buzzed bait

you'll be surprised and how small of a fish will eat a worm up to 9" or more even. one of my go to baits is the netbait super t mac, it's 9". i'll catch 1lb bass on that worm all day long.

spinnerbait or chatterbait jig senko wacky rigged

these 2 guys know a little something.... i'm no pro with a jig, i'll admit that, but i know i'm getting better at it! moving that weight up a little in the wind really helps me out A LOT. i just need to work a little on the slack, but not too slack line deal and i'll really be getting better at it...

a buddy of mine fishes them regularly on lake norman and wears the fish out with them, t rigged. watermelon green or black/red is all he owns i believe. absolutely wears them out somedays.

i scored some real deals on some columbia shirts and hoodies at a columbia outlet store close by. if you have one around you that you know of, might be worth checking out. if you're looking to wear them as your sun protection, i would get one that has a reputation for working and not to cheap out necessarily... skin cancer ain't cheap from what i hear.

well there you have it!!!

i fished around with an old guy here locally for a while one day and he loaded it up on these by himself. guy was probably about 70 or so and refused any help. he made it look pretty easy too! same method, put it in the middle and walked it up from the back.

guys complain on here too (myself included!)..... take the manufacturer's word on their size recommendations.

dobyn's fury and shimano curado will be a great purchase that will serve you well for a long time! on the broken tip, you can get a fuji guide tip repair kit at many sporting good stores, even Walmart somewhere between $5 and $10. youtube some videos on how to replace, it's actually quite simple and cost effective to do it yourself.

i fish from a kayak mostly, but hit the banks pretty frequently too. all my rods are between 6'6" and 7'. i tried longer than 7' before and didn't like casting from a seated position with them. i think 7' is perfectly fine, but @Raul has a good point about snagging a partner with a longer rod!

berkley lightning is a great rod, have 2 of them myself along with some other much more expensive rods and they catch fish just the same! i'd put some 10 or 15 pound power pro braid on there and you'll have a great all around set up. nice choice on the pflueger president too, they make great spinning reels.

yep, great for line watching and i don't really even worry about a leader. if anything, take a black sharpie and color in the last few feet of line, but i usually don't bother with that.

agree with bradco. i have a powell inferno spinning rod and just got a dobyn's fury crankbait rod not long ago. both are very well made and a great buy for the money in my opinion.

well man, in my opinion you're on the right track to have a good, drama free time at the bachelor party!! i really had a blast doing more or less the same thing. my brother did something pretty similar as well and we stayed up near Hiawassee, GA and had a great time there.

i believe @BassObsessed has posted some reports from there, maybe he'll see and chime in

this is the same for me.... sure my ride 135 looks a little goofy hanging out the back of a nissan frontier, but looking goofy has never stopped me before!

say what? how do you arrive at that comparison? let's not confuse the OP too much here with that cynical remark.... jig + live bait still equals fishing. trapping does not equal hunting. how about limb lining is to fishing what trapping is to hunting, maybe that's a fair comparison. one requires your presence, the other does not. i believe it's "to each his own"

no doubt Raul! if you watch the U.S. news, and believe all that garbage they spill, you'd be afraid to go anywhere!! i've been to mexico a half dozen times, maybe more now and have never felt one bit worried for my safety.... i've been in some spots around here in Atlanta that had me WAYYYYYYYYYY more nervous, no doubt about it! i mean i fished a spot near my office about a month ago that had me a little sketched out to be honest, even the police officer that i spoke to and gave me "permission" to drive my truck down to the pond told me to be careful in the area!

they're great about returns... never had a problem with them taking something back. i understand you want to use it or feel you need to use it this weekend, that said, if you're going to fish with it knowing you're going to take it back, that's asking for karma to kick you right in the ***.... just my opinion

^^both of these would be great uses for it

silver wings is my dad's favorite... he and his sisters would sing it every time my family got together! I don't play guitar, but i did learn how to play my all time favorite "folsom prison blues"! i imagine johnny, merle, george and many others are having a jam session in the sky today!

if you don't need all the fancy pockets and any of the plano trays that come with it... a normal old backpack works just as well. i have an old jansport bag that does the trick for me.

zoom are effective and available at Walmart even. I picked up some Rage Tail lizards last year and they have some very nice action, just rarely fish them so i haven't caught on them yet.

hahaha when i saw the first pic i thought "dang Hootie grows a beard faster than Tim Allen in The Santa Clause" nice catches there for you and your son!

nice catch there man! careful over-extending that arm, you might pull a muscle or develop a "fisher's elbow"!!