diversity210

Appreciate it, thank you! It was a long time coming.

22 Vexus AVX1980. Has completely changed what I though tin rigs were and could be.

Well I sort of went crazy on my last purchase. Dipped into the funds I had been saving for a new planer for my wood shop. I guess the planer will have to wait another couple months because the 800 bucks I spent does not come easy. I just ordered myself a couple new rods and reels from tackle warehouse. Lost my Dobyns Sierra spinning rod to the depths on my last trip so it was time for me to re-up. Because I liked that Dobyns Sierra rod so much for spinning. I ordered 2 of them. 7ft medium fast and a 7ft medium light. I also order 2 of the Diawa Tatula LT spinning reels in the 2000 size to go with the rods. Ive never used any Diawa spinning reels so I though Id try something new. All the hype for spinning reels continues to be aroun the CI4 but Im not one to follow the hype train. Along with it Id ordered my self a few different colors of the Zman Fattyz and some Zman Power finesse Shroomz.

Not really sure what kind of line you mean when you say 8-10 pound test. Braid, Mono, Fluorocarbon? I would highly recommend spooling your reel up with a hi-viz 10-15 pound braid and tying on a 8-10 mono or flouro leader. Something like PowerPro or suffix 832. Those are 2 really popular brands of braid. You can find them both just about any place that sells fishing gear and most people seem to be fairly please with either or. I think you are on the right track. A Texas rig is a good place to start. You can fish all kind of soft plastics on it and it doesn't have to just be a bottom bait. I have been known to swim creature baits through and over grass lines and have caught fish doing it. As far as what works best for you is all up to you. Know one will be able to tell you that. People can give you a general idea of what might work in a particular situation, but what works in your situation on the waters you frequent is something you will have to figure out.

Everything in California continues to go up. Everyone around here got notices of the water going up again. During the extreme drought in California they raised the price of water twice. We have a surplus of water this year and they are raising the prices again. The fishing license is only a small fee for a lot of enjoyment, but the rising cost does remind you of how expensive everything here has gotten and continues to get. They have push most people to the financial brink, but continue to raise prices. Thats why we have the biggest population of homeless people in the country and its getting worse.

Thank for that. I am definitely going to try and get it back. It wasn't the most expensive rod and reel, but I cant just walk in the backyard and pull money off a tree either. All that matters is that fish were caught. Im the same way. I fish with my uncle a lot and there are times when he is just on the bite and Im not. He likes to laugh at me on those days, because I have about 15 setups in my rod locker and he always fishes with the same 2 old rod and reels hes had for like 20 years. He says "boy, you have all that nice equipment and cant catch a fish" then laughs. We both get a kick out of it. Im just happy that fish were caught.

That would definitely qualify as a bad day. A Horrific day if you will

You are absolutely right. It is human nature to only see the things that are negative when negative things happen. There is positive in most negative situation and it takes a strong person to find it. I did share a day doing something I love with my beautiful wife and the uncle that taught me to fish. No one was hurt and everyone made it home safely. Thank you for reminding me of that

On a windy day I will throw all the baits I normally throw. I just step up the size a bit.

Ive never gotten caught with out my fishing license. I buy an annual license every year and keep in in my wallet. All my years of fishing around California and Ive never even been asked for my fishing license which is fine by me. As a black man I am paranoid about any type of interaction with any kind of law enforcement so i stay legal in everything I do. I never even walk in the gray area. Ive been blessed to never have any type of negative interactions with any type of law enforcement, but from a young age I was raised with a certain paranoia and fear of law enforcement and it something that I learned as I got older was for good reason.

Bad day of fishing yesterday. I started out so excited, because the weather said it was going to be 78 with overcast. So I just new the fishing would be could and it was a prime day to put some pigs in the boat. Nope. Fishing absolutely sucked. I dont know what it was, but I spend 6 hours throwing all kids of different bait and covering tons of water and nothing. Threw whopper plopper, frog, and buzz baits in the morning. Got 1 hit on the whopper plopper but the fish really just bumped it. Threw big 10" Texas rigged worms in different colors, threw zman fattyz on a shaky head, ned rig, threw small smaller swim baits, flashy swimmer underspin with Keitech 3.8, caffeine shad on a weightless swim bait hook, throw swim jig, the crank baits, and I got nothing. My wife was fishing some submerges trees with a bobber and night crawler. She caught a little blue gill and good size catfish crept in and took the line. needless to say I wasn't there for catfish. On top of the sucky fishing. I lost my favorite spinning rig. Was casting wacky rigged senko. Distracted talking to my wife forget to open the bail on the reel. Ofcourse when i tried to cast it didnt go anywhere and I dropped the rod in the water. Dobyns Sierra spinning rod with a Shimano Ultegra reel. Not the most expensive setup, but it was hands down my favorite spinning set up. Dropped it in about 16 feet of really clear water so I marked it on my gps and Im going back to get it on Saturday. Would have gotten it that day but didn't have any extra clothes and didn't feel like being soaking wet all day. On top of that the trebbles of my crank bait got all caught up in my livewell net so I had to cut up my livewell net. That was another 30 bucks down the drain. On top of all that I had my uncle with me who started feeling sick which is a concern because hes a diabetic and on the way in I lost my favorite fishing cap went back and got it though. So yeah the day I thought was going to be great turned out to be not so good at all. Sorry, this isnt a question about fishing and I dont require a response unless you want to say something. I just wanted to vent I guess.

Call the dealer and ask them if they can look up the specs for your car and find out what the roofs dynamic load rating is. That will tell you all you need to know about putting a kayak up there. The problem with little cars like the Gencoupe is that its not good for anything other than getting in and driving. Its a toy rather than something that has usefulness in every day life. Sometimes we have to give up those toys in lieu of something more suiting to every day life. I still have my little toy sitting in my garage. 94 Honda civic coupe that I rebuilt from bottom to top, inside and out about 10 years ago. Even converted it from an automatic to manaul. My young cousin begs me for it every time I see him. It never gets driven though because its a useless vehicle. These days if I cant do more than just get in a vehicle and drive it. It is of no use to me. Just can leg my civic go because I put so much time and money into it all those years ago. Also have a G35 coupe sitting in my driveway. It was my wifes car that she quickly grew tired of, because its a toy. Good for nothing other than just driving. The car runs well and currently has not problems. They have a timeless look and are fun to drive, but I hate the thing because they were just plagued with little problems that needed constant attention. We both drive Tacomas now they. I drive a 13 tacoma prerunner and my wife drives a 17 tacoma trd. Now we bought the 17 planning to see the 13 tacoma, but I just liked my 13 tacoma so much better than the 17 I couldnt let it go. So she drives the 17. Vehicles like the tacoma are perfect. 4 doors so it serves dual purpose as a car and a truck. Small enough to drive around town but has enough balls to do work. Reliable as all get out. My 13 Tacoma has 94k miles which means its just being broken in. The point of my novel is that I liked the little toys too, but they just dont have much use in life. My 94 Honda Civic. Well known simply as the EG. Man I dont think Ive even started the car in a year.

Its been really hot here in the central valley of California, but we are getting a few days of High 70's it looks like before that triple digit heat rolls in. Thursday is supposed to be 78 degrees with some overcast so Im definitely going fishing. It just seems like the type of day thats perfect for putting some pigs in the boat.

That really sucks. I know how you must have felt through. A few months ago I lost a rod opening my rod locker. It was a Duckett Micro Magic pro and Im pretty sure it had a lews BB1 on it. Thankfully I only had 1 rod on that side at the time. My wife just had this shocked sort of laugh and it irritated me so much I wanted to strangle her, but of course Id never do so (wink wink) haha. She must have known how ticked off I was because the next week I got a brand new St Croix Avid X in the mail. She knows those are my favorite rods even though I loved that duckett rod. Of course it was the wrong rod. So I graciously thanked her and sent the one she ordered back for the correct one. So something negative turned into something positive. I still think about going back and diving down for my rod though, Its been a few months so Im sure the reel is garbage but I think I could salvage the rod, but the water is always super muddy back there because its close to a river inlet

Getting into bass fishing these days can be really overwhelming and complicated. That is due in part to all the companies and sponsored anglers trying to sell product. Making you feel as if you need a specific everything to do anything. It really doesnt have to be that complicating. You said you picked up a spinning rod. Thats a good start. 7ft to 7'2 medium fast action spinning rod would be my go to for bank fishing. You also said you have been learning to tie knots thats good as well. Id spool my reel up with 10-15 pound hi viz braid and tie on an 8-12 pound flouro leader. As far as baits since you are just getting started a Trig is a must. Id say Trig with a 7-10 inch worm this time a year. Wacky rig senko or yum dinger would be a must have for me bank fishing. I would also carry a few top waters with me bank fishing whopper plopper, buzz bait, super spook. You could also carry a couple crank baits. I think lipliss crank for bank fishing would be best option but a square bill wouldnt be a bad option. Keep you colors simple. Green Pumpkins, watermelons, june bugs, black and blues for the plastic worms and senkos. Whites, Chartreuses, clear, for the others I mentioned. You dont have to go crazy and get them all, But that selection of baits will go a long ways bank fishing and you can have a couple of each one to keep your tackle light.

Yeah Im not far off. I still throw a spinnerbait from time to time. I throw them on a 6'8 medium/heavy fast rod with 15 pound flouro. I dont really see how a changing my line will help but Ill give anything a try for spinnerbaits. Just keep fishing those lipless crank baits my friend. They are some of my favorite lures to fish. Rattle Traps, Red eye shad, River2Sea Ruckus, and most recently in the spring I picked up a few of the Yo-Zuri 3DB vibes and gave those a try. They are just fun to fish

Whopper plopper and ned rig are a must. Ned rigs are freaking deadly. I dont understand the science behind how they work but they just freaking work. A ned rig is just a must have for me. Whopper ploppers are pretty much an effortless top waters that just freaking works. I have a few of them but the monkey butt color is deadly. Bass just cant leave it alone.

Caught my fare share on buzz baits over the years. I have 3/8 and 1/2 spinner baits. Blue gill colors, shad colors, whites, and chartreuse. Both willow and Colorado blades. Spinner baits just dont work for me. Ive tried fishing them in so many different ways. Adjusting my retrieve speed. Ive tried fishing them at different depths. Tried different trailers. Nothing seems to get me bit on spinner bait. Now Jig and chatterbaits seem to be the ones people have the most problems and I get bit plenty on a jig and I love chatterbaits. Its weird. Its like Im cursed when i throw a spinner bait. The craziest part about it is Ive even caught fish using an inline spinner something no one uses anymore, but the fact that no one uses them is probably why it worked so well. I still remember that day. I was fishing not far from the dam. Working an inline spinner like you would a jigging spoon and it was just working that day. Dont know how I ended up with the inline spinner tied on or where the thing even came from because Ive never bought one, but it worked that day.

Thanks for all of the replies. I know Im late back to the party but Ive been busy. Fishing all day yesterday and a lot of work today. So basically what I am getting is that I am not ridiculous and not alone for not being willing to spend more than 100 bucks for shoes. As expensive I have seen some shoes. I thought maybe there was something I was missing, but apparently not. Your feet are more important than fishing gear but I have never had a pair of sub 100 dollar shoes that caused me any kind of discomfort with my feet, ankles, and so on. I really dont see how spending more money on shoes is going to do anything other than fatten the pockets of the company selling them.

haha Thanks for not laughing at me. Ive litterly been on a boat and watch friends tear them up on spinner baits. I know a couple people who swears by a spinner bait as a go to, but I can throw a spinner bait and nothing. Always like that with spinner baits for me.

A lot of times we through the baits we are least confident in in areas where we are least confident in actually catching fish. Ive found myself to be guilty of the same thing. I dont have much confidence in flukes because ive never caught anything on a fluke so I find that when Im really confident in a certain are. I would never tie on a fluke. Maybe I should start fishing the baits Im least confident in in the areas Im most confident in.

In my area the big chain sporting stores are the go to. Bass Pro Shop and outdoorsportsman. A lot of time it is hard to find the exact bait or tackle you are looking for in the bigger stores. They do seem to cater more to casual fisherman who might know what they are doing but arent so technical that they are looking for a specific hook in a specific brand. Around here where I live its hard to come by the gamagatsu 1/0 - 5/0 wide gap hooks because its what everyone buys. Also Zman baits seem to be fairly sparse around here. Mom and pop stores seems to be the way a lot of people go in the south and the south east but here mom and pop stores are literal holes in the wall with very slim pickings. Ultimately I end up ordering what I need online so I always take and inventory of what I need after my last fishing trip to prepare for the next. Retail stores in general have just gotten really sub par these days. I think so many have turned to online shopping that retail is still struggling to trying and keep up. What amazes me is walking in a store and looking for something that even the most novice of anglers would know about because its so popular and am told they dont carry it. Not its not in stock, but they just dont carry it. Seems to happen a lot. Now correct me if I am wrong but it wouldn't it be a smart tactic for a struggling retail store to stock the newest and most popular items? Apparently stores dont think so. Bass pro usually has a lot of the more well known tackle but they are also starting to fall out of favor with me, because every time I walk in the store it seems like they have replaced more brand names for their own branded product. Now bass pro shop has a lot of great branded products but most of the time Im looking for tried and true specific product. Not bass pro shop brand

OK people dont laugh at me. I have never caught a fish on a spinner bait believe it or not. I have a ton of them but they never produce for me for some reason. It is crazy because I have had very good days fishing a flashy swimmer with something like a caffeine shad and I also have been known to rip a lot of lips on an underspin with a keitch 3.8 and to me these baits have similar presentations with out the skirt. That is so embarrassing because spinner baits are so tried and true, fairly simple to fish, and they are a staple in the industry. I have also never caught a fish on a fluke. Granted I dont throw them very often, but Ive never caught anything ok one.

Those look pretty nice and I may have to order some of those since I didn't have luck finding a descent pair of shoes today that weren't more than 100 bucks. Thanks for posting the add

So I am not crazy then. So far it seems like more than 100 bucks for shoes is as ridiculous to others as it is to me. What the in the World is it about a pair of freaking sneakers that makes them cost upwards of 200 bucks? Do they have air conditioning and massage my feet while I walk? Or is it simply that there are a bunch of crazy people that are willing to spend so much on a pair of shoes companies have just said why not?