FishTax

Hoping to get my wife to fish with me more this year. She started enjoying it some last year and since she loves kayaking I hope we can go out together much more frequently. Just need a baby sitter.. Also catch more and bigger fish. Of course. And maybe learn blade bait. Maybe.

I also got that airdx combo. Looking forward to trying it. My thought process was similar to yours. I haven't decided whether to post everything I bought yet. Don't want to embarrass myself

This. Twin tail, trim it on either end as needed. These are super versatile trailers I use a ton in many applications

I've learned a lot in the last year. I now have multiple jig setups. Swim jigs for open water I throw on 14 lb mono. My retrieve is to keep them moving, but I test different parts of the water column as well as different retrieves as far as popping, shaking, pausing, etc. Brush jigs I like braid as in usually throwing into wood lay down and such. I tend to let these chill and do very little movement. My retrieve is closer to Catt on this one. I've yet to dial in the horizontal retrieve but have been trying it. Football jigs I use 17-20 lb mono. Throwing around rock or whatever else. I'm a mono fan and it's my default for most things. Retrieve varies but usually some hopping involved. There is no one right way. I've learned to experiment and try new things, pay attention so when you get bit you can repeat what you did and also analyze why they bit that time. Every trip out it seems they want something different, sometime a subtle tweak, sometimes a total change..I love jig fishing!

Would love to meet up some time! I live on Macintosh now so if you're on Guilford side I may have already seen you from a distance.. shoot me a pm next time you're in the area! Also don't over look the Greensboro city lakes right around you. They fish different than mackintosh and are slightly smaller. I like to mix it up.

I bought a lot. Still buying. Took the opportunity to upgrade a lot of rods where I had worn out, entry level gear. And refilled my jig supply for the winter. Looking forward to trying several things from @Siebert Outdoors that I haven't tried before, many recommended by @Pat Brown who I think may be related to the bait monkey or at least on payroll 😎

I shot it at dusk, dark enough where I couldn't see my targets well any more, and the flash didn't even register with me. I'm sure there are guns out there throwing a fireball but this isn't one of them. It's very manageable. Also, not currently my bedside gun until I get more comfortable. I've only put about 250 through it so far.

Has anyone tried any of these? I'm wondering how they compare to Veritas, which I'm a fan of. Looks like pro series rods retail for 199 (based on pricing should be better than veritas) but are currently on massive sale so I'm thinking of trying the Justin Lucas shaky head and the bobby lane swim jig rods as those are 2 staple presentations for me, but I need someone to talk me out of it because my budget is beyond blown right now.

Abu sale going right now, they have a veritas frog rod that comes out to $55 after coupons... I can't imagine a better deal than that.

This weekend I’ve been restoring an old DR wood chipper that’s about 20 yrs old. Finished this afternoon, the carb was all jacked up. I’m pretty proud because I’ve never done carb work and figured it all out. It went from not cranking to starting right up and purring. Tomorrow I’m hitting the woods to see how it works under heavy load, clearing my bank fishing area. @DaubsNU1 nice! I have a metal building that’s similar, I’ve built an office and man cave in it. Really want to do a loft but I’m a little intimidated by that project.

I ended up getting the shield plus performance center with a red dot site. Shot it without the site the first time, just with the fiber optics, and it's a tack driver. Love it. Going to site in the RDS this afternoon and see if I can get comfortable with it. If not I'll just sell that on eBay.

This was awesome, thanks so much for doing that Mike! Also, the blemished jigs kit sounds cool, looking forward to seeing what turns up in that

Hate that I missed this, I'm definitely in for an order next time there is a run!

H20 has some decent looking ones that are good price and on sale frequently. I have some but haven't actually thrown them yet. This was a good reminder they're in the box somewhere, maybe I'll try this winter

Can't wait!

Yes I'm buying myself things. What I'm buying depends on what's on sale, as is usually the case

I missed this thread initially. Did you make the trip and if so how did it go?

3/16 is my primary. I also have 1/8 and 1/4 on standby just in case. I've caught fish on them all. I only use 1/4 in wind so I can feel it, or when I think a quick fall rate will trigger them.

Love it. And love the timeline so I'm not rushed. Thanks!

I try to reel down until it's heavy, then give them a tug. This works well unless they're running toward you. I use 1/8-1/4 weights with good luck. I don't usually have an issue sticking them. I hold the rod about 2 o'clock.

For me the best bite for the last few weeks has been about 4-6p on sun warmed gradual Banks, about 10' off the bank. I haven't been able to find them much outside of that pattern, but hopefully today I'll give it another try 😎 I haven't tried mornings lately because of my schedule. I love the smoke on the water and would go just for the beauty though.

Caught 3 yesterday on a random pattern I found offshore, thanks to something @A-Jay said a while back that stuck. It was 60/35 high low temps and I was very sure they would be in the Sun. I fished banks for 2 hours with no strikes and was getting irritated. Then I flashed back to what he said. As I was trying to think of a way to Target offshore bass. I had no crank baits with me but did have some chatter baits which I never threw, but I decided to throw them deep and let them touch bottom and then rip off the bottom. Doing that I found several three-pounders in the Sun in about 10 to 12 ft of water on gradual Banks. The sun went down before I filled my limit but I hope to give it another run this weekend and see if that pattern is still in play. I've never had luck with a chatter bait. this was new and fun for me. Fishing offshore with one when I am normally pounding the bank from my kayak. Fall fishing is always something new.

I'd catch them as much as possible, but not too close to another boat. And definitely always on a Whopper popper. Which in our area definitively doesn't catch anything, although we may try it again soon just to be sure 😎 But seriously, if the bite turns off you gotta keep moving, but that doesn't mean you don't hit that spot again later in the same day...

Yes. @Siebert Outdoors compact swim jig in 3/8 I believe. Not pure white, a couple strands of chartreuse at least and maybe a blue few as well. Basic white twin tail trailer. I've been swimming these jigs since the summer in various ways at various bodies of water and having consistent luck. Last weekend I caught some small ones on it which was a little unusual. I may go up to heavier weight and speed up to see if the big girls will thump it

I've been doing those things. It seems there are very few pioneer 1000's around, and I haven't been able to find anything with an engine I could grab but have certainly been trying. 6.5k is the estimate I was given but they're still working on a final quote, they said apparently this engine is really complex and rebuild would cost similar to new crate engine. Other brands evidently are way easier to do that on than Honda, but as you said they haven't worked on many Hondas because they rarely break.