buzzed bait

i've got most of the bases covered on everyone's suggestions with the exception of the ghost minnow and from the sounds of things i'm missing the boat!!! really glad i asked though, now i'm on the hunt for some ghost minnow 78s

rage anaconda is good and fairly durable for a ragetail product. although slightly shorter than you're asking for, i have killed it this year with the netbait super tmac worm (9")

caught my PB on the rebel pop-r. popper style baits are my favorite topwater, you can work them really close to cover. i find a lot of strikes come after the couple pops and go to rest it. after resting the bait 2-3 seconds, then comes the strike. sometimes it's more of a "slurp" than a strike you get from other topwaters. THEY ARE FUN. although pricey, the most productive one i've found so far is a yellow magic popper. and if you look into a megabass popmax or popx you will see those are just a work of art. i have another en route this week.

muy bien, estoy celosa

i moved to atlanta almost 2 years ago and the traffic here is just unreasonable to say the least. basically everyday before taking off, i check the google maps app and get an idea of the best way home. typically, i go the same way, but 1 out of 5 days it will suggest a different route to save time. had i gone my normal route yesterday, it put the drive at 49 minutes with traffic (should be 21 mins without). however, a different route that i rarely take was running 34 minutes, so i saved about 15 minutes off the trip by checking prior to leaving. google maps is great (although big brother scary) because it calculates traffic based on the number of other users of the app in the area and their current rates of speed. i highly recommend it for plotting a route, but not to mess with while driving.

i'll use both myself. i was having a lot of fun this year throwing poppers on a spinning rod with 20lb braid. just set your drag right and no worries.

unreal deals on some reels there today! don't know why i'm broke right now either...

they often have clearance on fishing stuff and the sign will say includes price that ends in .97 but it basically never covers reels or rods, i've tried on a few occasions..... maybe someone messed up and loaded the rods and reels into the promotion or something and you made out like a bandit! nice score!

plastic worms were the most productive, jigs were my favorite, but the greatest improvement for catches/catch rate was easily the spinnerbait... i really turned it up with the spinnerbait this year.

or you can just drive at a normal speed like a normal person and that really works out well for me.... as far as the accidents ahead, road blocked, traffic, etc. just use google maps (has the waze data integrated) and be done with it. However, if fools were using apps less and the steering wheel more, i feel that the accidents, traffic, road blocks, etc. would be greatly reduced.

Liking all the colors thus far and really not surprised to see everyone has a little different opinion!

E series is sweet. B series are just unbreakable workhorses and can be found at reasonable prices from time to time. To me, the g series is just weaker all around and i'm not a fan and i have no experience with a D. But E series would be my preference all around.

chatterbaits, but i still keep trying.

^this

was online looking for a couple new jerkbaits last night which had me looking at my current arsenal. I then started wondering what everyone's go-to color is for Lucky Craft baits? They have some pretty wild and attractive colors and just wondering what your favorite color is. I only have a few colors myself, but my favorite is certainly MS American Shad, just received a new 78sp in this color yesterday and man that color is sweet. My next 2 favorites would likely be gun metal shad and crack. MS American Shad:

And the December bait monkey is hard at work, as hard as the elves at the north pole..... like my 5th day in a row of a tackle/rod/reel related purchase.... need the 800 Tackle Anonymous number quick guys! Came home to a "card" from DSG and it had a $10 cash credit in there! No real stipulations or minimum purchase or anything. So I ordered a Megabass Vision 110 Junior Jerkbait in Pearl White with Orange Belly with free shipping for $13. I have a popmax and love the detail and action, can't wait to give the jerk bait a try as the second megabass lure in the tray. I would have went with the regular size 110 but i already have quite a few LC pointers in that bigger size and wanted a smaller profile jerk bait. hope the action is as good as described.

just search here for Goose's review on the PQ and i think you'll find it's a very durable and dependable reel.... just doesn't have all the hype and flash of other brands. you really can't go wrong with the tatula though, have one and it performs very well.

good call on the owner split rings. i tried some cheaper mustad rings before and had the issue of them opening up, but not really closing back all the way. those hyper wire split rings are legit. and i'm going to have to try Jfrancho's suggestion on the small screwdriver. the split ring pliers work, but sometimes they can be a little more cumbersome than they should be....

x2 i don't know what it is about those stupid things, but they catch some fish.

i'm hoping my fishing buddy from Charlotte makes the drive and meets me there. i definitely want to go this year.

from personal experience i say DO IT!!! best thing i ever did was buy my fishing kayak. it got me off the bank, on the water and no maintenance which is the biggest plus side for me. save the dough to get a decent one that fits you well and is comfortable to sit in and then never look back. i absolutely love finding some water that is hard or impossible to reach from boat/bank and only accessible by kayak. you won't regret it.

Guys, Mike at DVT is as legit as they get! He gave the info needed to fix my problem free of charge! Just repaired my idiotic mistakes and I'm back in business. Big thanks to Mike, awesome sponsor!!!

thanks J, i'll look into this when i get home.... my work censors everything but BR (thank goodness)

this incident right here is making me turn to a pro next time. i'm the same in terms of "handiness"... can change tires, brakes, serpentine belt, put 3 clutches in some older model trucks, but the tiny little million pieces that make up the insides of the reel are just terrifying to me... mike at DVT will be getting the reel next time anything is needed....

i like power pro myself. Don't think it's worth spending the extra $$ for the super slick though. suffix 832 is good as well, but something about the powerpro just feels better to me. aside from those two, i've only had experience with spiderwire invisibraid which i bought in a pinch one time. doesn't even compare to the PP or suffix, not terrible line, but not as good as the other 2.