flywall99

I would re-line it. Since you are brand new to baitcasters i would go to your local tackle shop/walmart and buy the cheapest mono line you can find until you learn how to cast it.

Thanks so much everyone! i was def not expecting this many replies. We have such an awesome community here at B.R.

So I am finally going to be getting my first boat and fishing actual lakes. As a pond/small lake bank angler my whole life, what will be different about fishing big lakes? Obviously it will be harder to find the fish while i learn how to read electronics. What else should I know or what do you wish you knew when you first got a boat or starting fishing big lakes that you learned after experience?

Thanks will do, i just ordered some keel weighted hooks

I just ordered some so we will see how that goes. Thanks!

Why is the Gambler EZ Swimmer rolling when im reeling it back in? I havent noticed that with the other paddle tails i use and i always use the same rod and reel (703c and tatula ct 6.3:1) just different hook sizes and weights depening on what im throwing. If i slow down, it doesnt seem to do it as much. Im using 30lb braid and 3/16oz tungsten bullet weight and vmc 4/0 ewg hook (regular wire). Ive tried it pegged and unpegged. I almost always throw braid because i fishing around a lot of grass in south florida and dont have very much confidence in fluoro but i actually just bought some 15lb invizx but havent spooled it up yet lol.

Picked up a new setup and cant decide if i should use braid or fluorocarbon on it. I will be using it mostly as a worm/jig rod. I fish in South Florida from the bank or my kayak, so I’m usually fishing in and around grass. Is there any benefit that i would gain using fluoro instead of braid (or vice versa) as far as the presentation goes? I would assume if I go with fluoro, I should use something in the 15-17lb range?

Never had an issue with my Revo X. I used it for 6 months without issues at all. I also just picked up a tatula ct and it is by far, a better reel. Just an fyi, if you look around at a certain reseller website you can find tatula ct’s for under $100 new.

Dobyns has good rods in that range. If you can go a little higher then $150, dobyns sierra is worth the extra money over the fury in my opinion.

any update? im curious as to how it went lol

Thanks for the replies! Yeah im gonna pick up 1 more 704 and a 703 for some lighter baits.

I want to upgrade my rods and reels in a few months since I just landed a new job and will be making more coin. When TW had their christmas sale I picked up a dobyns sierra 704c and love it but I hate having to cut and re-tie so often since its the only rod I want to use now lol. I want to get one more 704c to use with paddle tail swim baits and use my current one for t-rigs. I also like to throw finesse swim jigs (1/4oz and 3/8oz) and smaller spinner baits (3/16oz), would a 703c or 733c throw those lighter baits better than the 704c? Ideally I would like to have 1 rod for each technique that I use most often.

thats awesome! was there any difference in weight?

UPDATE I went ahead and a bought a Dobyns Sierra 704c using a Tacklewarehouse gift card. Thanks everyone for your input!

to clarify i meant heavy as in the weight of the rod. like how many ounces it weighs lol not the power of the rods. ill check those out tho on TW.

Just got a new reel for christmas and want to upgrade my current rod (7'1 MH/F kastking perigee 2). Eventually I want to replace my frog rod and add another one to use for moving baits. As of right now, I pretty much throw texas rigs, paddle tail swim baits, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits all on the kastking rod. Ive been reading post's on here and other places and the same 2 names keep showing up for the under $150 range, Dobyns Fury and St Croix Bass X or MOJO. The problem is I dont have any nearby stores to handle them before buying. I dont want a heavy rod and I see some people say that dobyns rods are little heavy. I am not sure if I would like more of a moderate taper like st croix rods are known to have, as the casting rod i have ever used was this kastking rod. Im a little ocd about things and would like to eventually have a selection of rods for different techniques from the same model or at least brand lol. Thats why I have narrowed down my search to these 2 since they come in different lengths, tapers, powers. Anyone try the kastking rod or have experience with these 2? The rods I was looking at were Fury- 703c Bass X- 7'1 MH/F

Awesome. Ill check them out.

I wanna get into using spinnerbaits and i have a few that were given to me by a friend but the hooks seem like they would be too thick for dinky pond bass. Anyone know of a brand that use thinner gauge hooks? Similar to the Dirty Jigs Finesse swim jigs? I tried looking online for finesse spinnerbaits but it seems like those options are small tiny spinnerbaits similar to booyah micro pond spinnerbaits. Any help would be great!

So I'm from South Florida and I am being transferred to the Jacksonville FL area in a few months for work and I'm looking at places out in the country in Nassau County. I have never fished Northern FL or Nassau county. The only info i can find online is the st mary's river, which looks pretty cool. Anyone have experience in this area? any lakes/parks/rivers i should check out? I have a small 14' jon boat and a kayak. Thanks!

Fellow bank angler here also. I usually only bring 3 setups with me in the truck. 1) 7’1 mhf, abu garcia revo x 6.6:1, 30# braid. I use this set up for weightless senkos, texas rigged soft plastics, smaller jigs, soft plastic swimbaits. This one is my do it all kind of rod but most times i use it for plastics. 2) 6’6 medium spinning combo with 8# mono. I use it for small plastics, top waters. Its an older pfleuger combo but this was the setup i used for a long time before i started using baitcasters. 3) 7’ heavy fast, daiwa feugo 8.1:1, 65# braid. This one is used for frogs and jigs. i fish mostly in and around grass down here in florida so these setups work for me because most times in the mornings im frogging over some pads or grass and as the sun comes up i switched to texas rigged worms or creature baits and fish the cover. I hardly use my spinning setup but carry it in the truck just in case.

There is a pond near me that looks perfect for fishing. Yesterday when i passed it, i finally decided to go check it out and saw some bass. I didnt have a pole with me at the time but it did have a sign saying that the water is reclaimed water. Is it safe to fish in reclaimed water?

I hope one day i can actually land one of these big girls. Like i said my biggest so far was only 6.4 and i already blanked out during it lol. I have no clue how i would react if i caught one 10 or bigger lol

That must of been amazing lol. I wanna catch one close to double digits so bad.

Can anyone share what it felt like to catch a double digit bass? My biggest was 6.4lbs and it was pretty much a blur lol. I iust remember throwing out the june bug colored curly tail worm and i felt a thump just after it hit the water. I was on the phone, just about to head out and my friend told me all i kept saying was “omg omg omg this bass is huge, omg omg omg”. Just wanted to hear some stories about your moments.

Rod is pointing down when working the frog, he hits the frog, i reel in slack and set the hook up on an angle. Had 4 bites early this morning, after the last bite switched to a texas rigged creature bait and landed a fish lol. I was using a scum weedless paddle legged frog today. Not sure if the bites were snakeheads or bass but the 1 fish i did land was a snakehead.