MacGyver

Every time I see a Tisas thread come around I get a little itchy.

Doug, I’m glad this is settled. I think it’s going to be a great move for you - both in the near term and the long term.

I went out to Burger Republic with an older friend recently. I watched him as he read the beer menu with a sort of puzzled look on his face for two or three minutes. Finally, he put it down - utterly confused - and offered, “they’ve got 75 beers on this damn menu, but no bud light, coors lite, or anything I’ve ever heard of. But, they’ve got PBR in a can? I just don’t get it.”

This run sure made a lot of folks really happy. I've got several friends who flew to Omaha for it. Mind you, I've got a couple of friends that take in the College World Series every year. They say it's awesome baseball all the way around.

They’ve stopped production at NRATV: https://t.co/hOwYLFZF6Q

I work with a lot of distressed organizations. One thing I can guarantee - if what’s making the press is this insane - what’s going on behind closed doors is a magnitude of scale worse. The unfortunate part of a lot of this is once the lawyers get involved - there are suddenly a lot of outside interests represented. Many of those are necessarily sort of winner take all and do not align with the interests of the organization. They may well survive - but it’s going to get worse - before it maybe gets better. Unlike most organizations going through hard times - they’ve got a lot of people who are lining against them at the same time.

You know, in all my years of fishing, I’ve not ever used a bubble rig. I need to pick one up and give it a whirl.

My go to is the mullet pattern. Followed by the red head and peanut bunker. But, I think I’ve fished every one of them with success in the Gulf. They make an inshore topwater popper that is loads of fun, too. I think it weighs in at 7/8 ounce, so it’ll cast a mile. Kind of like your kastmasters, anything with some silver flash is great. I love a blue/silver combo like the mullet pattern. I’ve taken to fishing those lures on an 8-foot fast, medium weight rod. My surf gear used to be way over rigged - but of late, I’ve been going the other way. A ladyfish on a lightweight rod feels like you’ve hooked into a tarpon.

When the red flags are flying - people need to take it seriously. We’ve pulled way too many people out of the water over the years. Two drowned on Priest on Friday. One swimming at Smith Springs, and another who didn’t surface jumping off the cliffs at Long Hunter. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t dynamited those things.

Pompano have been good recently. Spanish Mackrel have been hitting fast lures off the beach, too. I’ve switched almost entirely to Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore lures. I like that they’re a little heavier, so they cast longer in the wind, and they seem to last about three times as long as an equivalent Rapala. This one is my secret weapon: https://www.amazon.com/Yo-Zuri-Inshore-Twitchbait-Sinking-Crankbait/dp/B079ZBQYJ4?th=1&psc=1 It’ll catch everything in the Gulf. It’s good for reds, and pompano, and Spanish Mackerel. It’s also good for my kids’ preference - the trash can grand slam - consisting of a whiting, a ladyfish, and a bluefish all caught in the same day.

Seasons and limits have gotten a lot more restrictive in the last 20 years. And, while there is a bit of dissonance between recreational and commercial regulations, overall those limits are a good thing. We’re catching more, bigger fish all around. Yes, we put many back so they can grow, but my freezer is full of better fish. We regularly catch redfish that are way over the upper limit on the slot - 34-35” fish aren’t uncommon. You didn’t see that 20 years ago. The fish we *maybe* caught then were well below the now 18” low end of the slot limit. I get it that it’s frustrating to not be able to keep that red snapper when it doesn’t line up with the week you’ve got for your vacation - but, we’re definitely better for the limits and good fishery management.

Madeline freakin’ Baren! If you haven’t listened to In The Dark, the Supreme Court just weighed in and overturned Curtis Flowers conviction by a 7-2 majority.

Those are some great reds! Having fished for them for better than 35 years now - we catch way more fish - and better fish with the slot limit in place.

Huh.

Ellett Brothers was one of the biggest distributors out there. That loss will be felt across the industry - and it may be a bellwether of dark times ahead.

I really like some of Savage’s laminate stocks. The wood on my .17HMR is like your Boyd’s stock.

CZ455. Full stop. There’s not a better production gun out there today. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a Savage bolt gun in .22 mag. Cooper rifles are gorgeous - and are great shooters - but you could by 5 CZ’s for the cost of a Cooper.

My kids can eat cherry tomatoes like they're candy. We generally put three plants out - and they consume all of them as soon as they come off the plant.

Zero malfunctions is normal. The reason we run a bunch of rounds through a gun is so that we have confidence in them - and our ability with them. I'd argue that once you've had the failures, you probably know all you need to know about that particular weapon. You might smooth it out and run hundreds of rounds through it flawlessly. But you'll still have that question in the back of your head. You can talk yourself into it - but why?

It's a great show - especially if you're interested in meeting and getting to know some of your favorite makers. One of the things that has impressed me about the knife community at large is how genuinely friendly and willing to share knowledge the community remains. It's a great place to go and see some true art - it's also a great place to go and just spend a fun afternoon and maybe come away with a couple of cool blades.

Oh, I like that. It’s a great looking blade. That site will get you in some trouble.

REI now carries a premixed Permethrin spray for anyone who doesn’t want to roll their own. https://www.rei.com/product/768970/sawyer-permethrin-pump-spray-24-oz I also learned recently that a tick needs to be attached for a couple of days in order to transfer Lyme bacteria. That’s a significant window to allow for fully checking yourself.

I’m so sorry to hear this. Know that your family is in my prayers and that you’ll find peace amongst family and friends in the coming days.

Refitting the recoil pad is sort of an art form - but isn’t particularly hard. You just need some tape, a decent sander, and some patience.

Yeah, it’s typical for a replacement pad to be put on a drum sander for fit. But, I expect it’s going to take more than a half inch or so to really make it fit. A coach gun is going to have quite a bit of recoil - hence the thicker pad. It might be worth having the stock shortened up a bit and then having the recoil pad reinstalled. All that’s assuming you can get it to fit your frame. As mentioned above, it might be worth looking at a youth shotgun for a better fit.