Functional

@AlabamaSpothunter thank you bud! Well tell him I love his triggers lol. Have one in every AR I own and the stack of hats to prove it!

@GaryH @T-Billy thank you both!

New PB! Decided to try a lake I've only been to once today. Got up early and was on the water by about 730. Mini chatterbait pulled in a 7lb 01oz and a swim jig (which I never fish) pulled in a 4lb and 3lb 6oz and a cat fish. 7lb 1oz is my new PB and I can say I can see the addiction to hunting for big bass. Need a DD now. For about 3/4 of the fish she did nothing but strip drag that was set at 3lb like it was nothing. 7lber 4lber

Not nearly enough to cause line to stretch though. That was part of my point.

He'd get the same results with mono with that setup. How the line sits in the water under slack line will make the difference. Saying mono has stretch so it's not sensitive is 1) BS and 2) a cop out. Stretch has zero effect on any of the lines until you put enough tension in it (ie, not a bite but a hook set). What I don't know personally is if mono is any less sensitive than floro. Floro will have a belly sagging while mono should have a belly floating. Testing it this year for myself. Just my thoughts...

Its truly disgusting how big the smallmouth you catch are....and I mean that in the best way possible.

I'm running an experiment this year and going to run Trigs and Jigs on these 3 rods. I couldnt stand reading and seeing 30 different answers so here we are. Might rotate reels on rods to see if any are better/worse on a different rod and to make sure the rod itself isnt skewing what I'm finding. Expride: 17lb Defier Armilo mono Victory: 15lb Inviz-X floro Kage: 30lb PP slick braid

for what its worth I have a 2.25" ram holding my garmin 93sv on my boat. Its a lighter tracker 175 so it can take a good hit crossing waves and it holds the garmin rock solid. I dont see why it wouldnt hold your HB10 on a kayak just fine.

A propane torch, flux (preferably the paste type) and solder (not a fan of flux core type) are all you need. I prefer soldered connections over any crimp or mechanical connection. If the connectors are pre filled with solder, just wipe a little flux on the opening where youll shove the wire. Dip the exposed cable wire in the flux and then heat up the connector with the torch until solder turns liquid (youll see it visually). REmove heat and push the fluxed wire into the hole and you are good. Where I can I prefer to pre-tin the wires but even with a torch I found it hard to heat up the wire fast enough to tin it without burning up the insulation.

Been watching a lot of Seth Feider's stuff from *** and its probably the best stuff I've watched. I dont feel like hes gatekeeping any information and gives a lot of relevant info. Aside from his prefered hooks I havent heard him mention any particular bait or company, just general styles. I liked him before but hes probably my top favorite at this point after finding these videos.

When I go to visit my sister we use cheap/simple kayaks and drag them through quite a bit of woods and shore fish a few other ponds. I only bring 2 rods (braid and Armilo), a 3700 sized plano, small terminal tackle/weight box, few bags of plastics, pliers, line cutters and fish grippers and shove it all inside one of them draw string backpacks.

NC. Water temps have been anywhere from 52-58 depending where on the lake and the on/off cold snaps weve been having. Chatterbait bite has been great and a light Trig with a sweet beaver. Both fished where new grass is growing and laydowns in 2-5' of water, mostly 1/2 way to the back of a pocket/cove. Havent really been able to fire them up with anything else yet.

Live in NC, no fences and no posted signs to keep off. According to GIS there is a small plot of land (few hundred square feet) that belong to the town for a small piece of machinery for the tiny dam the pond has. His property surrounds that piece so regardless I'd have to travel over his stuff (maybe 500ft) to get to that "public" piece. He (or someone) over the weekend just tilled the property but left that small section I'd plan to access open. I'm assuming to allow the town access to their equipment. Aside from being the right thing to do, my main drive for getting permission is something I've found out about living here where hunting or fishing property is involved. Anyone who has access, or doesnt have access...will pretend its their land and be fairly hostile to run you off and I've heard way too many times guns being pulled out for intimidation. I want the guys permission and number weather this is for hunting or fishing so I can let that hostile person call the land owner up and let the owner deal with the ass hat they let roam their property, if they even did. I love my hobbies but not enough to get shot or have to shoot someone over.

I've always done more ties or twists in the fg or back when I did the Alberto (which I still use connecting backing to main line on reels) because I view it like a Chinese finger trap. The longer it is the more grip/friction to keep it from slipping and I don't feel like I have to tighten the hell out of it and potentially damage the leader. It needs to be tight but not killing the leader, especially the thin 10lb and under stuff a lot of us use. Alberto I used to do 10-12 turns each way and fg I do the full 25 and do more half hitches than recommended. Never have I had a slip or break at the union knot.

FG knot for everything of braid to mono/copoly/floro. Not really too bad to tie if you know a few tricks, hasnt failed for me yet and is thin enough to get through my tiny guides.

Reading your comments and thinking about it some more I think I'm going to go the hand written letter route. While I dont disagree doing a face to face would probably say something in itself, I just dont think the majority of people are comfortable with that anymore and I also think it could make the person feel on the spot and need to provide an answer quickly despite whatever I might say. Going to do a letter and include a stamped return envelope and an aerial photo with a highlighted area I believe would be the least intrusive to his property but explain whatever is acceptable to him is fine. I'll explain who I am, description (maybe even photo) of my truck/kayak, that I'm strictly catch and release and the expected frequency I'd realistically be able to fish at most (only talking 2-3 times a month at BEST I'd hit this one particular spot). Let him know I wouldnt bring anyone with me and if it ever comes up I'd look for his permission first. I'll also provide my email and phone number and offer to meet in person if he felt more comfortable. From what I gather from the information I can get about the husband/wife owners are they are in their mid 60s. From what I've seen they dont farm the land, just keep it cut and its vacant so hopefully this will go well. Pond looks really nice to fish.

I've been seeing some nice ponds through my travels and was wondering how you all go about getting permission? I'm "new" to the area and have no personal connections I can work through the grapevine to get access. To keep the details minimal there are no houses on the property(ies) to introduce myself and have a chat, best I have is an address and names from the county GIS data. Do you write a letter? Stalk them on social media and send them a message? I assume showing up to their house, not close to the pond would seem a bit extreme and weird. Any advice would be great. EDIT: the access I'm looking for is just to slip my kayak in the water and park, not roam their property if that makes a difference.

Zoom Z Hog Reaction innovations sweet beaver Missile baits D bomb All pegged weight Trig.

Black Lake is a "hidden" gem. For a couple years 4 of us rented a cabin and went every year in May just before the vegetation really grew in super thick. We all live in NC now but we talk all the time how much we miss that lake.

If I had bought my tatula sv earlier I'd have far more in my boat and far less money in my pocket. Was worth every penny.

Nothing comes off a hook or rod unless I'm changing it or if its elaztech or similar funky plastic. Had no idea taking off plastics was even a thing.

for the past 3 years my wifes family has taken vacation on the same lake. I'm often on my boat fishing in the morning and evening and spend the blistering hot afternoon with them in the water somewhere. Its amazing the differences we experience on the same lake. All the wildlife and otters I've seen quietly fishing my way around the lake vs what they dont get to see doing what they do. Sometimes i feel like they think I'm telling fish tales. I just consider us lucky for how we get to experience a body of water vs many others and just how different those experiences can be.

hey at least you can make good money with those degrees. Pretty sure my other BIL has a job in that field and with only 3 years in the field he makes more than I do as a mech. engineer. You can do well in truck driving too.

I wasnt gunna do it but with $93K in student loans....what were your degrees in lol? I once dated a girl who was $200K in debt for video game design which she never finished and was working a job that barely paid $20 an hour in a "goods" store. Couldnt run fast enough when I found that out a few weeks into it....its always the gorgeous ones who have the most red flags.

As someone who paid off their student loans well before my wife/sister/BIL, I can say life is MUCH less stressful without that looming over you. I paid mine off quick but had I known what I know now I would have paid it off even faster. I agree with everyone, a kayak, canoe, john boat will serve you great until that student loan is paid off. And if the ranger is what you are really gunning for wait until you are in a position to buy it. If you determine that will take you quite a few years and need something more than a kayak/canoe DEFINITELY dont buy a temporary boat new, youll be out money you could have used towards the ranger. A used boat youll loose little to no money when you go to sell it if kept well.