GonzoFishing

Thank you guys for all the info. Always appreciate the help I get on this forum! I debated just selling the little green Curado and getting a new model (Tatula, Tranx or Curado) but that Curado has always been a workhorse for me and I regretted getting rid of the 301 I had. Thanks again everyone!

Yeah I hear you. So you recommend DVT as well?

3 rods and a backpack if I'm not near my car. I either lean them on a tree or I lean them on my backpack to avoid getting dirt on the reels. If I'm fishing close to my car then I bring 5 rods set up with a swimbait, stickbait/lipless, frog, creature/tungsten and a fluke. Then depending on how the day goes I switch it up. Maybe throw on a chatterbait or just switch up the colors of my existing lures. But, here in So. Florida i'm usually close enough to my car to be able to leave a few rods in there. It becomes my rigging station of sorts.

Red/Orange lipless are killer lures here in So. Florida! It's caught me multiple different species one cast after another including a nice 7.4lb largemouth. Peacock bass and all the other invasive/introduced species hit that thing with a vengeance too.

Love the Glades! Just being out there is a win. Nice mixed bag btw!

Great, thanks for the responses! I checked out Delaware Valley Tackle and I know they have a good reputation on this forum but the whole "Shop Rate $20/hr after 1.5 hrs" thing makes me nervous about the final price. I love my little green Curado 201E7 but can't afford to spend too much on the repair. I'm hoping it falls between $50-$65 total.

Hey BR members, anyone have any experience with a company called Dave's Reel Service out of IL? I found them online and need to have my Curado 201E7 worked on. I upgraded the bearings, drag and handle without issue but when I tried to upgrade the small gear it started making noise and feels rough. I'm sure I did something wrong when reassembling it but at this point I give up and want to send it out to a pro. Any thoughts on Dave's Reel Service? I also know of Reel-Ex out of California which seems reputable. Appreciate the input! Thanks.

Thanks! I appreciate the info. I'll add that spot to the list of potential areas. I wish I had more time to fish because i'm sure there are a few spots that can produce a decent fish but unfortunatley I'm limited to one day.

Hey BR anglers! I really need your help. I'm heading to Austin with my brother for a few days in mid april and am only going to have 1 day to do some bank fishing Our target species is largemouth bass. Quick background info: We are from south Florida, mostly fish for largemouth bass using swimbaits, frogs, jerkbaits, lipless cranks and flipping creature baits. I really dont know what to expect from Austin fishing but due to time constraints I'm limiting myself to fishing in Austin proper. Guessing Lake Austin or Lady Bird Lake (not 100% sure but those may be the same bodies of water....LOL) I can bring 3 rods and a medium size lumbar pack with lures. My initial thought is to bring my Dobyns Fury 805 swimbait rod, a BPS Carbonlight flipping rod (which can also work for small swimbaits, frogs and jigs) and possibly my Dobyns 735C frog rod (which can also work for small swimbaits, flipping and jigs). Depending on the advice I get here that may all change because I realize i'm missing a spinning rod for senkos, wacky rigs, neko rigs etc.... So here are a couple of questions right off the top of my head: 1. First and foremost, where should I fish? Best bank access? I have a max of 7 hours to beat the bank. You dont have to give me your honey holes but any advice would be appreciated. 2. What is the water clarity like at that time? 3. What is the normal expected weather? Last time I went to Austin around that time a freak cold front hit and it was FREEZING!!!! 4. What do you think of my rod options? What would you bring if you could only bring 3 rods and a medium lumbar pack with lures? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to catch my first Texas bass and if possible catching a fatty above 5 lbs Thank you in advance and God bless!

Bass fishing in a local pond with a topwater prop bait I got smashed by a Pacu which after fighting for approx. 30 min ended up weighing 27lbs! An amazing hit in shallow water and a great fight. I'm guessing it was mating or protecting a bed of some sort but it hit this topwater like a truck and with a vengeance!

I use lipless cranks in small weedy ponds here in So.Florida with great success. Chuck it out, let it sinks a bit and start the retrieve. Caught my second best fish on a red rattle trap (7.4lbs). I hold the rod tip high and rip it off grass which does trigger a lot of bites.

I've hit the glades off of Tamiami for the past couple of weeks and have been catching bass and oscars pitching the baby brush hog in the sungill color with a 3/8 tungsten and the BPS stick worm in the okeechobee magic color texas rigged. I fish from land so it may be a bit different (and better) if your fishing off a boat.

My go-to peacock lure is a red or orange (or a combo or red/orange) lipless crankbait. Depending on the depth i either use a rattle trap when shallow or a warpig if fishing a little bit deaper. I catch them both sightfishing and just chucking the lipless way out there and giving it a steady retrieve. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Tamiami canal runs into Naples or close to it. If you follow it East you'll eventually cross from brackish to fresh water where you might find some bass. Good part is that while searching for bass you'll also find snook, tarpon and other oddballs swimming around.

That looks really good!! Never caught a snakehead before but i may try this weekend. Dang that made me hungry..LOL

Nice! Those things are built for that top water strike. Awesome fish! Thanks bro!

First time seeing an arawana caught! Awesome!! If you don't mind sharing, what did you catch it on? How was the fight? Oh and as far swim baits go I've used the Lake Fork live magic shad in the watermelon seed color and when the grass/weeds aren't so bad I also like Optimum baby line thru.

Amazon with Larry Dahlberg ?

Ha-ha....same here! Immediately imagined casting a line. Awesome lake and pic! Oh and I second the Stanley Ribbit idea

I've had some luck with the Spro BBZ-1 shad in bluegill and the sexy shad colors (think that's what it's called). But, as stated earlier by another member, there is a lot of grass/weeds so I only throw it in deeper spots and in the case of the bluegill color, in the shallows if the bass are attacking bluegill beds. I've only used the slow sink models so far.

Cool bro! I'll hit u up next time I head that way. Appreciate the invite. In regards to the poachers, yeah it sucks watching them decimate a small lake or pond. I've seen people completely disregard the law and keep every single fish caught! Love releasing a fatty in front of them. Never fails that they ask why I released it so I take advantage to school them on the merits of not being an a-hole ?.....all zen like of course since I'm not interested in getting into it with some idiot....lol

X2!! Had a Pacu hit a top water propeller type lure with such ferocity that I actually flinched! Don't know if hit out of hunger or annoyance but it was an amazing drag pulling fight. Same pond has a nice red tail catfish that I'm dying to catch! SoFlo fishing is crazy!! Never know what the next cast brings ?

Hella excited!! 2016 is the year of the hog!! I got a PB record to break ?

Awesome! I've heard a lot about the Holey Lands. Didn't realize you could fish it from shore. It's pretty far but if my "big fish" chances goes up then it's worth it. Thanks again to all who responded. Last weekend went to Amelia Earhart park. It's was really cold and blue bird skies. Fishing was tough. We caught a handful of dinks with biggest being approx. 2.5lbs. All on senkos and a couple of bumps on a lipless crank. Cool park worth giving it another shot maybe later this year. Tomorrow heading to Markham for the first time. Hopefully have a better report ?

Thank you both! I'm definetely going to give it a shot. I think I've passed by there heading to Sanibel and remember seeing quite a few anglers mostly on boats. See if my brother is up for a road trip tomorrow. Thanks again!