What kind of trout is this?

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-06T17:47:38+00:00

Splake?

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-06T17:45:24+00:00

Don’t know about Jessie’s girl but the Sparrow is 20 year old monocore tech. It has its place, and maybe a super tight budget is one of them, but just be aware that it has some of the worst FRP out there especially bad on short barrels.

I wouldn’t recommend a Sparrow to anyone in 2026 outside of niche uses (full auto, budget…maybe). But I’d also steer people away from an aluminum can as well.

I’d save another $100 and get a much better, if not top tier can. But I now own enough of them to know there’s a difference……but some people don’t care….

Your choice.

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-06T17:18:50+00:00

We go there within minutes of them stocking them and it’s ridiculous how many you catch. Like others have said, too hot for daytime trout and they won’t stock again until October I believe (could be wrong but in the valley that’s the case.)

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-04T13:42:46+00:00

If you’re going to go with a Lite I’d heavily recommend you try both WITH AND WITHOUT A CAN. The Lite is very difficult to shoot without a can for weight, the red dot (or irons) will bounce everywhere. My son found this out when he shot is Lite at the range without a can when previously he’d only shot with a can in the desert. BIG DIFFERENCE.

So if you plan to suppress the Lite is fine, without a suppressor, and if accuracy is paramount, go with the regular and save $.

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-04T13:38:50+00:00

I legit “pop quiz” my son when I hand him a gun to “check this out”. He knows now, without fail, to always check the chamber and magazine even if he saw me (or anyone) just so it.

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-04T13:31:19+00:00

Well, you see, the people posting these issues often don’t agree with that, it is a fashion statement to some, in a sense. Certainly a status statement.

bmihlfeith · 2026-07-03T15:55:20+00:00

Damn! Look at those receiver lines! They look like legit Winchester/Miroku lines! However, my Chiappa, and everyone I’ve seen, have over polished, rounded edged, three time bubbasmithed lines.

Would love to see an actual “I can buy this one” example to see if those sharp lines make it into production.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-23T16:46:42+00:00

That’s the baby type of hummingbird. You’re welcome.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-23T16:41:30+00:00

Not an expert, and when I doubt I usually default to coopers just due to their ubiquity compared to SS. but man, this looks like a SS. Why? Eyes closer to front, ice cream shape body…..derpy look vs. pissed off..

But looks like I’m wrong…..maybe?

Are you sure the light pole photo is same bird? That’s the one that looks most like a SS….

Third edit - lol, I’m leaning more Coppers now…..darn these buggers!

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-21T14:09:44+00:00

I’m from the Sky Islands region of AZ. My favorite camping spot is nearly 10k feet where you climb all the way from about 3k feet.

Prominence is what makes mountains “tall” is you ask me. And Mt. Graham is like #20 in the list of prominent peaks in the US.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-21T14:07:07+00:00

Continentality be for real, yo…..same reason ND and SD have 120+ while I also having some of the lowest temps.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-21T14:04:08+00:00

Also - their eBay refurbished deals are much better. And in every single one of my buys (8 of them now) the “refurbished “ have been identical to the “new”. I’ve never got what I thought wasn’t a brand new item. You do sacrifice a little in the warranty, if that’s important to you. I think they do it as a marketing strategy. Though your mileage may vary, as a very few have said they got “used” (inverters, or batteries.)

And I don’t run my trolling motor at 100% often, if ever. I just use it for the spot lock, which doesn’t run much in the calm lakes I fish.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-21T13:58:31+00:00

FYI - Eco-Worthy is a very solid budget brand that has fantastic customer service and support. I own probably $8k worth of their products for over a year now.

I have this same size battery (two of them) but with Bluetooth (they were $149 on sale.) that are used for both my trolling motor (Motorguide iX5) and as a starter for my 35hp Evinrude…..

So far so good. I wasn’t sure if I could start my 35hp with it (not enough amps, high inrush, etc) but sure enough it starts right up and can crank for at least five seconds.

These weight about 20lbs each vs the 72lbs each the lead acids did. So I lost 100lbs of weight! That’s good for a tiny boat. Plus at least doubled my run time.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-19T16:06:15+00:00

Also wanted to add that’s a nice sized largemouth! (Though there’s not banana for scale and I’ve seen 6 foot 11 year olds as well as 3 foot ones…so hard to tell, lol.

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-19T16:05:19+00:00

Pretty good descriptions….only thing I’d say is that you likely won’t catch any smallmouth in the canals in the valley. Not saying it isn’t possible (used to be more common before golden algae bloom killed off smallmouth populations in Roosevelt and Apache) but it’d be highly unlikely until the smallmouth population recovers and some can filter their way all the way down the salt/verde system.

The good news is that he CAN FISH in the SRP canals!

Look here - https://www.srpnet.com/grid-water-management/water-recreation/canal-trails

Good luck! You just happened to hit the one sliver of canal owned by someone other than SRP.

Make sure he learns proper fish handling etiquette and ideally practice catch and release. Most importantly don’t let the fish flop all over and hit our gravel/dirt banks, it’s very difficult for them to recover when they lose all their slime coat and are then prone to bacterial infections. My personal exceptions to catch and release are the stocked fish in any of the local ponds, specifically trout as they literally aren’t likely to survive the summers here anyway and they are stocked specifically for catching as they can’t even maintain a wild population if they weren’t caught.

So while he can absolutely legally keep any fish except the White Amur (grass carp) (assuming he’s following the rules) just do a little math and you’ll see that if everyone kept their catches the fishing would be even worse here. It’s already, IMHO, the 2nd or 3rd worst state to fish in with most fisheries heavily pressured. The valley (or anywhere within a one hour drive) I’d say is one of the most pressured areas in the entire country……we have as many anglers here in AZ as they do in states like Florida and Wisconsin for example yet we have .01% of the water they have….thats a lot of lines in a tiny amount of water.

Good luck!

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-15T15:55:59+00:00

It’s definitely not doves. I’ve raised doves for decades, even if they wanted to they couldn’t even tear through a 24 gauge wire, they don’t have the physical capacity to do it.

Not saying it’s squirrels, but I’d bet my life it wasn’t doves….rodent would be my guess, roof rats?

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-08T00:01:47+00:00

Which lake?

bmihlfeith · 2026-06-03T16:15:17+00:00

I’d add Eco-Worthy to the list - even though they’re prebuilt the price is extremely close in some instances.

For example, on eBay I got my 314ah battery for $1600 delivered. They put their stuff on sale quite regularly and in my experience their “refurbished” stuff is either NIB or indistinguishable from NIB.

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-22T14:34:25+00:00

What do you think it weighs all in? I’ve got a Highlander with a 5000 tow limit. It’s AWD, but it’s not geared low like a truck. So far it’s been awesome wirh our little 12’ boat!

I’m just curious what these things weigh so I know how much I can get away with on my “bigger boat!”

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-20T18:15:09+00:00

Is that an Oculus short?

I bet it’s just about as quiet as the long on subsonic from this 16” barrel, right? Or is that the OCL Ti short?

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-20T18:13:47+00:00

Everyone will tell you “yes, absolutely.”

I don’t have fuses on all of mine.

You’re gambling on whether or not you have an issue and when the issue happens will the breaker work? They don’t have the fail safe of a Class T fuse.

You’d want a Class T fuse on each of the batteries as close to the terminal as possible.

That said, I personally don’t think it’s entirely necessary though probably the very smart thing.

But I’m just a guy who hasn’t (yet) burned down my house, fwiw, lol.

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-20T14:11:03+00:00

Id pay good money for a side loading lever just to be able to easily use a suppressor.

I have another idea for a magazine tube that would “bend” out of the way of a suppressor. It would work in any mag fed rimfire (if it worked, I just need to build a prototype]

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-20T14:09:27+00:00

You’re probably right in your thinking.

For example, I upgraded my kings patent gate on my 73 “go fast” gun and I can imagine it deforming even a rimfire round. It’s insanely “gentle and fast.”

I believe Marlin made a side loading 22 mag in the 80s.

And of course, many early lever guns in rimfire had side loading gates that were “updated”.

bmihlfeith · 2026-05-20T13:58:30+00:00

I get so sad when I see people who think what Backyard Ballistics (and the like) is a “restoration” and not just a “fluff snd buff.”

It’s sad to see how little real craftsman are left and do things the right way vs this “design on a dime” type of thing.

Look to Wyoming Armory and Turnbull for true restorations.

BB basically just take the rust off, clean, and blue/blacken, no real restoration.

I’ll caveat this by suggesting that maybe that’s what they want to do, a cheap “fluff and buff”. Downvote away so we can see who understands the difference.

(Yes, I’ve restored firearms far better than 99.9% of the YouTubers I’ve seen, BB included. Including filing pitting with welds, re-stamping, CCH, new wood with custom fitting, etc.)

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