buzzed bait

this right here... i have some 6.4:1 some 7.1:1 and a 7.6:1. tried a slower 5: ratio and didn't like having to reel fast in a some cases... i think i could likely do all my fishing on a 7.1:1 all day long

looks great and as clean as a test lab!!

sad situation indeed, i'm always trying to be as careful as can be in my kayak on the bigger lakes, but this is a real fear of mine...

looks pretty good to me, just camp on the other side of that bank and hit it when you roll out of the tent.

that's incredible! and released back for another swim!

wow, congrats on the awesome PB!

very nice fish!

nice catch there!

healthy looking fish!!

"the smaller one"!!!!!! get back out there man!

solid fish there jeff!!!

nice going! wacky rig works!

darren nailed it. either those well nuts or the tri-grip rivets. and honestly the rivets are my preferred method. also, just to say it again.... i would wait until you get some serious paddling/fishing time in the yak before going crazy with adding accessories. once you drill a hole, add a screw, pop in a rivet, etc. there is no taking it back!

there was also a shift at some point on quality. my buddy bought an older model one back in the day and it was a far superior rod to one of the newer model version i purchased later on. i sold that rod before i ever had any issues with it, but it was not the same quality rod my fishing partner had bought and still uses with no issues to this day.

i've been using some 16lb sniper on my dedicated jig rod for some time now and absolutely love it, changed my opinion on using fluoro as a main line.

i have the same 6'10"MHF tatula and love it as an all around rod. that said, i picked up a champion 682C a while back and really love this rod. have used it for everything from jerkbaits, topwater, small spinnerbaits, senkos and even shakyheads. i would say spend the extra coin and get the champion, but of the 2 you listed i'd opt for the 683c. going to have plenty of power for an all purpose rod and a soft enough tip to cast most any lure you'd want on casting gear. as a side note, if you call dobyns directly, they may cut you a deal. i got the 682 for an incredible price (less than $150 shipped) because they said it featured some older cosmetics, whatever that means.

UHM, that's flat out disturbing....

honestly, i ask myself that each time at checkout.... how is it that a quality jig, owner hook, custom skirt, wire tie can still be ~$3 - $4???? don't ask, don't tell.... just buy!

not interested in that.... at all...... and it's supposed to be upper 60's here on sunday, i'll be on the lake for sure!

there's only 2 things that i can think of that the smell is just instantly nauseating like no other.... and in NC, they are both abundant..... that is tobacco and chicken farms.... my good fishing buddy's family owned both and it was always miserable going to visit his family!

they average about $57K in salary..... would you want to patrol that city for that?

not to make light of the situation, but rather put it into perspective. 10 billion gallons sounds like a lot, sure, but the lake's capacity is 1 trillion gallons, so the 10 billion is .01% of the lake's capacity....

they've now migrated into the reel game

this saying comes to mind: "when i die, i hope my wife doesn't sell my gear for what i told her i paid for it!"

keep yourself a marker buoy readily at hand.... if or when this ever happens, immediately toss the marker out and limit the search radius A LOT. lost a combo once and was irate about that for a couple weeks, but i too did everything i could to get it back. problem for me was it was cold and in about 20 feet of water. a friend of mine dumped his rod, glasses, lures and gopro on the river once. we immediately put out a stake out pole to mark the spot where he turtled. with that mark, we were able to relocate everything except the gopro..... same thing one time where i somehow flipped my olympus rugged waterproof camera over my kayak while on the river. didn't have the pole or marker, but tossed out my anchor to mark the spot. about 15 minutes later, i located the camera! if you can think quickly enough to come up with a way to mark your spot, you'll greatly increase the chance of finding your gear.