How's your GAS lately?

[Rambler]

The post count that wouldn't die lol. 2 away from 4000 Ramblings

Wow - you actually keep track of that sort of crap? Thanks for letting me know. I'll try to husband my next 2 (oops - 1) so that my 400th is meaningful. Not that anything I've ever posted here is even close to meaningful but we can always hope.

[HEDDONFROG]

Idk if anyone has noticed my lack of gas posts this year but it’s because I set a dollar limit on my gas this year. Other than some replacement baits for those I’m always losing I never really went nuts. Since I’ve done so well I have the remaining surplus to blow by years end starting to get more into big baits and have slowly started acquiring some stuff over the course of the year. After having several good outings just throwing glides and swimbaits I decided to commit to it. First step is the right rod. I won’t be throwing giant 6+ ounce baits so on Mike’s suggestion I just picked up a new MegaBass Destroyer Mark 48. It’s a 7’-8” Xtra heavy swimbait rod for 1-1/4oz to 5oz baits. Smaller overall then their truly giant bait rod and I can also use for my 1-1/2 to 2-1/4oz big bladed jigs and some pitching duties when needed. I’m swapping my Shimano Bantam MGL to this rod and picking up Mikes Daiwa Steez A to replace on my heavy G-rod

Little 3.2” Keitech in the photo for scale. 7.8” & 6.8” Keitechs. 6” BPS speed shad. Ima Glide Flukes in 5” & 7-1/2”, another S-waver 168 and some Gancraft 6.8” swimbaits. 2 Replacement Jacks and I’m trying out the 1-1/4oz model

[joetrain]

I like big baits and I cannot lie. See what I did there.
~JOE~

[Grain]

Little 3.2” Keitech...

I bought a pack after listening to all oohing and aahing, after 10 casts the tail was gone. Never again.

[Lip_Yanker]

I like big baits and I cannot lie. See what I did there.
~JOE~

Yeah, except the price on them and most other things these days. I guess I'm just getting old and bitter.


.

[cletedius]

The good:
I got a new GLX MBR842C!

The bad:
I broke my old GLX MBR842C" last week!
(Or, more accurately, someone broke it for me.)

Kinda mixed emotions on the swap, really.
New version is superior in many ways, but "feels" like a different rod.
A bit more power than the old & less of a tip to it.

20191010_224808_Film1-768x1024.jpg

Not sure how its going to work for what I used the old 1 for, but on the + side, its a really sweet rod that Im sure will do a few things really well!
On the - side, its going to take me many many years to work as much ground-in dirt & fish slime into the handle as I had on the old1.

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Loomis' expediter replacement service is a pretty good deal. Buddy called loomis on monday, rod was delivered today. I put the broken 1 in the shipping tube the new 1 came in & slap on the shipping label & drop off @ a fed ex location within 30days for 125$. Not as good as St.Croix's return policies/replacement prices but quicker & more convenient. Overall, they get a from me.

[HEDDONFROG]

The good:
I got a new GLX MBR842C!

The bad:
I broke my old GLX MBR842C" last week!
(Or, more accurately, someone broke it for me.)

Kinda mixed emotions on the swap, really.
New version is superior in many ways, but "feels" like a different rod.
A bit more power than the old & less of a tip to it.

20191010_224808_Film1-768x1024.jpg

Not sure how its going to work for what I used the old 1 for, but on the + side, its a really sweet rod that Im sure will do a few things really well!
On the - side, its going to take me many many years to work as much ground-in dirt & fish slime into the handle as I had on the old1.

20191010_230541-768x1024.jpg

Loomis' expediter replacement service is a pretty good deal. Buddy called loomis on monday, rod was delivered today. I put the broken 1 in the shipping tube the new 1 came in & slap on the shipping label & drop off @ a fed ex location within 30days for 125$. Not as good as St.Croix's return policies/replacement prices but quicker & more convenient. Overall, they get a from me.

The Loomis Expediter people recognize my voice I’ve called so often, lol their warranty program is a life saver. I’ve always been a 3 or 4 power GLX guy. I’ll have a 783 in the quiver until the day I die. Here’s the full review of the updated 842

http://tackletour.com/review_gloomis_20 ... 2cglx.html

[Bassin' Ted]

Dobyns rod replacement program is top notch as well. I am embarrassed to say how many times I have used them over the last year. Plus, you can upgrade your rod or change the model unlike Loomis. Never broke a rod until last year.

[Lip_Yanker]

Does UNgas count? Still working on downsizing the fishing gear collection- So I traded all this stuff away for a box of cigars.

[Rambler]

^^^

[cletedius]

I’ve always been a 3 or 4 power GLX guy. I’ll have a 783 in the quiver until the day I die. Here’s the full review of the updated 842
http://tackletour.com/review_gloomis_20 ... 2cglx.html

Handling & throwing a few casts with this 842 definitely makes me feel like I need to have an 843, too!
Read that review. That dude is smoking crack!

Dobyns rod replacement program is top notch as well, you can upgrade your rod or change the model unlike Loomis. Never broke a rod until last year.

This is why Ive really leaned towards St.Croix over Loomis in recent years. It would be great If Loomis adopted a similar policy.
That said, theres a few Loomis rods that life just wouldnt be the same without, for me.

Anyway, some minor GAS.....
https://www.amazon.com/SLONIK-Lumen-Rec ... B07D27L1NR

Never heard of the brand & was skeptical of rechargeable, but I took a flyer on this 1 & after a couple weeks of use I have to say its the best headlamp Ive owned! Ive spent 2x as much on lamps that werent half as good. Durable, well-sealed aluminum housing with easy access to battery/charging port, super-bright, this thing can literally light up the forest, & best of all : very simple 1-click on/off & a click/hold to cycle thru 5 brightness levels. No annoying dimmer cycle to click thru to turn off, which is so common. Also useful is the abilty to easily remove/replace the light from the headband to use as a handheld light.
Had 4 of the COAST headlamps that came in 2-packs from costco. They were very bright, but seemed like I was going thru 7-10$ worth of AAAs a week using them, & 2 of the 4 crapped-out in just over 1 year. We shall see how this 1 lasts.

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[Phil6]

Nice pick up, cletedius! 18650 is the way to go, I'm trying to shift all my flashlights/headlamps to 18650s. I took the dive into "torches" a couple years ago and have no regrets. Theres some seriously powerful (and cheap!) options out there once you shift away from walmart, dicks etc. AAA/AA style lights.

I use nitecore H33, 1800 lumens in "turbo", it will quite literally light up the side of a mountain. One of the big reasons I picked this style is because you can pull it out of the headband and use it as a 90degree flashlight, and the bottom has a magnet built in so it'll stick to anything ferrous. If anyone is looking for a new headlamp or flashlight I would highly recommend looking into 18650 powered lights. The initial battery cost is more expensive than AAAs but will quickly pay itself off. Black diamond and PETZL make some great backpacking/light headlamps but are generally limited to under 500 lumens, which is fine for most applications, but if you really wanna reach out and light something, 18650 or bust.

[HEDDONFROG]

Phil & Pat, thanks for sharing your headlamp experiences but damn, when would I ever have use for that kind of thing? seriously I have 3 and I have some kind of issue with all of them. They all have to be cycled through to turn off which is annoying but the larger issue I have is they’re too small for my little head and constantly slide up and off. No amount of adjustment have helped. I’ll give one of your suggestions a try. Phil I don’t think I need something that powerful. Pat does yours have a way to widen and or narrow the beam? Can’t tell from the pic.

[cletedius]

does yours have a way to widen and or narrow the beam? Can’t tell from the pic.

No, it doesnt. If I read correctly, of the 2 bulbs, 1 is a flood beam & the other a spot beam. When "on" both bulbs light to give both beams @ the same time,........or something like that, but neither are adjustable.
All I can say is the thing is brighter than hell!

Havent truly tested its battery life yet, but I do plan to pick up a couple spare 18650 batteries to have on hand as they seem fairly inexpensive. I believe mfr. claims 3.5hours on high & 8 on low. When turning light on, it comes on @ 3rd highest of the 5 settings. Setting 3 is way more than enough for knot-tying or lighting up anything in your immediate area. High, or the 5 setting is obnoxiously bright.

[cletedius]

Anyone looking for a musky reel? Stopped @ the musky shop in Hazelhust today & saw this:

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Out of my sphere of interest so dont know if they're any good, but seems like a significant discount. They seemingly do a bit of internet sales, too.

[HEDDONFROG]

does yours have a way to widen and or narrow the beam? Can’t tell from the pic.

No, it doesnt. If I read correctly, of the 2 bulbs, 1 is a flood beam & the other a spot beam. When "on" both bulbs light to give both beams @ the same time,........or something like that, but neither are adjustable.
All I can say is the thing is brighter than hell!

Havent truly tested its battery life yet, but I do plan to pick up a couple spare 18650 batteries to have on hand as they seem fairly inexpensive. I believe mfr. claims 3.5hours on high & 8 on low. When turning light on, it comes on @ 3rd highest of the 5 settings. Setting 3 is way more than enough for knot-tying or lighting up anything in your immediate area. High, or the 5 setting is obnoxiously bright.

Ok thank you. Still sounds like a nice unit

[Bassin' Ted]

So TW emailed me asking if I wanted some Huddleston baits I backordered in April that are now in stock. Silly question. Of course I want them! Complete the order please.

[mike son]

So TW emailed me asking if I wanted some Huddleston baits I backordered in April that are now in stock. Silly question. Of course I want them! Complete the order please.

Jeez, what a wait! What kind of hudds did you order? 68's?

[Bassin' Ted]

So TW emailed me asking if I wanted some Huddleston baits I backordered in April that are now in stock. Silly question. Of course I want them! Complete the order please.

Jeez, what a wait! What kind of hudds did you order? 68's?

Grass minnows and weedless shads

[mike son]

So TW emailed me asking if I wanted some Huddleston baits I backordered in April that are now in stock. Silly question. Of course I want them! Complete the order please.

Jeez, what a wait! What kind of hudds did you order? 68's?

Grass minnows and weedless shads

Nice. I was curious because the bigger swimbaits are always out of stock. 68's are the 6" swimbaits with the 8" vortex tail.


Got my new waders in today, Patagonia Skeena River. Seem to be good quality, come with a solid warranty, and got great service from Western Rivers Flyfisher out of Utah. Free Plug: https://westernriversflyfishing.com. The Skeena River and Rio Azul waders are on closeout and they had the best price on them shipped that I could find. Good communication and fast shipping, I'd definitely recommend them.

[Rambler]

So I finally knuckled under & bought a Whopper Plopper. Picked up a new, perch-colored 75 for cheap (what else is new) on eBay. Now I can't wait for Spring!

[polishfly]

So I finally knuckled under & bought a Whopper Plopper. Picked up a new, perch-colored 75 for cheap (what else is new) on eBay. Now I can't wait for Spring!

Oh what fun it is to plop! I personally like the ultra slow retrieve where you move just fast enough to get the tail to turn over....then whammm!

[Woohoodude11]

So I finally knuckled under & bought a Whopper Plopper. Picked up a new, perch-colored 75 for cheap (what else is new) on eBay. Now I can't wait for Spring!

The 75 should be right in your wheelhouse. I know a lot of guys tear up the smallies on the rivers on em. Cast em down stream and let the lure do the work while keeping an ultra slow roll retrieve. I tried it last year to no avail, didn't get a chance to beat up on the river bronze this year.

[SmalliesNEyes]

New flasher on the way. Set to deliver tomorrow. Now all I need is a couple more inches of ice...

[Phil6]

. Now all I need is a couple more inches of ice...

You can say that again

[SmalliesNEyes]

. Now all I need is a couple more inches of ice...

You can say that again

Should be safe ice this weekend.

[Bassin' Ted]

Should be safe ice this weekend.

With the looks of the long range forecast, I'll be fishing the Lake next week. Maybe sneak down south after Christmas.

Black Friday GAS

Dobyns Champion 735
Gamma Line for my spinning reels
Rhythm Shad in a variety of colors and sizes
Okashira screw heads
Replacement tube jigs and tubes

[HEDDONFROG]

Should be safe ice this weekend.

With the looks of the long range forecast, I'll be fishing the Lake next week. Maybe sneak down south after Christmas.

Black Friday GAS

Dobyns Champion 735
Gamma Line for my spinning reels
Rhythm Shad in a variety of colors and sizes
Okashira screw heads
Replacement tube jigs and tubes

I caught a few small LM smallies on the Okashira screw heads. I wonder how they'll work on the Dupe? Idk but I'm going to throw them more next year

[Bassin' Ted]

I caught a few small LM smallies on the Okashira screw heads. I wonder how they'll work on the Dupe? Idk but I'm going to throw them more next year

What bait were you using?

[HEDDONFROG]

I caught a few small LM smallies on the Okashira screw heads. I wonder how they'll work on the Dupe? Idk but I'm going to throw them more next year

What bait were you using?

I tried both the 3" Hazedong shad, 3" Spark Shad and the 3-1/4" Strike King Rage Swimmer. The Rage Swimmer actually looked the best in the water and it's what I ended up catching my fish on. Probably more because I threw it the most Vs the 2 Megabass shads. I ending up using those 2 on my light A-rig set ups...they kicked ass on that

[Bassin' Ted]

I tried both the 3" Hazedong shad, 3" Spark Shad and the 3-1/4" Strike King Rage Swimmer. The Rage Swimmer actually looked the best in the water and it's what I ended up catching my fish on. Probably more because I threw it the most Vs the 2 Megabass shads. I ending up using those 2 on my light A-rig set ups...they kicked ass on that

The Megabass baits were out-of-stock so I couldn't order them. In the past you could still order out-of-stock items and they would ship them when they come in. Now, TW holds up the entire order until all the items are in stock. Also, this was the first time TW applied tax to my order. Guess they started doing this earlier in the year.

The Dobyns rod I bought from American Legacy Fishing. It was 20% off and then an extra 20% off if you were a first-time shopper and signed up for their emails. I got the rod for nearly 30% off.

[HEDDONFROG]

I’ve been taking advantage of holiday savings and stocking up on big baits, as well as replacements for some lost baits.

Huddleston 68 deluxe swimbaits
Baitsanity Antidote Glide
Storm Arashi Glide
2-Gan Craft 178 Jointed Claws
MegaBass Kanata
3 MegaBass Vision 110’s
MegaBass Mag Slowl
Swim jigs, red eye shads, MegaBass X-80 trick darter and some terminal tackle

[Rambler]

Dave: Love reading your GAS posts. You buy stuff I've never heard of!

[Bassin' Ted]

Think my GAS is done until the Schaumburg Show. Granted I have never really bought much there. Anyways...

Austin City Kayaks
* Anchor Trolly and folding anchor. (made a DIY stake out pole for under $10)
* Rail adaptors bases for my rod holders for my boat. (Planning on doing some trolling with my kids up north next summer)

TW
* Gift Card at 10% off for future purchases
* 2 replacement Dark Sleepers. Caught a lot of fish early last year on them.
* 3" Spark Shad and Hazedong Shad for the Akashira head. Should have bought them at the Black Friday sale and just waited for my order. Oh well.
* 6 packs of Aaron Martens drop shot Gammy hooks. Always used Owner but these were on sale and Tackle Tour rates them very highly.
* Seth Feider Outkast Hair jigs. Maybe this will be the year I catch some good fish on them.
* Trokar EWG tube jigs.
* Free T-shirt

[Woohoodude11]

Got myself the fishing backpack that Dave recommended on FB. The big sell for me was that it was a tackle bag under $100 with rod holders and enough space to carry whatever I wanted. I wanted the rod holders because I intended on doing several Dupage river wades, but in hindsight I'm realizing that might not happen as I'm moving to Aux territory in April/May...oops. Still a great buy and something that'll get used profusely.

[polishfly]

Free GAS is best GAS! Got some new FX2 braid for my frogging rod coming in hot with points from my health tracking app =D

[Aux Pleins]

I'm realizing that might not happen as I'm moving to Aux territory in April/May...oops.

Where are you headed?

[Rambler]

You're in deep yogurt now!

[Woohoodude11]

Where are you headed?

Libertyville/Vernon Hills/Mundelein or somewhere in the area. Haven't settled on that quite yet.

[Michalski]

Where are you headed?

Libertyville/Vernon Hills/Mundelein or somewhere in the area. Haven't settled on that quite yet.

I recently moved to Libertyville. Let me know if you have any questions or need an agent.

[Rambler]

Just ordered an LL Bean wading vest. This is what is known at my age as 'REALLY wishful thinking'.

[cletedius]

The drive from IL back to FL was mostly nondescript, other than being 6 months later than planned, but there was a little GAS.

Picked up 4 bags of the D.O.A. swimbaits @ BPS in Gainseville on the way back down.

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Brought 2 new packs & a few loose 1's of these with me to WI back in May & the walleyes started cracking swimbaits pretty good about early July. With the aid of most of a bottle of "mend-it", I got those 12+ baits to last til mid Aug before they couldnt hold a hook or jig anymore Trying out some new hooks to try & find which I like best. The heavier the hook the better these baits swim.

Im not sure if the next 1 technically constitutes GAS as the only thing newly acquired was the end result, I think? Technically, I already owned the jackhammer & it was used-chicken, so....

With chatterbaits Im not too fussy about the trailer. A hunk of just about any plastic can be fashioned into some sort of trailer, but, If I had my druthers I do prefer a "boogie" or split-tail style over an action tail & prefer to leave the vibration/thump factor to the blade, instead. Finding black split-tails has always been tough to find on the fly, though.
Well, after cleaning up an old jackhammer & going to put it away, I kicked a small box of trashed saltwater baits that Ive been meaning to throw out for the last couple years . 1st thing that caught my eye was a perfectly intact feathered tuna squid with a broken hook. It had a bunch of beautiful 6-7" full-sized black hackle feathers in perfect shape. After stops at 3 different BPS's between Lexington & Gainesville, I failed to find any black split-tails. With this memory fresh in my mind, well..............

And now I present the chattering chicken hammer:

20200214_042253_copy_780x1040.jpg

Tested this out in a pool & was pretty impressed. The feathers add no weight or wind-resistance & really "breathe". The full hackles really make the profile look huge. I may never change a plastic trailer on a spinner or chatterbait again!

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Have spent a total of about 40 minutes throwing the chicken hammer in anything other than a pool & have gotten some encouragement

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[cletedius]

But, theres more gas (and chicken )

Spending the summer & fall in N. WI was really cool but it had major impacts. The worst of which was the decimation of my hair jig stash! I went thru all of them So now begins the process of rebuilding my reserves.

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While checking out the fly-tying section @ BPS I found a tattered old cabelas package that had 1 of the nicest patches of bear hair Ive ever seen. Bear hair is 1 of if not my favorite hair to tie jigs with, but its hard to come across a "good" piece of it. Here are some of the bear hair jigs so far. Im fairly confident these will destroy the smalllies!:

20200211_231158_copy_1040x780.jpg

Also picked up little doo-dad designed to rotate tumblers for painting them (wtf? )off amazon for 20$. Fortunately, it seems to rotate jigs just fine, too, which makes for nice, even finish on the clear-coat!

20200220_222615-1.jpg

Damn, I wish I had bought 1 of those years ago

Probably wont make it to Chickamauga or any of the TVA resevoirs anytime soon, but if I do, Im ready to hit the ledges with my version of the preacher jig!

20200220_184007_copy_780x1040.jpg

Occasionally I take a stroll thru Michaels to see if they have anything worthy of tying material. If they do, its often way cheaper than buying the same thing at a fly shop. Came across some kind of a costume accessory of unkown material that looked promising. No clue what spefically its made of, but for 7$, I figure I have enough material to easily make 100 or so of these:

20200218_210712-1.jpg

And, off we go fingers tying & bobbins flying!

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[polishfly]

one hell of a turkey you caught on that chicken hammer!! nicely done those look awesome. GAS ON!

[Bassin' Ted]

Outstanding looking jigs Cletedius.

[badger75]

Masterful work on those jigs!

[cletedius]

Thanks guys.
Preacher-jig pattern in smaller form. 1/4 head & 2/0 Owner light-wire hook. Does that make this the Deacon-jig?

20200208_133240_copy_1040x780.jpg

Been playing around with marabou the last couple days. Kinda hate working with the stuff, but, theres no denying that it has the "it" factor & shouldnt be ignored. Wasted a lot of thread & extra-select grade marabou trying to remember how to tie it without destroying it, but its slowly coming back. Sturgeon Bay here, I come!
1/16 on 1/0 Owner light-wires:

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1/8oz 1/0

20200223_151257_copy_1040x780.jpg

& I thought this little 1/4oz football head bucktail turned out kinda cool, think Im going to tinker with this pattern a bit.

[polishfly]

Accepting orders on Marabou??

[cletedius]

Accepting orders on Marabou??

You betcha

Send a p.m. & I can get you what you need.

[SmalliesNEyes]

Lots of winter GAS here. At least 15-20 new ice jigs and spoons, new flasher, at least 15-20 new bags of ice plastics, some new cleats, a new ice rod/reel combo from 13 Fishing, and probably more I'm forgetting.

Then started to grab up some spring equipment more recently. Bunch of assorted plastics for chatter trailers. Some new dropshot plastics, and more dropshot weights and hooks. I wanna try and do some drop shot fishing for smallies on LM this year, and I expect to lose a lot of weights and hooks, so I stocked up. Just bought 10 bags of 5" Zoom Super Flukes that are currently on sale at BPS for $1.87 a bag, also. I believe a new graph for the front of my boat may be a purchase I make shortly, also.