Darth-Baiter

replace the broken rod. life is too short to fish with busted up gear. the entire action of that thing is off. stay with two, since you are on foot. one spinning, one casting. that's what i would do. all that money you're saving, buy google stock.

the single dumbest thing about my Hobie Outback is the underseat storage. it is ridiculous. I understand how the seat is "lowrider" to improve ocean wave stability. but you can't even slip a Plano under there easily. it hits the flap that protects the transducer wire. DUMB!!!

I don't collect anything. I almost started a vintage lantern collection, but I came to my senses after I bought two. I prefer my life streamlined. I don't want a bunch of anything in my home. not me, no not for me. streamline.

I get them occasionally. I close the bail manually have each cast. and I tug the slack off the reel before I start reeling. this is almost muscle memory now. feels weird if I don't do it. I was told that helps. I also really try to keep an eye on my bait. if I see my dropshot coming back at my whirling around, I invest the time to check my bait and adjust if needed. and if I do start to get a WK, I have been known to clip off my bait to drag the line in the water. my Tatula will booger up way more often than my Vanford. by a mile.

they pelleted the weeds in Clearlake. StatePark is usually a jungle by late spring and full of FAT BASS. this time it was weedless. sandy clean bottom. any grass I did find was brown. I asked and they said the dock owners complained enough they dumped in a pelleted herbicide. good times.

all good. I was delighted to realize I was still having a ton of fun. I get back after them, next weekend. maybe not Clearlake. I will head to the mother-lode lakes (around here) and I am a boat magnet. a bass boat came around a corner and had to steer away from me. I don't think he would have hit me, but he would have roosted me for sure. he was on plane, so the wake was a non-issue. he came back around and waved apologetically. I thumbup'd him back. all good.

I fished with my friend's yesterday. the grip is so comfy. his reel is a lefty reel and the thing was so comfy, I picked it up and was casting and retrieving like I just slipped into my house slippers. COMFY. I couldn't convince any bass of significant strength to munch the finesse jig, but it was a joy to cast and work. lets be honest, 90% of fishing is casting and working a lure, so it may as well excel in that department. the 10% or so, of feeling the bite and fighting the fish is important, but the frequency logically ranks it second fiddle to cast ability. I fished my own X-Bites and FMJ jig rod as well, and the DX744 feels smack dab in between those two. it is closer to the FMJ in the specs/numbers, and my FMJ feels downright nose heavy, and more,,much more of a fast rod. with a heavier jig or CoverScat, the FMJ is a lure slinging beast. the DX is super nice, and if I didn't have the FMJ I would buy one. I don't fish heavy jigs that often, but I do and will fish about a 100 of the cover scat next spring summer. I have a need.. I also love how I could go between a lefty and right reel seamlessly. it was a nice discovery. both my FMJ and the DX744 have the same reel and similar line. 16lb and 15lb flouro on a 22 Bantam.

Friend came along and he said a friend of a friend said Braitos was where to be. Tough! I got three smalls. No skunk and it was fun, but I could not find them. End of day I started super slow dragging a TrashFish Hitch (deep) and I was getting hard bumped. But I couldn’t connect with the hook. I didn’t have loose trebles to fabricate a stinger.

me. Chatter or lipless, ripped thru whatever grass I can find. or go slooow.

that handle looks SWEET!

I LOVE bass fishing about as much as you all do, but I don't think I can read a book about it. if my reading interest governed my life, I would be an international spy, or jewel thief...or Wizard. assassin.

my friend flipped his PA12 and it was impossible to right side up. a boat had to drag him to where his feet touched bottom. no thanks. my Outback, I burned 100,000,000 calories and kept rolling and flipping it back up in the water. I had to drain it a few times. I got this. I might have to cut a few beloved rod combos and gear loose to save my life..but I assume that is an easy decision when the time comes.

if you only have one bait option, the only choice is to change the speed/presentation. jerk it, speed it, go slow, crash it into things and kill it....

nervous. wife has plans, and I just need to go. I am excited and I even bought $80 worth of new baits I think would work in the cold months. (plus a few that sell out every spring). shipment gets here Monday so it is of no use tomorrow. I am swinging wildly for the fence and will probably launch somewhere I haven't visited in 3 years. RodMans Slough. its the north end of the lake, and it used to be good. let's do this. I am two reels down :(. but I'll manage. maybe just stick with 4 rods. 3 revolving around the dropshot. Haitus needs to end.

not to hyjack, but the first time I tried to do the front brakes on my older tacoma. it was winter, and I couldn't break any caliper bolt loose. I put the wheel back on and took it to my buddy. no thanks. he did both bearings in front just recently. I'll more than likely sell the old one soon. I had doing musical chair parking with the two trucks.

that's better than an oil and lube on a car around here!! my new Tacoma has the oil filter cartridge. my first time ever doing a cartridge type. nervous kinda. I might let my mechanic buddy do it the first time and I watch.

I am constantly seen holding a treble bait hook next to the rack holding the Owner hooks. most likely the ST-35 replacement hooks. I just did it, two days ago. I think Owner changed the packaging.

that's wild!! happy for you it's tempered glass. but sorry for the troubles.

hook-sets are no problem with respect to hook penetration. make sure hooks are like surgical needles. if you are asking about stability..that varies. I have seen a dude so thrilled at the bite, he hookset himself right overboard. he had a video about it and he panicked a little until he stood up waist deep in the water. he still got the fish. I would love the ride a big big BIG bass would give me on my kayak. the catfish rides are awesome.

no. she was given prior permission to outsource. nobody wants to eat her chili. i never live my life by a hard set of rules. sometimes beans, sometime no beans. and my no rules, no limits chili....did i mention? i won. next year, i am doing my Chili Verde. i dont need to win twice. hahahha my chili verde is dope. really good.

right or wrong, for me it is a volume/quantity thing. i change it when the reel spool runs lowish. usually a good epic wind knot sends me to the store for fresh braid. other than that, i go and go.

i just googled the Antares DC. am i reading it right? still $550+ for JDM? (stepping away from the computer now..backing off slowly...slowly avoid eye contact)

The Delta is fire, consistent at least, but it takes skill and knowledge. i flounder around and do okay.. i dont love their plant-life mitigation policy, but i understand why they do it. i have my secret haunts. fun places, pristine. 0% chance that this doenst become a chit-on-CA, thread.

here is what i did: i got 3 of each chilis out of my pantry. dried whole pods. California, Ancho, Guallilo. i roasted them in a 425 oven until i smelled them. i burned the first batch, so careful. once toasted, i cut off the stems, dumped out the seeds and put them in a blender. i put in 2 cups of the finest store bought chicken broth money could buy . i dumped in a big teaspoon of Better than Boullion. and a couple of fistfuls of fried tortilla chips. blended until i got a smooth paste. i put that aside. i spread (thin) all the ground chuck (2lbs) out on a sheet tray and broiled it. i watched it carefully. about 10 minutes it was deep brown, and i pulled it. during the broil i had to scoot the tray to and fro to even out the browning. my oven kinda sucks. i let it cool some on the countertop. into a dutch oven. okay, i used my chicken shaped oval thing. i dumped in a big squeeze of olive oil, and in went one chopped up fresh poblano pepper, and a med red onion, some salt, both diced best i can. i got them soft and dumped in about 6 smashed and diced garlic cloves. at the same time, i broke the broiled meat into a crumble. i left a lot of the oil behind. my meat was fatty. some was saved and used. i left meat in a big mixing bowl in went some dry stuff. 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 2 tbspoons of dry chili powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1.5 tablespoon of SMOKED paprika. big ass pinch of pepper flakes. i toss them in and bloom the spices. in went in about 1/3 a can of lager. i used japanese Orion, and i deglazed the entire pot. it looked like chocolate. i dump in 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. and i pour in the stuff from my blender. stir. once combined i put the meat in. and stirred it in. lid goes on and i put it in a 300 deg oven, which is a perfect braise with my oven. yours i assume varies? it went for 1.5 hours. lid on. after that i pulled it and i tasted it and added salt, some sugar, and some vinagar. here i like Brians idea. i dumped in some mexican hot sauce. i used champagne vinegar. all i had left. and i put in a tiny can of kidney beans (too meet chili contest rules - only). i would skip this if i was back home or anywhere near a texan. i put it back in the oven, lid off for 45 minutes and i called it done.

Clearlake is a mere shadow of the lake it used to be.