zanwhite

Agreed, good stuff guys. One piece of advice I have is to get a lure retriever. It's hard to be comfortable fishing breaks, humps, boulder piles, brush etc without being afraid of losing baits. If the fish aren't active enough to come up and crush your bait, getting down into the thick of it on the bottom is a great way to catch a giant. If you're fishing uphill then it's easy to get pinned between rocks and stuff, losing 2+ hudds (or more $$$ baits) in a day is borderline depressing. Also, if I'm in clear water and trying to fish points/humps, I try to make the longest cast that I possibly can. Those fish are sitting down there looking upwards (in my opinion) and the last thing you want is for them to see your boat before your bait, especially with a 250 or something in the upper water column.

IN!

This is unreal, it would be hard enough to create this on canvas or a wall, but wood planks?? Definitely very talented indeed, I can't wait to see the finished work

Yesss! Thank you, I had given up hope

Heck yes! I've heard that if your mini breaks and you accidentally leave it in ur old house, the pats fairy will take it and hide it in your garage. I would have been so happy

I want to say it's a little of both, but I'm not sure it swims super well

"Notes: Considered to be "The Holy Grail" of JDM bait casting reels by almost all enthusiasts (including ourselves), the Monoblock Racing Viola is, to many, the most beautiful, and sought after reel ever produced. All Monoblocks are incredibly stout, powerful, smooth, and refined, performers. Couple that with the extremely limited number produced, and color of the Viola...you have all the reasons why it is considered the pinnacle of any collection, along with the rest of the Monoblock family."

https://youtu.be/GR6YGkBIEQw Here is a swim video of one, granted it's not the best angle. Also, I saw this beast that someone caught on one

Mickey needs to forget everything he knows about soft swimbaits and start rigging them with circle hooks on the nose like this, lol

Hell yeah! Those big ones aren't easy to fool, much less land. That's a stud red too btw

I have thrown it on my XH and my H, braid and mono, and it for sure moves allot of water. Stiffer rod w/ braid and I was able to get it to start walking a little, I might end up shaving the lip somewhat to get a gunfish-like action out of it

Dang, so it looks like the "schoolie" population of bass there especially might be taking a hit on big bodies of water... I'm sure whatever happens will be a long process, considering how long fish populations take to respond to changes in regulations here in the US. Brian, I have noticed the fanatical attention to detail of many JDM baits and I'm sure it is related to what you mentioned. I can only imagine the tackle shops there. If I ever make it out that way, I will definitely be in contact with you! You can bet I'll have a hefty budget for swimmers that are rarely seen anywhere else, might even have to bring an extra bag with me to fit them on the trip back. I can see immigrations' faces now haha

He seemed to be a very narrow-minded kid when it came to baits with lots of hype around them, almost like he was more concerned with having cool baits than catching fish (which seems like the point to me). Tim, that's what i have found to be the case as well. Lots of very similar baits, but most are too small to be this one. It's not incredibly well made, so odds of it being a knock off from across the pond are high... The detail on the face is really good, though. Something about the gills and eye socket (from the side view) remind me of Brock's carvings on the gillrillas

It's always interesting trying to hold and unhook a fish when they're hooked right on the "handle" of their mouth, nice catch!

Thanks for the info guys! I had a friend who spent 3 months there and just got back this past weekend. He doesn't fish, but did say that the people he met there were some of the nicest in the world. I can't say that I ever really had the desire to go that far from home, but I guess being open to new things and getting out of your comfort zone can result in some amazing experiences. If there are huge bass there also, well now you're talkin!

No worries my man, I think it's hilarious that he's gone but still too easy to poke fun at. I threw the bait around for a bit and it chugs like a mf. I would say it's a saltwater bait except for the bass paintjob

I've never seen a 2 pc hardgill, how does it glide??

Not too sure if you were serious, but the bottom doesn't have any markings on it at all. It's just a pale yellow w/ scale pattern all the way to bottom