Under the Radar

Great baits. I'm a strong proponent of them. A different sound. Except for the chrome finish problems that most lure manufacturers experience, the finishes are very good. Here in Central FLA the colors I use may differ greatly from what you may use due to forage base. Good Luck

If you can't be with the fish you love, Love the fish you're with.

Sure would like to see one of those 6.5' trick worms. Not so sure 'bout the 10.5 foot one tho.

2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7L V8 pulling a 2007 Stratos 176XT

Here in central FLA, it hot & humid. Haven't had the boat out in a couple of months. Having to stay close to the house so it's pond fishing. Had been doing pretty well on little swimmers, flukes etc. Then they shut down. Most all of the ponds I'm fishing are like shallow bowls, or retention ponds that may have little structure. The bottom of all of them is covered withe dead filamenteuos algae (sp) black snot that will gum up on anything like a CR or TR. The answer was to go to a Dropshot and finesse 'em. Most productive baits have been the "Tiny Fluke" in Arkansas Shiner,and Robo worms. The more streamlines finesse dropshot weights in 1/16 - 1/8 oz don't load up as badand can usually be cleared by shaking them aggressivley, then continue the retrieve. Trust me I'm no pro but I sure don't like getting skunked and will do what it takes to catch fish. Good Luck

I interpret this to mean an afternoon thunderstorm, not a frontal system. Question #1: Depends on your motive... Any time on the water is good for me as long as it's safe. Question #2: Here in Central FLa, it's customary to have afternoon thunderstorms roll thru due to the sea breeze collisions. If it's possible i fish on a daily basis. After the storm, look for any moving water, such as drainage pipes or inflows of water such as creeks etc. Hope you had a good outing, and work on that confidence game.

You didn't say which size RES you bought. I fish a lot of shallow ponds here in CFL. I've found that the 1/4 oz on mono will do the best when the water gets skinny. I've fished them in 3 FOW on a moderate retrieve without hitting the bottom.

Spinner baits can produce a five fish 20 lb bag on really windy days. Wild shiners can show some nice fish, a 9-5 couple weeks ago.as others have said, soft plastics, cranks and flippin the reeds. CYA out there

After 20+ years of Charter boat & Private Yachts, I confine myself to freshwater nowadays and no charters. No I haven't used the Symetre in Salt water, but with an easy no pressure rinse after fishing it should hold up for a long time.

I've got both, the Symetre FJ and Orra-S. Thoe the Orra is a solid feeling reel it does have some issues with smoothness. My partner has the Orra-SX and same issues. Symetre's hands down on this one. Some of my Symetre's have many seasons on them an they're just as smooth and the day they came out of the box. FWIW

Tbone, bass1980 Did you not read the line "for bombing the lures way out there" Not trying to be sarcastic here, but you guys must be very very good and have some deep pockets. I year ago I tried throwing swimbaits on braid, then braid w/leader, only $15-$20 ones. It doesn't take much of a backlash to send that swimbait into never never land. basshole 8190, I don't have an answer about changing out the spool, but I'm sure someone will chime in here. I'd stay with the mono or Flouro line. Let us know how this turns out.

I fish any day I can. Except: Thunderstorms & Lightning (rain OK) Wind greater than 25 mph Temp less than 50* (I'm getting old and I've lived in -20*) I'm no hero.

X2 Over 20 yrs moving boats from Boston to Argentina, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas & Virgin Islands power & sail, 26' - 126'. The vessel operator is the biggest safety factor.

Tho I live in Fla, my confidence is some where on a fault line probably out in CA. I'll get on a pattern for a couple months and then an earthquake comes along and shakes it to the core and I have to start over. That's part of the fun of it.

You're gonna Like it. I think I'd give up my SI before my iPilot.

Not uncommon down here in central Florida, but mostly I get the tendrils from the Eel grass that will clog things up. I pull tne prop on theTM at least every other trip sometimes every trip if I've been in heavy vegitation. Never hurts to check.

HNL, Here in FLA they stock grass carp to help keep the vegetation down. Some of them can go 45-50#. I'm told that as the carp grow and mature, they tend to eat less. Sounds strange to me but who am I to argue. In direct answer to your question, no, the carp won't hurt the Eco system and may actually help it.

I fish here in central FLA, We have several types of heavy cover, I can't imagine pitchin or flippin with a medium power rod. My heavy rod has 20# flouro on it and the Xheavy has 65# braid. You obviously got a decent hookup, I would suggest that the problem is in the medium power rod and as said the 12 mono. With this outfit I might consider flipping to the outside edges of the cover, but not into it. Just some random thoughts.

Why Is Fishing So Addicting? There are microbial organisms living in a symbiotic state on the surface of the bass, waiting for the human touch. It is in this touch that it transfers and enters the human body through the outer layer (skin). As the organisms develop and mature, they tap into the human ocular system (the eyes) and the subconscious mind. At this stage, the little buggers use the human sight system to evaluate the financial accounts, available storage space and existing inventory. It then starts to initiate subconscious thought patterns suggesting the purchase of more equipment (usually more than will fit in available space) and costing more than available funds. Intimating that said purchases will result in a higher catch rate of larger bass. And the cycle goes on. This is my unprofessional opinion, and I'm sticking to it. Hope this answers your question. I'm sure that others more qualified than I can offer a technical explanation.

You might get more help, if you let folks know where you are? just a thought....

I have used the Carolina rig with Wild Shiners in 15 FOW in eel grass, like live bait for grouper. It was a vertical presentation, and if down in the grass did not move well. However, I have done well using a swim jig and appropriate swimbait thru and over grass with good success.

Hey dog, give us a little help here. What kind of budget do you have? Where are you located ? Bigger waters depends on our point of view ? like how big is big? Does it need to be inflatable (for storage & transport) or trailerable? One man or Two? I'm pretty sure you didn't think of these things when you posted, your OP is pretty ambiguous.

Absolutely no complaints with my iPilot 80# with Universal sonar. Though I do not use universal sonar. I have my SI transducer mounted there. The spotlock works well. Not as well as a power pole. But sufficient for my purposes. Fished all day in 20 mph wind week before last in 15 FOW (couldn't do that with power pole) the SL held good & came home with 3/4 charge left in the battery.

Yup. Works OK. You just have to remember to NOT set the hook.

Adapt and overcome. The fish are still there and they still have to eat. Come on, go whack a few of then and give us a report.