Patrick Reif

spinnerbait fish.

Yes. I have done something similar to that and can see an application in certain circumstances, however, the traditional method has been a staple for a reason. The swinging hook can be achieved by attaching the looped tag wire to the bend of the wire form normally designated for the hook. The tag wire runs out the butt of the poured jig and then a loop is formed that holds the hook outside of the lead body. Clear as mud??? I've done it before and I couldn't see that it makes a huge difference in catch ratio if you keep your line tight. With that said, I will run a .050" wire straight through to the butt of the mold and secure a hook inside the cavity. Once poured the hook is secure in a traditional way. The front tag end of the wire is then dressed with a chatter blade.

I have a 2018 model 80# tiller steer Minn Kota MAXXUM I would sell for $400. Less than 4 months use. I found out I just prefer a foot control

It switches depending on the day but this time of year I have something for the top, something for the bottom and something for in-between. 3" green pumpkin or black tube with a 3/16oz roundhead jig and wire weed guard. 2.0 KVD square bill crank a natural shad color Whopper Plopper in Monkey Butt or Bone I try to keep river fishing as simple as possible

I always catch my big bass during the summer.

If the fishery can afford the loss, then there is nothing wrong with selectively harvesting a few fish. I bring home walleye, striper and crappies when ever possible. The lake I fish most often has a growing population of spotted bass. Growing to the point they're starting to cross breed with the smallmouth. A buddy of mine who studied fishery wildlife sciences at Virginia Tech told me to keep every legal spotted bass I could. The guys who get upset need to realize that fish are one of the most reliable forms of renewable proteins out there. With that said, every quality breeder sized bass I catch is released unharmed because I enjoy a quality fishery more than a quality fish meal.

I picked up a chunky meanmouth the other day on a swimbait. Not the size I wanted but any tug to the line is always appreciated right now. I did have two muskies rise up on spinnerbaits but they wouldn't commit. No stripers could be found

for river smallmouth I feel at home with tubes, stickbaits, grubs and cranks. Top water is always fun, but I still prefer a tube to just about anything once I've located the fish

I work as a truck driver for a grocery chain with its reach from Delaware to Florida. When I'm in the back room helping unload the trailer, there are always 3-6 trashcans full of bread, baked chicken, pizza, fresh veggies and fruits that is being thrown away or heading to be made into animal food. All of it comes from the delis and salad bars. There are 260 stores under the brand and all of them produce a few hundred pounds of "throw away food" daily The managers want to give it to homeless shelters and food banks, but logistics and fear of lawsuits from potential food poisoning ensures we make it all dog or pig food instead of helping the community by feeding children in need. I personally can't reconcile with the idea, but a sue happy society has caused this.

My wife told me the pressure washer wouldn't pump cleaner. I told her I'd look at it over my weekend. That wasn't fast enough for her so she hopped on youtube and found out how to fix it, broke out the tools and spent half a day getting it up and running to include a tune up. I'm glad I married a farm girl

that's a bucket list destination for me

We were taking out on the New river one day and saw some kid with a lifted Jeep Wrangler and big 33's running around the water and acting like an idiot. He found one of the 5' holes at the edge of the bank and got bogged down nose first and drowned his motor. He starts yelling for help. The guy I was with let out a sigh and unhooked his boat, backed down and told the kid to wade to shore, get the chain and hook it up to his Jeep. The kid wanted one of us to come to him and hook it up because he didn't know how to swim. He might have been 17. My buddy called him a dumb ass and told him he was going to sink or swim. Long story short, we got him out of the river and he used my phone to call his dad. If we would've had time, it would have been interesting to stick around to watch his dad show up.

I miss him so much already.

I was looking for a fun gun on the range that also would cover a 75 yard perimeter with some form of accuracy in case the Indians attack. The big one is low recoil for my wife and kids with a 30+ round capacity. That with a red dot should make it a decent home invasion/range gun that doesn't break the bank to feed. My long range shots around here don't exceed 200 yards so my .308 is all I would ever need. My personal choice for home protection is a 12 gauge with 3" 000 Buck or a heavy turkey load. Either will get the job done at the close range home defense calls for.

yard work.

Do any of you guys have any experience with an AR chambered in a 9mm? I've been doing research on them, and have narrowed down to the Brigade Firearms offering. Family owned in SC. Looks like a great bang for the buck type of weapon. I kind of like the Ruger 9mm offering because it's a simple design like the 10/22 and Ruger has a plant in my home state. I also didn't completely hate my AR-15 from Ruger...it was okay, but I've handled much better. Regardless, how many here have a 9mm carbine, and what do you love/hate about it?

Tubes, flukes, grubs and stick baits all have a place and time. I always have a tube tied on because it's a 12 month bait. Flukes can be deadly in spring around emerging grass and fallen trees. Grubs can be fan cast and covers a lot of water to find feeding fish. Sticks are good around all kinds of cover, but skipping them under docks can be fire. Never forget the Ned rig either

a solid 9 for sure.

I've caught a few fish in two trips, but I've been stuck at home on my days off building raised beds for my wife. Next Wednesday the expected high will be 81 with 9mph winds and good cloud cover. No serious threat of rain for the next week. My wife is going to shuttle me on the Yadkin river for a kayaking trip. I'm going to keep it simple with swimbaits, a spinnerbait, a square bill and a tube. Here's the new beds we just built. I filled them in yesterday and have already planted most of them

The air fryer is a great invention but it has its limits. If I plan on cooking fish, I'll just pan fry them. Nothing is going to be able to touch the old fashion way.

They were a fantastic live band to see. The later stuff got out a bit there because you can only smoke so much weed before it has negative effects. Still a favorite though.