Chris at Tech

Bladed jig, football jig, square bill, a noisy topwater, t-rigged paddle-tail worm

To me that rod is a bit light in power but it should be ok most of the time. I’d prefer a reel with more line capacity.

I'm looking forward to the deals on the FK series ?

Use either of those reels. 6:1 is what I prefer

I've had several incarnations of Kistler 6'9" MH baitcasters over the last decade and they always end up being my "swiss army knife" rod -- that is if I'm grabbing one rod for pond-hopping, etc, this is the one. I've got the recent KLX and have no issues throwing topwater plugs, spinnerbaits/buzzbaits/chatterbaits, swimbaits and ever smaller jigs and t-rigged plastics on it. I've even had great success throwing hollow-bodied frogs in slop. To me, it's got more backbone than other crank rods which adds to it's versatility. TW doesn't appear to carry the full line. I'm referring to this one, and I believe the OP is as well: https://www.kistlerrods.com/store/klx-crank-rip-and-twitch-medium-heavy-6-9-fishing-rod.html

x2

A guide I have fished with many times over the year does this as well. He churns out some awesome stuff. http://originalfishprints.com/GalleryUno.html

My KLX "Tops and Tails Special" rod gets jerkbait duty and so far, so good.

Really? I never really had any issues or concerns throwing poppers and walkers on the same rigs. To each, his own... granted I do throw them on two rods so I can have both rigged concurrently.

Weird -- my incidents with gators involve them being attracted to fish I have on the line, never with the lures I'm throwing. Could be worse though -- like a big croc chasing you up on the bank to eat your fish ?

I just got a H3 LMH a month or so back so I certainly don't have a ton of time on it but my initial reactions is that 3/8 oz would overpower it. I throw 1/4 and 3/8 oz jigs into decent cover using my 7'1" MH/XF H3.

It's funny -- this seems to be a big trend among the inshore saltwater crowd, and quite a few plugs in that market segment even come with single hooks instead of trebles. For some reason, this has not caught on in the bass community and I'm not sure why. If you want to do it, take a look at the saltwater VMC and Owner offerings that are targeted for the redfish/trout/snook crowd. https://www.tackledirect.com/vmc-ils-inline-single-hooks.html

You talking about the entire handle assembly or just the knob? I know I bought the 3k style knobs and installed them on my 2500s so I believe the answer to either is a yes.

I’ve got a used avid 6’6” medium action fast powered rod that does really well for topwaters that I’d sell for $100

Search for some of my previous threads on PCB fishing. My 2 cents -- target inshore saltwater fish in the bay. There are a few great wading spots in St Andrews park.

If it's me, I'm taking a M spinning rod and the 7'1" MH/XF baitcaster

Spent Spring Break on HHI again this year and while my normal inshore guided trip didn't work out, I got to spend some time fishing the pig pen (aka the Palmetto Dunes Lagoon). This place is special! Though we couldn't get any trout to play, I went 3 for 4 on some stud redfish including a new personal best at somewhere north of 30 lbs. And even better, that monster was caught on artificial -- but this redfish made d**n sure that none of his buddies would experience that same fate with that same lure! Check the hook in the pic, I had to be seconds away from losing him. So needless to say, if you have the opportunity to target monster reds on 2 inch swimbaits, do it ?

Wow! Must have been a looonnnggg winter.

I’d fish the lagoon side. Search my older posts for Hilton Head and Panama City fishing for some suggestions

Have mercy!

What are you looking to spend? A Daiwa BG or a Penn Slammer combo should do the job for a trip or two. But if you're looking to invest in the "right" gear, you can go down the wormhole quickly! With that said, the species you named and the expectation to toss up to 4 oz are really stretching what one combo can do. You can target big reds, kings, etc tossing 3-4 oz spoons out a hundred yards, whereas sheepheads will hit a small live shrimp under a popping cork tossed out 15 ft from the bank.

I find the regular FK balances better on my rods

15-20% assuming a positive experience

I like my Dobyns Champion 704 and 734 paired with OG Zillions. I throw the 3/8 and 1/2 oz versions