buzzed bait

79 here yesterday, supposed to be in the 30's by this afternoon

tom i truly enjoy your posts and knowledge, but am honestly asking you if you've ever fished from a kayak? one would think what's a few inches right? the issue does not come with fighting the fish generally, but the casting of a 7.5 ft rod is not the easiest thing to do from that low seated position. let alone an accurate cast.... i would love to keep my 7'6" for frogging, as it really is perfect once you hook the fish. it's just the steps leading up to the hookset are so much easier and repeatable with the shorter rod.

AGREED.... once i get the scales and ruler they're all like 2-3 pounds and less than 20 inches....

favorites for me are in this order: smoked jelly black/green pumpkin green pumpkin/sapphire pumpkin gold/chartreuse watermelon meat

i fish from a kayak as well. i picked up a 7'6" *** black HF last year to throw frogs. i like the rod, but frankly it's too long for the kayak. i've been thinking about getting rid of it and picking up something closer to 6'10" or 7' to make it easier to manage in the kayak.

that's where i got my TP from and think i paid either $143 or $148 great outfit

noticed the easier security code today!!! those things always get me for some reason, but today was noticeably easier! thanks!

faster will be good with the buzzbaits, but most like a slower retrieve with medium and deep diving cranks. i have a 6:1 shimano citica i use for cranks, but the 7:1 lew's tp is perfect for buzzbaits/spinnerbaits for me.

the lew's tp is a sweet reel. i have the faster ratio version, but the thing is buttery smooth. i found mine online for about $145 shipped

i bought a 6'10MF *** spinning rod for this very purpose, spooled with 20lb powerpro braid.. skipping small plastics and 3/8oz arkie head jigs. MUCH easier than the baitcaster and it just works. you'll be amazed at what you can skip (pencil style bait, jerkbait, crankbaits).

that tatula you got off of me was nearly new..... (<that's me still shaking my head for selling it) i would never buy one thinking it needed repairs. but it does give one peace of mind after you send them in and get them back in better than new condition!

the reels that i sent mike were bought/traded for unbelievable value on my part so i saved a ton by doing so. not to mention they were in a better than new state when i received them back! mike also went out of his way once to assist me remotely in fixing a "greenie" curado that i had messed up when putting it back together. he did this for absolutely nothing (which made me an instant customer)

yeah i thought the 51e's were great beforehand..... after i received them back (supertuned) from mike i was amazed that they were somehow even smoother than before!

yes, i use mine for trigs/smaller jigs and i like it. i have a 6'10"MHF paired with a curado 51e. i actually have 2 of these rods and use the other for spinnerbait/buzzbaits/chatterbaits. i prefer to use it for the moving baits, but it works great for bottom contact as well. i paid pretty close to retail for both of them (had some credits/dollars at BPS) and i am about 50/50 as to whether i would do it again. there are a lot of other rods i would likely have taken, but the selection at BPS was limited at the time of purchase. honestly, i'm happy with the rods and would not hesitate to use them as bottom contact rods.

Just wanted to take a minute and acknowledge some great work done by one of the site sponsors. i recently sent 2 curado 51e's and a chronarch ci4+ to mike at DVT for some all around service. all reels were received used so i was unsure of the previous conditions the reels may have been under. i wanted them cleaned by a pro since i was surely to screw it up! i worked it out with mike to have them supertuned, cleaned and install carbontex drag. mike was great to work with even though it was his busy season. i received the reels back and was just now able to get them out on the water. the difference is amazing. the chronarch is just flawless, and once dialed in nearly impossible to backlash. i was throwing a 1/4 oz popper on one of the 51e's using 8lb yozuri INTO THE WIND and it was throwing them with no problems at all. just wanted to take a minute and let you know my experiences with mike at DVT. if you're like me and know you need to service your reels, but know that you're not the man for the job, give mike a call or email him and let him do all the work.

yeah, i went back to your site and that's definitely the one. it also looked great in the water with a yamamoto single tail grub trailer. i have a white/glow in the dark looking color that was awesome and a chartreuse/pepper that would be killer in more stained water. really looking forward to having this swim jig in my arsenal this year!

any one liner from mark twain...... a true wordsmith

if he would just tone down the crazy redneck crackhead rob zombie style stuff and maybe do a bit more of the stuff his grandad did i would be in to it.... by the way, i think taylor swift would be appalled to think she was in the same conversation as hank III

It's a georgia thing for real.... i moved here from NC and thought people were crazy. but when you give them a shot, you realize what you've been missing. Big C, do yourself another favor on your next trip. grab some of the mardi gras wings in same deli section, you'll thank me later. they're some kind of dry rub baked wing that is too good to come from a grocery store. publix is where it's at.

"i'm your huckleberry" -doc holiday, tombstone

^^ i'm sure what i described sounds like spring time to a few of you guys.... but for middle GA that's pure winter conditions!

I decided to just tough it out and take off in the kayak on saturday. air temps were in the upper 30's, water temps were 44-45. wind was blowing about 10-12 mph from the east. so when i set out for the day i didn't have very high expectations. in fact, i decided to try a couple new techniques and really put them to the test along with some confidence baits as well. i have had some swim jigs and tried them a few times, but never gave them a fair shake. i've heard plenty of talk about them lately so decided it was time to give them a fair shake. i tied it on my set up that i normally use for spinner/chatter/buzzbaits. 6'10MHF Tatula with a 7.1:1 Lew's Tournament Pro with 10lb yozuri hybrid. i was using a Siebert Outdoor swim jig (mike can probably say the exact color) but it's a salt and pepper colored head with a lavender shad skirt i believe. i was using a lake fork magic shad boot tail trailer for the added vibration. i believe it was about the third cast into a shallow laydown that i popped the swim jig over a limb, let it fall and felt the THUMP!!! even though it was cold, this fish decided to put up a nice fight. it took a few minutes to get her in the net, and boy was i happy when i did!! she went 4lb 8oz on the digitals!! I went on to catch 2 more on the crankbait. a small 14oz fish and solid 2lber. it was a good day given the conditions and catching that little pig on the swim jig was worth it all!

i've never used a leash of any sort and mainly because i do not want those extra points of entanglement.... even at that, i don't think i would be able to fish with one connected to a leash. i mean i see how it will save your gear, but just seems like a pain otherwise. as far as the paddle goes, mine floats so no worries there.

i've never rolled the kayak (knocking on wood now), but have lost some gear in a not so intelligent maneuver..... i have to admit that i've lost 2 combos from my kayak. once was while casting, i hooked into the rod in my rod holder and jerked it out, somehow freeing it from the hook and sending it to the depths of about 20' of water. a second time in a scary event altogether that involved a dog, a deep cycle battery, trolling motor and kayak catastrophe. I could have easily drowned, easily lost everything in the kayak (including the kayak). essentially the battery fell into the water and the cables remained connected and nearly rolled it, but just enough to fill the kayak about 90% full of water. somehow in all of this ordeal i had a BRAND NEW abu garcia combo fall into the water (roughly 15'). i was so scared that the yak was about to sink that i couldn't even attempt to recover the lost combo.... 2 lessons learned: i no longer keep a rod in the rod holder on my right side since i cast that way. and i will never try to use a trolling motor and battery until it is rigged properly and not just thrown together like i did on this instance.

i would totally agree with you Lund. each time he exits a tournament for "back issues" seems to be because he's swinging for the fences. seems like he would alter the swing enough to allow his body to heal up some. i think he's trying to keep up with the younger guys like rory, dustin johnson, etc. who are putting their drives into orbit. meanwhile, tiger just needs to be tiger again and not try to keep up with the crowd. just my thoughts at least.