Basseditor

If you get a "memo" boat, you have to sell it every year so you can get a new one. I use to get one every couple years when I had team deals. With good discounts, you could sometimes sell it for more or at least what it cost you. My last boat, I decided it would be my last, but I could sell it for not much less than I paid. If you are earning money through tournament finishes where manufacturers pay additional winnings (Triton, Phoenix or Skeeter for example), the boat can't be more than a couple years old.

I'm not going to do it... I'm not going to do it... I'm not going to do it... I did it... Lost to the tackle monkey again. Several 1000 yd spools of Seaguar from TW just now.

I got a new Tatula R and tested it on Lake Falcon. I spooled up with 25-pound line. I was impressed. I can see it working with 65-pound braid for frogs. I got it on eBay for about $125.

Some industry reports showing year over year growth and optimistic people I know in the industry.

Picking up the boat this week. It was in for annual maintenance and some upgrades. No tackle the rest of this year. But January is a new year so the clock resets. Ha.

It seems sales aren't as good from many places, other than some close out stuff. You see 15-20% off but not the 25% and sometime 30-50% off from a few years ago. I think overall sales have picked up so less need to discount.

I finally got to fish with my new reels the last few days. The Tatula-R handles 25-pound flouro and half ounce weights really well. I was impressed. I didn't use the Lews Lite as much. When I turned all the controls off, it casts a long way but backlashed some. I had trouble dialing it in for really light baits, for which I bought it. But is was windy and I didn't give it all the attention that it needed to dial it in. I'll try again soon. I'll get some more Tatulas if they are on sale. I want to put some 20-pound flouro on them. I think the Lites have some potential. I was using 15-pound flouro on it so it may perform better with 12-pound line. But I don't use anything under 15-pound line. I don't like a braid to flouro set up either. Either straight braid or straight flouro. So, when Black Friday comes, I'll be looking for more Tatulas.

I don't know about that color though... I think you need to send it to me. Kidding, of course. That's the color I caught my first 10# bass on.

Austin is not bad that time of year. It might get cold but it doesn't last long. Then it warms up again. Good food, places to visit/sight see and several bass fishing options. You could spend a week eating at some of the famous BBQ joints. A power plant lake 90 miles east of Austin is great in the winter for numbers of fish 3-5 lbs. If the weather is stable, Lake Austin itself yields 10 pounders + in winter.

It's a good idea. But are you cutting into a guides business and do you run into some laws pushing the definition of a guide trip? I'd take people out but would like to cover expenses so to speak. Would that make me a guide? Then I would need to comply with guide licensing issues, insurance, etc.

Active use: Kistler Zbone LE 2 med/fast 7'3"/Lews tournament LITE ZBONE LE 3 mod/hvy 7'6"/Lews team gold ZBONE LE 4 Mh 7'/revo STX 3 ZBONE LE 4 mh 7'3"/STX 3 ZBONE LE 5 hvy/mod fast7'6"/Johnny Morris gold ZBONE LE 6 ex hvy 7'11"/Patriarch ZBONE ST 7'11" a-rig/ daiwa samurai 5.1 ratio Helium 2 MHf recoil guides/h2o mettle/braid Hel LTA EX HVY 7'6"/daiwa TD1Hi LTA HF 7'/STX3 LTA HF 7'6"/h2o mettle LTA hvy mod fast 7'3"/mettle Non Kistler — GLoomis 6'6" IMX 783cmbr/lew's lite Lamiglass s glass 7' 4 pwr/mettle Lamiglass s glass 7 5 pwr/Johnny Morris gold Lamiglass certified pro 7'6" telescoping flipping stick/Abu Morrum 5600c Browning aggressor IMAG 6'6"mh/Pflueger summit Browning aggressor IMAG 7' hvy/daiwa Tatula R Saint Sebastian custom 7'6" moderate boron/revo winch Saint Sebastian custom spiral wrap 7'3" mh/mettle Cumara 7'11" medium fast/Lews cranking reel I'll do the spinning rods some other time; and unpack the rods stored in rod tubes. I don't recall all the ones put away.

Just got two new Lews lite reels and a Tatula R. Replaced two STXs on my lighter rods with the lites and put the STXs on heavy rods for a Lake Falcon trip in two weeks. I haven't tried the Tatula with heavy rods yet so I loaded it with 25# Invisx on one of my heavy action rods. I hear Falcon is turning on so I expect I'll be battling some toads. I'm anxious to test the Lew's lites too so I'll hit a local lake this week to see how they perform.

I grew up musky fishing but now it'll take two days driving from where I live to get to them. Hence, the emphasis on bass.

Lakes around here cycle water levels and fishing pressure. I've been lucky to hit Amistad and Falcon on some phenomenal days. 200 fish days of 3-5 lbs and a few in the 8 lb range on Amistad and anchoring over a hump on Falcon and catching nearly a hundred bass 3 lbs plus, but best of all was catching about 10 or more 8-10lbs too. Four of us fishing, three broke their personal bests multiple times that day.

I don't know if we'll ever see $25 Mettles again. The last two years they were $29. But now the retail price is more than when they were $49. I watch for Black Friday or other sales and stock up. Watching for sales is part of the fun. I have just about everything I need so I can be patient and watch for good deals. As far as Mettles, for the money, they are surprisingly decent.

I have several custom Kistler Z bones in the $500 range. Several other custom built rods in the $500 range, but my most expensive rod is a custom built split bamboo fly rod ($1200). Most of my reels are in the $300 category, except for the 10 $25 Academy Mettles (ha).

Ah... Punch cards. I'll have to tell you a good story about the chads (little pieces of card stock punched out of the cards, for those of you from a different decade) someday. It's related to my college days. (And it's not about the counting of votes in Florida in a presidential election.) I'm not a programmer/technical whiz as some of you are. My expertise is in desk top publishing.

Yea, we won't go there. I see tackle swap meets advertised once in awhile but they are usually too far away or on a weekend with a conflict. I have some good stuff I'll probably never use I would like to trade.

I have no sentimental attachment but have rod and the reel is on a different rod. Lost the crank bait.

I manage 4 Twitter, 3 Facebook and an Instagram account. I'm on many forums and have most of the latest tech gear. I'm in the 60-plus age bracket. Because I'm in the outdoor communications industry, I'm probably an exception. But studies show that more women and children are getting into fishing. Same growth in the shooting sports too. That is good

I have about 20 combos that I use regularly and 15 more in rod tubes stored away. I'm set there, well except for one more reel. I have tubs of plastics and crank baits still in the package. But you can go through a lot in a day. I bet we used 30 Senkos in one day last weekend. Fish were biting! So you always need more baits but hardware I am set until a new special reel comes along.

I was .... Like.... Ho. Hum. Just another day on the water. Not.

Paychecks baits transporter frog. It pops and spits.

My club fishes 12 events per year some on decent lakes. Most times, something in the 7-8 lb range wins big bass. Occasionally a 9 or 10 wins (once per year or so for a 10 lb +.) personally I expect at least a 6 every time I go out. (Doesn't always happen, but enough to keep 6-7 as a Doable goal. Some lakes the minimum I'm happy with is 9+. But I've lived here 10 years and caught one 10 lbr. We've landed one 13.35 in my boat. We have caught dozens from 8-9+ pounds. I get a 6 nearly every trip. I got 2nd place big bass and 2nd place ovearll last event. 6.6 lbs within a 21 lb bag. When I fished in utah I expected to catch a 5-7 lb small mouth on every trip. I caught more than 50 of those.

I think you catch more on a lighter wired frame but they are not as durable as a heavy wired frame. I opt for Manns and Stanley Vibra shaft.