezing. Snow is predicted after Veterans Day here. The other sign that the season might be over for me soon was an actual sign. They replaced the "No Swimming" signs on the shore with "Danger keep off the ice" signs...

I have the Lew's Mach 1 baitcasting combo and it has performed great for me. As good as the reel is (dual brakes, 10 bearings, clickable cast control knob) I was surprised at how much I like the rod. Med/Hvy fast action is very sensitive with a great backbone. The combo will work for everything you mentioned (Small to medium crankbaits, poppers, chatterbaits) with the exception of small spinnerbaits. I have mine spooled with 10# mono and have had little to no issues throwing all but the lightest of baits. It has been my workhorse combo this fall.

The idea with Kastking Fluorokote is it’s a hybrid line. It’s supposed to have the benefits of Fluoro (visibility and sinks) with none of the weaknesses (knot strength) So far it has met my expectations as I have not had the breakage issues I have had with straight Fluoro. I will be trying 4 and 6# next season on trout to test the visibility aspect.

At 53 retirement is close enough to taste but still sooooo far away. My wife and I have been great at avoiding the pitfalls of most people nowadays. No credit card debt and student loans long ago paid off. We are very good at living frugal. Our son is still young (15 years old) but he is in a program where he will graduate high school and a year later will receive a 2 year degree in IT or advanced manufacturing for free. One of the benefits of living in this state if you know how to take advantage of it. I will miss what I do. I manage a trust for folks with disabilities. It helps keep them in their homes rather than go into institutional care. I worked for a bank for 15 years before this and they laid me off without blinking an eye. Making more money for big corporations was soul sucking work. Now I make a difference in people’s lives.

I have been using Kastking Fluorokote for the past two seasons. It’s a copolymer line coated with fluorocarbon. 12# on some of my baitcasters and 8# on my spinning gear. I think it’s a great line for the price. It’s my go to line for anything other than topwater baits.