BrianMDTX

What has more holes than Swiss cheese? The Ravens secondary. I don’t know what the fix is. Pundits said “lack of pass rush”. Well, that was not the case last night and the DB’s got torched. But…I’ll take the W!

I like an 8.1:1 for Texas rigs so I can get slack out of the line fast. But it’s not a 100% requirement.

@gimruis I’m a Ravens fan and I can’t figure them out at times. Last year’s defense was one of the best ever. This year they are #1 against the run, but the secondary (which was supposed to be the strongest part of the defense) has been a sieve. The offense is prolific. Yes, the Browns game was not up to par, but AFCN division games are always tough. Like this Thursday’s game will be. But Jackson is at the top of his game and with Henry in the backfield, Baltimore is capable of scoring 35-40 points or more at any time.

Never had one, either. I think my father believed this:

I find your comments about the Black Max interesting. I have two (the latest version before they made the big change 2-3 years ago). Compared to my Daiwa Fuegos and Tatula, the drag is definitely not comparable, nor is the gearing as smooth. Yet, both of my Black Max’s will outcast those Daiwas with baits of similar weights and rods of similar power/action. Why? I do not know. In truth, I do not have a lot of brake set on any of my baitcasters. I learned to cast with my thumb on a reel with no brakes (only a spool tension knob), so maybe it’s just a matter of less brake on the Black Max’s. But I don’t backlash any of my reels unless I do something I shouldn’t (like not loading the rod, etc.). So I would have said maybe my two Black Max’s on Daiwa Aird-X’s (one MHF; one MF) would fit in this category, but lately I have been using them more. I took both out yesterday and caught a 17” bass on a Fat IKA on a perfectly-placed 90’ cast that got smashed immediately. IMO, they are still fun to fish with.

I was fishing yesterday and this kid was working a frog. He wanted to talk, and while I prefer solitude while fishing, I figured what the heck. So we talked. I swear I thought he was 13 or 14, but he said he had a girlfriend and a baby, so I guess he just looked young (or started early!). He asked me if I ever heard of Bates baitcasters, and tbf, I had not. He told me to check it out and gave it to me. It seemed nice (cork grips on the handle) and certainly solid aluminum. I think it was the Hundo 100. He said it was 100% USA Made. Their website states “Designed in the USA”. I think it’s rather pricy when I know there are reels out there worth that cost.

This Saturday was a far cry from last weekend. Today was 100% cloudy with intermittent showers (raining steady now-thank God as we need it bad). High of 80°. Last week they were smashing baitfish in the shallows everywhere. Today, I saw that twice and very late in the morning. Only caught two and two hours apart, so slow, slow, slow. But many are getting ready to call it quits until spring, so no complaints! First bass was on an A-Jay Special (1/4 oz. pegged bullet weight; Dirty Jigs 60 strand skirt in Dirty 420 on a Boss punch hub in green pumpkin; 5/0 Gamakutsu EWG; Rage Craw in green pumpkin) and the second on a dark pumpkin w/black flake Fat IKA. That one was nice. I saw a swirl deep inside a blowdown and hit the spot dead nuts from about 90’. It got smashed immediately. Both were 17”.

@LrgmouthShad If you don’t have patience to fish, don’t even think about deer hunting lol. Especially bowhunting. At least fishing you’re casting, reeling, etc. Sitting motionless in a tree for 6-12 hours is not for the faint of heart!

I wouldn’t say that I “bass” fished as youth. I’d say I fished. Bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, catfish, bass…it was all good to me. Once old enough, my friend and I would strap a two-piece rod on the handlebars of our ten speeds, carry minimal tackle and bike 14 miles from our neighborhood in Baltimore to Loch Raven Reservoir. We were much more successful on bluegills, crappie and yellow perch than bass. Still loved it. But going with my dad and brother (sometimes accompanied by my dad’s friend Mr. Fred, or my fishing buddy, Mark) to Wye Mills Community Lake on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, was my favorite. Relatively small at 50 acres, but they had cheap rowboats for rent and definitely held bass. I caught my PB at 13 there that stood until 2020. No scale, but likely 3 to 3-1/2 lbs. I thought it was a monster.

I’m starting to really like the Trick Magnum and the Z-Craw.

Pretty bass, too!

Welcome back. Former Marylander now in Texas. Maine is gorgeous. And by some poster’s threads, a bass haven when the water's not hard!

I used to fish Zoom Mag II’s a lot but haven’t recently. Not sure why. Might need to start back up.

Yesterday at work I saw a man and his wife (both in wheelchairs) waiting on an elevator. He was wearing a ball cap with a colorful US Army design on it. I thanked him for his service and said I liked his cap. I asked him when he served and he said 1977. I replied “Wow! I’m 1978! You were a year ahead of me!” But I was thinking “Holy crap! I look a lot better than he does!” Then he adds “I joined the USAR in ‘77, but I was a Marine from '68-'72". That was a bubble burster! 😂

I think you will always be able to catch bass on a plastic worm. But not always the same worm, or same color. And that can change rapidly. Even day by day. I find it interesting and frustrating that a black Senko, Zoom Trick or Jelly Worm attracts bites on a Saturday, and the following day it’s totally ignored, but green pumpkin, blue/black or some other color combination is on fire. Sometimes conditions have changed and other times they are exactly the same. Last weekend nothing worked until I put on a Zoom Z-Craw in California 420 (a dark {almost black} top with a red flake and watermelon red bottom). That’s all the bass wanted. Why? I guess only the bass know and they ain’t tellin’. But unless you only have one or two colors, it’s a rare day to not get a bite on a soft plastic, and especially a worm. It’s boring fishing to some. Over time, I’ve come to enjoy working a jig, especially swim jigs, more than working a Texas rig. But I enjoy catching bass more. If they aren’t biting on much else, I will always be casting a plastic worm on a Texas rig at some point.

The Ravens simply cannot catch interceptions or stop offenses passing the ball. Hamilton’s “pick” would have won the game.

I like 10 lb. Big Game or 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid. Really liked 15 lb. Sunline Shooter Defier but it’s been discontinued.

Glad to hear things are improving. You deserve it.

I bought mine local at Academy in 2020.

I like a good anomaly. It’s like Big Game. Cheap line that’s good. I think my next trip I may just bring both my Aird-X’s and Black Max’s and give ‘em both a good workout. The reel on the MFB is 10 lb. Big Game and the other is 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid. Should be a hoot!

I gots two of the four! 😂

lol. I did look on proadvantage.ca and all the listed Aird-X rods show as “Coming Soon”.

Yeah, I find that the MHF actually does well with squarebills (like my Fury 703CB). Like I mentioned, for a $49.99 rod, it hard to beat. Both of mine are paired with Black Max reels and were the first two baitcasters I bought after I got back into fishing. They don’t get used as much but I still use and like them. And they still catch bass! @LCG I just looked at Daiwa’s website and they still list Aird-X casting and spinning rods. I looked at some Canadian sites. Thorne Bros. has them in stock. Not sure if they are local to you.

I have two Daiwa Aird-X rods. One is a AIRX661MFB and the other is a AIRX701MHFB. I know power/action ratings are subjective and vary between manufacturers. I own two MHF and a MHMF rods from other manufacturers. Both of the MHF’s (Kistler and Falcon) are pretty similar. I’d say the Aird-X MHF is more akin to my MHMF (Dobyns). The MF Aird-X is not much different than the MHF. Do you find the power/action on Aird-X rods to normally be less than expected compared to other rods? Trust me, I’m not complaining. It’s a hard rod to beat for $49.99!

No, but…😂 Yesterday I got back to the bank. A young (to me) man was fishing with his teen son and tween daughters. He asked if I needed any help and I said sure. Let me toss the anchor on the grass then pull the boat tight to shore. He did, I went to step out, the boat moved backwards and I stepped into 1.5’ of water. And another foot or so of muck and mud lol. Only damage or loss was my ego lol. We really need some rain.