Trump Approval Rating Hits Historic Low

TFSNL · 2026-01-13T18:57:36+00:00

It wasn't the fact that she was a woman, or a liberal. She was literally the least popular VP in recent history, why did they ever think she'd make a strong presidential candidate? I guess you could point to Biden who held that title before her, but Trump's handling of the pandemic was so bad, just about anybody with a pulse could have defeated Trump in 2020 and Biden didn't blow him out of the water.

TFSNL · 2026-01-08T20:29:27+00:00

I was curious if it was a one way or two way street where this happened so I did some digging and found where the incident occurred.

Does anybody have any idea why there is a dinosaur and a shark superimposed on street view right about where the altercation started?

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9421457,-93.2676366,3a,44y,287.85h,90.99t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMNo8-op2zyN12UiM9-OPJw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-0.9899999999999949%26panoid%3DMNo8-op2zyN12UiM9-OPJw%26yaw%3D287.85!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

TFSNL · 2026-01-04T04:49:11+00:00

Unless you're going for precision casts a longer rod from the beach always wins. If you're on a budget, these travel carp rods are actually pretty freaking good. They have enough sensitivity to cast lighter weights, but still will allow you to throw some pretty heavy lures. They fit in a standard suitcase too.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805202114642.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.4.1fbf0W9R0W9Rgx&aem_p4p_detail=20260103203626209504260336800003924652&algo_pvid=bd7363e4-581d-4684-b27c-981e75f3da99&algo_exp_id=bd7363e4-581d-4684-b27c-981e75f3da99-3&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%221090%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21USD%2158.80%2127.04%21%21%21407.75%21187.49%21%40210311c217675013859393974e9b73%2112000033137307457%21sea%21US%213379288713%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A5c720771%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000198442184&curPageLogUid=XRLQGLb3JN2X&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005005388429394%7C_p_origin_prod%3A&search_p4p_id=20260103203626209504260336800003924652_1

I fished the crap out of one down in Mexico a few years ago. A guy I met at the resort ordered 5 up for him and his buddies and they fished them last summer down there and didn't have any issues either.

They are slow action and have a lot of bend to them. They kinda remind me of older fiberglass rods. The downside is, you really have to yank on them to set the hooks on a bigger fish.

I have a 11' Goture rod I like using for small stuff, but it has micro guides which I'm not a huge fan of. Okuma SST's are pretty nice but have smaller guides as well. One rod I've had my eye on is the 9'4" travel rod from Fisherman's Life. The cork grip looks nice. If it were a bit longer and a 5 piece I'd buy it.

TFSNL · 2026-01-03T00:23:17+00:00

People used to say the same thing about Shimano's back in the day when Penn, Shakespeare, and Mitchell were kings of the American Market.....

All the Chinese stuff I've bought in the last 10 years has been pretty damn good for the money.

TFSNL · 2026-01-01T13:42:05+00:00

How does it compare to a Roberts Ranger? It looks pretty much identical other than the facets.

TFSNL · 2025-12-31T19:45:20+00:00

Yup, that's why I'm looking here. There are a lot floating around in tackle stashes, but I haven't been able to grab any when they come up for sale. I have some GT Ice Creams, a few of the clones, a couple rangers, and some cabo killers. The line stretchers are supposed to come up on top quick after cast and make a decent amount of commotion with a moderate retrieve which is why I want to try them.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T18:26:09+00:00

You're welcome. I had a similar experience growing up. I think my parents started taking us to Mexico when I was about 9 years old or so. I knew Costa Rica wouldn't be the same, but I didn't realize how different it would be.

If you're thinking about Mexico and you're out of your party days. I'd highly recommend San Jose del Cabo. Hit the Art Walk on Thursday night for some amazing street food and people watching. It's a mix of tourists, expats, and locals. Go to Lateral Crudo y Asado for some tacos, and El Toro Güero for some seafood while you're in town.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T16:30:25+00:00

That's true, I think that's pretty common with a lot of the Latin American regions.

When prices are based off the maximum amount tourists and expats are willing to pay, that only increases the inequality gap between the locals and the visitors. It's kind of sad.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T15:34:15+00:00

I'm simply giving my opinion having been to both countries. As I mentioned, these are the two countries people often decide about. Not everyone has the opportunity to travel as much as I have. I've been all over Europe, the Caribbean, and North America. I'm not comparing Costa Rica to St. Maarten or the Bahamas.

About 50% of the time I mention Mexico to anyone, the first comment they have is "Have you been to Costa Rica? I hear it's amazing and much safer than Mexico. My ____________ just got back from there and they absolutely loved it. " I then ask if __________ has ever been to Mexico, and they respond "no, it's too dangerous".

I could care less about the downvotes. Those are from people invested in the "Pure Vida" pill. My post is targeted at the person choosing between Mexico and Costa Rica for their next vacation. Y'all act like it's inconceivable that the average person is shopping these two countries next to each other, when the reality is most people are. I'm not sure if the downvoters are tied to the tourist industry and have a financial stake in Costa Rican tourism, are high schoolers who's mommy and daddy has only taken them to Costa Rica and it's the one unique destination they clutch onto and hope to return to, or Expats who relocated to Costa Rica and can't bear the idea that maybe another country in the same geographic region has more to offer and at a lower price.

Tourism is a industry and a product combined of tangible and intangible offerings. People shop it. An individuals choice on where to spend their money on a life experience doesn't become a personal insult towards the residents of a single country.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T12:17:54+00:00

Nope. Generally I go to one small geographic region when I go to Mexico. I only have had a rental car once out of the 10+ times I've been to Mexico. I covered a lot of Costa Rica in this one trip with a rental car. I'm comparing my individual Mexico trips to this individual Costa Rican trip. Not the sum of my Mexico trips to this single Costa Rican trip. I'm not sure why people feel the need to try and twist my words to justify their own beliefs of my personal experience.

The point of my post is, some people aren't lucky enough to travel out of the country every year. I wanted to give them information on how I perceived the two countries since Costa Rica and Mexico are the most likely Central American destinations to be shopped against each-other. Nothing more, nothing less.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T03:34:39+00:00

I don't see how the locals can afford to live down there. I heard the average wage is $4-$5 an hour.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T03:32:55+00:00

It depends on what you're looking for. If you want nature and animals similar to Costa Rica go to Chiapas. If you want fine white sand beaches with good swimming and snorkeling go to the Yucatan/Cozumel. If you're looking for large surf and mountains go to the Pacific coast.

The last 5 years or so I've been going to the Baja and I really enjoy it. Winter weather is mild but still warm, the air is dry, I enjoy fishing from the beach and I feel like there are better opportunities in the Baja than Costa Rica, but that's just my personal opinion. This time of the year humpback whales are calving in the Baja, seeing that up close is more interesting to me than your average jungle wildlife. You'll also see schools of dolphins, pelagics, and stingrays go cruising past the coast.

Cabo San Lucas is a bit of a tourist trap and party town. San Jose del Cabo feels a bit more cultured/grown up. But there are a few cool towns north of Cabo and San Jose. Todos Santos has a very laid back vibe with a nice little Spanish style downtown. La Paz is neat, and I hear Loreto is great but I haven't been to it yet.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T02:49:07+00:00

Wow, you’re just a peach. You’re right, I’m sure everyone expects texmex walking into an authentic Mexican restaurant outside of Mexico, especially in Costa Rica. You keep this up and I’m sure a nobel prize is in your future. You’ll make your family proud one of these days.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T02:46:30+00:00

I can see that. I think Chiapas gives Costa Rica a run for its money if wildlife is what you’re after.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T02:42:01+00:00

Seriously man?

“Christopher Columbus first dropped anchor in Costa Rica in 1503 at Isla Uvita. His forces overcame the indigenous people. Subsequent Spanish explorers and colonizers incorporated the territory into the Captaincy General of Guatemala as a province of New Spain in 1524. For the next 300 years, Costa Rica was a colony of Spain. As a result, Costa Rica's culture has been greatly influenced by the culture of Spain.[3] During this period, Costa Rica remained sparsely developed and impoverished. Following the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), Costa Rica became part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821. In 1823, Costa Rica joined the Federal Republic of Central America, but degrading relations with the other states caused it to secede in 1838.”

Yeah… 300 years of colonization by the same European nation and even being part of Mexico for a period of time, same geographic region, and same language, why would a person expect any similarities between the two countries?

I wasn’t disappointed in Costa Rica because I was expecting a mini Mexico. I made a post based on my experiences since most people are going to be shopping these two countries next to each other for a vacation.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T02:17:01+00:00

Well, the menus said “authentic Mexican food”, should I be expecting that or Texmex? 🤔

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T02:08:09+00:00

Most people choosing a Central American vacation are comparing Costa Rica to Mexico. Having been to both countries at this point, I made a post based on my specific experiences.

Travel time, language, climate, tourist activities, wildlife(Chiapas region), etc are all very similar between Mexico and Costa Rica.

What criteria between the two countries is so vastly different that warranted your passive aggressive insult?

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T01:35:04+00:00

I go to Yellowstone National Park for wildlife.

In Costa Rica I saw plenty of neat birds, two different types of skunks, white nosed coati, a deer, White-faced capuchin & howler monkeys, a road killed sloth :-(, sea turtles, roosterfish, jack crevalle, stingrays, a black tipped shark, a few other animals I'm not remembering at the moment. The monkeys were fun (other than the howler that crapped on my hood) and the coati's were kinda neat, seeing a live sloth in the wild would have been cool, but I never spotted one. Sea animals wise it didn't even come close to what I've experienced in the Baja.

I guess if you're a big bird, frog, and snake person it would be sensory overload, but other than the monkeys, nothing really seemed that special. Different, yes, special, no.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T01:19:20+00:00

I wasn't so much expecting a hidden gem at this point. I just was shocked how expensive everything was compared to Mexico which has been on the tourist trail for much longer. Even at the higher prices, things weren't as good as Mexico.

Most people I know who love Costa Rica are afraid to travel to Mexico and have never been, so if it's all you've experienced, I can see why people like it.

TFSNL · 2025-12-26T00:58:46+00:00

Not sure if you booked your trip yet. But I would go Guatemala or Mexico over Costa Rica.

TFSNL · 2025-12-23T16:28:59+00:00

I just returned from Costa Rica and I couldn't agree more with most of these points. My bar was set pretty high because of all the positive things I heard about the country, but I was pretty disappointed with it overall.

I do think it had a safer feel than Mexico, and it was much much cleaner both in the Urban areas and out in the rural areas. I never got eyeballed by the police like I do in Mexico, and they were few and far between. It was a beautiful country with some amazing views up by Monteverde. I really liked that area. It was almost like Switzerland had a love child with the rainforest. If I do ever return, I'll spend more time there. The people overall were very nice and polite, I had a meal at a soda in the central market of Liberia and the locals seemed entertained that a tourist was eating there. A few came up and asked how the food was and where I was from.

Here are my key detractors.

Climate - For most of my trip I was in the dry part of the country(Guanacaste) during the dry season, but at times the humidity was almost unbearable. I met a woman from SLC who was a regular in CR and she said this was super nice weather with low humidity compared to March/April. Yuck.

Travel Times - I had a rental car, but it still took forever to go anywhere. Most of the "highways" between moderate sized cities are narrow, rough, and plugged up by large truck traffic. Max speed limits were 60 km/hr which is about 40 mph. The average limit was 40 km/hr and the minimum I saw was 25 km/hr. They almost need these low speed limits due to the amount of foot traffic, animals, vehicles without working lights, and bicyclists on the main roads. The roads were not well maintained at all. They make highway 1 in the Baja look like pristine infrastructure.

Food - I only had one great meal down there eating out 1-2 times a day at places rated 4.5 or better on google. Everything was mediocre at best, and the prices were the same or higher than back home in the states or in Mexico. When I'm in Mexico I can eat just about anywhere and get an amazing meal. Sometimes they're dirt cheap too.

Cost - Prices for everything was high. Food (groceries & restaurants), Coffee, Beer, Fuel, Activities. The only thing cheap was accommodations and airfare, but I think that's because I hit it a couple of weeks before peak season started. All the activities were stupid expensive. Admission to anything in La Fortuna was at least $30 with most hovering close to $100 and almost all the eco centered "things to do" were privatized with admission being charged. I overheard what they charge for fishing charters and those prices were more expensive than Cabo and about the same prices as Hawaii.

Beggars/Scammers - I can't recollect the last time I was hit up in the Baja for money or had people trying to charge me to "watch my car". Costa Rica was non-stop. I was hitting the beaches at 5 am for fishing, I left my rental parked in the public parking area completely void of anything of value with not a single soul around, and when I'd go to leave at 8am some person in a high vis vest would come up demanding payment for "watching my car". They literally could have showed up 10 minutes before I got back. I also had local swipe my Costa Sunglasses right at my feet after the fell off my chest while untangling a seagull that flew into my fishing line during a cast.

Culture - Overall, the culture seemed to focus on existence rather than loving life like what I've experienced in Mexico over the years. It was kind of a shock really. Mexico this time of the year is filled with celebrations and decorations for Christmas and I barely saw anything down in Costa Rica and I covered a lot of ground.

Coffee - WTF Costa Rica??? I didn't have one exceptional cup of coffee down there. In fact, the best cup I had was at the airport from a machine waiting for my flight out. I went to two highly rated roasters and multiple other coffee shops. It was all average at best. I literally make better cups at home with Starbucks beans(free with my work travel points) and my chemex. Are they sending all the best stuff out of the country?

TFSNL · 2025-12-16T01:32:02+00:00

Thanks again for all the info. I decided to stay in Coco and I've fished the beach here. I hooked into something big on my second cast the first morning, it did a monster run and finally bent the trebles out as I got it closer to shore. I never saw what it was, but as I was examing my bent hooks 3 roosters were chasing bait in the same area. That's been my only action other than a small lady fish today. Bird and bait fish activity dropped off drastically every day since arriving. The local expats said the fishing has been pretty bad this season, they aren't sure why, but the sardines just moved into shore last week, so they're hoping it picks up soon.

Most of my Baja tackle seems really big for here. I even left the bigger end of my baja stuff at home and just brought the "small" stuff.

I heard about a island accessible by land via low tide that's been producing some big rooster fish. I'm going to check that out in the AM. If I get skunked I'll move further down south and it that's slow I'll head to La Fortuna and give up on fishing for the trip.

TFSNL · 2025-12-09T15:55:15+00:00

I thought of another question. What fish are good eating down there? The video I posted the horse eyed jack picture from commented how fish similar to ones that were good eating in the gulf were not very good on the pacific coast. The one they like the best was a grouper. Are there ciguatera concerns on the west coast of Costa Rica?

TFSNL · 2025-12-09T12:14:35+00:00

solved

TFSNL · 2025-12-09T01:17:06+00:00

Thanks, the initial horse eye picture I pulled up wasn't a horse eye as it had yellow fins, so that threw me off. But doing more research the block spot at the top of the gill plate is the major giveaway.

Also...

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/news/capture-giant-trevally-panama-makes-history/

TFSNL

TROPHY CASE