avidone1

At home I use the fiskars kid's scissors. work really well. On the water I have been using my buck knife, very sharp but a little overkill for this purpose. I think I'll try the boomerangadandang

If your really going to pick your spots, say an opening in an overhanging tree, then that xtra fast is cool because you can really pinpoint a cast. But if your targets aren't generally so critical, then I would go with a fast action moderate power rod

Your looking at quality rods. Neither is inherently 'better' at this level. it's pretty much a matter of how it feels to you. I suggest you go to the shops in your area and put them in your hand. don't be afraid to look at rods that are not labled as "crankbait" rods. When I go rod shopping it's like a ritual. I only use loomis or st Croix because I have never found a rod of thiers that I didn't love. but that's the key. I put all kinds of rods in my hand. I shake em, toss em around a bit. swish em, and put them back and go try another, but I usually "know" the right rod. it speaks to me. Trust your gut. I haven't bought a rod in many years unless I LOVED how it felt in the shop

It's not just about what your fishing for or the conditions you fish in. As a matter of fact that is the least important thing. What matters most is SAFETY. How big is your Kayak? How stabile is it. How roomy is the cockpit. does it have rod holders, balanced storage. What accessories do you have? an anchor trolley? rudder? electronics? How many and how big are your tackle boxes? How experienced are you? Do you wear a pfd? I could go on. I urge you as a newb to kayaks to start off simple. Let the minimalist in you express himself. Two rods, one small tackle bag with a couple of 3600's and go fish. That's still plenty of tackle especially for a familiar lake. Only when you really have a feel for the limitations should you start to add stuff. But be warned. There are a million things you can add to a kayak. they all serve a purpose. If your not careful you'll be wondering why you ever gave up the bass boat.

I understand wanting to stay with one brand. Every rod company has their own style of building that causes the power ratings, line and lure ratings and action ratings to be kind of unique to them. that being said limiting yourself to only one is probably too limiting. I use only st Croix and loomis rods. I understand how they grade their rods and can read the description and pretty much know what it's going to feel like. I still need to put it in my hand before buying but i'm usually getting what I expected. in your price range their are a lot of good brands. shimano of course, but I like fenwick at your price point. when I moved up in class from the Walmart stuff, I went to fenwick and was very pleased.

I used to subscribe to both bassmaster and In-fisherman. I stopped my in fisherman subscription when I moved to florida because it caters more to the northern zone, and stopped bassmaster because it was getting too technical. I read florida sportsman now, but would love to find a good magazine for inshore fishing, snook, redfish, speckled trout etc.

don't you be dissin' veinna sausage. No self respecting southern bassman would be caught dead without a can or two.

that's a very generous offer and I'm sure I'll take you up on it. I'm down in Port St. Lucie so it's a couple or more hours to get up to the lagoon. I would like to stay at a fish camp rather than a motel. Any good ones near you?

LC pointers are great jerk baits. Snook will eat em up

totally agree. If you would rather catch em on topwaters than anything else then you owe it to yourself to try them anytime of day in any kind of weather. but don't take my word for it. Chris Lane came in second place at Toledo bend throwing zara spooks all day every day. Like any other bait, they often work really well when their not supposed to. somebody forgot to tell the bass

This is an excellent question. But lets assume their are. I think your using a scattergun approach and your fishing is a bit undisciplined. Calm down, slow down. put an unweighted senko on a 4.0 hook, cast it to a likely spot, let it go all the way to the bottom and bring it s l o w l y back to you. Repeat. You will catch bass

Your question seems to be "Can I catch fish in a thunderstorm?" Trust me, your asking the wrong question. In Florida we know a thing or two about thunderstorms and they are dangerous. Seriously. Don't think of them as just a heavy rain. The lightning is the threat and being out on the water waving a graphite rod around makes you a delightful candidate for a strike. There is a reason why tournaments are postponed during thunderstorms. they kill people

black and blue

black and blue is certainly a classic color. If it doesn't work then try junebug

I really love catching redfish. You had an awesome day, wish I was there. I keep meaning to get up to Mosquito Lagoon but haven't made it yet. These pics make me more determined than ever. What kind of rig was that? At first I thought it was a jig with a trailer, but in some of the other pics it looked more like a t-rig. Anyway,,,,you done did reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel good.

cut..................what happens if your sloppy with your knife dip..................what you put between your cheek and gum when your wife's not feeling romantic

electronics, electronics, electronics.

I understand this position but I would go for a more expensive rod. The technology in fishing rods and reels have advanced quite a bit over the last decade or so. While quality rods have gone up in price, quality reels have actually gone down. I'm not talking about "top of the line" stuff here, I'm talking about the smoothness, lighter weight. and durability of mid line (say < 200) reels. A G. Loomis IMX Topwater Rod 6'8" Medium 802C TWR matched with a Shimano Curado, meets your price point and is a really sweet setup. You do realize of course that you are asking a lot of one rod right? Jigs and crankbaits are pretty much at the opposite ends of the spectrum, and topwaters while closer to crankbaits than jigs are also a bit different. but if I was limited to one outfit at your price point that's what I would get.

totally agree. I find the line and lure ratings on most rods to be nothing more than suggestions. Once you put it in your hand you can pretty much tell what it will comfortably handle.

And miss out on all the fun? Seeing a bass crush the lure on the surface is what makes topwaters so unique and exciting

great story, great fish.

Looks like a body was once buried there. the drought was uncovering it so the perp dug it up and moved it to the wood chipper

I guess if you never fished one then you can't know how good it is. I'm doing a lot of inshore fishing for snook, redfish etc. lately and was hoping they would have this deal on he progreen series. but no luck, I guess it's too new a rod for them to be giving em away just yet LOL....But thanks for turning me on to that site, it's a regular stop now for the bait monkey train..WOOOOWOOOOOOOO

chug bugs are a go to topwater for me. I have noticed no difference in fish catching since the Rapala take over.

Mountain dew is pretty toxic to people, I can only imagine what it does to a bass. I don't like the odds of survival for a badly gill hooked bass. Kinda like you or me surviving with a bleeding hole in a lung. but I do agree that they should be returned to the water ASAP. If they are going to survive that is their best chance, if they aren't they belong back in the food chain.