#how to catch spawning bass

[doodleduck]

Dsmp characters as fish because a special interest of mine is northeastern game fish 👍

c!Ranboo - Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Basically the loser of the fish community lmao. They are really sensitive to their surroundings. They need the water to be a certain pH and temperature in order to survive. They are migratory in order to fulfill those needs. They are also bullied by other fish (specifically brown trout) to the point where populations are dropping. They are one of the more timid and docile species of trout. They stick in small groups. They will become aggressive when feeding or defending their spawning nests. Brook trout also have some of the most unique and colorful patterns. Brook trout hybrids are common occurrences

c!Tommy - Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Largemouth are the fish that is in everybody’s business. They are very much in your face all of the time. Simultaneously both very smart and very dumb. They commit to one spot to make their nest and will defend it fiercely. They are picky where they put their nest and spend a lot of time maintaining it to keep it in good condition. They typically will live in the same body of water and not migrate out, but will change depths depending on the seasons and where food is located.

c!Tubbo - Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

Basically the Largemouth’s little brother. They are very similar but the smallmouth are typically smaller and bit more docile. They are also arguably a bit smarter than the largemouth as well. They are also very territorial and will defend their nests. Their nests are also well kept. When defending or hunting, they fight like a tank. Although smaller than the largemouth they pack a bigger punch. Smallmouth are also more cold tolerant than other fish.

c!Phil - Walleye (Sander vitreus)

Walleye remind me of crows. They have terrific eyesight, which is why they have big eyes. Their unique eyes allow them to hunt at night. They have one of the greater lifespans and can live to be a couple decades old. Walleye spend time in schools with members similar to them. They like to lurk in deeper cooler water. They are more active at night and more docile during the day. They become aggressive when seasons change and they have to stock up for the winter

c!Techno - Bullhead catfish (Ameiurus melas)

Bullhead are similar to walleye and live in similar conditions. They like cooler murky environments to reside in. They are docile if left alone. They will become predatory and territorial if provoked or feeding. They have venomous spines on their fins which hurt like a bitch if you get stung (not fatal). They scavenge more than hunt and scrounge around the bottom looking for food. They fight hard and hit hard. And once they have something they are very determined to not let it go

c!Wilbur - Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)

Brown trout are actually invasive and are not native to North America, they originate in parts of Europe and Asia. But they have now established themselves as part of the ecosystem. They compete with the native species and often pose a challenge. They are typically bigger than other trout species and their competitors get shoved around a bit. Browns are smart and cunning, and are very successful hunters. They are arguably the most territorial species of trout

c!Quackity - Musky (Esox masquinongy)

Easily one of, if not the smartest gamefish. They are nicknamed “the fish of ten thousand casts” because they are very picky and know how to differentiate lures from real bait fish. They are hard to catch. Muskies are ambush predators and will eat anything that fits into their mouth. This includes waterfowl, rodents, and frogs. They are elusive and like to stick to themselves. Musky are very dedicated to their territory and will fight any intruders out

Yay fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cakhost]

A list of Animal Crossing New Horizon (ACNH) details that I just want to list:

While the Skeleton item is just your average biology prop; it’s still hilarious/worrying to get one to fall out of a tree.

What’s just concerning is that Timmy and Tommy, two children who run Nook’s Cranny, just happen to put out the Creepy Skeleton. It’s an incomplete remains of a human skeleton that calls to mind that it is a literal corpse. The fact that there is a mossy variant of it doesn’t help. They also were selling the Creepy Skeleton on my birthday and I have concerns. You can also interact with the Creepy Skeleton.

Brewster’s business practice is strange. You go to the café and he offers you a menu item that you just have to accept and pay for. I assume he does this with just everyone, as Daisy Mae is only ever given cookies when she visits. Everyone else (including Timmy/Tommy) gets coffee. His method is mostly strange to me in that I can’t think of a place where you go to a eatery of some sort, the server will select the item for you and you just have to accept and pay. The simplest answer might just because video games. Still is a great place to hang out and I visit often.

Sea bass is as common as most information makes them out to be. The issue I have is that I have difficulty in determining if the fish shadow is a size 5 or 6. That being said, I sometimes just bass myself for amusement.

All fish in ACNH are space-warping wizards. It’s the only explanation I will take as to why a rather large shadow can suddenly become an arapraima, oarfish or a sunfish. Special mention to red snapper and horse mackerel who look a touch bigger than the shadow that spawned them and black bass who somehow seems smaller than its shadow.

Fish shadows behave like fish up until you catch them and suddenly they are a rock, a tire, a can or a boot.

My dislike for mosquitos transcends into the digital and I wish they would just go away. >:[

Why are fireflies only available in June? I know the answer probably has to do with the boat of bugs that show up in July. But I still wish they would stick around longer. :c

I have learned to not run around at night with a net tool out to not upset the local population of tarantulas/scorpions. When you don’t have a net out, they are just little bugs that happen to have many animated legs. Of the 2, scorpions are still the one that startles me the most when I am running around because their tails are always up and to me, that’s scorpion for “me angry, me stab u >:[” and I’m like “I’m chill! Witness how Chill I am at this time. Plz no stab. :c”

Redd is the worst when it comes to art. When he does show up to your island, he comes with only 4 pieces that randomly can have 0-4 real pieces and your changes of each case isn’t split 25% as you might think. Each art piece is worth 4980 bells. This is important for later. But I will also mention that because each art piece is worth 4980, it’s just 20 bells shy of helping you get a Nook Mile+ stamp to spend 5000 bells; it’s like he’s aware of the miles and just wants to be a jerk about it. With the newer update to have Redd always set up at Harv’s Island, you can technically loop him to get possible pieces of art quickly as he restocks the next day when a piece sells. However, the chances are you may just end up with a bunch of fake art that you can’t sell because Timmy and Tommy aren’t in the forgery business so you are now 4980 bells down. You can get 4980 bells back if you sell 4 real pieces of art; but if you were the buyer of said art, that means you are always profiting at a greater loss because you need to spend 19,920 to get those pieces. At the each of each transaction where you buy something from him, he always gives a laugh. He’s always in an area you can’t pull out your net to hit him. The only revenge I can have is to sneeze on him. May sneezes rain down on him.

[garbagefarm]

Garbage Farm #52

2024-05-03, session #52 of Garbage Farm! Spanning Spring 4 through Spring 10 of Year 5!

cast:

me ( @mothmute )

E.B. ( @blueherin )

Kimi ( @2kimi2furious )

Highlights include, but are not limited to the following:

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES (every time!)

Pizza may secretly be demon spawn.

Right to jail!

Spring 4:

Rainy day!!

I remembered that EB's also got a cellar full of aged wine, and cycle that

(EB has to remap her controls)

Pam wants potato booze (again); we'll support her alcoholism if it gets us paid.

Smallmouth bass frenzy in cindersap forest?? (I miss it entirely)

Kimi vandalizes EB's sign

Spring 5:

Baby dino is born!! I named it "...lizard?..."

Kimi buys the Junimo catelog

Kimi can have a little deforestation, as a treat

DISCONNECTION

Spring 5 (take two):

Baby dino is born! It's named Lizardo, in this timeline it's italian

oooh, heart event with Vincent and Jas! "spwing onions" are full of bugs, and Jas is appalled at Vincent's violence.

Kimi gets to level 10 foraging (and later picks Tracking), getting her one step closer to Mastery!

I pick up some Tom Kha soup for Elliott from the Cool Pig

Kimi can't access anything 'cause EB is ~crafting~

(taters, precious......)

Sebastian catches Kimi digging through the trash. I'm just glad somebody's remembering to do it!

Elliott talks about how he was never able to successfully "grow plant" at his seaside cottage. Not "plants", "plant". Elliott... is there something you aren't telling me? (it's weed)

EB is #blessed by Wild Possum, Grandpa Jr. and Kimi!

Spring 6:

With foraging complete, Kimi is off to fight some dudes.

I hate to give Pierre money, but we need grass starter. At least Abigail and "carloine" will benefit from it.

(hell with this prismatic grange, I'm gonna buy stuff)

Abigail catches Kimi digging in the trash, and nobody cares!

EB finishes foraging! Mastery getting closer every day!

Spring 7:

duck violence

You can edit Pam's sign??

Prismatic grange complete!

Ancient farming secrets line 37: "there's no better helper than a raisin-fed Junimo"

(Gettin' cheese and jelly bucks tonight!)

Why is there a sign in Kimi's bedroom?

Spring 8:

"grandma is watching........."

Meanwhile, Kent sends me another bomb in the mail.

Kimi kept the valley safe by defeating a Fly. Thank you for your service, braver than any US marine

(Heart event with the sad island boy...)

ugh, more prismatic bullshit, or Qi's Crop? Fuck it, we bean! And I find the first one right away!

Potato juice is ready!

EB fuckin' dies, her husband bills her 1000g and makes her walk home by herself at 1:30AM

Spring 9:

Pizza and Violet are lying in bed on a tuesday, trying to get out of Garbage School

Possum gave EB a chub! "that's what she said"

PRISON BREAK, duck on the loose!

aw hell I was supposed to potato pam, gotta juice the old lady, pamtato.

ffff I gifted it to her, I was supposed to put it in her kitchen (situations like this are what fairy dust is for)

Pam event, praying to Yoba with a Sign of the Vessel she bought from Joja dot com.

Gifted Penny some cookies I found in the trash. "better than her cooking" heyoooo

Lewis showed me his gacha machine, gotta get tickets to win cash prizes!

(haunted by shorts)

EB stays out too late and gets murdered by the Qi Beans

Spring 10?:

GARBAGE CRIBS

Kimi shows off her kitchen skeleton

EB admires Kimi's fish tank

Kimi says that my skeleton pineapple room "slaps"

"what's behind the bed" "nothing don't worry about it :)" (just my attic of amontillado)

-

TO-DO:

I still need gold and iridium to finish out my Crystalarium shed

(speaking of which, I still need more preserves jars for my jam shed, and more kegs for the keg tunnel)

I meant to spend some time reorganizing the storage shed, but didn't get around to it this time

still need to find cave jelly, so we can smoke a fish, so we can befriend the raccoon!

gotta re-do all the tapped trees, but ugh I don't wanna

I HAVEN'T DONE ANY SKULLS IN SO LONG

gotta keep making friends! current target: small island child

my grocery list is so big! still, I did make some good progress on it, I need to check and set up some new priority targets

oh right! RAINY DAY: FIGHT FISH

Good garbage, everybody!!

[bassfihing96]

When Do Bass Spawn and How to Catch Them!

[unsolvedrubixscube]

Don't Let Me Get Me

Ch 9 All the Things I Couldn't Say

Sasha strolls up the sidewalk towards the studio at the perfectly reasonable hour of eight o'clock in the morning enjoying the brisk air. The last signs of the freak cold front that had washed over LA had completely vanished and the weather had returned to its overly warm self. 

Three flashes going off in quick succession made Sasha’s head snap around in time to see a man, his face covered by sunglasses and a scarf, duck behind a parked car when she turns. She catches a glimpse of his camera before he gets it completely out of view. Paparazzi , Sasha identifies, unlocking the door to the studio and stepping inside. 

That one is a bit late on the uptake considering it’s been two months since the leak. He’s not going to get any good pics of her crying or screaming now. The album that Bog tried to sabotage is done and ready to be released but there’s no way the cameraman could have known that. Not even Marcy or Boonchuy knows she’s planning on making the album live today. Sasha drums her fingers on her arm thinking. She wonders if something else happened this morning. Maybe the mega pastor called her a demon spawn again. 

Sasha says good morning to Percy, Fen, and Toadie and actually means it as she makes her way through the tiny studio. Amazing what sleeping for forty-eight hours could. Finding Marcy working on her laptop on the breakroom’s very ugly plaid couch Sasha plops down beside her. Marcy jumps revealing how deep in concentration she was. Sasha snickers.

“Morning, nerd,” Sasha greets and hands her a pastry bag.

“Scaring people is rude, Sasha,” Marcy chides, opening the bag and pulling out a croissant. 

Marcy lights up as she bites into the croissant and discovers the chocolate center. Then a look of panic appears on her face and she starts fanning her mouth. “Ah! Hot! Hot!”

Sasha laughs again, tearing off a piece of her own croissant and washing it down with a drink of protein shake. The door creaks open and Anne steps in. She takes in the scene, sighs, and hands Marcy her water bottle before taking her own pastry bag. Marcy gups down the water and gasps in relief. Anne seats herself on the other side of Marcy.

“There’s a dude hiding out by the building taking pictures.” Anne says chewing then she makes a puzzled expression and exclaims, “Ooo! Chocolate!” 

“Paparazzi,” Sasha confirms, “Just cover your face and ignore him. They’ll be trying to get a cheap shot of me looking stupid to sell to the tabloids.” 

Anne frowns but doesn’t argue. 

“Anyways,” Sasha says, “Photos came back so we have everything we need to launch the album. I’d like to aim for the end of this week.” 

“Really! They’re done?” Marcy asks, vibrating in her seat. “So it’s time to pick the cover art?”

“Yep, just sent everything over to you.”

Marcy opens her email and finds the various files from Sasha. Within seconds a number of photographs fill the screen. The first section is profile pictures of everyone for the website. Simple shots with white backgrounds focused on capturing the professionally dressed head and neck of whoever is in the frame. Percy and Boonchuy are smiling in their shots, Sasha looks bored, Bog menacing, while Marcy looks like she'd swallowed something sour but is still trying to smile.

Then comes the bright pink banners and posters for the band; energetic shots of Sasha and her bandmates with their instruments in the middle of jumping, smashing, or kicking the surroundings. For someone who knows how to look for it, it’s painfully obvious someone else had been on the bass before Marcy had been added in over them but it’s the best the photography studio could do on such short notice. Rumors will fly when someone finally catches it but it will have to do. 

Lastly are the contenders for the album cover. A handful of purely artistic shots of Sasha’s electric guitar, a mic stand holding a knife, and spike-covered platform boots but the real final contenders are all shots of her crouching over the camera in a very revealing outfit. 

Sasha’s barely wearing a tiny pair of jean shorts, she’s not wearing a shirt, and she’s got two push-up bras underneath the sports bra she’s aiming at the camera like a weapon. The triple bra had been uncomfortable as hell but sports bras make her flatter than a pancake so sacrifices had to be made. She’s also holding the camera at knifepoint with the expression that says she will cut you. The overall effect is sexy but fierce which is better than she normally gets so she’s pleased with it. 

As the Will Cut You photo slides into view Marcy makes a choking noise while Anne sighs, again. Sasha glances over in time to see Marcy’s face trying to make several expressions at once. She feels kinda bad for springing this on Marcy. She didn’t even think to ask if Marcy was comfortable with more risque images. 

“Sashaaa,” Anne groans, throwing her head back, “We talked about this. You are a role model for hundreds of thousands of little girls-”

“A position I never asked for,” Sasha snaps, “Besides, you know as well as I do, using one of these images for my album will double if not triple sales.”

“Using provocative art is a solid marketing technique,” Marcy adds, recovered enough to shift into nerd mode. “It’s eye-catching and appeals to the viewers’ base instincts creating a lasting impression.” 

“Horney tax,” Sasha adds nodding in agreement. 

“Fine, I get it,” Anne says with a shake of her head, “Profit is king, right? Let's just move on and figure out the fonts and cropping.”

Sasha feels the argument she had prepared die in her throat as the conversation moves on and Marcy places the various photos on a website template. Anne is strictly professional for the rest of the impromptu meeting and despite the huge success of putting the final touches on her album Sasha can’t help but feel she just missed something important. 

***

Sasha lounges on her couch scrolling through the various spam, hate mail, and totally legal offers cluttering up her inboxes public and private. Behind her, Grime has taken over her apartment’s kitchen determined to make a fantastic steak dinner even without a grill insight. They are also celebrating the launch of her album but Sasha opened her big mouth and now Grime has a point to prove. 

With a swipe, she deletes two messages without even opening them; a far too detailed sexual fantasy staring at her and a rant from some lady about her being pro-vaccination. Sasha is totally pro-vaccination but she can’t recall ever speaking publicly about it so she had no idea what this lady is on about. God, she can’t wait until she can hire people to filter her mail again. 

The next email is actually important, a reply from Bog’s legal representative. Bog, or more likely Bog’s lawyer, had accepted Sasha’s offer to settle the affair out of court, agreeing to forfeit Bog’s earnings from the album and stay far away from all of Sasha’s future projects in exchange for Sasha keeping quiet. No one would want to hire an upstart with a history of sabotage no matter their musical skills. She’s a little sad Bog is actually being smart about this but what she gets out of the agreement is more than enough compensation. 

Bog agreed to reveal if any outside parties influenced his decision to leak her album. Turns out there was. Bog had been contacted by a Levithan Label’s rep who offered to pay him a lot of money to derail Sasha’s project. Oh, the rep tried to hide it and the label’s name never came up but Bog was confident and the money trail supported his suspicions. 

The rep was low enough on the totem pole that the company could claim he was working independently without upper’s knowledge or approval but the fact that the rep had been fired soon after the money was in Bog’s account was telling. 

Sasha toys with the idea that Marcy might have been involved in the scheme but quickly dismisses it. Marcy just wasn’t that good of an actor and if she had wanted Sasha to fail she could have just bailed instead of helping. It was simpler and more likely that being unable to stop Sasha or Marcy Mr. Leviathan moved to target the album itself. 

Her mother’s warning about Sasha not having what it takes to make it own her own and that she’d see just how much she shielded Sasha from drifts out of her memories. 

Sasha scowls. Like she’d been the one needing protection when she gave that boy-band-wanna-be a black eye at thirteen for kissing her and exposed her sound director plagiarizing his work at sixteen. She’s always been a menace and it was high time the world knew it. 

The next email is from a real address and has actual words in the subject line. It’s an invitation to her as a “rising star” to the upcoming Nighthawk Gala being held this spring. Nighthawk events are fancy parties for the who’s who of the American Pop Artist scene, giving them a chance to show off their success on camera and promote their next big project. 

Getting an invite before her first album is even released is a big deal. It is also suspicious as hell. At least she knows why the photographer was hanging outside the studio. 

Her musings are interrupted by Grime popping his head over the back of the couch and exclaiming in a very bad French accent, “Le madame’s dinner is served.”

Grime frowns down at her and says in his normal voice, “Sasha, get your shoes off the couch.”

“It’s my couch,” Sasha complains, dragging herself into a sitting position. 

“You should treat your furniture with more respect,” Grime says, guiding her to the table. 

“It’s a Ted’s List second-hand couch that already has stains on it. It’s not even pleather.” 

Sasha slumps over her kitchen table swiping through her private email deleting junk and totally legal offers cluttering up her inbox. Across from her Grime sits crouched over his laptop probably working on something boring, like taxes.

“I need a stage name,” Sasha says 

“Why?” 

Because she can barely handle being called Ms. Waybright by the few people she is working with right now. Several thousand would cause her to murder somebody.

“Rebranding. Also to be cool.”

Grime grunts.

“Come ooooonnn, I need help choosing a good one. What about Bitch?” 

Grime looks up. “Like the swear word?”

“Yeah, people are going to call me that anyways might as well own it.”

“The radio would have to censor it every time.”

Sasha rolls her eyes. “Well, then I’ll censor it myself and replace the I with an astrict.”

“Then they’d have to spell it every time or call you the B word.” 

Sasha frowns.

“Besides, people would be weird about it.”

She sighs knowing Grime is right. 

“What about Silvertongue?”

“That’s too long, besides it belongs in a fantasy novel. 

“Lioness?” 

“You're setting yourself up to be called the Cougar in a few decades.”

Sasha gives Grime a flat look. “That’s not helpful.”

“The Sharp?” 

“Sharp what?”

“No, it's a music term.” Sasha sighs. “Forget it.” 

Drumming her fingers on the table Sasha grumbles to herself trying to think of something not terrible. Some of her growing fringes droop down tickling her eyelashes. She combs it out of the way using her fingers. She needs to get her hair styled and re-dyed before she goes back into the public eye. Pausing, she stares at the bright pink strands in her fingers. 

“What about pink?”

“Pink?”

“Yeah, pink, like the color.”

She likes it, simple, short, nothing obviously problematic. 

“I still gotta make it cool,” Sasha muses. “Add a symbol or something like an exclamation point at the end like Shout!AtTheParty.” 

Grabbing one of Grime's documents she flips it over and scrawls the word a few times. It doesn’t look quite right. Then she replaces the I with the exclamation point. 

P!nk 

Short, unique, and most importantly marketable. 

Sasha grins.

***

Her album, her full album, goes live and Sasha buries herself in a mound of blankets with her laptop and a cup of spiked hot chocolate and stares. Sasha stares at the mostly white webpage accented with crisp letters and sharp corners of her bank account, watching the row of little red numbers as the seconds tick by. Watching as she refreshes the page over fifteen times in a minute. Watching as the little screen says she’s been inactive too long she will soon be logged out pops up. Watching as deposits come in, a scant few at first, then clusters, then dozens, then overwhelming waves. Watches as the little red numbers shrink a few digits and the tightness in her chest loosens a few notches. 

Her album sells well, extremely well, hitting a million downloads within hours of the official release and Top of Pop in a matter of days. The sudden appearance and then removal of her first eight songs had thrown the music world into a frenzy and the magic word ‘free’ had spread her name further than she could have ever with paid marketing. 

Censored , based on a beat designed to get stuck in one’s skull and full of forbidden words, becomes her top seller with the Fuck You Trilogy and All the Things I Couldn’t Say tailing closely behind. Sasha’s prayers that ATTICS would die a quiet death being too sad to be punk and too deep to be pop go unanswered. 

To celebrate (and capitalize) on Censored’s success she makes an official music video. It’s nothing fancy, she and her band in a reputable video studio rocking out on a white backdrop in silly costumes. Percy arrives in a generic medieval jester's costume complete with a floppy hat with bells. Fen shows up in a black tee over black long sleeves, ripped black jeans, converses colored in by a marker (black) and topped off by so much eyeliner she looks like a raccoon. Marcy dresses up as an astronaut, the white fluffy suit and bubble helmet so precise Sasha wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually space worthy. Sasha is just as unsurprised that Marcy’s helmet is reflective and hides every inch of her face. Sasha comes in what she’s dubbed her Viking outfit. An absolutely not historically accurate combination of various impulse buys (leather skirt, red motorcycle boots, cape, spiked belt, and crimson scalemail) that make her feel like a Viking even if she doesn’t actually look it. 

The cameras roll and they “play” their way through the song interspersed with various stunts to keep the video interesting. Percy pulls out some bean bags and manages to juggle three of them long enough to be caught on camera. Marcy initiates a wiggly impromptu dance party in the middle of the set. Fen produces a skateboard from somewhere and does a few kickflips, nearly taking out a light. Not to be outdone, Sasha does some of the kick routine she learned for Staying Popular’s cheer episodes and drops into a front split. She may or may not have immediately regretted this action. 

It’s childish, it’s dumb, and everyone ends up with new scrapes and bruises, but it’s unmistakably fun. 

It’s also the last project her current team tackles together. With the launch of Sasha's album also comes the end of contracts, a good number of her technicians, publistics, and musicians all choose to check out, including some Sasha knows well at this point. Fen opts to take her cut and leave. There’s no yelling or dramatic standoff this time, the keyboard player simply decides the rapid highs and lows of such a tremulous job isn’t for her. She heads off, amidst awkward well wishes and a Mexican lunch party Sasha foots the bill for. 

But Fen won’t be the last to leave either and while Sasha worked very well with Marcy that’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to collaborate again. Marcy’s inbox has been flooded with requests for collaborations and commissions since the album’s official launch, to Marcy’s utter shock. Sasha had suspected that Levithan had been sitting on Marcy, hiding her name under the generic moniker of Levithan writer , using her only with internal artists. Sasha, on the other hand, had made sure Marcy’s name was plastered all over her album and marketing material, where it deserved to be. 

Marcy is excited by all the attention, stressed but excited. Sasha has no doubt that she’ll get over her fears soon enough and have ample patrons to pursue whatever projects she wants, which probably won’t include her. It’s also clear that Anne will also be stepping away soon now that Sasha’s new career is clearly no longer on the brink of imploding. Which means if Sasha is going to do this she’s going to have to do it now.

Sasha reminds herself of this fact over and over as she marches through her tiny studio now cluttered with moving boxes and cleaning supplies until she reaches the office that Marcy had slowly taken over. The door is slightly ajar so that she can hear bits of a soft conversation between Marcy and Anne from inside. 

Sasha realizes she’s stalling and swears at herself. God damn it, she’s going to do something nice for once in her life. Forcing down nerves, Sasha pushes the door open wide. 

“Sasha!” Marcy says, a broad smile breaking across her face. Sasha can’t help but to smile back. 

Anne looks up from her laptop, grins, and waves her in. There’s no hidden frustration or suspicion in the movement which is a nice change. Sasha steps in and closes the door behind her. 

“What are you doing back here?” Marcy asks from where she’s sprawled over one of the arms of one of the cheap office chairs in a way that can not be comfortable. “I thought your office was all packed up? I didn’t forget to give you the hard copies of the recording, didn't I?

“Chill Marce, I got everything,” Sasha assures her. “Actually, I stopped by because I have something I needed to give you guys.”

“Oooh!” Marcy sits upright. “A gift?”

“Lunch?” Anne asks hopefully.

Sasha ignores how her heart rate kicks up a notch at Marcy’s guess. 

“No, uh, it’s something specifically for you two, not the office.” Sasha takes a deep breath and is glad she practiced this little speech.“The album would have never gone this well without you two. Hell, it probably would have never happened. You’ve both been invaluable, and I wanted to properly thank you for that.”

She pulls the envelope and single ticket out of her purse and hands the first to Marcy and the second to Anne. Marcy starts tearing into the envelope after a nod of encouragement from Sasha while Anne puzzles over the ticket in her hand, reading it. 

“Around two weeks ago I was invited to the Nighthawk Spring Gala. I accepted. Marcy, as a member of the band you were officially invited as well. Anne, I’m giving you my guest ticket.”

Anne looks up at her, still confused. “But that was before the album launched. Why would they invite you before they knew if it was a success?” 

“Oh,” Sasha shrugs, “because of the leak I’m a hot topic, if my album did well it would be a major faux pas not to invite me. But if I flopped I’d have to show up to save face and the gala would have someone to point and laugh at.”

Anne frowns at that. 

“I had to go to a lot of events like this with Andrias when I was a teen,” Marcy says, running her thumb over the glossy black and gold cardstock, her expression melancholy.  

Shit. Sasha didn’t even consider that Anne or Marcy might not want to go to a gala. 

“You don’t have to go,” Sasha rushes to say, “I know you can get a good chunk of change for the tickets on the internet, and even if you do go it doesn't have to go with me. But I would like you too! That’s what I'm doing. I’m inviting you to go with me.” 

Sasha shuts up before she can say anything else. 

“Oh,” Anne says, blinking down at the ticket like she’s seeing it in a new light. 

“That could be fun,” Marcy says slowly. “To have someone to gossip and judge the crazy outfits with.”

“It’s no fun to judge alone,” Sasha agrees. 

“You know,” Anne starts, “when I was a kid I always wanted to go to one of those big balls that you saw in the movies, with all the lights and dresses and dance numbers.” She gives them a hesitant smile. “This would be pretty close.”

“The event itself is going to be really shallow,” Sasha warns.

“But pretty?” Anne asks. 

“But pretty,” Sasha agrees, ignoring the hope rising in her chest. “So you’ll come?”

Marcy and Anne look at each other. Marcy shrugs, Anne smiles. 

“Yeah,” Anne says 

“Yeah?” Sasha repeats. 

“Yeah!” Marcy cheers.

***

Fen dressed up as her high school Goth self. Sasha is dressed up in her Amphibia armor.

[thehuntingdomain]

10 Sauger Fishing Tips

Do you fish for saugers? Would you like to catch more saugers? In this article, we share sauger fishing tips to help you catch more saugers.

1. Slowing Moving Waters

Saugers like slow-moving, and deep rivers. They can also be found in lakes and reservoirs. Being a migratory species, you will find saugers in a lot of habitats.

2. Color of Lure

The color of the lure you use depends on the water you are fishing in. Use bright-colored lures or spinners in clear water and darker colors in murky waters.

3. Saugers & Scents

Saugers are very sensitive to scents, especially pheromones that lure females during the mating season. Therefore, if you are using scents, don’t overuse them. It will put off the sauger.

4. Best Time To Fish

Early fishing when the sun is rising or late in the evening can be the best time to fish for saugers. Saugers come near the shore to feed during early mornings or late evenings. If you would like to learn more sauger fishing tips, then click this link.

5. Saugers & The Bottom

Sauger tends to linger close to the bottom in some areas. You will need to bring your lure down to them. Just touch the bottom and hold for a few seconds. Then use a slow retrieve to tempt the sauger to follow and get bites. You may not get any bites if you move it too fast.

6. Use A Medium Weight Tackle

Since saugers are not as aggressive or active as other species like bass, go with a tackle of medium weight. Additionally, choose a 7 to 9-foot rod and reel set up with average action for best line control. Get a fishing line that is close to a 10 lb test depending on how deep you will fish.

7. Getting Sauger Attention

The best way to get the attention of saugers is using spinnerbaits or other kinds of flashy lures as they like to follow an object. Use a spinning lure that has 3 “spinners” if you want to catch saugers with a simple spinning lure.

8. No Luck At All?

If you haven’t been successful in catching saugers with bait or lures, try different approaches like float fishing, spin casting, or spinner baiting. You have to factor in how active and aggressive a sauger is to know which method to use.

9. Saugers In The Summer

Look for saugers in deer waters during the summer. In early summer, look for saugers near deep gravel bars and holes away from the shore. Late in summer, saugers can be found downstream from tailwaters near drop-offs and holes near confluences.

10. When Saugers Spawn

In spring, saugers spawn. You will find them upstream in gravel or sandy bars downstream from dams and lock walls. They can also be found around rocks, debris, and along eddies.

Conclusion

Fishing for saugers is not difficult. With knowledge of their behavior and movements, you can locate and catch saugers. In this article, we share tips to help you be more successful fishing for saugers. If you would like to learn more about fishing other species of fish, then click here.

[mikeybalzz]

The ONLY Chatterbait Trailer you NEED for Pre Spawn Bass Fishing

The ONLY Chatterbait Trailer you NEED for Pre Spawn Bass Fishing

There is only one Chatterbait trailer you need for pre spawn bass fishing. The soft plastic Komodo acts like a swimbait, a creature bait, and a fluke style lure all in one when rigged up with a Chatterbait or Thunder Cricket. The tight action makes it perfect for pre spawn bass fishing as fish move up from winter to spawn. This is my bait review of the Gambler Lures Komodo. Want to get a…

[itsthesinbin]

Early Game Tip/Guide for Stardew Valley

A friend of mine has been having trouble with the EARLY early game, so I wanted to help them out. This’ll cover the very early game, and then I’ll cover some tips for the FULL first year. I’ll be putting the whole thing under a read more so it isn’t cluttering ppl’s dashboards.

I’ll have a general idea of what to do the first 3 days or so, and then move to general tips/year 1 tips!

If this gets good reception, I might do other guides if people need them! Just ask and ye might receive sfdgfhfsdgfs.

I’ll also update this if I remember something else or get an idea from someone!

Day 1

First thing, of course, is get your parsnips planted and watered. Go to Pierre’s afterwards. With your 500g, buy 3 green beans, 3 potatoes, and 2 cauliflower. While cauliflower, overall, sells for more, invest in POTATOES in your first spring. You’ll sometimes get an extra potato when you harvest them, so you can get more money overall.

Make sure to get 50 wood for a chest as well. Put your extra tools away that you aren’t using for extra storage space.

After those are planted, go to the south (Cindersap Forest, where Marnie’s Ranch and Leah’s cabin are located). Go ALL the way south to the sewer exit at the bottom right of the area, over two small bridges connected by a tiny island with a single maple tree on it. The area down south will sometimes spawn spring onions. Check this area every day in spring in your first year. Spring onions don’t give you MUCH energy, but it’ll still be good in the long run.

Chop down as many trees as you can or pick up any foragables you see (check the beach as well for foragable shells) to try and reach level 1 foraging. Once you reach level 1, you can get tree seeds- acorns, pinecones, and maple seeds- and can craft field snacks.

Do NOT chop down the tree stumps right now unless they’re in the way! Tree stumps still spawn tree seeds, and chopping down stumps do NOT give you foraging experience! Only chopping the tops of the trees give you experience!

Check ALL the trash cans (just make sure a villager doesn’t see you bc they hate it), because sometimes food items or algae/seaweed pop out. 

Don’t be afraid to eat foragables like dandelions, leeks, and horseradishes as well for energy.

Overall, if you can’t get enough energy-restoring items, don’t be afraid to go to bed early day 1.

Day 2

If you didn’t do it yesterday due to energy, go around your farm and scythe ALL the weeds/fiber you can. Sometimes they drop mixed seeds. Mixed seeds are random seeds you can plant. They’ll either give you parsnips, potatoes, or cauliflower seeds. But that means free seeds to plant! Easy profit. DO NOT CUT DOWN ALL YOUR TALL GRASS.

Willy will send you a letter. Go get the fishing rod, and fish in the ocean outside of Willy’s shop. Sell him any fish you get directly until about 2 pm or so, then go to Pierre’s with your new funds and get more seeds. Ideally potatoes, but if you wanna get a head start on an achievement, buy one or two of every seed- except fruit trees. You’ll need to sell one of every crop eventually. But you don’t have to worry about it right now if you don’t want to- you’ll have many more springs to come.

Check down south for spring onions. If you have level 1 foraging by now and can get tree seeds, shake the trees as you pass by. You get them more often by chopping them down, but shaking the trees can yield tree seeds for field snacks.

Spend today fishing, after that! Fish makes good money, and if you’re REALLY in a pinch you can eat the fish straight out of the ocean/river/lake. Or any seaweed/algae you fish up. Sometimes you’ll also fish up Joja Cola- a trash item you can consume for a little energy.

Day 3

It’s raining today, so you do NOT have to water! It always rains on Spring 3. If you’ve gotten money from fishing again after your initial stint, buy more seeds- you don’t need to plant them right away if the idea of all the watering is daunting, you can save them for when your first harvest is done and you need to replant.

If it’s a good luck day, spend the day clearing out your farm area around where you’re planting. Good luck days are the best for chopping trees because you’ll get more wood than on bad luck days.

If it’s a neutral or bad luck day, go fishing! You might fish up trash more often, but you’ll still be getting fish to sell! You can either ocean fish and sell to Willy directly, OR try at the mountain lake next to Robin’s house. Largemouth Bass are GOOD money early game.

No matter what you do, remember to check for spring onions!

General Early Game Tips

Check the tv EVERY day! It’ll give you tips, recipes, and you can check your daily luck and the next day’s forecast.

Build a Silo BEFORE building a coop or a barn! You’ll get a quest to build a coop after your first harvest. Do NOT do it right away. Get a SILO first, and then scythe up any grass on your farm! Don’t scythe all your grass (the tall grass, not the weeds that give you fiber/seeds) before you get a silo, because hay from Marnie is expensive at 50g per piece of hay.

Advanced tip for the previous one: Build ONE silo, and put a chest next to the silo. Use the empty barn/coop once you have it to grab ALL the hay from your silo and place it in the chest. Continue to scythe your grass and get hay, repeating the emptying process until all your grass is gone. That way you have a stock of hay before you get animals.

Once you have a steady supply of food and the mines are open, go to the mines as OFTEN as possible. If the day is neutral, good, or great luck, go mining! You’ll wanna get a head start on resources, and selling gems is good early game.

Wait for a rainy day to upgrade your watering can! Upgrading your tools takes two days: the day you give it to him, and the day after. Check the tv for when the next day is raining, and THEN upgrade your can.

Do NOT build the first sprinklers you get. Once you reach level 2 farming, you unlock the sprinkler crafting recipe. The basic sprinkler only waters 4 spaces, and it is a WASTE of copper and iron. Wait for the quality sprinkler recipe at level 6. It’s tedious to water, I know, but the quality sprinkler waters the 8 surrounding tiles vs the basic’s 4. A better use of materials.

Keep at least 1 to 5 of everything! You may end up with a lot of chests, but keeping a lot of things is REALLY handy. You’ll get little fetch quests from the bulletin board outside of Pierre’s shop often, and keeping a backlog of items helps with completing them- which gets you money and friendship points with the villager in question. This includes crops, fish, and mining materials like quartz and gems. I’d also advise keeping minerals from geodes after donating one of them to Gunther, as some are good gifts while others are used for fish pond requests.

Don’t forget animal tools! Marnie sells a bucket for milking cows, shears for shearing sheep, and heaters for your barns/coops! It gets real cold in winter, so animals need a heater placed in their respective buildings. Put one in every animal building you have- you only need one, don’t worry!

Make wild seeds! Wild seeds produce foragables for their respective seasons. Sell the spring, summer, and fall seed packets instead of growing them. The spring, summer, and fall wild seed packets sell for MORE than if you grew the seeds and sold the foragable items. Do NOT sell the winter seed packets!

General Year 1 Tips

Try and get level 4 foraging before Spring 15! You’ll get a passive perk that just says “+1 Berry harvesting”. From Spring 15 to 18, there are salmonberries in the bushes around Pelican Town. Whether you have level 4 foraging or not, collect these berries! It’ll help a LOT if you get two per bush, but if you check every single day you’ll get a lot of berries no matter what your foraging level is. They don’t give a LOT of energy/health, but because of the quantity you’ll get you’ll be fine.

Fish at the mountain lake when you have downtime! Largemouth bass are VERY valuable early game, if a bit tricky to catch.

Use low profit crops for energy! If you have extra parsnips from spring, you can either turn them into pickles later or keep them for energy/health.

Mushrooms or Bats! After a certain amount of profit is obtained, Demetrius will come to you and ask to use your farm’s little cave for an experiment. He’ll ask to either use it to cultivate mushrooms or invite a species of fruit bat to the cave. Mushrooms are produced every day, and you’ll get a random assortment of every mushroom species available (although their rarity plays a factor in how often they appear). Fruit bats leave you a slow supply of fruit- usually foraged berries, but sometimes fruit tree fruit as well such as apples, oranges, and cherries. Mushrooms are generally more valuable and common mushrooms provide good energy, while fruit bats are good for artisan goods and for gifts as fruit tree fruits are universally liked by everyone.

In your first summer, invest in Blueberries! In your first fall, invest in Cranberries! Both blueberries and cranberries give multiple harvests, and multiple berries per harvest. That means they’ll keep producing AND give you 3 berries per harvest. While the melon and pumpkin sell for more, you can get a few hundred berries within one season- upwards of a thousand if you plant a Lot like I do.

In the beginning of summer, you’ll unlock the bath house. The bath house is a hot spring building to the north in the mountains, initially blocked by boulders. You can sit in the water to regain energy!

Plant tree seeds outside of the bath house area. ALL the dirt around the bath house can have tree seeds planted. You’ll most likely get a bunch of pinecones, as there’s an abundance of pine trees both on your farm and in Cindersap Forest. Plant as many as you can, and let them grow to make a wood farm. I can get a full stack of wood because of how many trees you can plant.

Save some crops to sell at the END of a season! If you’re hurting for money, split your current harvest in half if you can and sell half. Put the other half away in a chest (preferably next to the shipping bin) to save for the final day in the season. That way you can be SURE you’ll have a decent amount to spend at the beginning of the next season.

Work on preserves jars and kegs asap, once you unlock their recipes. Preserves jars make jelly (from fruit), pickles (from veggies), aged roe (from fish eggs), and caviar (from sturgeon eggs). Kegs make wine (from fruit), beer (wheat), pale ale (hops), juice (veggies), and mead (honey). Buy some hops in summer and save them for when you get kegs! Hops also produce EVERY day, so be prepared for a backlog of hops!

Try and get animals in summer! Save spring for bolstering your wallet and equipment. Don’t worry about upgrading your coop/barn all the way right now, just get started on animals because animal products are very good your first year.

Upgrade things in winter! This can mean tools, or buildings! By winter you should have a GOOD bit of money and resources. Upgrade your tools as much as you can (you can do a lot of mining for ore in winter), and upgrade any coops/barns you have. You don’t HAVE to upgrade your house yet if you don’t want to/don’t plan on getting married anytime soon so, as you should have salmonberries still if you managed to collect a lot,  cooking isn’t a necessity. Mushrooms from the cave or fruit from the bats could also help here.

Buy animals in winter! If you can upgrade your coop/barn, get animals now while they don’t need to go outside. It’s a good idea to get pigs now if you can, as they take a long time to grow. That way they can come out fully grown and ready to get you truffles.

Winter seeds are good money! Every few levels, you’ll be able to craft wild seeds for each respective season. The winter seeds sell for more than just their packets alone, so grow them if you can! You can multiply the crop each time you harvest them most likely, so you can make a lot of money off of the foragables.

Mine and fish! Since you don’t have too much to do in winter, use the time to fish and mine for extra money and resources!

[url-is-url]

Can you please talk more about valerie red huntress symbiote au ? Just general thoughts on how it would work ? I know barely anything about Venom but imagine valerie would get the symbiote from Axion Labs.

OH GOD OH NO OH GOD OH NO I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO BE AN AU I JUST WANTED TO DUNK ON BUTCH HARTMAN AND HIS PLAGIARIZING HABIT AND MY VENOM OBSESSION

First of all: I will be referring to the symbiote as Venom, a la movie canon, because I have a deep and passionate loathing for the past three years of Venom comic canon, do not get me started on this because I will not be able to stop.

Okay firstly: YES Venom totally comes from Axion Labs. I have not watched Danny Phantom since it was actually airing so I'm definitely checking the ole wiki as I write this but apparently Axion Labs was its own thing and then VladCo bought it? Idk how Venom got to Axion Labs, but it got there and the scientists were like "idk wtf to do with this" and just sorta. Put it in a drawer with a label that says "weird space goo" and forgot about it. (That is VERY MUCH a thing that happens in science labs you would not BELIEVE the shit you can run into if you start poking around old storage objects in labs.) And then VladCo buys Axion, and Intern Valerie is helping organize things and she finds the jar of lost space goo. Idk what happens after that; maybe she determines it's some flavor of alive and passes it to Vlad under the assumption that it's a Weird Space Ghost, maybe she drops it and Venom escapes and bonds with her. I don't know, the details of how they get together aren't important IMO, the important part is the interactions between symbiote and host.

Valerie is still in high school and this is very important to me. Depending on what you do and don't consider canon, Venom is between several thousand and six hundred million years old. Depending on what you do and don't consider canon, Venom has BEEN TO EARTH BEFORE! I am of the opinion that Venom is actually extremely knowledgeable about physics and chemistry and other like, not-Earth-specific things, because they're old as balls. So imagine you're in high school and you're in AP World learning about the Vikings, and you hear this bass-ass voice in your head go actually it wasn't like that at all and suddenly you're RELIVING some other creature's memories of fighting Vikings. Or you're in high school and you're in biology watching a video about octopus camouflage and this voice in your head goes we can do that too and your arm turns "invisible". Imagine you're on your period and you ran out of Advil and you think to yourself "I swear to god if this lunch line doesn't move faster I'm gonna eat the kid in front of me" and the voice in your head goes no, eat the one behind you, he looks juicier LIKE WHAT THE FUCK

Valerie and Venom get together way after Danny becomes Phantom. So Valerie has this huge crush on Danny, but then she also hates Phantom's guts. Venom has senses that humans don't so they can tell that Fenton is Phantom, and Venom regrets their life choices re:bonding with a human, because oh no, these bald apes are so fucking stupid. Every day Venom considers informing Valerie about the secret identity thing. Every day Venom remembers that Phantom's ghostly wail is extremely deadly to them specifically. Every day Venom does not tell Valerie about the secret identity thing.

Most of town is probably at least a little convinced that the huntress is some sort of weirdass ghost, because humans aren't that big. I headcanon Valerie as being short but muscular as hell, around 5'4". Venomized Valerie? Pushing 7' and built like Athena. People assuming she's a weirdass ghost pisses Valerie off SO MUCH, and it pisses Venom off too though for different reasons (I AM TAKING VERY GOOD CARE OF MY HOST SHE IS ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ALIVE I AM INSULTED BY YOUR INSINUATIONS THAT SHE IS IN ANY WAY DECEASED)

Oh hey wait, if Venom can tell the Dannys are the same person, Venom can also tell that the Vlads are the same person. Vlad has never demonstrated anything along the lines of a ghostly wail, so his secret identity is NOT safe and Venom tells Valerie what's what. Valerie is so disturbed, but then she decides to give Vlad the Homophobic Rich Grandpa treatment and pretends to go along with what he wants so she can get that sweet sweet tech, then she turns right around and does whatever she wants when he's not looking. Maybe Venom (as in the big lady) and Red Huntress are assumed to be two different people because Valerie works for Vlad as Red but then does her own stuff as Venom?

Carnage. Oh god, Carnage. So, the Carnage symbiote (often referred to as Red, I love a coinkydink) is Venom's offspring. In the comics, it is possible for a host to experience sympathetic morning sickness and shit in advance of the symbiote spawning. Please imagine you're in high school in a small town, and you are nauseous as fuck and having weird dreams and cannot eat enough chocolate (chocolate is a good source of phenylthylamine, which is a neurotransmitter that symbiotes need to eat) and one of your shitty high school friends goes "omg are you PREGNANT" and you know that whatever you say, everybody in the universe is gonna hear it. You've never had sex in your life but you still have a moment of panic like OH GOD AM I THE NEXT VIRGIN MARY SHIT and then your body roommate is like actually, this one's on me. DO YOU LOSE YOUR WHOLE GODDAMN MIND OR DO YOU LOSE YOUR WHOLE GODDAMN MIND. "wait Venom I thought you were a guy" "why would you think that i have a concept of gender" "...your voice is deep?" "humans are so fucking stupid"

The big weaknesses of symbiotes are fire and certain frequencies of sound. Venom is scared shitless of Ember McClain, send tweet.

There's a re-appearing ghost who hosted Venom when they were alive. This could be a canon character or an OC. Either way, the interactions maximally play up the "awkward ex" thing.

A better source of the phenylthylamine Venom needs to live is BRAINS. This is now a ghost hunger AU also and Valerie catches Phantom noshing on like, a ghost deer or something. Cue Venom SEE IF HE CAN DO IT WHY CAN'T WE

Hey Venom's an alien who is old as balls, it's called the INFINITE REALMS, there's probably LOTS of alien ghosts with opinions about symbiotes

One day Phantom gets hurt really badly and Valerie feels bad enough to go save his ass (if only because the only person that gets to kill Phantom is HER tyvm). Venom is very Exasperated Parent about all of these fool human children so they just. Pick him up by the scruff like a disgruntled kitten and drag him to safety.

Venom has a very, very low opinion of the Doctors Fenton. Venom knows one (1) thing about humans and that is Protecc The Children and these morons are continuously shooting at their own child. The only reason Venom has not eaten them is because a) Valerie insists that humans are off menu and b) Danny's ghostly wail is scary. Also the only competent ghost hunters in this town seem to be Sam, Tucker, Danny, Jazz, and Valerie. Valerie why are the only competent people in this town children. "i wish i FUCKIN KNEW"

I'm now headcanoning that Valerie has a Very Southern grandma or auntie just to have an excuse for Venom to learn Very Southern expressions. Please imagine doing something stupid and the alien that lives in your brain stem just goes "oh bless your heart". Please imagine that some asshole yoinked the whole town into the Ghost Zone again and the alien that lives in your brain stem is like "dear jesus give me patience" I just think that would be funny.

[kmsenvs3000w22]

Fly fishing for Carp is AWESOME

^That carp was caught out of a storm pond, off the side of a road!

Do I dare say it? Okay, fly fishing for carp is the most fun you can have! But it’s also the most fustrating thing ever!

Common carp were introduced to Ontario 200 years ago as a food source, but have now acclimated to the surrounding ecosystems. As a result, they are quite common in most bodies of water; including ponds, rivers, and lakes. In these water bodies, they can easily surpass twenty pounds and have reached the record of 40 pounds in Ontario. They are quite opportunistic eaters, feeding on plant matter, algae, insects, mollusks and even small fish. What makes them so fun to catch is the fight they give you! They definitely know how to throw their weight around. They can easily take yards (I know it’s a imperial measurement, but that’s how fishing line is sold ;P) off your spool and can even “spool you”!

Growing up in the GTA and without opportunities to fish in more natural environments, I fished for what was plentiful. So, it was either largemouth bass, creek chub or carp. Living under zone 16, Largemouth Bass are out of season until the fourth Saturday of June, so I had to spend early summers fishing for something! So why not carp! Since the start of high school I became fascinated with fly fishing just because you almost have to work for every cast so it makes you feel in the moment even more. Plus everything feels bigger on a fly rod!

So, this is how it works. To catch carp on a fly you need just need a heavier set up compared to a trout set up. But at the same time have some finesse as the only way to target them effectively is in shallow clear water. Carp are actually very smart and are very aware of their surroundings. You have to sneak up on them and make sure that you don’t cast too close to their head, or they’ll spook. Carp in May and June school up to spawn and when they do, they do not eat. You have to be able to tell which fish are eating and which ones are spawning. However, even if you make the perfect cast to the carp, who is nose down in the substrate and has no idea you are there, it can just not eat. And that’s when you start to go a little crazy. My rule is, out of all the carp you cast to, you’ll catch 5% of them.

But it’s that ONE moment that ONE CHANCE when you see their head dart towards the fly, you see their lips open, your fly disappears and then you strip set and the carp takes off and your reel starts screaming, you’re screaming….AWESOME!

One thing with carp is I use barbless hooks because catch and release and it makes unhooking them better. I also use a rubber net, just to make sure they don’t hurt themselves while I get a cheeky photo!!

Anyways that’s enough about carp on the fly.

If anyone wants to give it a try in May, let me know 😊

Kiran

[carryonmywaywardwriters]

One Day At A Time - Jensen x Reader

A/N: Part Seven! If you’d like to be tagged, please send an ask or message. As always, feedback is incredible. And, I hope you all enjoy <3

PSA: I am NOT a minor friendly blog. If you are below 18, please come back when you’re older. I don’t want to lose my blog because you were too eager to grow up. If I discover you, I WILL block.

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Widower!Jensen. Drunken Shenanigans. Upcoming smut.

Word Count: Roughly 2,100

“Get ready, we're going out.” Sure that your brain had short circuited, you ignored the deep order. Continuing to read your book as if no one had spoken. “Hello, anyone home?” A large hand waving by your hand tugged you from the pages. Almost pouting, Jensen managed to catch your attention. “Are you even listening to me?”

“I'm sorry,” Carefully, you set down the novel. Folding your hands primly on your lap, you found your best lady of the manor impression. “Continue, Master.”

“Brat,” His eye roll made your lip twitch. Moving on, he straightened the deep grey t-shirt over his jeans. “Mom and pops are coming up to steal the kids for the night.”

Failing to see what that had to do with you, your eyes turned back down to the page in your hands. Finally to the moment where the characters discovered their feelings matched. Coming together in a blind passion. Only to be called back to order with a deep throat clearing. “So, how does this involve me exactly?”

“We're. Going. Out.” The drawn out order had you pinching your brows. Becoming aware that you had heard right. “Don't give me that look.”

“Am I supposed to be your wing man, here? Or...” An unamused frown curling your lips downwards made him roll his eyes for the second time. “It's a legitimate question.”

“You're supposed to go out. Get drunk. Make some bad decisions. And most importantly? Have fun.” He pulled out the finger wag and all.

“You're such a dad.” But the last bit got the desired response. You laughed at the cheesy speech. With a dramatic huff, the book was set aside. His overzealous fist pump only earned an eye roll. “This is only because I know you're going to nag me to death if I don't give in.” And absolutely nothing to do with his sparkling green eyes. Plush smile. Definitely not the curved up lips. Shaking your head, you got to your feet too quickly. “What's the dress code?”

“Bar finery.” That you could do.

Jean shorts. A billowy, black tank top that emphasized what you had to work with. Hair styled to the 't'. Just enough makeup to feel like you were actually trying. Nothing fancy. And yet, just the process of getting cleaned up lifted your mood.

“I wanna go with you!” Arrow sulked when she realized you were going out. Bottom lip out in full force.

“They're having adult time.” Justice Jay's answer was to the point. And yet, it sounded almost scandalous. You could feel your cheek's heating up as the adult Ackles' looked over you. Almost as though they were under the same mindset.

Jensen had no problem taking everything under control. Shooing his spawn and parents with an inspiring efficiency. Then he was flipping his keys in his hands, “You ready?”

“As ready as I'm getting,” Your bag rested over your hip. Shifting, you tried to ignore his deep inspection of your person. Well aware that your own brain was your enemy.

“Take it off.”

“Excuse me?”

“The bag.” His answer restarted your heart. And then came the pinched brows. “Don't give me that look. You don't need it. Tonight's on me.”

With a frown, you stared him down, “You're awfully bossy today.”

His arm fell across your shoulders, “I'm just tryin’ to lighten the mood around here. Besides, I owe you. You've been holding down the fort while I jump all around town.” Another pull followed at the reminder.

There'd been five dates. Five nights of trying to cheer up the bachelor afterwards. All while you procrastinated getting set up, yourself. Clearly, he'd decided enough was enough. Sighing, you took off the purse. Expecting the worst from the night ahead.

“This is ridiculous,” You laughed an hour later as the shot glass was pushed your way. Having already been primed with half a dozen wine coolers, your blood was simmering. Resisting the urge to peek around; trying to find the boogieman in the corners of the busy bar. So sure that the public would eat you alive. That a trap was laid out around the bend.

“Good,” Jensen raised his own. Seemingly unafraid of anything. “About time you do somethin' a little irresponsible.” With that toast for the ages, he tipped back one. Watching as you choked down the smooth liquid. More than a little out of practice. Being the good man he was, your glass was replaced with another from the tray as soon as it was emptied.

The actor would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the way you relaxed across from him. Forgetting about everything his life had thrown at you. Leaning your elbows onto the table after the second drink. Eyes alight with nothing less than mischief as the alcohol buzzed more in your veins. Enjoying the way the music throbbed through the air. Nineties night in full swing. “How'd you find this place?”

“Jared and I used to hit it up,” Came the easy answer. You weren't the only one out of practice, “Wanted to see if it still had the same energy.” The response only drew back everything that everyone wanted to forget.

“Does it?”

Instead of answering, his fourth and final shot on the tray was taken, “Looks like you've got some catchin' up to do, kid.”

“Kid?” A snort left you at the challenge. Back to back, the final two were finished. Going down smoother as you found your rhythm. “Another round, old man?”

“That's my girl,” His words burned through your body. Straight to the pit in the middle of your stomach. With that, he got to his feet. Hunting down another bundle.

Your eyes trailed over him. Watching the confident swagger of his bow legs. The tall, straight edge of him that carried an edge of danger. Noting the way his back pressed against the thin material of his henley. Too strong for your sanity. Cursing yourself, you pushed up to your feet. Trying to regain a semblance of sense.

Nelly blasted through the speakers as you weaved through the flailing millennial crowd. All reminiscing over their childhood as they drank down their problems under the white and blue lights. Not caring that the arrogant song came from the 2000's. “Shake Your Tailfeather” had bodies writhing. More twerking than you remembered from the time hitting across the floor.

The throb of it had your hips swinging more than you intended as you made your way over to the empty dart board. Letting the music draw you away from your thoughts, you gathered the arrows. Refusing to turn your gaze back to the bar. Taking all of the emotions simmering under your surface out on the wall.

Jensen found you letting the needle fly. Moving to the bass without realizing it. Missing the bulls-eye by a mile. He wasn't the only one who noticed.

The guy was mid-twenties. Crooked smile. All decked out in a striped sweater and jeans that flashed his ankles. Looking like something right out of Fresh Prince.

He watched the way you interacted with the kid. Polite smile. Leaning away from his touch as he tried to offer advice. Hitting to the left of the mark in the process.

“Jensen!” The relief in your voice was undeniable when you caught sight of the actor. “I was just telling...” Ackles told himself the twitch in his lip had more to do with how hard you were trying to remember the name rather than the fact that you hadn't cared enough to in the first place. “Him,” Clearly you'd given up. “That you'd promised to help me out.” When he didn't respond, you continued a little more pointedly. “With the darts.”

“He any good?” Masculine pride bubbled to the surface as the younger man looked him over. With his smooth skin. Not a line or grey hair in sight. Rolling his shoulders, the actor looked down on the punk.

“Not at all.” Your face fell at that answer. Believing that he was going to throw you to the wolves. Biting back his grin, Jensen reached over. Plucking the dart from your fingers. Still holding the second tray of drinks. Years of practice showed as he flicked his wrist. Leaving the needle embedded into the wall. Right where it needed to be. Showing the kid what good really looked like.

Muttering something that sounded a lot like an excuse, the guy left the scene. Bobbing his head as he began his hunt for his next victim in the crowd. “Nice hit, Winchester.”

The teasing tone turned Jensen's attention away from his kill shot, “Still got it.” His brows bounced when you laughed. Reaching for another glass from his hands. “Looked like you were struggling.”

“Darts are complicated.” You brushed off the encounter. As if it didn't really matter. Tossing back the next drink. Using it to steady your hormones as Missy Elliot took over the room. Pretending it would actually help.

“You really want to learn?”

Have him right behind you? Guiding your body? You'd expire on the spot.  And yet, self control was becoming less and less important. “Why not?”

The table beside you held the drinks as he moved in. It was a mistake. But the heady brush of his cologne over your senses blocked that out. It was one night. What would it hurt?

Time seemed to blur from the patrone. From the soft touch of his fingers against your hip and wrist. You didn't know how it happened. One minute, you were working on the darts.

The next? You were in the middle of the crowd. Whining your hips to “Right Thurr” by Chingy. Even the music forgetting the purpose of the night. A strong chest pressed to your back as your fingers dug into the back of his neck. Holding him over you as a warm bulge pressed against you. The deep grind of it sent sparks scattering through your body.

All at once, you spun around. Sense crashing back into place for the moment. Slapping your hand to his chest, you demanded his attention. Gazing up into the pink stained cheeks and glazed emerald. “Y/N?”

“We have to go home.” Something sparked in his eyes that forced you to remove all contact. You had to get away. Clear your head.

The entire ride home was filled with charged silence. Your uber driver sent amused glances between you two. As soon as you pulled into the driveway, you were out the door. Rushing to the place where you were sure you'd be safe.

When the door clicked behind you, it was as if all the air had been ripped from your lungs. He was right there. Too close. That heady, almost sweet scent cloaking the air between you two.

“I...” Speaking was practically impossible as he stepped closer. Nothing about the night made sense. And yet, your weakness held you right where you were. “I had...”

“Fun?” He finished for you. His eyes moving from yours down to your lips. The only thing you could do was nod dryly. Warning bells screamed in your head when his lips curled up. “Me too.” At the first touch of his fingers against your cheek, your pulse jumped. It was gentle. And yet, nothing had felt more threatening.

“We should...” Irresistible. That's the only word you could think as his caress against your cheek slipped down to your throat. It was impossible to hold out against the draw.

“Definitely.” Warm breath drifted across your face. He was the one who'd initiated contact. Who'd leaned in. But, it was you who lifted up. Unable to hold back for another second. Lifting your hands to his hold him where you wanted him as your lips pressed home almost innocently. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he drug you closer as your head fell back. Strong fingers digging into your hair as his mouth moved down to your throat. Turning everything hot in a moment...

Forever: @dean-winchesters-bacon​​ @supernaturalginger​​ @lilulo-12​​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​​ @michaelneedssomemilk​​ @lemondropirwin​​ @fanfictionismydeath​​ @neii3n​​ @zpandaqueen​

Dean/Jensen: @akshi8278​​ @screechingartisancashbailiff​​  @woodworthti666​​ @coldmuffinbanditshoe @weepingwillowphoenix​​ @delightfully-wicked​

ODAAT: @winchester-ofthe-lord​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @ima-be-a-mongoose​ @briagallen​ @agusdoti​ @my-proof-is-you @deanwinchestersmydaddy​ @sucker-for-dean @blacktithe7​ @thevelvetseries​ @sucker-for-dean  @sociopathtime​ @deans-baby-momma @aomi-nabi​​ @brandinicole911​ @demonqueen47​ @c-ly-g​ @bakabozza​ @socalgem1124​​ @hillface89​​ @winchester-fantasies​​ @redwineloves​​ @monkeymcpoopoo​​ @mcshloemer @chocolateheart​ @hystylessmendes @lyarr24​ @hugwinchester​ 

[changeling-kisser]

should do one of these for Nil too, actually...

Nil Songheart, also known as Silvertongue…

NAME: Nil Songheart GENDER: Neutral (they/them) in base form and as Silvertongue, Fluid otherwise RACE: Changeling AGE: 32 HEIGHT: 5’9” WEIGHT: ~145 lbs ORIENTATION: demi-ace / panromantic

BACKGROUND: Entertainer CLASS: Bard (Glamour)

DESCRIPTION: Elegant. Androgynous. Hair is very silky. Wears a lot of black, often accompanied with spikes. 

Carries a specialized guitar. Wears a custom set of robes over their shoulders like a cape.

IDEALS: Honour, Honesty, Compassion

PERSONALITY: 

Low-key personality when off the stage. 

Soft-spoken, cautious, and shy. Specifically around people they don’t know well.

Tries to come off as confident, though.

Has playful/mischievous streaks. 

Deeply compassionate, will go out of their way to help even complete strangers.

Despite everything, trusts people easier than they really should.

Values a sense of family and familiarity. Comforts are important.

Also also known as...

Morvyn - tiefling bandit - cranky and withdrawn

Lady Beryllia - dragonborn noblewoman - snooty and prideful

Gran-gran - elderly human woman that just reminisces about how good her life was. (this is a mask Nil uses for comfort/to escape their own head mostly, in private)

EXTRAS:

Trying to kick their drinking habits

Hypervigilant (Passive perception is 16)

Frontman of a now-disbanded band known as The Faceless

Former member of a notorious crime gang, under a different alias

Speaks Common, Infernal, Celestial, and Draconic

Plays the guitar, double-bass, and hurdy-gurdy

Has a pet lizard named Harry

Is romantically involved with a changeling warlock named Vox

SILVERTONGUE SINGING VOICE: Ryanne Von Dorst

NIL VOICE CLAIM: Casey Mongillo  NIL SINGING VOICE: Johnny Goth

GENERAL PERFORMANCE SOUND: Like a mix between Ghost and Dool Specifically the guitars. Not always energetic and loud, can be very mellow and lowkey as well. Capable of really good screams/growls. Cackles, too.

Nil’s life before The Wayfarers...

Was the orphaned child of an unknown pair of changelings

Was ostracized and bullied alongside other social outcast kids in an orphanage in rural Breland

Used their changeling abilities to try and scare the bullies away

Was adopted by two tiefling women named Miphi and Hearth

Miphi and Hearth were not particularly well-off, but they raised Nil with an abundance of love, care, and support.

Had been singing and dancing for most of their life up until now, even if it was mostly in private until they got comfortable around their new moms, but finally started taking up instrumental lessons, inspired by their moms.

Continued to struggle to fit in with their peers during primary and secondary schooling due to their changeling..ness… and eventually just picked a persona to stick with when they weren’t in the privacy of their home. This identity would eventually develop and split into Silvertongue and Morvyn.

During their late teen years, Miphi fell ill and NEARLY died, spurring Nil to grow more serious with their performance skills in an attempt to earn more money for treatment. (It was probably cancer). Treatment ends up being successful, but Nil continued to pursue fame to earn more money for their mothers.

Created The Faceless, a troupe of bards that toured around Khorvaire, and managed to get popular enough to gain a niche fandom.

Starts growing (unintentionally) distant from their mothers due to how often they need to be away from home to perform and go on tours. Nil sends them almost all of their earnings.

Meets Freegift in their early twenties while touring in Sharn. Quickly adopts him as a younger brother.

Creates Morvyn to sneak out and Do Crime with Freegift without tarnishing Silvertongue’s reputation.

Garners the affection of a fan who catches them and finds out they’re not only a changeling, but also involved in crime. This admirer happens to be Rhanvea Selgen.

Rhanvea admits to being part of her own gang, and offers to team up with Nil and Freegift.

The two gangs merge, Nil and Rhanvea become an item, and eventually the merged gang perform their first big heist, which spawns Freegift’s title as “The Demon Of The Rails”

Nil grows increasingly distant to their friends and family as Rhanvea grows increasingly abusive toward them, on multiple fronts.

Rhanvea eventually double-crosses the siblings, nearly killing Nil. There are multiple casualties on both sides.

Nil disbands The Faceless and goes into hiding. They also go on an intense bender, but stay close to Freegift and continued to travel with him, terrified of being separated.

Eventually snaps out of it enough to want to try and pick their life back up. Starts traveling in search of themself until…

Nil meets The Wayfarers (Campaign Start)

[largemouthbassnation]

PreSpawn Cold Front Bass Fishing It was a tough day. Hopefully I put something together that helps you catch bass on a Prespawn post cold front day. Find me on Facebook @

[mikeybalzz]

WHY is RED the Hottest Color in Bass Fishing? (EXPLAINED)

WHY is RED the Hottest Color in Bass Fishing? (EXPLAINED)

Red is the hottest color in bass fishing especially during the pre spawn. Red chatterbaits, red lipless crankbaits, red squarebill crankbaits, even red spinnerbait lures are all over baits shops and on Tackle Warehouse. I got with my buddy and Lake Guntersville guide Myles Murray and asked him why do bass love red lures during the pre spawn? Follow Myles or shoot him a question…

[luvrpop]

advil in the bathroom

source: homestuck pairing: n/a requested: yes tws: over the counter drugs (advil) word count: 1498 synopsis: dave gets an eyestrain headache, and goes on an epic quest for advil extra: shoutout to my discord server buddies for lending me some help with their master rap lyricism

There are some days where things suck.

Those are the days where you stay in your room and no one sees you until dinner, or until you decide that boredom will kill you faster than just sucking it up and hanging out in the presence of other people. You say that you make your best music on those days, although your brothers would probably disagree. To that you would respond that creativity comes from necessity or some shit, and Dirk would tell you that the saying is “necessity is the mother of invention” while Hal explains why that doesn’t apply to your situation at all. They’ll still listen to your demo at 3 AM that night, and they’ll still tell you that they like it. You know they might be lying just a teensy bit, but it’ll still boost your ego. 

But not every day is like that.

Your name is Dave Strider, and today actually hasn’t been that bad. 

You’ve been playing Minecraft with your friends all morning, which is one of your favorite things to do. You finally proposed to your best friend June, who doubles as your minecraft-gf-now-fiance, and the realm has been busy with wedding preparations. It’s been the ultimate will they won’t they of the century, and Roxy had been bothering you non stop about “putting a ring on it” for forever. Rose is going to be your best man, naturally, and Jade is going to be June’s. Dirk’s going to be the officiary. Hal spawned 64 diamond hoes as a wedding gift. It’s going to be fuckin’ awesome. 

For now, you turn off your computer and push away from your desk. You rub the bridge of your nose, hoping to stave away a headache from staring at your computer for so long that you know is inevitable. Rose has offered to buy you blue light tint shit for your shades, but you’re not interested in fucking up the lenses like that. Plus, you’re no bitch. You suck it up and head out to the kitchen like always, to rummage through the junk cabinet for an Advil or something. Hal is already seated at the island, reading something. He looks up when you enter the room, and you both nod in greeting.

June asked you once if it’s weird for you to have a robot for a brother. You had replied that you already had a robot for a brother so it’s no big deal, but you both knew that you weren’t serious. On top of it being sick as fuck to be able to say that your big brother is a super genius who built a super genius AI and then a fully functioning body for said AI, you just really like the guy. Plus, he helps keep things organized. Without him, you’d never know where anything is. Dirk isn’t messy, really the opposite. He’s very particular about where things go. The problem is that his idea of where welding supplies go is in the cabinet next to the fridge, where you adamantly believe dishes should be. And so on.

After a minute or two of fruitlessly searching for pain relief, Hal finally speaks.

“What are you looking for?” He asks, not looking up from his book. 

“Advil,” you say, shoving receipts and a neti pot back into the cabinet.

“I see. Check the bathroom.”

“Why?” The fuckin’ cabinet won’t close. “It’s always been in here.”

“Dirk was on a reorganization campaign this morning. You really missed out, dude.” He responds, watching in a bemused fashion as you do mad mental gymnastics to figure out how to stack empty inhaler boxes in a way that will let the cabinet door close.

“Yeah, okay, cool, but like-” You have to pause to catch the bottle of Pepto Bismol that you should have known wouldn't fare well on top of a bunch of empty boxes. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it or whatever. Now I’m gonna die of eye strain, man, and Dirk’s gonna laugh at my funeral.”

“You know that saying doesn’t apply to him.” Hal says, and you know he’s right. Dirk’s more of an “if it ain’t broke, fix it weekly as to assure it remains unbroken” sort of guy. You snort, and finally get the door closed. Hal pats your shoulder (awkwardly, because the guy doesn’t understand physical affection for the life of him. You appreciate the gesture anyway.) as you walk by, and you begrudgingly make your way to the bathroom. The door is locked when you get there, and you jiggle the handle, just to be obnoxious 

“Dave, I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop jiggling the doorknob,” Dirk snaps from the other side of the door. 

You snort, and jiggle more aggressively.

“Dave.” “I have a headache.”

Dirk makes a sound that is halfway between exasperated and confused. “I- Okay?” 

“A big dumbass moved the Advil into the shitter, and I have a headache. So hurry up or unlock the door,” 

“Dude.”

“Unless you’re taking a shit. Are you taking a shit, Dirk?”

Silence.

“Dude, el mayo.” You can see Dirk’s face scrunch up at that. He hates you and Roxy’s incessant need to say acronyms out loud in stupid ways in your head. “Why’d you even move it? Did you just wake up randomly thinking: 'Hey, I know what I'll do! I'm just gonna obliterate Dave’s afternoon by holding his salvation hostage and then shitting near it? That’s really fucked up, man,”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but the cabinet in the bathroom is literally called a medicine cabinet. This was inevitable.”

You kick the door half heartedly before stalking back into your room. You know he’ll bring you the medicine when he’s done, but you feel the tingles of a fire track coming on.

Fifteen minutes later, after turning down the Advil and locking yourself in your room, you’re convinced you’ve got the hottest shit since the meteor shower that killed the dinosaurs, headache long forgotten. You usher Dirk and Hal into the cramped bathroom (it takes a while to get them to comply, but you assure them that this shit will be legendarily mind blowing. And really, who could resist that?), and Hal calls sitting on the toilet lid. You’re obviously standing in the shower, so that leaves Dirk to sit on the floor. 

“Couldn’t we have done this in the living room?” Dirk complains, interrupting you as you go to start the backing track (it’s the Minecraft opening theme, with some shitty bass over it.).

“It’s atmospheric, Dirk.” Hal replies, shaking his head.

“Yeah, duh,” You agree. “Now shut the fuck up, I’m about to take you to school.

Check it. Yo, I’m chillin’ on the comp but my head starts splittin’ Messin’ with my game, and fuckin’ up my sittin’ It’s bad, it’s mad, like an angry dad But it ain’t nothin’ compared to the rhymes that I’m spittin’

So I log out, get up, and leave my room My head’s killin’ me, I’m dyin’, y’know I gotta zoom Roll up into the kitchen, I’m cryin’, tearin’ out my hair So imagine my surprise when that shit ain’t there

Who the fuck locked my Advil up in the shitter? The fuck is your problem, I’ll vague you on Twitter I got a hundred followers, you forgot that I’m famous, They’re willing and ready to tear you a new anus.”

You’re about to continue creaming these suckers, but Dirk cuts you off before you can.

“Okay kiddo, I hear you, good god, sit down Is this bathroom a circus? Cause you’re actin’ a clown

I’m so sorry to tell you- Even Hal can attest- I’m so sorry for shitting This bitch has got IBS

I’ll spare you the details- My shit’s soaking wet- But may I remind you?  That’s a medicine cabinet

So before you go cryin’ ‘I’m dying, I’m dying!’ Just study my flow,  Cause that shit’s inspiring”

Oh, hell no. Not in your bathroom. Time to go fucking crazy.

“Eyes wildin’, I’m freestylin’ I’m crushin’ cube bitches, I’ll minecraft you some stitches Relief should be accessible, Otherwise that shit is unethical,

So you better say you’re sorry For puttin’ my drugs above the potty,”

This time, it’s Hal interrupting Dirk.

“Firstly, Dave, shawty, That don’t rhyme with potty To pay for these lessons? You’ll need a scholly 

Your flow is vile, shit’s juvenile I think I’ve heard better from Terezi’s reptile

You’re frying my circuits, This shit is trash If I was organic, you’d give me a rash

I’ve got something to say,  I’ll say it concisely: Shut the fuck up! I’m not asking nicely,”

Well shit. Hal’s got it on lock. You and Dirk groan, and the song ends. Hal always gets the last word. 

The three of you will argue for the rest of the night over who wons (you did, obviously), and you’ll have a shitty microwaved dinner.

Today wasn’t so bad at all.

[encyclopika]

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #3

Brought to you by a marine biologist who is missing the fish migrations right now.

Fish I’ve Covered: Barreleye || Sea Bass/Black Bass  And if there’s a fish you really want me to do (that is legally in the game rn to avoid spoilers), let me know! Anyway...

That’s right, friends, fish migrate, just like many animals on this planet. In fact, lots of animals make huge journeys for lots of reasons and for lots of fish, that reason is to spawn (aka have babies). Now, Animal Crossing features lots of fish who do that. They are all the salmon species you can catch in the game, and also today’s fish: the sturgeon!

I wrote a paper on these guys while getting my Master’s degree, so I hope you like this fish and think he’s cool, because this might be long-winded. *channeling Blathers now*

Unfortunately, you can’t catch this fish anymore until September in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You probably already know that they were to be found ONLY in the mouth of the river, under a very large shadow, of course. And, of course, they were pretty darn rare. I’m one of those unlucky souls who didn’t find one before the end of March, but when my husband caught one (and then subsequently 9 more because he’s the sturgeon whisperer, apparently) I flipped out. 

I flipped because I instantly recognized the exact species of this fish (that’s how amazingly precise the graphics in this game are). This was no doubt the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus):

Like, they got the belly scutes on there and everything (these are the big, hard scales running down their back, and, for this species, on their tummy, and it’s something not all sturgeons have). As someone who lives on the East coast of the USA (specifically New York), I’m very familiar with this species. Right now, there is a fishing moratorium, meaning no one is allowed to keep one if caught accidentally, which commercial fishermen do all the time. One protocol of my job as a fishery observer is to record all sorts of data when these big bois get caught in nets. I’ve seen so many of these guys, from just a foot long that I could carry them myself, to behemouths that were bigger than me. 

This is why I say I’m missing the migration. Because right around now, these ancient-looking fish are swimming towards, you guessed it, rivers to spawn. In New York, the Hudson River is the main waterway they are flocking to. Yeah. These giant, dinosaur-looking fish swim right past the Statue of Liberty, past The Bronx, and continue on to fresher water. And get this - Atlantic sturgeon return to their birth rivers just like salmon do. This has caused a rise in very distinct populations of Atlantic sturgeon that have unique genetic markers. For instance, New York Atlantic sturgeon are genetically distinct from Atlantic Sturgeon that use Florida rivers, for instance. So, one of the things I have to do if we get a sturgeon on a trip is to take a fin clip for genetic analysis. We know these sturgeon travel up and down the coast freely, but during spawning, everyone who came from the Hudson River, for example, returns there!

For New York, the spawning season is starting right now, but I won’t say that Animal Crossing got it wrong. In its more southern range, the Atlantic sturgeon will go up rivers and spawn even in cold months like December. And it’s so great they put this fish only in the river mouths to coincide with this behavior. (We’ll talk more about this when I cover the salmon, since they are infamous for this behavior.) Oh, and, uh, sturgeon don’t die after spawning - they go right back to the ocean when the season’s over. 

Last but not least, the rarity. I can’t say for certain if Nintendo made them rare simply because - why not? they’re big! - or if it was to be reflective of the fact that these guys are endangered. Like many species of sturgeon around the world, the Atlantic sturgeon was overfished to the brink of extinction, particularly for its eggs, aka caviar! They were worth a pretty penny, called “black gold” because at the time, the fish were actually VERY common! So, caviar could be made cheaply and sold high. In the early 19th century, the US was exporting MILLIONS of pounds of sturgeon meat as well as making bank on the caviar, as well as other products made with this fish. But like all out-of-control fisheries, and because sturgeon are slow-growing and slow-spawners, the fishery collapsed itself. So, now, at least in the US, there is a ban on fishing for them, as mentioned before. Could explain their rarity and the fact that Animal Crossing prices them at 10,000 bells! 

So, yeah, clearly my husband is a no good poacher.

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?