If you want a really quality smoker, trawlers are very nice. You said you would only be using it a CNC Pyle times a year, Pit Boss makes nice user friendly smokers for a decent price. They are the best bang for your buck

May be able to help out

I get that for sure, the presidents are great any way you cut it. I set up a xt with a eyecon for a buddy the other day and took the first few casts with it, it seemed slightly gritty in the retrieve, not bad at all, just not the silky retrieve I am accustomed to, probably just a one off, he is gonna return it for another new XT, probably gonna be perfecto. If you can drop an oz plus, not a bad option. Not gonna say they are a horse a piece, but you can’t really go wrong imo.

I am a big fan of the pflueger presidents, I have owned the xts and quite frankly I like the basic model for the money. For a rod all I can say is go with a one piece. Can’t go wrong with St Croix, I love my Fenwick Elite Tech as well, I have bought a few of those.

Yup, I did read the regulations after I was out. I was running errands this morning and didn’t have a regulations book handy. Just thought I would reach out and see if anybody had some quick answers. I played it safe and bought a one day license in Wisconsin and went fishing. Checked while out fishing and also saw Walleye opened for St Croix as well for MN. Oh well, donating $10 to natural resources is ok by me. Fifteen pound carp is all I managed to pull today 😂 . Beautiful day regardless

I hate to ask this question as I have seen lots of related confusion related to it. But I have to know. If I have a MN fishing license, can I fish for walleyes from shore on the Wisconsin side, or do I need a WI license? Can I fish for walleyes this weekend from the MN shore, because the WI season is open? Thanks in advance.

24 years, still does the same thing as the day I got it.

Here are a few more just “fun” knives. 4th and 5th from the bottom are both kochevar, really strong heavy blades, good buck knives. Top four are very rigid, the chef knife up top is huge. The bottom three knives were forged by a family friend and have some flexibility to them. The third from the bottom is the most flexible and would be well suited for a fillet knife. The bottom two I consider boning knives, as they have some flexibility, but are definitely more rigid than your average fillet knife. Again he has many more, just a sample here. I have a blade at home that was cut from a lawnmower blade and is a pretty ruthless looking piece.

Tight Lines!

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These are all Zhen blanks, if you look closely, you can see the layer count, which speaks to the quality. Shown here are 67 layer and 101 layer (67 layer are Japanese steel while the 101 layer are German). Have a few pairing knives towards the bottom, above that are a couple santokus, followed by three nakiri, a couple chef’s knives, and a larger santoku up top. As you might be able to see if you look closely, they vary in layers and obviously the handles. You can basically get any of these blades in varying layer options, this is a small sample size, there are many more.

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I like diamond steels a lot, they work well with the blades that I like to use. Lots of Japanese blades are “softer” and tend to lose an edge a little quicker, however, with a diamond steel and a little bit of maintenance (running it on the diamond steel 5-10 swipes) you have a razor blade with little effort.

With a Wusthof, that is a much harder steel, and you will not get quite the same results with a steel, in my experience, you need to use a stone to maintain the best edge. But the Wusthof will hold a edge longer than your average blade with little maintenance.

I will say, sounds like you are a aspiring chef, get a good chef’s knife, and take care of it. I also would recommend getting a nakiri or Santoku to add some life to your chefs knife, just so you don’t use it all the time. There is a knife for every job, and if you have the right one, it is no doubt easier. But you most likely won’t need anything other than a solid chefs knife starting out. Good luck!

For some reason I’ve always had better luck with cheaper slicing knives. Again, I have used some nice Shun slicing knives, but I frankly like an Ed Don brand, or I also have a real nice Victorinox I like a lot. Not incredibly cheap, but with ten seconds of effort, I found a pretty solid slicer here
https://www.katom.com/037-40139.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA04XxBRD5ARIsAGFygj8qzQozQslgRWIM6MNVvN1MkQLcKv194LqIA6bkScGdHWcQQiJeew8aAuJIEALw_wcB

I worked as a professional chef for 15 years, learned a lot and had fun doing it. I started off with a wusthof classic, a nice knife, good piece to start with. A few chef buddies of mine had shuns and they were nice knives as well. Basically, wusthofs are a little heavier and feel a little more solid, whereas shuns are lighter and I have seen them deconstruct a little bit after heavy use.

Personally, the last ten years I have been using Japanese blades purchased online, and my father has been putting handles on them, they range from $80 for a nakiri, which is your vegetable knife, as it features a blunt end, allowing you to place your fingers close to utilize all of the product. He also makes higher e d chef knives, they range from 6-12” and vary in price from $90-$260 depending on steel quality (layers) and the material you desire for the handle. I’m biased, but I believe they are the best value available. Let me know if you have any more questions or would like some pictures of some knives.

Tight Lines!

I don’t post often here, but I feel moved to do so. I moved south to the cities ten years ago, and was looking to learn the ropes fishing the Mississippi. I posted a few questions on this site, not twenty minutes later, a guy named KWP responded. Later that night he had arranged for me to meet him at the 494 launch and he brought me out, and we proceeded to have a pretty good night catching walleyes. I have never forgotten his generosity not just with the fishing trip that night; but just being in the boat with him five minutes it was quite clear the type of person he is. It breaks my heart to hear what he has gone through lately, it just isn’t fair. God bless this good man, and my condolences to his friends and family.

Jake

Very cool, thanks for sharing

Was out yesterday trolling cranks, to my surprise we only pulled a couple decent perch and a sumo sheep! Beautiful day out there, we will get em next time

Don’t fish the West side

Also a petzl customer here. Tikka XP has been very good, last a very long time on three AAA. That nitecore looks pretty nice tho

It’s a pretty solid ice fishing lake, though the ice can be pretty sketchy. Most people tip up and fish panfish

We have a long tradition of potato dumplings. We fry them up with butter and diced ham. Simple

I bought some “lead ingots” off a shooting range in Pennsylvania. Fairly cheap, and shipped quickly as well. I will be ordering on line when i need lead

Thanks guys, the head threw me off, lamprey makes all sorts of sense

Jerry’s bait in Mora MN. I grew up close to there and the place has not changed in my 30 years. It is old school, and is also attached to a diner. I have great memories of grabbing some pancakes then heading next door and getting jumbo leeches and heading up to Mille Lacs to slay some walleyes and jumbo perch.

For what it’s worth, I have some second hand information saying the skinzit works pretty well. A buddy of mine saw one in action and was impressed. Seems weird to me though

Picnic hams are best turned into just that, a ham. Brine it, smoke it, you have a good ham.

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A couple good ones

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Never eatin it myself, and I am not exactly itching to get my hands on some, but they sell a tons of it in New York and a few other big markets and I hear a bunch of it comes from around these parts

Fished both a while back, clear water. I was fishing overnight for musky and saw some really big walleye cruising around. A couple good lakes close by to look at are Bowstring and Wabana

Very cool, I love your P4 underwater videos

What’s the name of this bait shop in lake city? I have been looking for minnows in this area with not much luck

I got bait there a couple weeks ago and they said they are not going to re up on their minnows ????. Very well, they just lost whatever little business I still did with them, I like fleet farm more anyways. But lakeville apple valley area is really lacking in enabling a guy to get his hands on some minnows, especially after 6 pm. It would be great if a 24 hour gas station started carrying