Patrick Reif

This is my first attempt at a bluegill pattern. I overcomplicated the build and will tone it down in the future. I put the Rage tail on the back to act like a tail. I'm curious how that will run. I'm thinking about cutting down the wire form and making a chatterbait out of it. A couple twists at the nose secures the blade nicely. I've never had one fail if there are at least two full twists.

I have 2 Jackson Coosas. I bought both used. The last one had been on the water 4 times and the guy sold it to me for $700. There are enough pictures of kayaks without needing to post mine. When in the process of designing it to fit your style of fishing, start off small. I personally don't like the rods sticking up along the milk crate. I float under too many trees for that to be an option and I've snagged my crankbait on the rods when casting and backlashed so bad the rod was done for the rest of the float. My personal favorite modification was to simply tie a rope to the forward carrying handle and attach a carabiner to the other end. Make the rope long enough to latch the carabiner to the cargo loop in the bed of your truck, and you have an easy to use transport rope that doubles as a tow line when you attach it to your PFD and wade holes along your river. I honestly treat my kayak as a ride down to my favorite wading holes, then it's just a floating rod and tackle storage platform. The two most important things you can buy with your kayak is a quality PFD and the best carbon fiber paddle you can afford

This is Charlotte. She was our rescue black lab. Probably the best dog we ever had. We put her down about 9 months ago for cancer. We also have a pitbull rescue named Abby. She's likely the sweetest dog we've ever had. She really wants to be your cuddle buddy. Our newest pup is another mixed mutt. The mother was a black lab. The father is likely a german shepard. She's a handful that loves running a tennis ball more than any dog I've ever seen.

USMC 86-90.

Alumacraft tunnel hull 1650 tiller steer 25hp Tohatsu and a Minn Kota MAXXUM 70 with recessed foot control and a Lowrance Hook 7 split shot. Super basic boat. I wanted something that was small enough for one person but big enough for two. This fits the bill.

You know your waters better than I do, but that does seem to be a high estimate for water speed. I can tell you what I use for the New river and James river in SW Va and the Yadkin river in NC. I pour a 3/16oz roundhead jig with a wire weed guard on a 3/0 black nickle hook. I prefer the Gammy G604, but will pour it on a Mustad steelhead hook 32833NPBN for a less expensive alternative. I also pour this in a traditional teardrop 1/4oz tube jig. Both work well for me The wire guard is made with a size 12 wire. This is fine in rocks, but sucks in wood. My favorite tube is the 3" stubby salt tube by Venom. Green pumpkin and black is all you need. You'll want to target any current break you can find. From shoreline structure to submerged midriver ledges. Venom also sells weedless tube jigs, but I have never fished them. They look good though. You may want to buy a few 5 packs in the various weights to see what works best for you, and then stock up. https://www.venomlures.com/weedless-tube-heads-60-degree-venom-lures.html edited to ask; do you throw any jigs at all? If you bounce the bottom and have a weight that holds still for a few seconds, you're getting close to what you need

man, you might as well have asked Ford or Chevy. LOL I personally prefer Shimano, but will buy Daiwa when I catch them on clearance during the winter. Shimano never goes on clearance.

I stick with pretty traditional willow size 5 and a Colorado size 3. I've kept the same nickle and gold blades going for years. Recently I'm venturing out to black nickle blades in both willow and Colorado blades. I've noticed that the flash is somewhat more subdued, but not so much as to detract from the pulling power of the bait. It seems they could possibly be the right answer on post frontal blue bird days. Time will tell. To me the blades are certainly important, but there should also be as much thought put into the bearings and hooks. I use Owner 3/0 hooks for my hidden weight spinnerbaits because it's more than enough hook to get the job done on fish up to the size of muskies, but it doesn't add unneeded length to the compact profile. Bearings are simple. I bought a semi large bulk of Worth bearings years ago and still keep chipping away at them.

My wife and I are heading to Chickamauga this October. I'm super excited about this trip. It will be my first Tn trip.

bucket list destination for sure

I modified a herring head underspin mold to accept a 240lbs test wire so I could extend the blade a bit further down and back. I honestly don't like the hardware Do-It sells for this mold. It's just flimsy to me, so I ground a channel and bent some wire. The larger blade(#3 I think) is for swimming. The smaller blade I don't even care if it turns or not. I slow roll that one and will hop it sometimes at the edge of emerging grass. I almost always tip these with a Skinny Dipper. That's my favorite commercial swimbait.

P-Line CXX in 12 to 15 lbs test depending on what I'm doing. If I have to go heavier than that, I just spool straight P-ine Cxx 20# or above. I've tried a lot of different lines to include overpriced flouro, and I keep coming back to P-Line. I tie it to braid with a modified Albright knot and then super glue the knot as added assurance...I'm anal like that. I rarely use more than a 6' leader

I fished the Ocmulgee one time. It was a blast. I didn't catch any huge shoalies, but my first one was 3.12#. Definitely want to hit it again

It does seem a little close to the trolling motor, but that's just how it worked out. I have a deck extension that makes the entire length of the casting deck 6' long. Unfortunately, the seat mount installed at the factory didn't back up further than the standard deck does. It left me with a little room, but not as much as I had hoped. The recessed tray does make a huge difference to me. I tried it with the foot control mounted on the deck and that was super unstable and uncomfortable to boot. The tray makes it much more natural to steer. A butt seat hurts my back. Leaning has been the perfect answer so far. No more back pain even after a long day. The picture shows how close to the bow everything is mounted. Not much room to work with.

that's what it is guys. Thanks

Thanks, I found that as well. The name of the style of seat is what I'm looking for. The seat was a Christmas present and I didn't have the forethought to keep any of the paperwork. All I can find is that it's butt seat, but it's more of a leaning post. This is the most comfortable seat I've had

I'll play.

High Rock is the second largest lake in NC. The only bigger lake is Lake Norman. If you decide on High Rock, pay special attention to Abbots Creek area. There are several free boat launches, and you can easily find a topo map of the lake on ebay. It'll be a valuable tool. If you guys kayak, the Yadkin river in the Pilot Mtn area has pretty good smallmouth and spotted bass. Closer to Winston-Salem you'll be more into spotted bas and largemouth territory. Another good kayaking destination is the New river in SW Va. I've fished this whole river from the NC line to the WV line. Really good smallmouth fishing that's on the rebound after several years of reduced numbers and there are so many muskies it's stupid. Claytor Lake is formed by the New River with the dam being in Radford. It's small, but very deep. You guys could do a multi destination trip starting at Kerr Scott Reservoir in North Wilkesboro, followed by a kayaking trip on the Yadkin in Rockford, Followed by a trip to High Rock, followed by the New River or Claytor lake. Another lake you really should really consider is Smith Mountain Lake in Va. That place can make you find Jesus when the fish are biting.

First post guys. Thanks for any help. I got a new leaning post front seat with adjustable pedestal. The butt seat I had was hurting my lower back. This new seat is much better. I can't remember who made it or what its actual name is. I think it's a Springfield but I can't be certain. Can any of you guys ID this.