Not a fishing purchase, but GAS all the same... just picked me up a new handgun. Smith and Wesson M&P Shield Compact M2.0 in .40 S&W for my EDC weapon.

Uh oh. I came to this thread to talk about fishing GAS and now you guys are going to get me started on firearms and bikes! I got my CCW in early 2019 and I remember one of the instructors saying that for a lot of people, one gun kind of jumps out as the one you really like. I tried out a number of different handguns and calibers for EDC. For me the one I immediately took to was the Springfield XD Mod.2 subcompact in 9mm. But the other two I really liked were the Sig P365 and...the M&P Shield compact! Oddly enough, I did not care at all for any of the Glocks.

Shit if were talking non fishing gas I just dropped a huge amount of coin on a new plastic mountain fishing bike...arrived Sunday from the UK =)

I think you're the second cycling fisherman I've come across on this website. A Nukeproof! That is some serious coin! Sweet looking bike.

Back to fishing...I may have gone a little overboard with the Cabela's gift cards I received. I bought so much new gear that I needed to add a couple of planos to help organize and store it all. I went heavy on worms, buzzbaits, and I realized I only had one spinnerbait in my tackle box so I picked up a number of those. A few new scum frogs. Hooks, trailer hooks, trailer plastics, a Z-man chatterbait, two rods (a St. Croix Triumph and a Ugly Stik) and Stren mono, 8 lb, even though I have braid with fluorocarbon leaders on two of my spinning reels.

So did this satisfy me? No. Now I want more rods and reels so I can have different set ups ready to go for different situations and species. This site is a bad influence on me.

 

HOLY CRAAAAP!!! Can't carry all that stuff on your bike. :shock:

 

HOLY CRAAAAP!!! Can't carry all that stuff on your bike. :shock:

I know. That's why I purchased more of those Plano stowaway boxes with the adjustable dividers. I can carry 2 or 3 of them in my backpack. I've got one for topwater lures, one for various cranks and spinnerbaits, and a general purpose one with a small amount of hooks, ned rigs, wacky o-rings, shaky heads, worms, etc. I leave the other boxes at home and just take a small selection of lures and plastics. I went through that phase of thinking that I needed to have plastic worms in every color imaginable. But that just leads to paralysis of analysis. Depending on the cloud cover and the water clarity, I figure I shouldn't really need more than 2 or 3 different colors and I can bring just a small number of each if I take my bike. My "traveling pack" now weighs about 11-12 lbs and I can probably cull that down even more.

One bad habit I used to have was always leaving my rods and tackle backpack in my trunk. I wanted them to always be there in case I wanted to fish (after work, or visiting someone who's near a lake, etc.) That might be okay in spring or fall, but in the blazing heat of a closed car in Chicagoland in July and August? I had some Zman ned rig worms that melted into this horrible mass of sticky jelly that ruined everything they touched. The bands that hold the skirts on certain spinnerbaits and buzzbaits become gummy and sticky. The skirts on some of the frogs dried up and cracked off. I won't be making that mistake again!

 

A Zman soufflé. Should have jammed a hook in it and tossed it out.
~JOE~

 

HOLY CRAAAAP!!! Can't carry all that stuff on your bike. :shock:

You can easily hold all that AND a lot more on a bike =D Check out bikepacking..........

 

I know. That's why I purchased more of those Plano stowaway boxes with the adjustable dividers. I can carry 2 or 3 of them in my backpack. I've got one for topwater lures, one for various cranks and spinnerbaits, and a general purpose one with a small amount of hooks, ned rigs, wacky o-rings, shaky heads, worms, etc. I leave the other boxes at home and just take a small selection of lures and plastics. I went through that phase of thinking that I needed to have plastic worms in every color imaginable. But that just leads to paralysis of analysis. Depending on the cloud cover and the water clarity, I figure I shouldn't really need more than 2 or 3 different colors and I can bring just a small number of each if I take my bike. My "traveling pack" now weighs about 11-12 lbs and I can probably cull that down even more.

One bad habit I used to have was always leaving my rods and tackle backpack in my trunk. I wanted them to always be there in case I wanted to fish (after work, or visiting someone who's near a lake, etc.) That might be okay in spring or fall, but in the blazing heat of a closed car in Chicagoland in July and August? I had some Zman ned rig worms that melted into this horrible mass of sticky jelly that ruined everything they touched. The bands that hold the skirts on certain spinnerbaits and buzzbaits become gummy and sticky. The skirts on some of the frogs dried up and cracked off. I won't be making that mistake again!

It's frightening how much this sounds like me. Sounds like we could swap backpacks & not notice. I had Zman plastics melt and eat parts of an old tackle box. :shock:

 

It's frightening how much this sounds like me. Sounds like we could swap backpacks & not notice. I had Zman plastics melt and eat parts of an old tackle box. :shock:

You're probably right! :lol: Thanks, now I don't feel so bad. That stuff is nasty when it melts.

 

Got a bad case of GAS last week; Nucanoe Flint, planning to keep the setup simple for easy transport and launching; looking forward to fishing new waters especially on the DPR

 

I would say that is welcomed GAS.
~JOE~

 

The best kind

 

Slick looking yak there!! I like that paddle, mine is similar if not that same exact one maybe

 

Very light weight paddle; offsets my poor technique a bit

 

Nice yak, I've been eyeing the flint myself. What length paddle did you get?

 

Adjustable 240cm. Recommended length is under 35" kayak width and 6'0" & under = 240cm. I'm 6'2" in my brain but 5'10" in real life

 

Darn, that is a sweet Tuffy. A relative had one when I was a little kid and I used to dream of owning a Tuffy one day. Great choice for fishing the bigger water you like.

Lots of GAS for me lately. Big order from Howies up in Door County. I stocked up on tubes for a few I upcoming trips. Waiting on a TW order now. Their shipping delays suck. Out of Jackhammers right now which is killing me.

 

Adjustable 240cm. Recommended length is under 35" kayak width and 6'0" & under = 240cm. I'm 6'2" in my brain but 5'10" in real life

have you taken it out yet? seat height factors into it as well. On the flint owners facebook group I've seen guys using up to 280CM paddles

 

Lots of GAS for me lately. Big order from Howies up in Door County. I stocked up on tubes for a few I upcoming trips. Waiting on a TW order now. Their shipping delays suck. Out of Jackhammers right now which is killing me.

I had heard how delayed TW standard shipping was. I broke down and paid an extra 9 bucks for 2 day delivery and it arrived right on time. I'm definitely noticing shortages in tackle availability. Most likely supply chain issues plus increased demand due to COVID.

 

I've been out twice now; one trip to Skokie and one north on the DPR. You can adjust the seat from standard to high. I have my seat at standard and haven't had any issues with paddle length but I am a newbie on a kayak so maybe I don't know any better

 

RIP to the coolest little tackle shop that most people never heard of.
https://www.cbs58.com/news/fishing-stor ... -good-soon
This was the only brick & mortar store I knew of to get most of the DIY crap that I use, this sucks!

 

^^^^ It's sad to see those types of businesses going away. That's the type of place that doesn't get replaced.
There is a small tackle shop in my area that when you enter it is like walking back in time. Bait tanks, jigs on cards, old dog sleeping on the floor and an odor that my wife says reminds her of my car.
~JOE~

 

^^^^ It's sad to see those types of businesses going away. That's the type of place that doesn't get replaced.
There is a small tackle shop in my area that when you enter it is like walking back in time. Bait tanks, jigs on cards, old dog sleeping on the floor and an odor that my wife says reminds her of my car.
~JOE~

The only tackle store near me is FishTech on Dempster. I try to make sure I buy from them on a regular basis, regardless of what I might purchase online. It does my heart good to go in there.

 

It just doesn't seem to stop. Got this for Father's Day.

 

Lots of GAS for me lately. Big order from Howies up in Door County. I stocked up on tubes for a few I upcoming trips. Waiting on a TW order now. Their shipping delays suck. Out of Jackhammers right now which is killing me.

I had heard how delayed TW standard shipping was. I broke down and paid an extra 9 bucks for 2 day delivery and it arrived right on time. I'm definitely noticing shortages in tackle availability. Most likely supply chain issues plus increased demand due to COVID.

If I knew at the time I would be losing my last 2 jackhammers I would have definitely paid the 9 bucks. Had a leader break and threw one into the abyss the other day.

 

I just received a Mustang DLX 38 inflatable life jacket. A bit pricey but hey I'm worth it. Actually it only cost me $27 out of pocket. I had a bunch of gift cards I had been hanging on to. I didn't need any rods, reels, tackle, etc. so pulled the trigger on it. It will definitely be more comfortable than my Stohlquist vest which is fine in the colder weather but when it gets hot out that thing is really uncomfortable.
It also came with a free tshirt and for an extra $5 a long sleeve tshirt too. And a sticker too!
~JOE~

 

Craigslist find, a couple of old Diston rip saws, a random miter saw, and my favorite, an old tree felling saw. Picked up a camper's axe from the depot on the way home. Latter two should come in handy on fishing trips.