Big Rick

As the title states, I need a swim bait rod that's fairly short. Some clarification: 1. My rod box won't allow any longer rods. 2. My max weight will be 4 oz. with most baits in the 2 oz range. 3. I'll be throwing soft baits mostly like the MagDraft with a few S-Wavers as well. 4. My budget is $200. 5. Locations or sites to purchase would be an added bonus. Thanks for the help, fellas.

I guess I'll never forget that day. It was in the heart of my law enforcement career and my day off. I was actually fishing in my favorite lake in NE Louisiana. The lake is situated in the middle of delta farm country and the cotton fields were starting to ripen. Thus, crop-dusters were everywhere! At times it was so loud I couldn't hear my fishing buddy talking. Then....... utter quiet. It was so eerie! Of course, we had no idea what was going on at the time, just that all the planes were gone and it was so quiet. Shortly thereafter we headed to the bank and my mother in law came running down to the landing to tell us what was going on. And America was forever changed.

Why not? Our media and our President have made a living doing that!!

Agree 100%. I'm a retired LEO. I was never assigned traffic patrol, but those guys get a ton of arrests using speeding, burned out lights, and such as probably cause to make a stop. Thanks for your service. Keep your 6 covered because you can count on plenty of cell phone cameras looking at your back when you strap the badge on.

Do your due diligence there. Amazon had all theirs removed from their buildings. The panels kept catching on fire in the heat.

The biggest issue here isn't priorities as much as it's availability. Peace officers are quitting at an alarming rate. I don't blame them. When an officer puts his badge and gun on he is automatically guilty in the court of public opinion and is one 5 second phone video clip away from losing his family, retirement, and quality of life in general.

That's where all of mine stay. in a Plano box in the boat. I have often turned short strikes into fish catches with a few color/stripe adjustments on the water.

THIS!!! And use the Bulgarian Style Whole Buttermilk. Don't skimp with low-fat buttermilk. Prepare your tastebuds for an experience they will not soon forget.

I use Sharpie's as well. All colors. I sometimes stripe my spinner bait blades, paint the outside of the Jackhammer blade, even add color and contrast to my hard baits. For the most part the color sticks permanently.

In this day and age of "friending" someone on facebag and tweeker the term friend has definitely lost its true definition. I have a very small circle of friends as well and a much larger circle of acquaintances that I keep at surface level. A true friend will be willing to say, "That is a horrible idea! What time do you want me there?"

It's that pointy thingy on the rump of a wasp that will change the trajectory of your day!!

California passed legislation banning the sale of gas powered cars effective 2035. This morning California issued a warning not to charge your electric car to try to prevent blackouts. Interesting.

Ooh wee, that 6.2 sounds GOOD!!

Only if you like the idea of wrestling your boat off of and on to your trailer in lakes that don't allow power loading. It's very nice at shallow ramps. It's not a big deal at steep ramps if you'll back your trailer into the water then launch your boat. Either way it beats the heck out of rotting wood and carpet bunks that hold all kinds of junk that scratch your boat and stink like a swamp. YMMV

After seeing A-Jays write-up and video I also purchased and installed them. I am well pleased. The construction is second to none. One bit of advice, they are very slick so don't unhook your boat until your are absolutely ready to go into the water! The positive side of that is loading back up is a cinch!

What??? Dealerships have lost their minds.. Always remember, the pendulum always swings back the other direction. These dealers that are taking advantage of their customer base by selling over MSRP and forcing customers to buy unnecessary add-ons will eventually lose these same customers for life.

My years of law enforcement allocated a lot of fishing time due to 12 hours shifts. I understand the 8 hour shift guys have a much more limited amount of free time. However, make time for yourself. You didn't state in your post if a wife and kids are involved, so I'm assuming you're single. The single most important thing, other than ending the shift alive and well, is to take time to decompress. You gotta have time to let it all go, at least for a little while. Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders for days on end is very unhealthy. As a shift supervisor I had a ton of stress at times. I didn't realize how it was affecting my relationship with my family until it was bad. So, don't forget to decompress. The best outlet for me was to be all alone on the deck of my boat. It's almost as if I can feel the stress running out of my feet. I'm retired now and still feel the draw to get out by myself and just let life go by for a few hours. It's rejuvenating and relaxing. And it may very well save your quality of life.

I think you'll be happy with it. My style of fishing doesn't involve much long bomb casts to nowhere, it's more directed to targets. Tatula SV reels serve me very well in that aspect. I keep things fairly loose and my brakes set about half way. When I see a skipping opportunity I'll jack the brakes up to 16 or so and skip away with no worries. As soon as that target passes I move them back to the original setting and keep fishing. I'm sure this isn't the "best" way but it sure works great for me. Love my SV reels...

The one thing I would add to this is I like to skip my Jackhammers under trees limbs and docks and the SV spool makes this a very enjoyable technique.

I didn't mention Psyllium Husk Powder because most aren't disciplined enough to drink the amount of water necessary to prevent a back log of data, so to speak..... Knowing your regiment to health proves your water intake is very sufficient. A teaspoon a day is great for an already healthy gut. Beans are a bit more gentle on an inflamed gut, and 3 times a day allows the presence of beans to be a constant therefore promoting better removal. Bile makes the whole trip from liver to intestines every 20 minutes or so. So, frequent insertions of beans allows for more consistent dirty bile removal and hastens the healing process.

It's actually a spawning box for those huge river catfish that live in the river.

Not to derail a thread, but ultimately this info is very important. This is exactly what caused my lifestyle change. Gut issues will shut your life down. No quality of life and no relief to a pain you can't touch. My doctor stated I had to do change careers (law enforcement) due to stress or die of intestinal cancer. THAT will get your attention. I did find a solution, for me at least. It took about 6 weeks for the change to make itself evident. After much research I learned this. Take it as you will and proceed with caution. The liver is the blood purifier. Bile passes through the liver and removes the toxins filtered out of the blood and stored in the liver. The bile then travels to the large intestine to be passed out as waste. Herein lies the problem. If the corrupted bile isn't removed then it passes right back to the liver. The bile duct doesn't produce anymore because the old bile was not removed. So, the old nasty bile passes right back through the liver. It can't clean as good now. And when it hits the intestines it coats them will all the nasty stuff removed from the blood. This causes the inflammation the leads to all the diseases known to intestinal issues. There IS a remedy..... The ONLY thing that will attract and attach the bile so it passes out the body is HIGHLY SOLUBLE FIBER. Incidentally, the only food we eat with this ingredient is beans/lentils. A half cup of beans (pintos, kidney, peas, butterbeans, you get the idea) 3 times daily will seal the deal. Understand, you will become very consistent with bowel movements. Clockwork, is more accurate. But they will be normal. One more thing, gas will be prevalent for the first couple of weeks as the bile and toxins built up in the large intestine is flushed out causing gas to form. Give it time and it too will subside. As the bile is removed new bile will be produced and the liver will become clean again. This will reduce aches and pains in the joints and other areas as the blood becomes cleaner. I am a testament that this works. Again, it took about 6 weeks for me to get relief. Before, I was extremely gluten intolerant and dealt with inflammatory bowel issues on a daily basis. After 6 weeks I very nervously tried a slice of pizza fully expecting to be in the bed or bathroom with flu/virus like symptoms for the next 72 hours. Imagine my amazement when NOTHING bad happened. I truly am a new man, thanks to the lowly bean. I can eat anything my heart desires with no fear of debilitating cramps and bathroom campouts. I eat beans everyday to insure my blood and liver stay healthy. I apologize for the diatribe, but this forever changed my life and I would be remiss not to share my experience in hope it can change others for the better as well.

Diets never work long term unless they become a lifestyle. And most diets aren't sustainable long term. I have ascribed to eating healthier for several years now. The most difficult part is getting your mind made up that this is forever. There is no going back. There are no other options. Until you get to that point no info on this thread will matter. Once you get to that point you won't really need the opinions of others because you will learn what works best for you and stick to it. That said, there are a few items that are detrimental to your health. Sugar is at the top of the list. Your body only needs the sugars it can get from natural sources like fruit and veggies. All other forms of sugar cause problems like inflammation of joints, iron depletion in your blood, and a whole host of other maladies. Also, excessive eating of store-bought bread is a bad idea. We grind our own wheat and make our own bread. Even then, I eat it sparingly. (Like sourdough crust pizza night!!) Once you break the addiction to sugar you will feel a ton better and won't crave the sugar filled foods you do now. And you will gain more will power to eat healthier as you see the change in your physical appearance. Again, nothing is as strong as a made up mind. And as another member has written on all his post, you never know how strong your are until being strong is the only choice you have.

They didn't put near enough flotation barrels under their redneck boathouse.

My lovely bride of 28 years is an amazing cook. With 8 kids you don't eat out much. Nor do you eat from boxes due to costs. So, she cooks from "scratch", as they say. This example is sourdough pizzas. She nurses the dough for days to make it "sour". Roll it out and place in a heated and oiled #8 cast iron skillet. Maintain medium heat on cooktop while adding pizza sauce and desired toppings. Once the bread is browning on the bottom place in oven set on high broil until toppings are sizzling. This cooks the top of the sourdough as well. I smoke a Boston butt and pull it for a barbecue pizza that won't wait! I eat healthy and exercise religiously all week. But, on Friday evening I indulge in a couple of slices of this pure heaven....