Shane Y

Matt this is my first year fishing hartwell hard. Also this is my first year really trying to build my confidence in jerkbaits. I've been fishing the huskee jerk with some good success as well as the x-rap in glass ghost color with good success. That glass ghost is white. We liked them so much I wanted my wife to get in on the action but she dont like to fish with something that you have to work aggressively. She simply dont want to have to work the rod like that all day... so what I did was picked up some of the kvd swimmin caffeine shads with the paddle tail again in white color and rigged them on a 1/4 ounce jig head and leaving the hook exposed for her. They worked well, so well that now that it has gotten hot and fish are seeking deep or shade that I've started skipping them under docks, and because the lake is so full I'm also skipping them under over hanging limbs and brush with good success. I wouldn't really consider myself a "real good fisherman" and there is probably something that is working a lot better right now, but these are doing plenty good enough for me to keep using them and wanting to go fishing. If you see a guy and girl fishing on a couple of kayaks one is grey and the other is lime green pull over and shake hands. That's me and my wife.

I dont know what they weigh or anything but have you looked at the battle 2 by Penn? I've heard good things about them.

The ones I was looking at were spinning rods. I think I may pick one up this weekend and try it out. My wife has agreed to all this. She even ordered my shimano zodias for me without me even knowing It. I tell you what, it's an awesome thing when your wife is your fishing buddy. The woman will flat put me to shame sometimes when it comes to catching them.

Anybody using these? I was at walmart the other day and saw some for just under 100 bucks that felt really good in my hand, they were Jason Christie Rods and I was really pleased to see a big ole MADE IN THE USA on them. Almost brought one home but didn't. What's the deal with them? I've never heard of them before.

I just figured I'd post and say the zodias rod came in today. I must say that this is a good looking, very light weight rod that feels good in my hand. Now if that reel will hurry and come I cant wait to take it out fishing. Thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it!

Shoot me a message when you do and if you need a fishing partner. It's tough to find other kayak fishermen that fish hartwell...i fish a ton. I love catching hybrids and stripers from the kayak but haven't really been able to lock down and good spots yet. I have managed to luck into a few schools and had a blast though. I know plenty of spots for largemouth and spots though.

Yall think it would do okay on spinning gear or would I be better off with some of that trilene flouro that's meant for spinning reels.......

KHNC you are right about that. It isn't to bad at all on a weekday when I can squeeze one in, and there are still some decent fish to be caught to. CUFisherman , I've been searching for some striper because I want to hook a good one from the kayak and see if it'll take me for a ride but all I've managed is a few hybrid schools. They are a ton of fun to though.

Anybody fishing hartwell? I live on the upper end and fish a ton, but from a kayak. Anyone else up this way?

What's the ups and downs, goods and bads, do's and don'ts? You know......the usual.

Grub man those look pretty slick. Also can yall tell me how this reel would balance out on that 6'8 zodias?

Thank you Frank. All I could find online was a med lite rod.

What about the shimano zodias? Does it come in a medium power, fast action spinning rod?

Hulkster can you tell me more about your experience with that rod please?

I appreciate the replies. I do fish from a kayak so that would be a factor. That being said though I have a 7 ft. Rod that I use already, and a 6'6 rod and I can use both pretty comfortably. I'm going for weight reduction. Yesterday (from a boat and standing) my wrist was killing me working that jerkbait. We fished hard and caught a bunch but I was ready to call it a day because of the pain and the fish were still biting like crazy....that's not me at all.

Been looking at and reading/watching some reviews....what would be a good rod for this reel? I do lots of jerkbait fishing. Husky jerks, x raps, flukes and so on. I fish other stuff as well but typically stay away from the "big baits"......what's yalls thoughts? Been looking at some st croix mojo bass stuff but haven't really settled in to anything yet.

I have a vibe sea ghost 130. I am 6'1 and 205 and I can stand and cast in it. It's not rock solid though and will turn over, but with that said I was standing in it the second day I had it. I have fished out of a jackson cuda hd and my vibe feels just as stable. The place I got mine from also carried feel free yaks. The owner said the feel free lure would be more stable than my sea ghost but at the same time a lot slower. I fish lakes a lot and I think the only kayak I would go to ( if I could afford it) from this vibe is a hobie pro angler. I'm not to experienced in a lot of other brands and I do home repair work so obviously I'm on a budget, so as far as bang for the buck I'm extremely happy with this kayak. I fish some rough waters in it and I feel good everytime out. I have also heard really good things about the bonafide ss 127 kayaks. For a pontoon type hull they are supposed to be really fast and very stable. The guy that had them said they are just as fast as my vibe if not faster. But again the price reflects everything. For me the vibe coming with everything I need to hit the water and fish at a decent price was the winner for me..

I appreciate all of the replies. The only Garmin I have ever used was on a bunch of hog dogs and it was a garmin alpha. I have to say that I was impressed with that one for sure. I'll look in to something from them a little deeper.

I'm new here so hey everybody. I am about to pull the trigger on a decent depth finder. I cant decide between a helix 5 or 7. I know I want down imaging....how important is the rest of the stuff, regular sonar, GPS ect......this will be my first fish finder ever....all I have done is a bunch of research and settled on the helix units.