Chris at Tech

look up the Georgia PFAs (public fishing areas)

R. E. D. F. I. S. H. Try it once and thank me later. ?

Make sure you sharpen that hook. I recall they’re pretty crappy out of he package

Nice -- you go with the 6-14 or the 8-17? I'm counting down the days til I'm wading St Andrews in PCB at the end of Sept.

The bait monkey almost convinced me to buy a Star or two but I held him off and stuck to my St Croix Tidemasters (and the Avid Inshore I just bought ) What techniques you shopping for?

First off, the easiest question to knock off. Yes, send your Curado to Shimano or another reputable reel service for service. Dude -- I think you're REALLY REALLY overthinking all this... Treat it like mattress shopping. You can attempt to compare all the different Sealy mattresses to the Sertas but at the end of the day you pick the one that feels best when you lay down on it. Do the same for your reel. Go into Bass Pro, Cabelas, or some other retailer that has a decent selection and just see how they feel in hand, how they feel mounted on a rod. As long as you're purchasing one from one of the well-known brands, you'll be just fine. Then LEARN your reel. Play with the settings. Cast lures of different weights. If you're prone to back-lashing, put a 2-in strip of electrical tape of 35-40 yards deep in the spool -- that'll contain backlashes better than any braking system. Being comfortable with your reel will serve you better than chasing the specs of all the reels you don't have. If you're looking for a magic formula on how to choose a reel based on max drag, number of bearings, funny marketing terms (Hagane? Magforce Z? T-wing Blah blah blah), reel weight or some other specs then you're never going to actually fish since you'll continue to be stuck in the infinite loop of paralysis by analysis. "Feature limited"??? Are you concerned you're not gonna get the satellite radio or the cooling seats? It's a fishing reel -- it casts a lure out and retrieves it. Let's not over complicate things. There are definitely some general guidelines to follow depending on the type of fishing you want to do, but besides that don't get into the minutiae. For example, if you want a "general" combo you'll want to look at something that's 6'6" - 7', M or MH power and a reel with a 6:1 ratio. Why are people on the internet recommending reel X over reel Y? Because they like it -- period. Very few online sources will provide any information or analysis based on anything other than their experience using something. (If you're really curious to see a *REAL* breakdown of feature comparison and some good evidence about why reel X is better than reel Y, then check out http://www.alanhawk.com/). The vast majority of everything else is lip service based solely on whether the "reviewer" liked the reel or not.

Put a small piece of electrical tape ~30-40 yards deep into the spool. Even if you backlash it won’t get below the tape. As you get more comfortable you can move the tape deeper into the spool and eventually get rid of it

Flukes, grubs, swimbaits, hard jerkbaits, spoons, walking baits, bucktails

I think you’re likely to face some issues using braid that thin on a bait caster. Line is likely to dig in on itself...

I throw frogs so infrequently that every time I pick one up, it's like I'm starting from scratch. But the last few times, I just could not get my Spros to walk and I tried a whole bunch of different things. I just stopped throwing them in favor of my Snag Proof frogs, which I can walk with no difficulties.

Best bet is always to stop in a local tackle shop and get some current, local advice. Spoons, mirrodines, DOA shrimp and DOA shad tails are generally pretty safe bets though. Yes to the leader question. No to the swivel - just tie a good braid to leader knot.

Try the owner 3/0 as I think the fit will be good. Moaner makes a weighted Stroker in 2/0 as well

I’ve done decently checking species off my list but I still have permit, snook, sailfish, roosterfish, cuberra snapper and a few others ahead of me.

Yeah, the bulls fight light freight trains! Really fun on lighter tackle too if you can get away with it. Though I didn't get into any during my trip, there were some summer bulls hanging around HHI as well.

Get out of your own head for a few trips. Leave the bass stuff at home. Bring an ultralight and some inline spinners, beetlespins, maribou jigs, etc and have some fun with the panfish. After a few trips, come back to the bass fishing with a clear mind and a clear slate.

for 1/4 oz jerkbaits and under, yes. Anything heavier and this rod would not be my first choice.

At that price, go custom. I had three built on MHX blanks a few years ago at just under $200 per

What can I say? I'm a giver!

If I promise to kick Bucca in the nuts for you, can I have your entry credentials? Hell, I would even film it for you

I can’t answer for sure but I’d also think something like that can’t be good. Just hose your stuff down after the day and I would think that would prevent most if not all long term effects

Let me build on this... Your most usd rod for “feel” techniques.

I'll be down in HHI the week of July 4th so I'm totally prepping myself for similar encounters

Mods - BAN HIM! ?

Medium power Kistler KLX

I have a similar, very special relationship with one particular gator in Hilton Head Plantation