pdxfisher

You are fishing on an entirely different plane of existence. I barely feel worthy to even read your post. Great job!

In all fairness I don't think you could buy a spinning reel in that price range that would not be excellent for drop-shotting.

Thought you were going to break the ice on that trip

Thanks @Swamp Girl and @A-Jay you all both keep me motivated with all your great posts of big numbers of huge fish. I am just trying to keep up with you all!

In my 60s and stage 5 kidney failure. My biggest concession is that I now think twice about buying anything new. The other concession is how often I get out. In addition to kidney failure I have arthritis in most of my joints and I have re-torn the labrum in both of my shoulders. Some weekends the pain is too much but most of the time I can suck it up and get out there. Anything becomes normal after a while.

Great writeup of a fantastic trip!

Awesome that you are out there trying! What was the water temp?

Are you sure it's a scam? My Nigerian prince friend vouched for it

I throw green pumpkin all winter long. Out here I think it mimics sculpin in the winter. I would throw a color that mimics whatever is your predominant bait species.

I have arthritis in most of my joints(including thumbs), torn labrum in both shoulders (previous surgeries in both). All due to EDS joint instability. I just fish in pain and it takes about a week to recover from a trip, sometimes more. Can't get anything repaired or take NSAIDs due to kidney failure. Amazing what you can get used to.

I love the prescription Maui Jim wrap-arounds I got from my optometrist. It was hard to find a wrap-around pair that I could get due to my astigmatism. Hard to find company that could correct astigmatism on curved lenses.

That is amazingly beautiful!

Yes, that is just plain nuts. Culling once in a lifetime trophies!

Great job finding success in the cold!

Fish when the conditions permit. I do often end up fishing for sturgeon, trout or kokanee instead of bass but I love catching any fish that is willing to bite.

Way to go! Awesome job getting on them!

Those guys like fishing more than I do I fished a few times out of my kayak when it was in the 20s. Rudder lines froze up and it was tough to make it back to shore. After a couple of those trips I gave up fishing when the air temp is well below freezing.

Two man rubber raft. I built a floor and electric motor mount out of plywood. Second was one I built out of plywood. Looked like a 1/2 canoe. Only 7'3" but I fished out of it with my friend in NC for many years.

Days are getting longer! I wish I could fish this weekend but we will have lows in the mid-20s and a strong East wind in the Gorge. Those are a big no-go for me.

@Blue Raider Bob that is hard core!

My wife got me the fancy Bubba scale which I got to put to good use last Saturday. The thing settles so much better than my cheap Amazon scale (which never really settled) and is so easy to read (unlike my Rapala High Contrast scale which in my opinion is very poorly named). Hopefully the new scale lasts forever.

If they are there you will rack and stack them! The drawdown will likely have been most detrimental on smaller fish. Maybe fewer fish but better average quality is my guess.

First bass of 2025: Best fish on first trip of 2025 (20" 3lb 15oz):

First bass of 2025: Best fish on first trip of 2025 (20" 3lb 15oz):