kikstand454

Finally saw some savings at my DSG, but it was all lures. I did get some kvd trebles for about a dollar, and ill probably go back and clean them out at that price. Picked up some bb crickets and RI beavers for a dollar/pack. Got two cavitrons for $2/piece. ( can't beat that! ), grabbed an assortment of gripper jigs for $.70/piece. What I want/ actually NEED is a big crank rod. No rods were on sale at all.

The new white carboblite reels are great! Ill vouch for it. Smooth caster, easy to control, light as a feather. I have mine on a veritas 7'm/f and its a thing of beauty. I wish I had 10 more.

*shrug* I like the white rods and reels. ....

Awww man I want to catch a peacock bass! Wtg!

C&G, If you get the chance to come back through Tallahassee, let me know. Ill take you down to the coast on my kayaks and we will have a topwater redfish bonanza. Lol.

I'm switching back to my old Cardiff 100a for my deep cranking needs. It does the job perfectly and palms well. Admittedly its mostly because I don't want to have to buy a new low gear reel. ..... but that's not the point. I already have this reel and love it and trust it.

There's gonna be next to no fish in the surf there this time of year. If you go to St Andrews state park, there's a huge jettie that you can get on and there's always fish around it. Big ones too. Bring alot of tackle though because if your bait fishing you'll be hung up alot. If you have the means, rent a kayak and put in at the state park into St Andrews bay. Wait for an afternoon high tide to flood the sun warmed flats and throw a spook In the warm shallow water . You will catch trout and reds all day. Few things in the world are better than catching a red on topwater. Trout- 4 fish 15"-20" one over 20" Reds- 2 fish 18"-27" Yum.

7' mh/f - with either unicorn, dragon, or a Phoenix feather inside. ...

The two things you can pretty much count on wanting to do is a crate and an anchor trolley. These two things are hard to do without. Don't go cutting and/or drilling into your boat until you know exactly what you want to do and where you want it. Search " kayak crate" and search " kayak,removable anchor trolley". Both these mods can be done in seconds and very cheaply. Add some rod holders to your crate and fish it for a year/season. You will be 100% sure of what you want then. Your arms will get used to the motion, but you should be paddling more from the core/ torso. Research proper paddling techniques or better yet, have someone show you. It will get better! Welcome to the plastic navy!

Ahhhh. ...... yeah occasionally my curados will have that button problem. Its normally a part in there that gets all gunked up and won't operate right. I get corrosion on that part from the salt if i dont keep an eye on it ( clean it every 6wks or so). Sometimes though, that part is broken and needs replaced. Can't remember what its called. Your reel guy should be able to fix it.

^^ good to know. Ill keep an eye out for it. If the drag were to be the only weak link....id be ok with that.

I have tons of mismatched stuff. I have red rods with green reels on them. Lol. Its ugly. I also have some nice black matching stuff and a new white on white rig that looks great. But honestly I think it comes down to - matching stuff up is great If you have the money to do so. Example- I have decided to use my old 100a Cardiff as a deep crank reel. But I need a rod. The only thing that champagne color matches really is black. There's plenty of black rods. ... but what if I can get a veritas winch for $35? I'm not going to hesitate. I could care less. The rod and reel would individually be exactly what I want performance wise and the price is right. But if said rod came up and I got it and then thought.....eh. .... that Cardiff doesn't look right on here...... and then decide to save up for a white - or black obviously- cranking reel, then that is spending unneeded money on matching color. I already had a reel that would do the job- but I spent money on aesthetics. Its nice if you have that extra 50-150 bucks to factor aesthetics in. Obviously if you're going to already spend that money. ...then its nice to make things look good. Ex: I have a little black pinnacle on a veritas, but I'm not thrilled about the reels paddles. If/when I get some paddle grips- of course I'm getting the black/white camo!

^^^^ I haven't even held one in the store yet. I don't go to bps often. We have an academy and a dicks and their prices and selection keep me out of bps for the most part. Ill definitely have to go check them out though!

*shrug* To each their own I suppose. Fishing here in N.Florida is very different then fishing the Atlantic coast. The wind isn't too bad, and I use a b/c 95% of the time. I don't throw live bait- and when I do.... I use a popping cork- which is the only reason I even CARRY a spinning rig with me. Most of the time it just sits back there, rattling around while I throw a spook on a b/c. I forgot about cobia. A cobia would certainly test the limits of my b/c- I've caught some short ones, but a keeper would be a challenge- and also a real possibility. But like I said, almost all of my inshore fishing is focused on reds, trout and flounder. The b/c is perfect for it.

I do most of my shaky head fishing around docks. If I lose more than three on a line of docks, then I will switch to a "finesse " t-rig with a 1/8oz weight and floating worm. Works about the same but I can come through trash MUCH better with it.

^ this makes me rethink my answer. I only use baitcasters in salt- but I'm not chasing tarpon either. Or 50lb snook. The biggest fish I'm likely to tie on is a bull red or black drum. Both these fish fight really really hard, but aren't trying to run to Mexico when hooked. I spend 90% of my salt time chasing reds and speckled trout in <2' of water in my kayak. Ill catch some flounder, trash fish and Spanish Mack's and jack crevele every now and then. The jack family really tests the B/C because of their fast long runs- Mack's, cravelle, blues ....etc. Any shark over 4ft is probably going to spool me. So really I say b/c are great for the salt.... depending on what your fishing for.

Yeah I have an update. I want to replace all my stuff with this combo.....its that good. I keep trying to justify techniques with this rig just so I can use it. Its not bad for traps...the rod has JUST enough backbone to make it work. It KILLED as a jerkbait/topwater rig. Long smooth casts, straight into the wind with a spook. ...just a pleasure. It worked really well as a squarebill rod too. ..but I didn't spend too lunch time with that. The reel itself is pretty intuitive. Like I said its my first carbonlite, so I can't compare it to past models- but it is light and trouble free. Very smooth, Med/long casts with 1/4-1/2oz baits. The dual brakes took no time to figure out....as I said above. ... and I haven't needed to adjust them at all since. The only thing so far that is a "con" is that the top bar that goes across the reel- and is the access for taking the panel off- has backed out twice on me. I checked it both times and it seems that there is a retaining spring to keep the rod from coming out- but I wonder about my side plate. It did not become loose of anything when this happened- the only reason I noticed was because I was wiping it off. I have no idea how long it was loose like that. I tightened it back and then 2 trips later it did it again. It doesn't seem stripped- maybe my fingertight isn't enough! Lol. I will properly screw it down when I get the chance to. All in all I have had it out. ...maybe 7 times and what it has thrown the most is a 3/16oz weighted paddletail- swimming it over grass. Its biggest fish so far has only been about 3# but it has handled all of this with perfection. I'm currently moving so I'm off of fishing for the next few weeks- this one included. But I will abuse it more very soon. I would GLADLY buy this reel again at the 85$ sale price I got it for. ... and will almost certainly justify getting one at +$100 when I next get the chance. At this point it is a 4 outta 5 for me- and that's only because I don't know anything about the models history or its durability. That's all I'm waiting on.

I like to spool mine up and take it out back and cast it. Really swing for the fences with it. The only problem I have ever had with a brand new reel is UNDER lubed bearing that squealed when I went to make its first hard cast. Both times this happened, I didn't have oil with me, and I had to retire the reel for the day. It will not happen again. ....

MLF is the IROC of the bass fishing world. And I'm fine with that. I enjoy it ALOT more than the pro tour coverage of either tour. I hope it expands into having a season, playoff and championship. In the current format- this would be pretty easy ( like ultimate match fishing)

I agree with all of the above and echo that I believe the only time the "stand up" presentation needs to be exact would be cold, clear water. If that's your environment, then by all means get some high end heads and some shaky "specific" worms. They will do wonders. I like zman and roboworm and big bite squirrel tail myself. But day in and day out, I use a jig head bps makes that has a 3/0 gammy in a 1/8oz head, and texpose a zoom trick worm on it. I do just fiiiiineee with it. And I save alot of money.

I kayak fish in the salt alot and I can fully and happily recommend the old shimano Bantum cu200 reels and the quantum accurist pt. I rarely ever use a spinning reel anymore for anything. .... Although truthfully, your friend is probably right about spinning reels in saltwater. If spinning tackle is something you enjoy, you may find that a better- and cheaper - solution)

I have two or three clarus rods. I love them. Theyre light and sensitive- i think i have one as my shakyhead rod and one as an unweighted plastics rod. Both casting rods. Mine are a bit older with the full cork grips.... so I'm not sure that applies to yours.

Walmart in north Florida hasn't, and has never, carried it. The only place I have ever been able to buy it in a store was sports authority. And it has liquidated its fishing dept in our area. I've been buying it offline for the last few years. ... but this is the second such thread in a few months and you guys are scaring the hell outta me. Keep up this kinda talk and I'm going to have to start hoarding hybrid like ammo. Lol.

On the cheaper side of things. .... I use a 7'11" Abu veritas and an old blue quantum tour pro. It is a beast and light enough to work all day ( that's an assumption, I havent flipped an entire day with it yet) . I have an older daiwa rod and reel that I use for 'light" flipping. (3/4-1oz- smaller baits- bb crickets, tubes, etc) You may find you want/need two rigs. I did.

^ agree completely.