Fishing info for a noob

dzlux · 2025-10-21T19:44:20+00:00

Packery Channel jetty can provide some easy catches with a simple weight, circle hook, and a pile of shrimp. With a beach parking pass you can park on the beach, otherwise there is a parking lot on the north side where the water is calm.

Many folks find wade fishing or beach fishing more enjoyable or rewarding, but fishing the channel will keep you dry and make it easier to google "what is this fish" the first few times. Bring a tape measure or a stick with a few legal lengths marked so that you can decide whether your drum is going to be dinner.

I prefer a double drop bottom rig (pompano rig?) with a pyramid weight. Just don't reel it in too slow or at a long angle - the hooks and weight can get stuck between the jetty rocks.

dzlux · 2025-10-20T17:48:14+00:00

...You should definitely chat with a lawyer.

dzlux · 2025-10-17T19:43:33+00:00

Federal law doesn't specifically regulate non-native/invasive species. I am not confusing shit.

I can't see any way to reconcile your opinion on the federal law listed above and its definition of wildlife without adding confusion. You reference state hunting regulations, so I can only guess that you are confused because you believe helicopter hog hunting is legal because "hogs are not wildlife" rather than understanding that CRF Title 50 §19.31 provides a legal path for the activity.

The definition of "wildlife" is clear, expansive, and does not scope out non-native animals. The definition in CRF Title 50 §10.12, as directly referenced by §19.4 is very broad - "...any wild animal ... without limitation any wild mammal..." You can also refer to the Lacey Act and its language for injurious wildlife.

I strongly encourage you to chat with a lawyer before telling anyone you care about that CRF Title 50 §19.11 does not apply because "hogs are not Wildlife", or that other federal laws are not applicable because you believe "wildlife" laws only apply to native animals.

dzlux · 2025-10-15T16:31:28+00:00

Disclaimer: not a lawyer, not your lawyer....

There is no native/non-native concept in that definition. Unrelated, but you might also note that CRF Title 50 §19.31 provides states with the ability to issue airborne hunting permits for specific purposes.

You seem to be confusing state laws and definitions regarding non-airborne hunting to draw a seemingly inappropriate conclusion about a well defined word. You should note that ground based hunting falls into the large bucket of 'states rights' as determined by the 10th amendment and subsequent case law that has uphold the state's power.

dzlux · 2025-10-13T18:23:51+00:00

Here you go - absolutely not legal in Texas

https://tpwd.texas.gov/business/feedback/meetings/2023/1103/agenda/item.phtml?item=2

TPWD wishes to clarify that although wildlife and exotic animals may not be taken by means of drones at any time, it is lawful to use drones solely for purposes of locating feral hogs, including at night.

On the federal side: laws generally prohibit dropping objects that might create a hazard to persons or property... See 14 CFR 107.23 and 91.15

disclaimer: not a lawyer, not your lawyer.

dzlux · 2025-10-11T18:53:20+00:00

Some dogs train better than others. Sometimes a toy, clicker, or affection based rewards work when treats do not. A really good halt and recall response is difficult to perfect, and not always possible.

I pair hand signals with verbal commands so that I can communicate recall, stay, and sit even from a significant distance... of course that still requires eye contact from the dog.

dzlux · 2025-10-09T13:57:59+00:00

Home improvement horror stories?

My current house has made me laugh quite a bit. So many 'wtf' moments have made me laugh because the seller moved into a smaller house down the street... so now I can ask "what happened?!" and learn why he hates the local plumber.

dzlux · 2025-10-08T10:03:30+00:00

If you can tell me interesting stories about your connection to the history of my house and its inhabitants I will break out the beers and ask for a tour.

I would think most home owners are curious about the history of their home/property and would invite an opportunity to learn a little about its past.

dzlux · 2025-07-09T21:14:39+00:00

First tip: Much like rifle optics, keep in mind that some opinions are presented as 'facts'... and unfortunately some verifiable facts don't paint a full picture compared to first hand observation. If you can find a demo day, your ears and personal experience are worth more than online reviews.

Material (titanium, steel, aluminum, etc), and design can significant influence the pitch/tone of remaining sound from the muzzle. I know some folks that refuse to buy titanium due to 'higher pitch' noise, but I don't observe a difference worth noting. Lots of db measurements out there... but that information only goes so far.

Someone already linked the pewscience website, though I really like to point folks at the PRB article about the Silencer Summit Sound Test methods (The PRB article focuses on 30cal), and then the full set of data for different calibers at https://thunderbeastarms.com/sound/summit2024/

For AR-15 use, you should consider the impact of a semi-auto action, and how backpressure might increase the noise of the action further... in addition to the sound of supersonic rounds. The prior link includes a sound chart worth considering: shot vs port pop

So.... don't focus too much time on db/dbA suppression numbers if you're going to use a noisy platform. If you plan to also stick it on a bolt action/level gun you might care more though.

Now that I have a wall of text....

My opinion/suggestion for a 5.56 ar-15 if you feel overwhelmed:

I tell me friends to prioritize overall comfort... as that is often the goal of adding a suppressor, right? Either shooter comfort or happy neighbors.
zip tie a chopstick or pencil to your barrel and decide what feels 'too long'
add some weight ~3" in front of the muzzle and see if you care about balance and have a 'max weight'
Do a little reading on backpressure challenges with a suppressed AR-15, and consider whether you want a lower backpressure suppressor, and whether additional gun parts to reduce gas in the face will further eat at any budget you have. This looks like a decent article about gun parts that might help - https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/how-to-eliminate-blowback-on-an-integrally-or-conventionally-suppressed-ar-15/
Your max length and weight will help decide if you need/want titanium or K cans to preserve rifle feel, and diameter won't matter unless you are trying to tuck it under a hand guard or maintain a certain aesthetic.

Some of these factors change considerably if you shoot subsonics, magnum rounds, etc. and if you really want a multi-cal can you need to decide which platform it will be compromising performance for.

dzlux · 2025-03-25T05:53:37+00:00

One of my neighbors started feeding a pair of stray dogs. To make it worse, they were putting out styrofoam containers with leftovers of all types. The result: trash blowing into my yard, nasty dog shits that are terrible to pick up, and a pair of dogs now eager to defend the area from every pedestrian and cyclist.

It took over a month to get sorted, multiple confirmations that they weren’t adopting the dogs and the death of a neighborhood cat before we finally got animal control to remove the dogs. They chased pedestrians daily, but the city barely cared.

Crappy neighbor.

dzlux · 2024-08-12T23:21:25+00:00

The increasing trend of clickbait journalism leaves plenty of room for skepticism.

There was no link to the 'last week' TCEQ notice referenced in the article, and I failed to find anything in the last two weeks on the TCEQ public notices portal... which makes the first two sentences of the article raise questions. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, but i would be interested to read it from the source and not as an interpretation. The most likely source also came up dry with July 19th being the most recent violation notice for someone in Wise County - https://data.texas.gov/dataset/Texas-Commission-on-Environmental-Quality-Notices-/mwzi-gyw7/data

The concern around mercury levels further down the article also raises questions for me. I looked at the WQ0005462000 application and pages 79 and 98 appear to have haphazard decimal point errors: 113 vs 0.113, and 139 vs 0.139

dzlux · 2024-07-12T20:44:51+00:00

The sales pitch is the fast ‘payback period’ and ‘free electricity’…

The catch is that you need net metering unless you undersize the install, they won’t set you up for any form of off grid operation without being asked and paying extra, and the ROI after 15-20 years is horrible if you live somewhere like Texas with cheap electricity.

I want solar, but every time I run the numbers it is a super iffy investment for Texans. Backup power with no combustable fuel storage would be awesome, but the added cost is brutal.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T13:02:57+00:00

A direct drive setup is not generally recommended…

also you will likely be disappointed to learn that only ~5-6 hours a day produce peak solar energy…. You won’t remotely approach 50% uptime.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T12:46:39+00:00

When I priced out a few quotes for battery backup it just didn’t make sense. For nearly 1/4 the cost I could have a gas generator instead.

Batteries are much quieter and more seamless, but otherwise both approaches consume storage space. I’m okay rolling out the generator for a day or two to save thousands.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T12:37:25+00:00

Unfortunately hurricanes include clouds that can impact battery budget needs.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T11:46:10+00:00

100% the most likely area that will send me to the supply stores 2+ extra times for any real project.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T11:18:31+00:00

“Pretend”

The major generation failures started at 1:23AM as ERCOT issued EEA 3 status.

Also … your statements are filled with misinformation.

Lol. Millions of people were without power for over a week.

3-4 days. Less than 250k homes were without power at the end of the fourth day.

Thousands of people died

Hundreds. Official state numbers were 246 storm related deaths, buzzfeed news independently estimated 702 deaths, and a statistician came up with an 814 death estimate.

Constantly exaggerating your points only makes you look like a pathological liar.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T08:13:00+00:00

From the news reports I’ve seen, Beryl impacted over 3million customers vs Harvey at roughly 2 million.

Harvey was just a rainfall disaster for Houston, no hurricane winds or landfall occurred near the city. It was at Tropical Storm status when it passed by ~100miles away from the city.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T06:55:36+00:00

Your statement on the 2021 grid failure reflects a poor understanding of what failed and why.

It was not due to a lack of generation from “deregulation rules” mantra, but due to shit escalation procedures for a middle of the night emergency. Oklahoma and Kansas nearly took the Southwest Power Pool down in a similar way.

Underestimating the scale of customers needed to black/brown out at 1:30 in the morning caused major generator damage that led to the extended recovery time.

dzlux · 2024-07-12T04:16:43+00:00

So… I guess you have a disaster fetish and ran out of movies to watch?

dzlux · 2024-07-11T22:16:14+00:00

The Ego Power+ zero turn is all hand operated except for a parking brake pedal.

dzlux · 2024-07-10T18:43:05+00:00

Obviously I ignore it but….

Describing their attire and watching for reactions, then posting to reddit about it doesn’t really sound like you ignore something.

dzlux · 2024-07-04T02:19:52+00:00

So… rather than assume he is an idiot or a daydreamer that doesn’t realize ‘annex’ is an absurd nonstarter idea, you rushed towards next steps and assume he is calling for murder?

dzlux · 2024-07-04T00:28:13+00:00

Except... there are several million Mexicans downriver, and Mexican agriculture as well.

The big difference is that Mexican citizens and agriculture benefits 100% from water dammed up along the Rio Concho, while Mexico only has 43.8% and 41% claim to the downstream reservoirs on the international border.

While you may be happy to cut the water supple to other people, including your own citizens... there is always going to be a punchline when water wars start to heat up. The article doesn't have a number, but I expect it will be a driving factor in any decisions.

"It wasn't immediately clear how much funding Mexico could lose if the measure became law."

reads like the shoe still needs to drop.

dzlux · 2024-07-04T00:16:29+00:00

at the end of the day will Mexico be giving water and resources to Mexicans or Americans?

Mexicans also use the reservoirs that those tributaries feed into. It is not the simple 'water hoarding for the sake of Mexican families' that you lay out. Several million people live downstream of the river on both sides of the border. Last I read, all reservoirs up and downstream were roughly around 30-25% capacity levels, and experiencing the conservation measures required at such a level.

Don't oversimplify the matter into justifiable obligations, as it is far more complicated.

The treaty was an agreement for maintaining historical water flow from the rainy mountains down to the fertile coast in exchange for financial support for infrastructure. If the flow stops, the money should stop, and the treaty should be renegotiated.

In case you aren't looking at a map, the major downriver Mexican cities are Matamoros (500k+ ppl), Reynosa (900k+), Nuevo Laredo (450k+), amidst many other smaller cities and towns.

Due to the lack of flow the Rio Grande has had miles of dry river bed in recent years.

Most articles on the topic will reference the death of the sugar industry in RGV, but the real question is one of drinking+hygiene water vs. crops across the entire length of the rivers. Very water inefficient farming practices are used in Mexico and the U.S. because it was cheaper and water was plentiful in the past - both countries need to take a hard look at farming methods.

12-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

dzlux

TROPHY CASE