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Bought a new fly rod and reel setup and took pictures instead of fishing since there's nowhere worthwhile within "short drive before/after work" distance around here.    Rod is a Sage Sonic 5ft 9wt and the reel is some no-name "Platinum Fly Fishing Colorado" reel. Seems pretty well made for ~$120, CNC aluminum with sealed drag and a nice finish. The rod casts so much better than my old Orvis Encounter starter package, it's like going from Ford (excluding the GT) to Ferrari. charliebravo77 fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Aug 3, 2020 |
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Aug 3, 2020 23:00
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 18:35 |
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I posted a bigger verison of this in the TGO hunting thread, but thought people who didn't wander into there might appreciate this bit about trout streams in WI as I've been digging through GIS data for hunting and fishing. I snipped out the non-fish related stuff so stop on by there if you want to see a bit more about Strava heatmaps, public land boundaries and even beer  quote:
Edit- another great fishing-related resource is the Navionics web portal for water depths: https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@6&key=a~ryFr_bqN charliebravo77 fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Aug 6, 2020 |
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Aug 6, 2020 18:35
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post incoming!
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I'm finally getting the hang of this fishing thing.         I spent the last few years trying to "learn" the lake that's around the corner from my house. Turns out what I should have learned is that I'm not catching fish I should go elsewhere, since that's worked well.
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Aug 10, 2020 00:14
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It's a Fuji XF10. Not waterproof so it's not a perfect fishing solution but it has an aps-c sensor and a f2.8 lens so it produces much higher quality photos than most pocketable cameras. I keep it in a waterproof zippered pouch when I'm wading or paddling until I am secure enough to take a photo.
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Aug 10, 2020 04:55
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Yeah, the XF10 isn't going to help with reach. The Sony Rx100 series has optical zoom and a large (1", but still not not aps-c) sized sensor that gets good reviews. It was a contender with the Fuji but in the end lost to the XF10 because of the bigger sensor and Fuji controls because I'm a bit of a photography nerd.
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Aug 10, 2020 14:50
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The Mad River Outfitters YouTube intro to fly fishing series is really good and should get you going if you don't have anyone in person to help you out.
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Aug 19, 2020 17:54
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If you have an Orvis store nearby they do free intro lessons which include learning to cast. Your local fly shop may be a good resource too, especially if you're willing to spend a few bucks to support them.
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Aug 20, 2020 03:20
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Poque posted:god that's just stunning scenery. I'm so tired of flat-rear end Illinois This is not an empty quote.
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Sep 3, 2020 17:25
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Went fishing with an old coworker this weekend up in WI. Weather was about perfect and we spent the entire day on the water. Didn't catch anything huge but it wasn't a wasted day. Caught a few rock bass and perch. Even got one on a fly. I was trying to target pike on the fly and managed to get one to follow and half assed strike that white and red fly but didn't connect fully. Great adrenaline rush for a few seconds, though.        Now I need to buy a boat...
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Sep 17, 2020 00:21
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:There is a lake near me that is public land that the public cannot access. 100% of the land surrounding it is owned by the rich, who specifically fought to keep a park from being built which would have allowed the public to access the lake which they, the public, ostensibly own. If I were rich I would land my float plane on the lake to fish from or have a helicopter drop off/pick me up in a kayak. Maybe catapult into the lake? I hate poo poo like that and would come up with every harebrained idea I could to get access.
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Sep 24, 2020 23:17
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charliebravo77 posted:I hate poo poo like that and would come up with every harebrained idea I could to get access. I know! Rent a crane to lift me over the houses and lower me into the lake.
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Sep 25, 2020 04:15
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Ghostnuke posted:Yesssss, finally a st croix bro Gimme 24 hours. I'm grouse hunting near their factory this weekend and evidently their factory store has blemished rods for like half off.
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Sep 26, 2020 04:49
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They didn't have any blemished fly rods but I got a 6wt for bass since apparently these things are like golf clubs or some poo poo... 
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Sep 27, 2020 01:01
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Ghostnuke posted:Ooo poo poo, take some pics Of the rod, St. Croix store or hunting? I didn't take any pics in the store since it wasn't terribly interesting. No B-grade fly rods which is what I was in the market for so I had to pay full price   DSCF6364 by charliebravo77, on Flickr DSCF6358 by charliebravo77, on FlickrHunting pics are here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933080&pagenumber=5#post508483822 Today I went on a guided smallmouth fly fishing trip on the Kankakee River in northern IL. It was a great day - caught my largest freshwater fish of any sort by far, plus two other good size SMBs and a few smaller ones.  Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr Kankakee Smallmouth by charliebravo77, on Flickr
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Sep 30, 2020 03:05
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Desert Bus posted:Friendly reminder for y'all since (for me) it's pond feeding time again. This pond is great catch & release for Bluegill, Bullheads, and Bass. I've dumped hundreds of pounds of food into it over the past few years and the results have been great. PM me before you show up and I'll probably feed you alcohol and let you use my bathroom. I've been told it's really good fishing and watching people toss lines in and immediately pull out fish kinda confirms it for me. Valparaiso, Indiana, USA. I might have to take you up on this sometime over the summer as the pond fishing around me in Chicagoland is less than desirable from what I have found, largely due to over-fishing and lack of public access.
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Mar 15, 2021 15:40
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Sickening posted:Texas have these really dumb archaic laws about transporting gamefish between bodies of water. Not that anyone is really going to catch you, just funny how the state of texas cries "illegal!" in doing such a basic thing. Says the state that has a booming game farm and exotic hunting industry. Wonder how the zebras and kudu made their way across the ocean.
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Mar 15, 2021 16:14
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Stockingfoot are way better if you are walking a significant distance or are in rocky waterways because you get A) real shoes and B) ankle support. Some boots, like my Korkers Darkhorses, have interchangeable soles for varying terrain/traction requirements. I have some Orvis waders that I like well enough which are convertible from chest to waist height and are breathable. If you are going to be doing a lot of wading and can afford it I would definitely recommend going with something higher end/buy once cry once from Simms, Patagoina, Orvis, etc. if you can swing it. Also check with your local fly/fishing shop and see what they have that will be suitable to where you're fishing. They may even have some oddball stuff to sell you at serious discount if it's a discontinued model or odd sizing or something else. I got a screaming deal on my waders because the shop couldn't find a box for them, nobody knew who ordered them and otherwise just didn't know what to do with them. They fit me so a normally $400 pair of waders were mine for $150. If you're going to be hiking through thorny brush, though, definitely consider bringing the waders in a pack and putting them on once you get to the water because while the higher end brands are very durable, they aren't bulletproof. Also, if it's warm and the water is clean enough I like to wear neoprene wading socks with my wading boots and just wet wade in shorts or quick drying pants. All the ankle support and traction benefits and it's cooler than being in waders mid-summer.
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Apr 26, 2021 19:30
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Bass day, sight fished them from my Nucanoe and snagged them on wooly bugger flies. Tons of fun and the big one is my biggest largemouth to date on any kind of tackle.  
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Jun 6, 2021 03:27
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Anyone ever fish the Florida Keys? I'm dangerously close to loving off and driving down there for a week or so with my Nucanoe, fish poles and an overwhelming urge to catch saltwater fish.
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Jun 16, 2021 03:59
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Sickening posted:Wait, I have heard of it the other way around... but who the gently caress designated boats only?
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Aug 21, 2021 18:01
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The explanation I heard at one point was that you use your dominant hand/arm to do the function that requires more work. With a baitcaster the idea is that generally the work comes from reeling vs a spinning setup uses the rod to pull the fish in. Where I heard this I don't remember and it actually seems like it'd be the opposite in reality but there you go, sample size of one.
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Aug 26, 2021 03:58
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:Cast Net Bazooka when Does this... not exist?
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Nov 28, 2021 17:38
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Yeah I'm an uncoordinated idiot and I've caught tons of fish on a fly rod. I've never once thrown a cast net because they take witchcraft.
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Nov 29, 2021 03:02
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gently caress yeah snook! Despite growing up in FL I didn't catch my first one until this summer. Spent a week fishing in the Port Charlotte area and managed to get one mangrove snapper on frozen shrimp and the snook on a fly I tied myself. Probably would have fished more but I was paddling my NuCanoe and didn't want to venture too far off into the unknown.     Even if it wasn't big it was pretty awesome connecting with one on a fly I made myself.
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Dec 25, 2021 01:06
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Crab Dad posted:Insanely jealous of your yak. I almost bought one till I decided to buy a new truck. I like it a lot. It's not perfect, but it's pretty affordable for the super wide, stable, power capable boats. I picked up a 2.5hp outboard for it but I don't think I'm going to use it. It's way too tippy with it on there. I dunno how two dudes sit on elevated chairs with one mounted. I did get an electric trolling motor for it which has worked great. I just need to actually do the paperwork to get it registered.
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Dec 25, 2021 18:28
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Crab Dad posted:Interesting and good to know about the engine. That was a fairly big selling point. Being super wide and stable for throwing crab pots and moving gear to an island was also high on my list. I mean, I'm also close to 300 with most of my weight on the top half of my body so the center of gravity is way higher for me than it might be for others. I'm actually pretty interested in the Pivot drive pedal option. I'm probably going to try and sell my outboard and put that money into the Pivot drive. One thing I will say is that if you do end up getting any sort of outboard make sure it's got easily extended controls. Mine was probably meant for a small jon boat and if you set it up so that your seat is in a good position for balance it'd be impossible to reach the shift lever without rigging up some kind of extension. Tiller/throttle extension handle is easy enough but I haven't figured out the best way to extend the shift lever yet.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:54
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Had a hell of a day fishing the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. It was my third time trying the river and first successful day. Caught everything on a drop shot with a sexee tail shad. Probably 12-15 fish total. Mostly largies with a handful of bluegill too.         
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Jan 1, 2022 01:26
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What is reasonably affordable? I've got a 9ft 6wt St. Croix Imperial that I've caught a fair number of bass on without issue, they're $250. If you wanted to step up a little in price the TFO Axiom II-X looks pretty sweet at $350 but I don't have any experience with them.
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Jan 2, 2022 19:00
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Safety Dance posted:This is dope. Yeah, I don't know if I'd eat them any time soon but the river has come a long way in recent years. One of the figures quoted by the tour boats I kept overhearing was that since the 70s the river has gone from 10 species of fish to over 70. The fish I caught were pretty healthy looking and actually bigger than most bass and bluegill I've caught elsewhere around Chicagoland. A few looked pretty pale but that's more of a sunlight thing than water quality issue probably. Pretty excited to give it a go again soon if it's not super cold out.
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Jan 5, 2022 05:30
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crazypeltast52 posted:GOONFISH ICE CLASSIC (1/29-1/30/2022) Lake Minnetonka, MN Vaxxed, boosted and ready to fish.
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Jan 5, 2022 16:29
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Got 'em This was the biggest, I caught like 6 total. Still a ton of fun and we'll try again tomorrow. 
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Jan 30, 2022 00:48
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Desert Bus posted:I know I post this offer a lot, but any Chicago/NWI Goons who wanna come fish my pond? The swarm of Bluegill is just getting bigger in numbers and size. There is this beautiful 8-9" lady just begging to be caught. Every year I feed just makes it better. They get bigger and more numerous every year and I have no plans to stop feeding them. I'm nursing a foot injury but once I am not hobbling around I will come take you up on this. Probably with a fly rod.
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Apr 22, 2022 19:36
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Seconding the Redington Behemoth for a saltwater setup. It's not fully sealed so be sure to rinse it well after use each day with freshwater but it's got good drag which is more important with a saltwater setup than fresh if you hook into a tarpon or big snook or something. I fished an 8wt when I vacationed in FL and felt like it was a good balance. If I was specifically targeting big tarpon or something I might break out the 10 but an 8 is no slouch for inshore stuff.
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Jul 7, 2022 02:36
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Echo Boost Blue 8-10wt, a Redington Behemoth of appropriate size and a Scientific Anglers Frequency Saltwater is what I would pick for a budget saltwater setup (under $500 total) and is almost identical to what I actually have. Sub the Echo for a Moonshine Outcast (they have mixed reviews, mine's fine and I got it real cheap on black friday a few years ago) and that's what I used when I was in FL. If I were upgrading the rod I'd look at the TFO Axiom-II, for a better reel I'm not actually sure, maybe the TFO BVK SD or an Orvis Hydros but the only thing it really offers over the Behemoth is less of a need to rinse after use, but you should still rinse your gear even if it's fully sealed drag.
charliebravo77 fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Jul 10, 2022 |
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Jul 10, 2022 17:39
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Applebees Appetizer posted:
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Jul 26, 2022 16:52
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:How many fishing rods do y'all have? Uhh...18? 20? I fish conventional and flies. I got back into fishing pretty heavy since covid started and really dove into fly fishing. I don't have a boat boat, but I have a NuCanoe Frontier 12 which is a super wide kayak that I can stick a motor on or paddle around. I'm probably 50/50 kayak vs shore fishing these days, but I wade too where applicable. I fish predominately freshwater targeting basically everything but I go down to FL occasionally enough I got an inshore spinning setup. I will probably have a boat within the next year, especially if I stay in the Chicago area. Conventional setups: 1x Pflueger ~5' ultralight combo 1x Lews Laser Lite Speed Spin 5'6" ultralight combo 1x St Croix 6'6" ML Fast Eyecon with Daiwa Regal LT 1000 1x St Croix 7' Mojo Inshore with Penn Battle III 3000 1x Abu Garcia 7' MHF casting rod with Lew's Speed Spool 1x Lew's 7' MHF American Hero casting rod with Abu Black Max 1x Daiwa Revros 7' MF 2 Piece combo 1x Daiwa Procyon 7' MHF 2 piece rod with Daiwa Regal LT 3000 1x 13 Fishing 7' MF combo (unsure model) Ice setups: 1x 13 Fishing Black Betty Freefall Ghost Stealth ice fishing combo 1x Daiwa Laguna LT ice fishing combo Fly setups: 1x Redington Classic Trout 8ft 3wt 6pc with Piscifun 3/4 reel 1x Orvis Encounter 9ft 5wt combo 1x Sage Sonic 9ft 5wt with "Colorado Fly Fishing" 5/6 reel 1x St Croix Imperial 9ft 6wt with Lamson Liquid reel 1x Moonshine Outcast 9ft 8wt with Redington Behemoth 8/9 reel 1x Moonshine Outcast 9ft 10wt with Piscifun Platte 9/10 sealed drag reel 1x Tenkara rod I also have a couple other old combos including like a $9.99 setup my wife wanted because it was purple. MoonCricket posted:I picked up a st croix rod today; it is a 6'6 medium-light and fast action and plan to pair it with a 2500 size reel for ned rigging. But now I did a little more reading and I may want a extra-fast action for ned rigging. I can't deicide if I want to go exchange it, or keep it and give it a shot. If I use it and decide I want a XF action I really have no other use for the rod at this moment so I would have to suck it up and use it or eat the cost if I'm not impressed with it. I've been using a 1000 reel on a 5' light/fast rod and was starting to get the hang of how to fish it so I just upscaled a little but second guessing now. So many drat options in fishing it gets silly... I use the abovementioned 6'6" St Croix MLF Eyecon for drop shots, small swimbaits and other jigs and it is fantastic for a sort of do everything rod on the lighter side. I haven't done much ned rig fishing so I can't speak to that but it is an absolute blast on drop shot setups. Caught that guy and a bunch more drop shotting the Chicago River last fall.
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Sep 6, 2022 02:04
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Crab Dad posted:I was intrigued by nucanoe until I took a test drive in one. The cable drive felt very strained and awkward. The quality of the canoe was great and very stable but I had to say no . I have a Nucanoe Frontier 12 which I really like - I can stand and paddle or cast conventional or fly rods on it without issue which is a feat. I use a paddle or electric trolling motor with it. I have thought about getting the pedal drive addition but I'm not exactly sure if it's what I want. In a perfect world I'd just get a Hobie but they are pricey. I came across these and am very intrigued. https://lightningkayaks.com/collections/kayaks/products/strike-hd-camo?variant=39853345439855 Not as wide (or presumably as stable) as the Nucanoe but half the price of a similar Hobie. I would like to explore some bigger water and while the trolling motor works fine it is battery dependent and I do a lot of cycling and think my legs could probably outlast my battery.
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Dec 31, 2022 22:13
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Pitre posted:I've had an inflatable kayak for years now and I primarily fish smaller lakes for catfish or trout depending on the season. After trying some friends regular rigid fishing kayaks I think I want to upgrade to something like that. I've looked at them for quite some time. I'm looking at shorter fishing kayaks like 10.5' after trying out one of these and it was super stable and fun. https://www.sportsmans.com/boats-kayaks-canoes-boating-supplies/paddle-sports/kayaks/old-town-kayak-sportsman-106-10ft-photic-camo/p/1671829 If you aren't pulling a trailer just slide it in the bed under the cover and run a couple cam straps to keep it secure. I have a 5ft bed Tacoma and this is what I have done (minus the tonneau cover) until I got my NuCanoe which is a bit longer/heavier and needed extra support in the form of a hitch mount bed extender.
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Apr 24, 2023 02:40
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camoseven posted:Where at? I'm in Indy and could use a day trip I could probably be convinced to come out if it's a weekend.
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May 31, 2023 01:18
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durabrand107 posted:I'll be heading north this weekend for vacation to get in some trout fishing, can't wait. I guess that kinda begs a question thats been bugging me, last time I went (think wv/va area) I wore neoprene waders in march since the water was cold and I'm a bit of a pussy. I'll be there late June now, I assume neoprene is going to be too hot, do you just use regular waders, or are those too hot and if no waders, then what just trunks and some felt boots? I could also just do shorts and bare foot it I guess. Depending on water cleanliness and/or temperature I use either normal stockingfoot gore-tex/waterproof breathable waders with insulating layers as needed or lack thereof if not or just shorts/fast dry pants with wading socks and wading boots. https://korkers.com/collections/fishing-components/products/25mm-i-drain-wading-socks?variant=24522193567844 Wading socks don't really keep your feet dry but they do help with fit and keeping sand/mud/etc off your skin.
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Jun 15, 2023 20:10
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