I've been going crazy what to do with my shoulder as there are 3 options... The PRP is less invasive but won't totally heal the tendon and I would still risk a total tear which would put me in for surgery for sure!  I'm losing my mind because I also don't want to be incapacitated if a position opens up somewhere, so I needed to give my mid a break.

Unfortunately, I've been hounded by a few people to take them out fishing but I just want some solitude.  On social media, I mentioned I was out on a buddy's boat just to bypass the drama, but we all know that was a little white lie.  I also needed to burn off some old gas since it's been sitting for a few weeks in the driveway.

Plan was to look for gamefish, then potentially look for bass or anything that might come home to visit my freezer.  I'm not making a paycheck, but I need to at least put food on the table.

Headed out to fog... Visibility about 1/2 to 1 mile.  It was much worse on the drive down to the ramp.



I was heading out the inlet and there were perfect arches everywhere on the sonar. 



I was hoping they were bass or bonito, but after throwing a little iron quickly found out there are a ton of macks in the bay!  I kept a few in the live well just in case....

I saw where everyone was heading and fishing for the bones, but I went out to where I was getting them the last time I was out.  I was metering bait balls and definite fish boomerangs, so I started casting the 43-gram colt sniper with custom willow blade hook I put on.  Well, the bones were there!



The problem is they were really spread out and only in small groups.  There were a ton of BIG macks though and I caught quite a few for lobster bait.  I kept plucking away on the small jig.



I switched to casting the Yozuri troller since it was a fast sinker, casted well and had a great wobble at any speed.  Ironically, it worked the best for jigging!  I would cast out to meter marks on the sonar about 50' down and rip it in 10' and let it drop 10 feet.  Ended up getting my limit that way!



After that I ran closer to home and went to try some of the structure near the inlet.  I couldn't get bit to save my life at any reef on the way back until I found a cloud of Whitefish!



I wanted to get my limit really fast and was making short work of it.



I was just about there... but other stuff was getting in the way like a few CPR sheepheads.





Funb stuff on the spinner!



Then Jackass made a 90-degree turn and ran full steam at me.  I had a fish on but did the rod down and acting like I didn't have a fish.  The guy didn't catch sh!t all day and asked how I was doing.  Told him I didn't catch sh!t all day either.  I hate when joe shmoes just come over to have some conversation about how sh!tty they were doing.  No one ever comes over to tell me what a great bite they are on, so I won't give them anything for coming over hot and trying to jump into any bite that I'm on.  (I know, just a rant but really... really pisses me off)

Well, the fish magically disappeared for some reason.  Not sure that guy actually scared them away, but whatever happened, they were gone.  I made a small move and caught a few calico before calling it quits and heading in.



Not a bad day overall and I now have fish for the freezer and carcasses for the bugs. 

I'm definitely going to come up with a shirt for these clowns.  When I think it might only be me, I'm reminded of when Squatch rolled up on Verne out fishing and Verne gave him the cold shoulder until he realized it was Steve.  So I'm not alone... or I actually may be.

Thanks for reading!

Yeah, Lobster fishing isn't for the faint of heart the last 15 years.  Before that, hardly anyone did it and it was no problem.  The internet knows how to ruin a good thing.

Quote from: jrodda on January 19, 2026, 07:28:51 PMAnother day in the Prehistoric Joints forum...hope the best with whatever you do! Timmy's idea sounds pretty dang clever.

Funny guy!  lol

Yeah, I would just have the surgery now, but I know as soon as I get it an offer would probably come through. I'm probably going to try the Platelet injections.  It's not covered by insurance, but it heals rather than mask the pain and my next-door neighbor (who is older than me had it) said it was the best decision he's had over surgery.

 

Real nice cat, good looking one.

Another day in the Prehistoric Joints forum...hope the best with whatever you do! Timmy's idea sounds pretty dang clever.

San-Tom Lakes, never a dull moment !  

 I always schedule my surgeries at the end of the year cause my deductible is met and no out of pocket expenses, not to mention it's usually crummy weather and not much going on. On the other hand, if the pain is too much then you have to do it ASAP !

Mid Feb. will ruin your Bat Fight for March Unless you want to just want to watch me reel in a Bat for Cheez  

Either way, good luck cause the recovery is a B*tch as you get older

But I might chicken out.  I'm still looking for work (This sucks) and I really don't want to be in a sling and recovering for 6 months.  Being older already is a problem looking for work but being crippled and old is worse.

I set my surgery date (mid-Feb) but I don't want to miss the hiring part of the year when everyone gets their funds approved for the year.  I might do the PRP shot and physical therapy until I get work and just postpone surgery until a later time.... 

What would you guys do?

I decided to get out for a bit since I wasn't sure if I was going to see my granddaughter or not in the afternoon.  Getting to the Lakes at 6:00 am was tough only because I had no idea where I was going to fish...  I had 4 spots in mind but having that many spots to choose from, makes it difficult to pick.

I decided to do what I did the other day.

Fishing was tough but I did get a little guy pretty quickly.  Probably the smallest one I caught this entire trout season.



I then get picked up 2 more times and felt a bite, but they didn't hook up.  I was using a small treble also so I couldn't figure it out.  The worm was also coming back looking good, but I totally felt the bite.  I noticed that the Red Ear bite has been picking up so possibly small ones?

Then I see a trout running the shoreline in front of me.  It would swim out of sight but always come back and I almost had him hit my spinner but I pulled it away by accident when he finally went to hit it.  Then some dude parks right next to me and parks himself right next to me totally blocking any chance of casting to that trout.  I like the quiet but he was all chatty so I just sat in my car to get some peace.

I saw him hook up with a nicer trout but almost broke his rod in the process.  Long story short, he never landed it.  I was about done and had to run home so I could get things done and wait for my granddaughter to arrive.  Our plan was to take her to Chucky-Cheese... but the kids decided they didn't want to come down, so we didn't get to see her.

That means one thing... Head back to the lakes!

The lakes were packed!  I headed to a different lake and noticed I almost used up all of the crawlers.  The few that remained were in great shape! 

 

I kept getting hits, but it was the same thing... Bite and let go over and over.  There were no Pond Chickens around, and the baits reeled in looking good so I don't know what was going on.

I was talking with Dave and got a real hit but it didn't stick!  I was ready to rip that tiny treble off!

Then with 30 minutes before closing... I saw a really good bite and it was ON!  I could tell it was a really big fish and suspected a big cat... but hoped for a big trout.

I tried to just take my time and get it to shore since he hit my 2# rod.  Man, I still can't believe I could catch these things on such little line and gear.  The 2# test to be fair is Berkley and probably realistically breaks at 4#.

Well Damn... In the net she went!



It looked pretty fresh over a really gnarly ones that stay in the lakes for years and my old neighbor asked for any catfish if I caught them, so I stashed her in the cooler.  The fillets were huge and I'm going to use the carcass for lobster bait.  The last lobster trip we got 2 legals on the catfish carcass.  LOL

Well, back home I went to hang with the wifey.

Thanks for reading and is anyone doing any fishing?

Sounds like good hooping no matter where you go. I can see the round rays being a real pita.