buzzed bait

that's a solid budget for a quality rod i believe. i'm not sure i can help much with specific rod recommendations, but a ML or M rod with F tip would be where i'd look. Something in like the 1/8-1/2oz lure range or something of that nature. From my experience, with Dobyns rods, that would be like their "2 Power" rods.

what kind of budget are you working with?

last year i believe it was, i broke like 3 rods on 3 straight trips out. 2 of which were 100% user error!

that's a really cool color on that bait!

500!?!?! i wouldn't have gone back to work til they quit biting or my thumbs fell off!

i'm no expert with the thing, but if i'm not mistaken, my lowrance 4x HDI has a "night" operation that is not too very bright at all. i've also adjusted the backlight brightness because it's nearly blinding in the pitch black when on normal mode.

just received my shipping confirmation on the heads! That was quick!

nice going man and you hit it on the head with 1-4. i'd also add #5 #5 i like to scout the places out in the daytime before night fishing them just so i'm aware and comfortable of the surroundings

nice catching hootie! that's a solid sideways bass right there!

i had an ascend, but was a sit in. i then upgraded to a ride 135 and LOVE it! i'll say this though, the 115 is a little more manageable as far as weight, transportation, storage, etc. i don't feel the extra 2 feet would be necessary for the reservoirs and would certainly be easier to maneuver on the river!

very nice ride man!

ride 115 would be solid. i have a 135 and really like it, but a 115 would be a little easier to manage at times!

my dad only uses Daiwa goldcast spincast reels, has 2 of them. he hates spinning gear and doesn't care for baitcasters as he thinks they're too complicated. he's caught 1,000's maybe tens of 1,000's of fish on the 2 reels from the smallest panfish/trout to some lunker lake trout and some fat-daddy catfish. they've held up very well too. he never deals with a birdsnest, wind knots, etc. so he's pretty happy with them. i don't have any, i use spinning or casting reels, but just saying that they can be used to catch whatever you're targeting in my opinion. just "different strokes" kind of thing i believe....

webmd says could be rotator cuff, could be gluten-allergy, could be ED, or you might be pregnant..... who needs professional medical advice when you have the internet, full of unlicensed professionals!!!!

the kayak stayed fully upright. nothing aside from myself and my pride went into the water! i did get some water on my phone and it's been acting kind of crazy, but still working for now.... and yeah i'm pretty glad the water was 70-72 degrees the first time i decided to dive off my kayak!!

where we were catching them, they don't get very big, but what a blast! that one pictured may very well be my PB smallie as i've only caught them in this one river. they are crazy jumpers man, wild little acrobats once they're hooked!

I was on the water Friday, Saturday and Sunday and got to spend some quality time with my dad and brother, cannot beat that! My "little" bro (6'5") and i floated the river at his house Friday night in the kayaks just for fun and had a blast. Saturday i went to my favorite lake in the world where i'd caught my previous PB. It was drained last year and since then i've only caught dinks in the 1lb-2lb range. Caught a few of those on Saturday morning on buzzbait, jig, senko and frog. Then was cruising on around and pitched the jig (with a homemade hand tied skirt black and carolina blue) at the end of a log in about 8ft of water. Was using the NRX 853c and 30lb hi viz power pro braid. the 1/4 oz jig had a missile baby d bomb for the trailer. Well i didn't really have a bite so to speak, but the line was peeling off to the side so i set the hook and to my surprise there was quite a bit of weight on the other end!! short fight ensued and had her in the yak. was a full 4 ounces fatter than my previous PB and was a solid 5lb10oz beauty that was 22.5" long!!! I was so excited about the catch, i dropped my scales over the side of the kayak. reached down to grab them and fell out of my seat, head first into the lake. good news, no items were lost and my onyx PFD worked as expected. bad news, my pride was shattered. shared the aftermath photo below for everyone's enjoyment! ended up catching 8 altogether, none too big and lost 3 or 4 more throughout the day. Sunday was a blast as my dad, brother and i all hit the little tennessee river or a nice long float and fish. they weren't biting as well as i had hoped, but they did bite! between my dad and I, we caught 10 smallies and a bunch of panfish. i caught all mine on a 1/8oz beetle spin with the white plastic bait. was throwing it with my 51e with the shallow BFS spool and the phenix recon 2 683c which was a perfect setup for it. best smallie of the day in the pic below. the pig my brother the aftermath few catches few more and a close-up of the jig best smallie of the day

sounds like a solid 2 hours man!

nice going man! hurts the pride a little to get out-fished by the wife, but it happens to the best of us! that's a dandy looking spot she's holding!

nice going man, first bass, but it won't be the last!

nice catching! first things first, you've got to find the fish!! after that, they may or may not have a preference on brand/size/color/etc. but find them first, that's the important part. and you did find 3 of them!

nice catching will. it may not be the most entertaining bait to use, but the senko is downright deadly when they want it!

little tennesee river where it runs through western NC. managed to land about a dozen smallies between us, all small little river fish, but we had a great time. here's my best of the day.

well for me, they look like a frog to you and i, but from the underside and from a fish's perspective they look like prey. could be fish, frog, whatever. i'll often throw them into thick cover (grass, laydown, pads, etc.) but once they get out of that mess i'll walk them back to me and catch plenty of them doing so. this little dude wanted the spro popper on the "walk" this weekend.

let me know where to send my man card, i'll go ahead and turn it over... that is if my wife will give it back to me for a minute or two!!