Ham

For a medium spinning rod, I’m very Happy with the Falcon Cara Squirrel Tail. I have a St Croix Eyecon that I like very much. I think it is a 6’3” jig and rig rod. Great for Ned’s and Finesse jigs.

Well, I spent a few hours at the bench and got my SeeGar Minnows tied. It’s a Size 10 streamer intended to glide along with the hook point up. I devised it to drag in front of Gar high in the water column, but I have caught drum, white bass, and yellow bass on it as well as gar. Durability has been an issue. So, I tied these with craft fur instead of buck tail. I am a wildly inconsistent tier. So, each fly is a one of a kind of sorts. They aren’t all that much to look at, but they were purpose built. #bekind

Thank You! I sure will mic. Still deciding on the fly. Maybe my Seegar Minnow. Maybe a Clouser I am trying to wait for power to be restored to start tying

Can I be the last guy in? Please !

We probably go to Rapps a couple of times a month. We like and recommend it as well.

so,I got my common snook. I got to make a trip with some locals. It wasn't really a guided trip, but I think they are trying to develop that business. The people of Cozumel are ALWAYS working and networking trying to make a little more money. So, a friend of a friend here in the US sold off everything he was connected to here and moved to Cozumel. He has opened a restaurant/bar on the shore. Cosmica. great views. decent drinks, friendly staff. Mike has a dive shop/service next door and Mike loves to fish. I was his excuse to ditch the dive shop and fish. So, I get there and Enrique introduces himself and says Mike will be here in "5 Mexican minutes". Basically, in the next 5-30 minutes. Mike had misplaced the fuel line assembly. I don't think you can leave any of that stuff in your boat. Cozumel is safe, but anything of value left out is not. Petty theft seems to be a way of life or at least a fact of life. Mike removes his prop assembly after every trip and locks/chains his lower unit on. Mike arrives and we go to the boat just north of town. When we get to the boat, there is a third guy in the boat already. Ellio maybe. So, we launch and everyone piles in and we head north to Laguna Ciega. You can find Isla de la Pasion on Google earth and that's the lagoon. The guys really liked using my spinning gear/ lures while I struggled with the fly rod in 15 MPH tailwind. We caught a ton of barracuda (which they keep every one they catch). We went to the lee edge of the Mangroves and there were some jumbo triggerfish very shallow. I had several chances at those, but they never ate my lure. I made a long cast parallel to the mangroves and a snook hammered my swimbait. It was cool cos I had to throw way out over the mangroves and left the wind drop the jig where I wanted it. There was this one big shady area and that's where the snook was laying. Big Hit. instant rodeo. Fish was Pulling drag trying to get to the Mangroves. I barely managed to get him turned and then a long bulldog to the boat. I think the "guides" were surprised that I could make that cast and land that fish. Basically, l they were surprised I knew how to fish and could pick out lures that would be effective. Enrique has worked in the fishing charter business and I am sure had a lot of anglers that required more assistance. I covered all the expenses and tipped the guys for their time. It was a Good experience and I would have gone out with them again the next day if I could have. I'll add pictures and contact information the boat wasn’t a Brand new BassCat, but it was very sturdy and durable. It handled some Big Rollers pretty well. Ellio ran the motor most of the time. Mike is standing outside the boat. I thought I had an Enrique pic, but I do not. Ellio caught one of the larger triggers on cut bait. Mike cleaned my snook and the triggerfish for me and we had a wonderful meal of those back at Casa Cielo where we stayed. Casa Cielo is available on VRBO and we would rent it again. Nice place. Groundskeeper on site. Light cleaning daily. Locked gate at night. Easy free beach access next to a beach bar. Walked from our house to the beach for outstanding snorkeling. The only downside to the snorkeling is I was not allowed to fish for all the wonderful fish I saw. DM for contact info for Mike and Enrique. Dive trips, snorkel trips, passage to Isla de la Pasion, fishing trips, or almost any custom trip you want. Pricing is lower than listed elsewhere and negotiable depending on what you want.

tough weather, but as in almost all things I suspect, you made the most of it. Hopefully, I'll see you the next time you are down.

#4/#8/#17 the runner the line the easier to cast. You can add 6 foot of 25 lb leader if you are worried about abrasion

Have a BIG time

I got my Common Snook today. Outside of some mangrove roots. Crushed a small swimbait with a Z Man Minnow Z on a jig head. It was a really good fight too. Gonna be very memorable.

I’m Sorry for their loss. Sounds like a Good Dude. Carpe diem guys. We are not promised another day.

Yeah, it’s laughable when guys say that got a limit of 2 lbers when maybe all their fish go 12 inches. a true 2 lb crappie is a special fish. I might have one. Might. I appreciate you releasing a giant rather than killing it to stroke your ego. I wish that core value would spread throughout the fishing community.

I was pretty magical at MTC. I made all the fish disappear. I turned a hero into a zero with minimal effort really. Pretty sure that was the only trip all year that I zeroed.

I got to take a young man that I used to work with fishing today. He bought the hardware store in Calico Rock and hasn’t had time for fishing in like 6 months. I got my first fish on the year on my first cast of the year with boat sitting on the trailer and the motoring warming up. I had a fleeting concern that it might be Bad Luck. It was not. I caught 70 today and Logan had a tough start, but got the hang of it again after an hour or so. We caught a few of them ole brown fish too. He really enjoyed the day and so did I. my first fish came at 9:48 AM CST in case there’s a contest here

Simms. Buy good ones. Great customer service. I’ve got a set of G3’s from when then were switching to the next bid generation of their waders. They are comfortable. I’ve mailed them back a couple of times for repairs. I’m currently getting a damp lower left leg and should mail them in again eventually

I’m pretty sure I can get you decent shots at 7 of the 10 and 50/50 shots at the other 3. You have to crack the lid on an Orange Soda for any fish on your Top 10 ok? Or at least one a day on any day you get a Top 10 fish because I think you will get multiple ones on some days.

So, 1) I definitely Kept it Goofy 2) I tapped out at 2871 fish. 95.7% of goal = failure 3) I got my Life List up to 202. My first private extra credit goal was to catch 50 species on fly. Considering that I had only caught like 38 species of fish on fly prior to 2022, it was a pretty bold quest. I got to 56 species. That 56 species had all but 9 species that I had ever caught. Lifetime list of Fly is at 65. my second private extra credit goal was to beat the 108 species total that I got in 2021. I got my 109 th species on 9/10/22. I finished with 126 species. It was an awesome year with some Great trips. I learned a lot and had a Bunch of Fun. Some tremendous frustrations, but some tremendous satisfaction too. I hope that 2023 is my last year to try for maximum number of species. I want to learn to target lifers while still thumping the crap out of bass and crappie.

I always have too many fishing goals for any given year. 2023 Fishing Goals: 1) all five species of North American Gar on fly in the calendar year. 2) get the lifer list up to 225 (from 202) 3) every year is beat last year (but that’s gonna have to stop eventually) so 2022 I caught 56 species on fly and 126 species on hook and line. So, in theory it should be 57 on fly and 127 species on hook and line, but the heck with that. I’m shooting for 75 species on fly and 150 species on hook and line. 4) get the lifetime on fly species list up to 100. 5) Catch a fish in least 7 more new to me counties in Arkansas 6) catch a snakehead on fly I really should try for harder stuff

I sure hope the Glades are ok. I think infrastructure on west side of Florida might be sketchy, but the fish should be ok. I love to make another Canada fishing trip, but it’s not really in my DNA to have a lazy trip.

I’m good.

Not for ANY Price

He’s actually a pretty good squirrel dog. Sees them as well as Bella does and will follow them from tree to tree. He would have to be trained to bark at them though. He’s a Silent Runner right now. Bella will bark em up once they are isolated to a tree though.

We have three Poms. Ours are Great Little dogs with a lot of personality. I wouldn’t trade them for anything and I was VERY skeptical when my wife got the first one. This is my boy Biz. He has the heart of a Lion and is Very loving.

I do and did last year. I’m planning to go fish the Mississippi River at Chain of Rocks from the Illinois side. Last year I got shut out by unannounced road construction on the only road in. The cosmos said “You shall not pass”. what two species did you catch?

I’m gonna chase these 10 fish maybe harder than other fish species in 2023. I will BOLD the species once caught and likely have a post describing the catch. 2023 Top 10 Atlantic Tarpon Common Snook Eastern Bowfin Pirate Perch Brook Darter Ozark Logperch Mooneye Shovelnose Sturgeon Yelloweye Rockfish Silver Carp I’m hoping I have a little better Luck than I did with the 2022 Ten Moss Wanted