Chris at Tech

Take notes, boys - THIS is how it's done... I got her a new HVAC system for the upstairs. I know, I know. I should write a book on romance.

You mean the Connecticut Confetti? The New England Clam Powder? The Devil's Dandruff?

Varner ain't no secret on this site

Nice! What lake was it? I fish the ATL-area electric only lakes too

You might if you're fishing for brown trout

Rinse them good with fresh water after each trip, get them serviced annually and they should be fine

You sure like having your picture taken with fat chicks.

See if your local tackle shops have any cardboard tubes laying around from shipments they received.

Look at saltwater rods too. I think you'll find a lot more suited to handle that kind of weight

Jeff - you bringing that rod to Baccarac?

I hate you

Hey Snook - I don't think the need for the high capacity reel for swim baiting is around fighting the fish and having line capacity if a fish runs. I think it's more to do with casting distance. A standard bass reel won't hold much 20 or 25 lb line so it would be easy to spool yourself on a cast with a larger swimbait.

I've fished with guides many times -- in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, freshwater, saltwater... and sometimes, you just have no idea what to expect from the guide (and similarly, the guide has no idea who he'll be stuck on the boat with). Some guides are just good fisherman, some are good businessmen, but a truly good guide is both a good fisherman and a good businessman. With that said, when you're paying for a guide you're paying for their expertise on that body of water so I would strongly recommend listening to them since they fish that area much more than you do. Some guides are more effective at conveying their "suggestions" in a friendly but effective way, and unfortunately there are those who forget that they're in the customer service industry. I've generally been fortunate with the guides I've fished with, but there is one guy in Florida who gave me a good idea of what NOT to do as a guide. Another guide I've fished with quite a few times told a funny story about a trip he had. The customer insisted on throwing his Rebel crawdad crank all day, in every spot. The guide recommended fishing a worm, and showed the customer that the bass were biting the worm, but the customer didn't listen. At the end of the day, the customer complained to the guide that he didn't catch any fish. What is the guide to do? To sum up, here's what I'd say... -- casting and hook setting -- while on the trip, do what's comfortable for you. You're there to fish, not waste time learning a new motion. But remember the input she provided and try it at home when you're not paying by the hour -- lure selection -- listen to the guide. You're not on your home water, so there's a high probability the guide knows more than you do about that water

Hehe... The area around my last house had two "500-year floods" in a four year period, so you never know what the heck will happen around here.

Originally I'm from NJ but I'm in Atlanta. I have all three of those shovels in my garage. I bought them on Amazon after Atlanta's last "winter event" a few years ago and they haven't been used since. The neighbors look at my funny when they see them, but I'll laugh even more when we need them and I agree to rent them out for a reasonable hourly rate

I've toyed with getting a dedicated rod for swimbaits, and this area always pops up in my mind. Is sensitivity really a big deal in a swimbait rod? I'm sure there's certainly a benefit to having more sensitivity, but is it money well spent? I haven't thrown swimbaits much, but there's never been a doubt when I got a bite and that was on a cheapy BPS telescoping flipping stick.

What size reel? I'm guessing it's a small reel since you're using it on an UL rod, and if so, fluoro will likely NOT be a good choice.

I got an Odyssey Touring back in April. There wasn't much of a choice with our almost 3 year old girl and twin baby boys. Once you get over the initial shell shock of being spotted behind the wheel of the minivan, it's really kinda nice. The layout and features make loading and unloading cargo and kids so much easier, and it's very comfortable to drive. I actually came to grips with the need to get a van before my wife did. We tried hard to stay with an SUV, but to get the higher-end features we wanted on a Tahoe or Sequoia, it would have cost 10k+ over the cost of the Odyssey.

See if you can find some comps on Boat Trader to gauge price

For me, it's fluoro. For slack line situations, I prefer the sensitivity fluoro offers over braid.

Hey Jeff -- any reason you didn't carpet the walls? Seems like that would go a long way to keep the high dollar equipment from getting scuffed.

Nice! Just be sure to do good research on the mods you want to do. Decking can be a bit tricky in car toppers since they're not as deep, so they're pretty easy to make top heavy.

Yes and no. I'm not gonna lie -- my jonboat build cost me a pretty penny, but like Jeff I built what I want. One of the driving reasons I build a jonboat was because of accessibility. Atlanta has about a dozen electric motor only reservoirs ranging from ~200 to 900 acres. For me, those lakes are much easier for me to get to than the big waters. Big lakes Allatoona and Lanier are certainly short enough drives but they get so much pressure and traffic that I simply prefer the small waters. No jet skies, no ski boats, no house boats and no gas expenses all make the electric-only lakes more desirable to me.

So how does that work? Do you apply the BBQ seasoning to the baits instead of JJ's Magic?

I would recommend rod gloves (or similar) for each rod to keep lines from tangling. Then you can put a bunch in a bag, rod locker, etc with minimal tangling. This bag is fine for your stated purpose, but I would not expect it to provide any sort of significant protection from crap sliding into or on top of it in a truck bed.