Darth-Baiter

in order for it to qualify for my dream trip, it needs to have EPIC travel involved. pure adventure. for me, so far two trips. 1. Tuna fishing in the Ascension Islands. 2. Tiamen Trout fishing in Mongolia. I'm gonna do one of them one day. if it kills me to save up the $$. I think to fish the Ascensions, you are at the mercy of military transport planes. you come and go on their schedule. freaking cool!!

14 lb flourcarbon is the line dragging my chatter baits and spinner baits. I suck with both for the most part, so I haven't had many fish emergencies where I wish I had a different line.

We should meet up and fish together, bud.

I was in the middle of a lake trying to get to the other side, away from people. As I get closer I make out other kayakers already there. Opps. I stop and look around. Where to go? I look down and despite being in 30 feet of water I see grass. I was wind-drifting over an island, maybe. Hmm. Why not? I fling out a weightless Tex rig worm. As soon as the worm hits the water my line starts moving sideways. Whoa! A good bass dances across the surface. Luckiest cast of my life. I must have landed it in a fishes mouth. Haha. I see the other kayakers head out deeper. So funny. then it started distant thundering and lightning. What a day. I fished the rest of the day within eyeshot of my kayak launch point.

I need to practice the Rizzuto. it gets bunched up and knots up tight before all the slack comes out.

last weekend, I was casting and I noted a tag end coming off my FG. I quickly reeled in, snipped the entire thing and tied an Alberto (easier while on my kayak). I fished on. I think my thousand cast day, kinda beats on that knot. if I had an achilles with the FG, it is finishing the darn knot. I do the two overhand knots, clip the flouro and do that loop w 5x inner twist thing and pull it tight. it is my sucky 5 twist thing that comes loose. I am headed out tomorrow and I just retied all my leaders. I still suck finishing my FG, and starting is a bit clumsy. I am working, and a meeting is coming up, so I just tied my Alberto. inspiration struck!! I have a tube of line glue. it's from my days when I thought I liked fly-fishing I think. instead of saliva, I wet the knot with the glue, and gently pulled it taut. wow. it is tiny, and it will never unravel. I hit it with sunlight and the glue cured. it cures pliable so I only think of it as insurance against further unravel. I might bring that tube of glue onboard. it is the most compact Alberto knot I have ever tied. my FG knots always have a very phallic head on the end. :D. hahha.

I love the stuff. I originally bought some when I was heavily into backpack hunting, and hiking. there is no better tape to stick to blisters on your feet. I have since expanded it's use. I keep a tiny wrap of it in my kayak. that careless cut from trying to pull/yank on braid? it always ends up in a spot you will touch with every other time you try to pull on your fishing line with your hands. it is like a more painful version of a paper cut, with repeat performances. enter LeukotapeP. it is darn near waterproof. meaning it will not come off when wet. if you have to use a bandaid, use it and then cover that same bandaid with the Leukotape. it will not move until you peel it off. I have taped it to an area preemptively to prevent line-cuts. I recently jammed a toe hard and I kept the tip of that appendage covered with the tape for a week. the tape stayed put. it gets kinda dark and gross, but underneath is tight. look into it. it is a great first aide tape for fishing. a bandaid won't stay on at all once wet.

you need two scales. a gunpowder reloading scale and a kitchen scale. you'll need a cheap calculator as well to convert grains to oz

ugh. 50% rain tomorrow. I already took rain jacket out of the closet. looking at the bright side, at least the 45 minute dirt road won't be a dust breakfast. I once put my rods in the back of the truck. I had to dunk them all in the lake when I got there. not smart.

I think the OP should drop down, way down in line-strength. I found lighter line allows a bait to swim more naturally, and the advantages go the other way as well. lighter line allows the person holding the rod to feel the thump. I have 12 flouro on most of my setups. there is no better shot of fun-adrenaline that feeling that mysterious tick-tick on the end. "wait, what was that?!" set hook!! I didn't read much about the OP's favorite fishing method. but there is no mistake when your rod-dragging a Texas rigged weighted worm, and a bass sucks it in. feels like a quick game of tug-o-war. act fast. careful. with total 50lb braid, my experience is that any snag you can't free at the lure is a big deal. in a kayak, I dont think I could snap that line.

I never thought about it, but I also quit drinking beer!! never thought about the money savings. for me it was a social event. happy hours with friends and coworkers. that gets expensive!! 3 $10 pints and "let me get this round". adds up. if I think about it, I am making money!! I dont go to happy hour anymore. I am Booze free because I have the liver of an 80 year old. sucks. but whatever. I am a life balance guy. I spend money, but with thought. it is just as important to know how to spend money as it is to save it. I need money to retire. life isn't free.

whoa whoa whoaaaaaa! this is a family forum!!

there is a lake not so nearby that requires a truck with ground clearance to get to. rainy days require 4x4. very few boat owners have the stones to take a big boat up there. but they do, and the boats are ironically HUGE! but few. I might go there!! see if I can find a buddy to put his kayak in my truck and we split fuel.

water is very low already. I expect boat ramps to close august maybe. last year they closed in OCT. this year is lower. fishing is odd. I had two good fishing days, but none of those days where you can't get them NOT to bite. we fought for the good days. and you know what? I am not seeing the bigger bass. talking to people on the water, same thing. lots of 3lb fish, very little chatter about "the one". I love that lake. I know the summer pattern last year, and I hope it resembles it this year. I'll wear sun protection, bring plenty of fluids, and head out into the heat to find them. they seem to fight hard when the water is warm. any Clearlake reports from my locals fisher people lately? I would love to hear what your experience has been, compared to mine.

I'm goggling weather at some of my smaller lakes/locations. avoiding the big venues due to boat traffic. I had a water skier buzz me and my kayak last weekend. (okay - 50 yards? not exactly a buzzy) you? people go nuts for lakes this weekend around here.

I bought a Mustang hybrid. The instructions read scary. The first part was all about double checking installation and procedures testing to make sure it works properly. I returned it and went with a regular one.

GREAT point about the seat. in my experience, it is much easier to stand up from a good seat than a bad seat. I need to push up off the seat back with my right hand to get up from the super low position.

I like this a lot. the round tube is so robust on it's own. it is actually hard to recycle. I cut mine down and stuff it in the blue-bin. I square tube..anti rolling. I like it.

this guy just runs a tiny electric motor. it was in a lake that doesn't allow gas engines.

kayakers (maybe boaters?) need to practice getting back into the vessel. it is more difficult than you think. most of us have so much gear strapped to the tracks, that an entry point is tough to achieve. good to know this before it is essential. safe water fun to everyone!!

I sometime venture into Edge Rod websites. I always quietly back out. the website is a hot-mess.

I once called a buddy while I was fishing to tell him how I was doing on my lake. he was at another lake. he said he was doing great until he simply fell out for whatever reason. he said it must have been a misstep. he was shocked how difficult it was to climb back in. but he managed. we laughed about it. my friend is slender and fit. an older person or someone less fit could get into real trouble if they cannot touch bottom or can't climb back in. what a scary death.

some people push a bobber stop up behind the head of a plastic. I tried it and I felt it was fairly difficult (and kinda dangerous) to do. It is a very tight fit. they make these hooks with a bulbous "knob" that allows the plastic to squeeze on, but not allow it to squeeze off. I bought some, but I dont use them much. I just do what you do and fight it. One time at this hike in lake I was down to my last few TRD Finesse. I had picked up some very heavy braid someone littered. I clipped off a piece and tied a simple overhead knot on the top of the bait, careful not to slice into the bait. it held for a long time. I fish them tex-rigged behind a bullet sinker, EWG hook.

In my attempt to be cost effective, I use Daiwa J-Flouro as my leader line. it is a schooch thinner than the above mentioned Sensei Leader. (10lb leader is what I use). I simply love it that it comes in a 100 yard spool for less than $20. I have hauled in big LMB with it including my 7lb PB that got tangled had in Delta Foliage. I'll stay with it since I tend to run long leader in front of my braid.