Tartan34

If you can, get your hands on a Tatula before making your decision. Simply stated, it is an incredible reel. I used my first one today...and have a couple more arriving before the end of the week. I plan on changing out all of the moving bait reels to this in short order. Distance, accuracy, and ease of throwing lighter baits....combined with the leverage of pulling in a nice fish has me a believer.

I don't believe that topwater fishing is only for mornings/evenings.....and can't be fished all day long on bright, sunny, hot days.

The popper looks great, but I like a feathered tail....so I passed.

Topwater, Pop-R style bait. I like to fish something with a chrome bottom in highly pressured lakes to give off more of a flash....seems to work well for me.

The only spinnerbait I regularly fish in clear water is a quad-willow (all silver) blade, 3/8 oz, shad color. Sure, I'll change it up during bluegill spawns, but that's really about it. For me, in clear water, that thing just outfishes all of the rest.

http://www.fishingdiscountdirect.com/product/SUBW05-360 http://www.butchsfishingtackle.com/store/4296488/product/SUBW05-360

You can locate these on eBay as well...

Thanks! Hooks are on order already! The fish is 25". I was too pumped to get good pics, but the memory will last.

So, today was an interesting, frustrating, and magical fishing experience. The day was started at beautiful Turkey Lake in Orlando, at 645 AM. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was starting to rise, and I was the only boat on the water. As I was in a rented boat.....I only brought a small tackle box with a handful of rods. It took me about 10 minutes to get to my spot, and watching fish explode on the surface through the calm surface was getting me pumped for the day to come. Once I put a line in the water, I started landing fish....some small 1 pounders up to some nice 3 pounders. Upon landing the biggest fish of the morning, as I was preparing to de-hook my new boatmate, the fish took a leap out of my hands and into the water. No problem, I would just get him back out and finish the process I thought....until I look at my line and nothing. No fish. No lure. Just a sense of sadness as I lost my favorite lure, a beautiful PopX, that I forgot to retie after my fourth fish of the day (a rule I have). No big deal, I went into my box and grabbed a brand new chug bug that I was given.....as my tourney partner has been killing them with it. First cast, fish on....a really nice 18" fish. Upon examining my lure after releasing the beauty, I noticed that the hook was broken. One of the arms of the treble snapped right off. At this time, I was feeling worse about the fish than losing/damaging my lures....and I dug into my box again. I saw a lure that I have hammered them on the lake months before......a 20 year old topwater popper that I discovered a few months ago....unused. I tied it up but needed a change. It was starting to get hot, and I was frustrated. I decided to take a break from the topwater and started working the pads/grass. With limited luck, I fished my jig, tossed my frog, spun my spinnerbait, and worked my plastics.....until I got the urge to get that popper wet again. I started working my late morning line and started pulling up fish. These fish were hammering this old lure once again! Things really got crazy when all of a sudden I heard a vacuum like noise, my bait disappeared, and I felt a big fish on the other end of the line. As I got the fish closer, I saw its mouth....and my heart started pounding. It was a beast. As I got it to the boat, there was another fish swimming along with it....just as big as this one. I got her into the boat, snapped a quick pick, and happily released the largest bass I have ever caught back into the water. Once I calmed down, I looked at my lure.....and the hooks were mangled....but I didn't care.....not one bit. It was a great day fishing!

My PB was caught today on a 1/4 oz topwater that I was pulling 12" bass from an hour earlier. I was shocked that that monster inhaled that tiny popper. I fish a lot of soft plastics, and have caught more small fish on my magnum lizard than the regular sized one..... I was a believer in bigger baits, bigger fish.....but now, not so much.

Not the best pic, but oh well. It was only me on the boat and I was pumped up, and didn't get very many good shots. My pic with the scale didn't turn out.....which bums me out greatly because it'll cost me $150 worth of gift cards. If you haven't already, I recommend signing up for the trophy catch program that WFN runs for Florida. Pretty sweet program. Wish I could help on spots near UCF/MCO, but my knowledge is limited to SW Orlando.

Was out today in Orlando and the bite was on once I figured it out. Seriously on. Fished from 7-11, picked up a bunch from 7-8, then slow from 8-930 until I could locate the pattern. Once I figured out, 930-11 was crazy. I landed my PB fish on topwater, a nice 10 lber. Frogs in pads: 2 missed (30 minutes fished) Frogs / soft plastics in grass: 1 fish (30 min) Spinnerbait off grass pockets: Nothing (30 min) Jigs in grasslines, padlines: Nothing (30 min) Topwater Popper: 11 fish (2 hours) Once I found the coldest water (a mere 86 degrees, but 4-5 degrees less than other parts of the lake), the fish were active, even as the sun started to get high and the temperature rose. These fish were coming up and slamming my popper. I found a cool water spot and ran that line, the big fish were in it. A lot of 1-3 lb fish were off it about 20 yards each way. Outside of this line, once the sun came up....zip. Others struggled with fish biting, and this reinforced a necessary lesson for me....find the pattern. It is there. The fish are there. Just gotta find it.

Hi all, I'm going to be heading out on Turkey Lake for a couple days the next two weeks, and am looking for some help. I can't locate a map of the lake, so need some guidance on where to start. I usually see people working the grass line next to the Turnpike, but I can not get any more information of use to gameplan fishing this lake. Can anyone help?

When the bait gets closer to me, I start walking sidearm. Seems to keep the pattern I want with greater ease.

A popper that I found in my box....hasn't been used since 1996 or so and looked brand new. First time I used it recently, I was killing them on it. The only bad part is that I have no idea who makes it, etc. I've tried to replicate the color scheme, but nothing i have is as effective!

My go-to right now has been a Pop-X in Threadfin Shad. It has been killing them, even in high-sun clear daytime. Fishing this in 20'+ of gin clear water will bring up big bass. And it isn't nearly as boring as dragging a Carolina rig

I've just found that Costa's 1) fit my face better, and 2) have the color/clarity that I am looking for. I have a pair with 580G green mirror, and it has done wonders with my ability to determine underwater cover and structure from the deck. I tried on a bunch at BPS, then went searching on the web to find the best deal possible. Trying them on was a must for me.

I had 11 reels (all PQ) that my buddy needed re-spooled for a tournament yesterday. I called BPS Saturday night at 530PM and they said they would re-spool them with my line for free. It took them 30 minutes. I'm a HUGE fan of their service.

Hello all. I have a new (to me) BCR853GLX, and am trying to figure out the best application for this rod, as well as a BCR803GLX and a JWR803NRX. I need one for plastics, one for lightly weighted plastics, and another for light swim jigs. Can anyone with experience of these rods help me out? Thank you in advance.

I have a few Dicks here in Central Florida...and they are pretty solid. As others have said, great deals at times, and a very strong plastic bait selection. Probably 8-10 freshwater aisles and a few saltwater.

I've found the brand I like in each category and stick to that. I've found that I like the action of these the best, and have a couple of colors I stick with. Zoom=Lizards&Worms Reaction=Dippers GYCB=Senkos Rage Tail=Grubs

X3. I own the 783 IMX version and the BCR803 in the GLX. The 783 is a much more versatile rod, while the BCR803 performs at its best (for me) on a bottom rigging application. Both are great rods, but I think the 783 can be used in almost any application out there.

It might be a lot cheaper (and easier) to throw on 12# mono to learn. Once you are comfortable with that, switch it up with braid if you want.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the cast control. That has been the most vital piece of the bank to boat transition that I have experienced. The more accurate the cast, the better chance you have in catching fish....as long as you are picking out the proper targets, of course. The other thing that I would work on is boat positioning so that both of you can work together to find the fish. Congrats!

Lizards catch fish for me all year long. I downsize in the cooler months to a 6", and start throwing the 8" right about now.