Dwight Hottle

Bob Stonewater he has been guiding for 30 years. He mostly fishes shiners But will fish artificals if you request.

Yes sir. We put in at the Butler St ramp in Astor. Just off 40E.

Very versatile rod that will soon become a favorite because of the tip & taper.

Yesterday my first cast was to a 10-2. So even though the rest of the day was slow I didn’t care. My vote is no.

DD from the St Johns river.

My wife & I both got our two.

Yep. It's very picturesque with all the wild areas mixed in with homes & cottages. It actually reminds me of the mighty St Lawrence up north. Same kind of feel southern style.

I always wanted to fish the legendary St Johns river system so when a buddy called me about going fishing I said let me see what I can worked out. We wanted to fish up at Rodman reservoir. But the guide I contacted said we would either fish Rodman or the St Johns river based on weather conditions. Our first days weather was the cold front moving in with windy conditions/rain & clouds. It produced around 15-20 total fish caught with the big fish coming in at 8-3. The second day was high pressure with blue bird skies & only about 8-10 fish caught. My very first fish within 5 minutes of fishing was a DD at 10-2. I thought we would tear them up but the catching slowed. Did get a stocky 6lber also. All the fish we caught were post spawn but mostly in the 4lb range.

Welcome to BR, Your right about your fishing spots. First class for sure.

Welcome back Don.

That's the way I learned to fish for walleye a jig & minnow or jig & night crawler. It is very effective. I caught my first 10lb & 11lb walleye that way. But once I learned how to troll effectively I caught even bigger walleye in greater numbers. Trophy walleye are suckers for artificials if you know how to get the baits down deep enough to target their levels.

I have used shiners for bait and always enjoy it. I have three DD's one was caught on a live shiner & the other two on rattle traps. So I don't think shiner fishing is easier or cheating or taking the easy way out. When I first started fishing for largemouth in earnest my buddies & I traveled to some farm ponds in southern Georgia where we had access. We would buy live shiners from a commercial bait facility & keep them alive in several five gallon buckets with aerators while staying in motel rooms overnight. Our trips consisted of two or three days. It was expensive & a pain in the arse. We did well though catching quality bass. One trip the bait supplier didn't have any shiners so we were stuck fishing with artificials. I had some senkos with me which we rigged wacky style & proceeded to slay the bass. We never went back to live shiners down there again. We evolved as fisherman learning new techniques & caught a few PB's in the process. We determined based on that experience artificial baits were as good as live bait without the hassle. Smallmouth fishing I learned that live bait provided the numbers but not necessarily the trophy's I was looking for. My first smallmouth fishing on the great lakes was done with a guide out of New York state waters. I had 3 or four trips with great numbers but could not get the 5lb smallmouth trophy I coveted. When I finally broke 5lbs & caught my first 6lber in the same weekend it was on a jerk bait. With that early success I stayed with the artificial approach & mostly jerk baits. The only time I tried live bait again for smallies was fishing a hair jig tipped with a lake shiner. It was successful scoring a new PB at 6-14. Within a few weeks later I scored my first over seven at 7-6 on a rapala tail dancer bouncing bottom in 20-22 fow. I never tried live bait for smallies again. Didn't need to in my mind as it didn't provide an advantage. When it comes to fishing public waters with lots of fishing pressure like Florida shiner fishing does offer an advantage for trophies based on my experience. So I guess you can say the advantage depends on the species and the body of water you are fishing. I personally don't care if your PB gets caught on live bait or an artificial bait. Both methods are still fishing & provide the fun of catching as well as the fun of planning & chasing a new PB.

Yep as already stated your problem is not your less than considerate neighbor but your own dogs. I’m a dog lover & know how they react. For your own peace of mind you need to alter their behavior or shield them from the distraction. Problem solved.

From Kistler website the blanks are 100% Japanese Carbon by Toray. They could be sourced from Japan, China or Malaysia. LIGHTER THAN AIR. THE WAY FISHING SHOULD FEEL. 2021 HELIUM FISHING ROD We stripped weight to increase sensitivity. Average only 3.5 ounce! It's what gives the Helium its name. Our flagship rod at its core doesn't just "get the job done," but makes every cast and hook set feel effortless. When your mettle is tested and you're competing for #1, the Helium gives you all you want and need in a fishing rod: lighter than air responsiveness that gives you every advantage over the next best fisherman. Built on KISTLER KC9 Extremely High Modulus Blanks - 100% Japanese Carbon by Toray. A dental surgeon requires a fine instrument to do his delicate work, the Helium blank is a fine instrument, meant for the most delicate of bites. A surgeon does not use his fine instrument to chisel, hammer or pull teeth, he uses a different tool for that. Metallic blue on navy blue thread colors. Bold in its simplicity, our most popular rod to-date makes the Helium a stunning example of how peak performance and beautiful design really does define the way fishing should feel. Every rod is Built by hand in Texas. All built, wrapped, glued, and epoxied by our team in our Magnolia, Texas facility. Backed by the Trey Kistler Warranty Promise for Five Years. First year = Free replacement. Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth year = Prorated replacement. DEFINING TRAITS LIGHTER THAN AIR We're talking 3.5 oz light. It’s where the Helium rod gets its name. It’s what it feels like fishing with the Helium. Sleek tapered grade a cork handle, corrosion control stainless steel guides, and a fuji reel seat each cut weight and give power and sensitivity to the helium. We hear this all the time: “Light and sensitive... With plenty of backbone.” It’s what you get with Helium. BLANK Kistler KC9 Extremely High Modulus Blanks - 100% Japanese Carbon by Toray A high-modulus 100% Carbon blank with advanced 45 degree layered carbon. Backed by Kistler's 5-Year Bend Strong Warranty, and specially hand tested for optimal performance. Armor-plated resin gives it a bit of extra protection and character.

It’s my go to mono line choice. Love it in 14lb & 17lb for trophy bass fishing.

By species. I’ll further break them down by live bait versus artifical & state side versus outside the country if someone asks.

I throw fluke style baits on a bait caster without problems. I use either 20lb braid with a leader or 14lb Suffix Advance copoly. I like to use Owner 5/0 or 6/0 twistlock weighted lighter wire with 3/32oz. Just a little weight but helps casting without hindering the action.

Welcome & congrats on chasing a hot bite window.

Dave I haven’t done much pike fishing since I caught the 49’’ which weighed 32lbs. I kinda knew that was as good as it gets for me. My chance to beat that was infinitesimal. I shifted my interest to other species. Nice to see you back posting.

X2

To help you with your decision take a look at the resale value between the two brands. How much is a two year old tracker selling for versus the 2 year old Lowe. People always complained about the price of a new Lund but came to realize they hold their value on resale.

This phots showed up yesterday on Facebook & some guys were questioning the validity of the scale it was weighed on. They still questioned it after the marina employees verified the weight & that their scale was regularly checked for accuracy. Then today I noticed another photo that better illustrates the true mass of this fish caught by Joe McKay on Lake O.H. Ivie.

Cold fronts on the Big O can be tough. Cool video.

Welcome to BR.