Functional

I've had horrible luck with frogs since I moved out of NY, exactly zero fish on popping or walking frogs in 2 years.....until I tried a horny toad. a 4/0 hook and rigging the frog upside down so the point is resting in that hook channel have given me excellent results for hookup. Also doesnt tend to roll over like when I had it rigged right side up.

If it was a drastic change like red to greenpumpkin or white to red I'd say possibly color. If you went from straight greenpumpkin to greenpumpkin with red flake I'd say definitely Location. If it was the drastic change in color I'd probably go back and fish that first spot after letting it rest a little.

As far as the east coast I've noticed I heard it more in south Virginia and definitely through NC. When I lived in NY it was crayfish predominantly but you did get crawdad and crawfish occasionally.

Welp, appreciate everyones input. Ordering the HIT 35lb Type II. Figured if its any less comfortable it cant be by much and id rather the better function.

are the doors really that water tight? I'm not thinking they are.

Theres a few like new condition SLX MGL 70s (71 is left handed) on ebay right now for about $130. I can do everything from a ned rig to 1.25oz baits just fine, its really an excellent real for the money. Personaly I'd pick an MGL spool over a DC, and I have. Having said that, ned rig is still better for me on a ML spinning setup, but I've done it on the SLX MGL70 just fine when I limited what I took out.

I've never owned/used a DC reel so I cant comment. From the performance I've gotten out of my SLX and Fuego CT I do not feel I'd personally gain anything from it. Both reels adjust well and handle a wide range of light to heavy baits. I prefer the SLX profile to the Fuego CT and the Lews when palming the reel to put a finger under the line when working bottom contact baits. You are in a good area for fishing with Shearon Harris and Jordan right there. Falls lake and badin/high rock arent far from you either.

Im going to be that guy at the top end of your budget...but quite honestly I'd find it hard to beat until you get into the much more expensive stuff. Prices are all from tacklewarehouse but you may be able to snag some items cheaper elsewhere. Rod ARK Tharp Money Maker $130 Reel (in order from my favorite to least favorite) Shimano SLX $100 Daiwa Fuego CT $109 Lews SpeedSpool LFS $100 If you have to save that $10-20 then like mentioned above the St. Croix Bass X, Daiwa Procyon/Fuego rod are nice choices as well, I just feel the ARK is very nice for the money comparatively. EDIT: Also where in NC are you located?

appreciate it bud, I'm just too stubborn to go easily haha! Having a 1.5yr old daughter makes me even more thick headed...just gotta do what you have to do to keep yourself above ground. No if ands or buts, push for the results you want and dont let yourself get caught up in the emotion to keep your head straight. Anyway! Is the floatation pounds that large of a difference for my build? Is the Elite that much more comfortable than the Deluxe? To my eyes the Elite looks more comfortable but maybe mustang is using those IG beauty filters all the youngins use?

No restrictions. I'm complicated. I have a heart condition (technically called a fish heart believe it or not) and procedures done that made it possible for my body to grow blood vessels from one side of the heart to the other. On top of my heart condition my blood compensates for my low oxygen by producing more red blood cells giving me thick blood and prone to clots. I'm on a blood thinner for it but they believe my high blood pressure from the kidney stone pain caused a small clot (that normally wouldnt pass) pass through those grown blood vessels and get to my brain. Whole event from first symptom to normal was about 30-45 minutes. So a freak incident it seems but I'm only 35...was very weird being on the stroke floor for 3 days. I happened literally as I walked through the emergency room doors to leave, pretty big coincidence if it wasnt linked.

Morning all! Went on a week long fishing trip and first day I ended up in the ER with a kidney stone that somehow gave me a mini stroke on my way out and put me back in for 3 days. All is well, full function is back and no lasting effects. This did make me reconsider my life jacket situation though since 99% of the time I'm alone. Typically I wear a pull to inflate when running the big motor and nothing while on the deck. Looking to get an auto inflate and wear this full time. With the temps here in NC during most of the year I cannot do a regular PFD 100% of the time, I'll have a whole new reason to pass out. I have it down (so far) to the Mustang Elite 28 and the Mustang Deluxe MD3183 HIT. I'm only 5'7 at 160lbs, not sure the 28lbs vs 35 will make much difference. Can anyone give me a reason of one over the other? Comfort? Feature? Any other DEPENDABLE brands I should look into? Went to a college for the shipping industry and we either learned to swim or learned to live in a full blown gumby suit...not much in-between....but MUSTANG was always regarded as one of the best brands.

12.5' kayak in the back of a 5'7 tundra bed w/o extender. 3 pull straps: 1 on each handle back to an eye hook to keep it in, 1 over the back to keep the rear down. If I had my diamondback hard cover on it was only the 2 straps on the handles.

Take the screw that goes into that hole and go to tractor supply/lowes/home depot and they typically have a board where you can try the screw into multiple slots to get the correct size. An example if it was SAE would be 5/16 -18 (diameter 5/16, with 18 threads per inch). That would be the helicoil size kit you would get. The kit typically comes with a correct drill bit size (drill out the old threads) a tap for the helicoil and a few helicoils. You trim the helicoil length to work with the available hole depth and screw that in with JB weld to the new threads you made. The inside of the helicoil will have the threads that match the screw you use to hold whatever you are screwing down. IF you decide and say "screw it" and just JB weld the hold and screw into it make sure you coat the screw in KIWI shoe polish so when everything dries the screw will come out.

look up helicoil insert. That would be the correct way to do it.

Zoom super fluke in smokin shad color with the spinner color I mentioned above. I cut most of the nose off to right when the belly starts and thread it on. Size depends on the size of the overall spinnerbait I'm tossing. No trailer hook.

what kind of trailer are you using on it? bare spinnerbait or with trailing hook I cant catch jack on them....with the right trailer its my highest producing lure. Not sure the color you are using but pure white never worked great for me, the Booyah Shad color is my highest producer and its not even close. Blade color can also make a difference, I have little luck when the dominate blade color is not silver. I throw mine like ironbjorn. Anywhere you would throw a trig or jig, including the heaviest of cover.

My brother in law, his father, my father and myself used to go to on a week long fishing trip every year for Northerns/Musky and we ordered a decent sized trophy and kept track on the bottom of who won biggest northern/musky each year. We also got a smaller "contingency" trophy for biggest bass. Winner of each got to display it in their house for the year until the next trip where you had to bring it to the lake for the new trip. Really miss those days.

I bought a Lews American Hero spinning reel as a quick replacement on a vacation and for $50 its honestly a decent reel, haven't had a need to replace it yet. Leaves you $100 for a rod.

Not to mention he has some good prices even compared to some "factory" options and I'd say you get quite a bit more quality. Love everything I've bought form him and will continue when I need more.

I said it and ill stand by it, my sierra is way less sensitive to me than others I have. It's fantastic for what I use it for but definitely not bottom contact. The fact that he's way below and at the bottom end of a stiff rod doesn't help. If you enjoy the sierra or dobyns series great, I just find other better at that price and lower. The rod is only a small part of it though. WRB and a few others will (maybe) chime in here but having a finger on the line while fishing bottom contact baits will give you a good portion of the feedback you want. Palm the reel and run an index finger up by the line guide and just put a little pressure on the line with the tip of your finger. You can also read into line density and whats better to detect on slack line (floro followed by mono, last is braid). Doesnt mean you cant feel with any of them just some are better at slack line and some are excellent with some line tension (braid). How you fish, what you fish and how dense the cover is you are fishing might dictate which you should be using.

I have a Sierra 704c micro and its a fantastic spinnerbait rod but I dont find the sierra sensitive. I have a spinning rod Fury and find it similar. I'd look at the Diawa Tatula cork handle version or an ARK tharp. I even enjoy my old St. Croix mojo bass SCII in terms of sensitivity than the Dobyns....so maybe look at St. Croix as well.

a year or 2 ago I was a little paranoid about this....at this point I just pick the line that will work best with the baits I intend to throw on that rod and call it a day. Lately I am starting to heavily favor mono for everything though...

the simple way is the more water displacement and rattle it makes the more aggressive it is. Water displacement is like noise for us. Crankbaits, buzz baits, jitterbugs, whopper plopper, spinnerbait (especially colorado blades), chatterbaits are all aggressive. a ned rig is less aggressive than a ribbon tail worm, a creature bait is more aggressive than a ribbon tail worm, rage craw may be even more aggressive than that...but as a whole, all less aggressive than the group above.

No sir, all were purchased in the last 1-2 years. His latest one was bought over Christmas and he just broke it in 3 pieces about a month ago.

good luck! I've used my brother in laws *** rods and they were sensitive and nice but hes broken every one hes owned within a year. All that and I still find the omen black 3 sexy as hell and want one.