Fishing_FF

I would NOT recommend Nissan. Had both Titan and Frontier engines that had problems. Nissan in a recent class action lawsuit stated any motor over 120,000 miles would not be included in the settlement as that is what they consider as the lifetime of their engines. My Toyota has almost 200,000 miles on it. My father-in-law is closing in on 275,000 with his Tacoma.

Nah.....a big Lake Fork spoon with a stinger treble doesn't work. LOL The only time I don't have a set of spoons with me is when I'm bank fishing. Good catch!

Awesome! Welcome to Florida where everyday is a new pattern. Not always but it can certainly feel that way. The shad in the St Johns can get quite large, and it can be difficult to get an artificial lure in the bait pods that bass will hit when there is the abundance of large live bait. Sometimes a hair jig, a spinnerbait, or a swim jig will do the trick. Other times you need the super size spook. Still other times a fluke or big swimbait does the trick. If the Navionics maps are correct, and you've found deep water structure that has fish, don't be afraid to upside or downsize. Think something like a 12" T-rigged worm dragged along the bottom, a 4" Senko on a light C-rig, or a 4" Roboworm on a weedless dropshot.

Are you flipping and pitching or punching heavy cover? Are there afternoon storms up that way? Have you tried using the Navionics and some crankbaits to find deepwater or offshore weedlines? Seen any schoolies feeding on shad in what appears to be open water?

Of course having a depth finder would be the primary route, but if it isn’t the OP’s boat or prohibited some other way, we’re on the same lines of thoughts for an alternate method. All the depth finders at Turkey Lake got fried, so last time I was out there, I had to rely on the Navionic’s maps and switching up some 8’, 12’, and 20’ crankbaits to find the deep breaklines. Slower and a bit tedious, but we were able to find the fish.

What about trolling spoonplugs? Using spoonplugs and markers, you could very well create your own contour map of a lake. Various depth running crankbaits on 10-12# could be used as well to find deeper water.

Yep, Navionics will help with that. (I have the map shaded for depth zones to make them easier to quickly identify) Before I get in my kayak and when I am bank fishing, I'll turn on the app. It will use your phone's location to plot you on the map. You can even select an area for a navigation guide to pop up for.

One of the local kayak clubs fished Lake Crescent a little while back. They started punching the shallow cover, but as they weren't getting bites, they moved into deeper water. The group landed over 2 dozen once they found a weedline on some deeper water structure. I'd use the charts on your depth finder or download Navionics to your phone to help identify the deep water structures, and search around those spots for any breaks or breaklines. Lake Crescent is reservoir for the St Johns, connected by creeks. If there is current from or into any of these creeks, I would also check those areas, too. I can't help with Stella as I haven't been there and haven't heard anything about it. It sounds and looks interesting on Navionics, so I may have to make a trip up that way.

Another vote for scum frog because they work great. I didn't start with this brand. Actually, I've thrown quite a few different brands of frogs, but scum frogs are the only hollow body frog in my tackle boxes now.

Ditto. I followed Mike's advice on frogs, and now two people I fish with are using Scum frogs after seeing my success with them.

Welcome to the forum! There are lots of Florida guys on here, scattered across the state. What lake or part of Florida are you looking to fish so someone in that area can help you out with a guide recommendation?

https://www.cdc.gov/vibrio/faq.html https://www.fau.edu/hboi/mbbr/vibrio.php

Yes, both are SCIII but IMHO the Avid Xs are where the St Croix rods become really nice. There is definitely a weight and feel difference between the 2 models despite the blank being the same. I started with the Mojo Bass line as that was the highest end SC rod that was available at the local tackle shops. Then about a year or so ago, one shop started carrying some Legend and Avid models. While I liked the Legend model, the Avid was more in my price range. I’ve been slowly upgrading my rods from the Mojo Bass to Avid X line. The Mojo Bass 6’10” MLXF is actually next on the list once the shop gets a Avid X MLXF rod in stock. Maybe its time to check the shop again. ?

Another vote for the Mojo Bass. I handled the Bass X and the Mojo Bass at the local BPS. I ended up buying the Mojo Bass 6'10" Medium-Light Extra Fast. It's crisp, does well with drop shots (4.5" Roboworms, GY Shade Shape Worms, and 5" Pro Senkos), and throws weightless 4" Senkos with little effort.

I use the same rods whether I'm on the boat, in the kayak, or on the bank. There are lots web pages directions for making your own rod holders from PVC pipe. I think someone on here recently even had a post and photos of the ones he made. I bought my yak used, and one of the things it came with was a crate and rod holders. Since there are low hanging trees and bridges I travel under, I have to lay the rods down on occasion. I'm more concerned with one falling over board than being scratched or broken. There are plenty of DIY tethers and plenty of in-expensive commercial products. The tethers I use set me back maybe $10 a piece, which is extremely cheap considering my lowest end rod and reel combo is in the $250 range.

Another vote for @Siebert Outdoors "bluegill" skirt. His "pumpkinseed" skirt is also another killer combo I use for bluegill imitation.

Welcome fellow Floridian!!!

I do think that Bass Mafia pricing has an influence on the Plano Edge pricing. I was being sarcastic when said, "The new one-handed latch, the rechargeable desiccant, waterproof gaskets, VCI coating, and even the labeling space all drive up the cost." If you look at the pricing of each tech, it doesn't add up. Example for the 3600 box: Pro Latch Utility Box 3620 - $5.39 Waterproof StowAway 3640 - $8.99 (difference $3.60) Rustrictor 3600 - $6.29 (difference $0.90) Plano Edge 3600 STD - $19.99 (difference $14.60) This means I am suppose to believe there is $10.10 in R&D and material for the one-handed latch, rechargeable desiccant, and the label space? Probably not, but when the Plano Edge is compared to some other "higher end" tackle boxes the picture comes together as the medium size Lure Lock is $14.99 and a Bass Mafia 3600 is $12.99 standard or $18.99 for a clear view lid. Here is the link for the video shot at iCAST by Chris Russell showing the Plano Edge series:

I don't have a Gammy Superline EWG 5/0, but when I tried to rig the EZ Swimmer on the Gammy G-Finesse Hybrid Worm hook, a 5/0 was too big. It was difficult to get enough of the nose hooked up front without the bend of the hook being past the narrowing of the tail. If you go past this narrowing, the tail doesn't thump as designed. You'll probably want to drop down to a 4/0. I would recommend looking at the Owner's Beast Hook in a 4/0. This hook is available in a weighted and unweighted version. These are the 2 hooks I run an EZ Swimmer on if it isn't on a Flashy Swimmer or a swim jig.

Same here, going to keep using desiccants. My kayak crate has a lid, so I throw a rechargeable desiccant pack or two that I bought off Amazon in the crate with the Plano boxes, which are a mix of plain-Jane no-tech 3600s. I have another desiccant in my backpack for walking the banks or co-angling.

I was there with the owner of the company I was representing. He had questions about the 3600 series line as well since that is 71% of his Plano utility box sales (yes, he had sales numbers to talk with certain vendors). They got talking about the MRSP about specific boxes he was looking at stocking. I honestly don't know what the price of the 3700 crankbait/jerkbait box will be as he isn't considering stocking either of the crankbait boxes. From the ones that were talked about, there will be some sticker shock with the Edge Series as the cheapest box is $19.99, compared to the plain jane, no tech same size box that costs about $5-$6. The new one-handed latch, the rechargeable desiccant, waterproof gaskets, VCI coating, and even the labeling space all drive up the cost.

Rather than start a tangent thread under one of the iCAST topics, figured I would post the information I was able to obtain here. The new Plano Edge Series that was released this week at iCAST is limited to 10 specific utility boxes. The 10 are: 1) 3600 Standard 2) 3700 Thin 3) 3700 Standard 4) 3700 Deep 5) 3700 Terminal Tackle 6) 3700 Jig/Blade Bait 7) 3700 Crankbait/Jerkbait 8 ) Extra Large Crakbait Rectangle Box 9) Hanging Spinnerbait Rectangle Box 10) Clamshell Packaging/Tool Utility Box I was told Chris Russel shot a video at iCast, showing each type and style. However, when the rep and I were talking, we were unable to find it listed. When I am sent the link, I'll include it here. I told the rep that I was sad to hear there was only a single size available in the 3600 series available. He fully understood why a smaller size is valuable to someone backpack fishing, using a kayak, or co-angling, but he was unable to talk about future products in development or why only the 3600 standard is being produced at this time. When I asked if it had anything to do with a 3600 size silicone-style grabbing box by a company called Gruv that has some patents on their products, there was no comment. For now, those wanting a 3600 size Plano Edge series utility box, the standard size is the only option.

There was a second side to the display, but it was problematic getting in to check it out. There was a lot of filming around the Plano booth and area yesterday. I wanted to check out what they had in the 3600 size, especially if there were any of the specialty boxes. Every time I went back, there would a pro filming a video. I saw at least 3 different pros film for the TW crew, but oddly enough only KVD's video is up. It was kind of entertaining watching how much work went into the roughly 1 minute videos. ? I may be able to go back tomorrow. If I do, I'll try to get some answers as I'm interest as well as my boss wants the info. I've got a retail badge, so there won't be any pictures due to show rules.

I know the OP hasn't been on in a while, but I have found his threads knowledgable and very helpful. It helps he is a Floridian that fished/fishes some of the same waters I do. LOL I never gave much thought to Mike Long and his records. It is mostly because of the surrounding controversy in my view tarnished his reputation and the validity of his claims to the records. Roger's last sentence in the post sums it up perfectly. The April '19 video of Mike fishing Lake Ponway showed he is far worse than just a cheat though.

I’m fine with the flaw, more for us Flocals. ?