PhishLI

Happened to my dad when he was a kid. His neighbor burned a pile of it and he was down wind. Head to toe disaster.

I don't know that she would either, but those were some handsome mushrooms I tell ya, and I don't even like them myself. Bleh. I figured they had to go. Don't need my sweet girl tripping out, or worse. Look at this sweet face, but with massive bite-force.

It's been interesting since I got impaled by a treble hook last Tuesday. Seems I contacted poison ivy in our flower beds the day before after noticing big mushrooms growing in the mulch. My only thought was that my dog might find them irresistible, so I reached in and yanked them out, but didn't notice poison ivy mixed in with the shrubbery. Coincidentally, the first place the rash showed up as simply redness was on my right wrist connected to the hand that took the treble, so I thought infection had quickly settled in and began to travel up. It made sense at the time because the hook was wet with bass juice with weed garnish and I had no idea poison ivy was in play, plus my finger was still very swollen. Booked to the clinic where they recommended a tetanus shot and a dose of antibiotic. I hadn't had the shot since '85, so I wasn't about to argue even though I've been perf'd by metal objects hundreds of times since then without a problem. But I'm finding out lately that almost 60 isn't as resilient as 20, so I acquiesced to the shot without being held down by orderlies. Hit a local spot on the dark side of yesterday morning and quickly caught a few dinklets and a nice crappie on the reliable Livingston Bullnose crank. Nabbed one clean looking post spawn male right after the lights came on and got a few nature shots on the way out. It was nice to finally be off the couch after seven quite uncomfortable days with a franken-finger on one hand and itching I could not scratch. It spread to several areas beyond my arms, but thank god the dangler and co went unaffected even though it made it to my waist. Yay! Later in the afternoon I hit a nice eastern lake with my son-in-law. Pickerel were on the rampage and kept slicing our line but we got some too. Don't throw Hot Snakes TRDs around them if you want to keep them. The last one was huge, and it flopped out of the net taking my last one with him. I got a few small bass on the Zman Pro Crawz and we headed out just as the wildfire smoke got heavy. Just when we got the boat in the truck as darkness fell the topwater killshots started. I bombed one last blind cast from shore and got a heavy hit on the fall, but we really had to go. Wished we had another hour to play. Next time.

My brother just got down to our mom's house in SC. He said the lake there is loaded with bait. Maybe that fish is stuffed with senkos? The others are lean, but that one's yikes skinny. A few more. That's it, I'm moving to the "ville" ?

No, but I'd get another Tat 150 in a heartbeat though. Both of mine have been dreamy smooth. Don't be mad, bro.?

How about largemouth trout??

Good deals at TW on clearance items. must add to your cart to see the final price.

The LFS is currently $63.71 at TW once it's added to the cart.

In general, setting aside plastic worms and spinnerbaits which are more or less irresistible, lure resistance is a real thing, and it's reasonable to assume it's triggered by a survival instinct which is a form of intelligence informed by learning. That process is amplified by C&R which wouldn't be the case if every caught bass was taken instead of released. The general trend amongst those who've had great success with WPs in a specific body of water seems to be that you smash them for a season or two, then poof it's over either permanently or for a while at least. This was me from '19-'20 in my favorite 40-acre spot. I stung a whole bunch of them, but then it was done in a big way. It's turning around a skosh this year, but nothing like it was. Back then I could've closed my eyes and casted one into the woods and gotten bit, but they've smartened up, especially the better fish. Dinks aren't wise, so I don't count them.

Where are my smelling salts??

Pic with the plastic scored and prepped. The inside of the nut was also scored using the pick. Taped blank, both sides of the nut, and silicone grease on the seat's threads in case the epoxy weeps. Doable if you're handy.

That's what you're seeing in my pic. It's fixable with a specific epoxy. Amazon.com: J-B Weld 50139 Plastic Bonder Body Panel Adhesive and Gap Filler Syringe - Black - 25 ml : Industrial & Scientific

Are you handy?

Like this?

Breaking off much? What have you been using? I've never been broken off here using 50lb Daiwa J8 dragging 5-6lbers through 100ft of Lilly Pads mixed with Spatterdock and water chesnut. It doesn't get much worse than that.

The '16 is pretty smooth, but the new Zillion is super smooth, and it's a better distance caster, but it's not as brake-heavy as the '16 at typical settings. Get both and be happy. The '16 is a superior reel compared to either version of the Tatula SV.

She's a big girl, that Irene. I think I hear her coming. Boom, Boom, Boom...

Either way it's no big deal. It'll have a hull # tag, so even if BPS doesn't offer the service, it's easy. Nice platform to fish from. Super stable. I'm going fishing on one next week.

Never caught anything but sunnies and perch on a hand me down spincaster. Got my first bass on this exact setup and bait in '78 bought with paper route, lawn cutting, and cordwood splitting money. Daiwa 1000c on a 5'10"medium Ugly Stik. 6lb Stren.

Why? Do you think the rings will scare the fish? You'll get way more fish per bait if you do.

This is your answer. An ultra slick line, similar to the Varivas that's been posted, bites in on itself far less than average 8 carrier braids, which is why I made reference to Power Pro SS in my earlier post. You'll be quite surprised at the increase in distance with very light baits. Exactly. This is my situation in the lakes/ponds I wade, and often in 4 feet of water or less. They're just a monolithic weed from end to end where bass can be and are anywhere depending on where the bait has fled to and set up in on any given day. I get my fair share of bites parallel to the bank in cover and close to my position, but a high percentage come at or near the end of my longest possible cast. My catch count would be split in half if I were unable to reach and probe those zones, so anything that increases my reach like this line does is aces in my book. I actually had two spinning rigs out with me on my last trip which is something that hasn't happened in years. I'll go further by saying that of all the tips I've picked up on BR over the years, this recommendation of Varivas by @bulldog1935 is at the top of the list where exceeding expectations is the standard. A game changer for sure.

This line in this test is quite a bit thinner than Power pro Super Slick 15lb and feels much smoother which is also part of the equation. Between those two qualities, light baits go significantly farther without the feeling you get from coarser lines which seem to bite into themselves and shorten the casting distance. This stuff is for real with very light baits. Tie on a weightlessly rigged Fat Ika and the casts are absurdly long especially if you've spooled the line up to the limit. Do that and spool lip friction is less of a factor as line is payed out on the cast.

@bulldog1935 turned me on to this 16.7 lb (#0.8) Varivas line shown below and I don't hate spinning gear anymore. I'm enjoying it now. Can really sling a finesse TRD on a 1/15oz head much farther with this line, and as the weight goes up the distance is crazy good. Tatula LT 3000 on a Daiwa XT 6'6" MF.

Same here.

Hard to get mad at an old timer, but I'd wanna go on a rampage until I said my happy word, Goosfraba. Call customer service and make some noise without sounding like a kook, and if you can, avoid directly implicating the old guy. They might just make you happy in the end.