kikstand454

Throw a beetle spin in that area and catch all those panfish. But know this..... if the area is holding such a strong and reliable population of small fish, no matter the species, then there are bigger fish around. Next time you find the tail biters, switch to a jig or crankbait and fan cast around looking for the thing EATING those tailbiters!

I'm the first person to advocate saving money. .... but like has been said, if you're already modifying the boat in your head, its not only not what you want- it might not be the bargain you think it is in the end. Will you also be upgrading electronics? How's the trailer? Gonna service/ tune up your motor? Plus mods. .....eh. .... you can probably find a boat that has everything you want for 3-4k. And you'd probably be out that in the end anyway. But. .....the boat you find will probably not be a ranger. ......

12lb yo zuri. Occasionally 10#.

I was a big gammy fan and then academy came to town. Lol. Its kind of silly, but day in day out ....I use the H2o brand hooks and for tournements I use Gammy. Its a mental thing and makes no real sense. I have never had the first issue with the academy hooks and can't even one time think of a time I missed a fish and felt it was the hooks faul. Like I said- its a mental confidence thing. Like I'm "stepping up" because its game time- even though Im not sure I could point out a reason the gammy is "better" than the h2o. For flippin- trokar on game day- vmc everyday. Same deal. I'm weird.

The first bass I caught on a lure was about 2lbs and I caught it on a mepps inline spinner with a minnow body. I remember it like it was yesterday .... my brother and I were wading through a forest pond and ahead of us was one lone stick, just out in the middle of nothing. I cast to it and about a foot away from it I hooked up. It was all downhill from there! I'm thinking this was the mid 80s. ... so no, I do not still have that lure. I'm sure I threw it until I hung it up somewhere and lost it.

^ it all depends on how/ where you're going to use it. I will say this. ... my dream rig right now is the native slayer 14. I see that WS is coming out with a similar (?) Platform this year called the ATAK. Research the types of yaks that are recommended for the style of fishing you're going to do..... then do everything in your power to try them out.

^ agreed. Their finish is always the first to go. Buy mechanically mine keep on trucking.

There's no doubt about that! Find a deep (er) hole between oyster bars on a falling tide and have at it. They will also be much father up river than you might think this time of year. A good gold spoon and a bone spook Jr will kill em too.

Lmbfisherman- nerves of steal standing and fishing out of the tarpon! !!! Wtg! I have the older style tarpon 140. Crate, trolleys, stake out pole, aftermarket seat. .... the usual. I'm considering building a semi permanent "crate " out of PVC that I can leave loaded and travel with to save on load in/out time. If I do it, ill probably make a video. Only DIY tip I can give that's not already well known is: Stake out pole. I have used this pole for about 3 yrs now in the worst conditions and it has held up like a champ. Easily anchors me in almost any oyster bar. Get a schedule 40 8' piece of PVC, a tee, some caps, and glue. Get two 4' 1/2" wooden dowels, and some two part concrete epoxy putty. Chop the end of the PVC off at an angle you're happy with. Fill the bottom and hole with the concrete epoxy/putty. Let harden. This will go through almost anything. Next put the dowels inside the PVC. It may be a tight fit. Make it happen. This makes the pole almost indestructable- and it floats. Cap it off with the tee and end caps. Done. All for about $12. Paint or wrap it in paracord if you wish.

I do not know about revo...... but I know my two quantum accurists from the same year are very different. The pts has a beefier spool and drag and handle. It also had stainless bearings ( like the Boca reels) that appear to be incapsulated or shielded in some way. This is very deifferent from the accurist pt- which btw if you look back at advertising for the reel at the time, was ok'd by quantum for saltwater also. The regular pt has regular bearings and such that you find in most reels. Ymmv

I understand and respect your professional oppinion FFF. Clearly your pics show the results of salt on reels. I can only off MY experience as you have offered yours. I ALSO live in Florida. 10minutes from the coast. I fish inshore for reds and trout 3-6 times a month from a kayak. I ONLY use baitcasting bass tackle. My three main reels are hand me down shimano Bantum cu200s. I take these reels everytime I go. My back up reels are two Quantum accurists- one a pt and one a pts. They go on occasion. ( they're heavier and so don't go as much) . I have fished these reels.... hard. ...in my kayak. .. for about 5 straight years now. And I have NO damage such as you show in your pics. And all I do is gently mist them when I get home and then every month or so I take them apart and service them lightly. Once a year or so they get tore down completely and get regreased and oiled...etc. I have replaced ONE set of bearings in ONE shimano in that time. My Quantum pts had TWO sets replaced but it went for a swim and I waited about a week to clean it. ( stupid me) . I do not baby these reels and since the shimanos were hand me downs and the quantums I got on clearence when they were phased out- I have very little financial guilt placed on them. At this point. ... I'd be mostly upset if something happened to them because those old green shimanos are going for like $70. These aren't miracle reels. I don't even honestly service them well. .. or on a tight schedule. And yet, here they are. Working every weekend. There is no doubt that salt will always win. Always. There's nothing you can do about it. I've lost cheaper reels to corrosion. A buddy of mine constantly buys $30-40 spinning reels because he just will not take care of them and they last about 2 months. But there is some middle ground. Inshore guides do NOT completely strip their reels down every night and then use them the next day .....to do all over again the next night. Trust that.

Big bad ass glass boats are awesome. They have tons of features and storage and they're stable and fast. But honestly, if I had 15k..... I'd be looking for a good Express aluminum in about 18'. Less gas both in the boat and the tow vehicle, less worry/maintenance on the hull. ...etc. it won't be as amazing in rough/ big water as a big glass boat- but to ME its pros outweigh its cons. That's all dependent on your useage though..... a tin boat doesn't have the range a glass one has- so if you plan on making 50mile runs to honey holes- glass is your only option.

Yeah..... like I said. ... its one of those places where your mind tells you every cast could be a 5#fish. ... and then nothing happens. Lol. Idk, maybe I'm just not dialed into the area. We always runs south to the tidal water. Limits are Easier there. I trully believe the overall size is better in the dead lakes area though.... good luck!

Man, dead lakes is the greatest looking area you will ever see. Its slammed with cover/ structure. Shallow, deep, flats. ... everything. I've never done any good there. Noone else I know has either. Every once in a while you hear about a tourney out of white city being won in dead lakes. ... There are fish there. And its beautiful. Please post a report!

Gotcha.

Pa in law won many a club tournement with his boat full of yellow rods. He never had a single issue that I know of. He's getting away from them based solely on weight. You can get a much lighter rod nowadays In the same price range . He will probably never let go of the carolina rig rod. My. 02

Yeah. ... there's no way in the world you should have to tear down and service a reel everytime you hit the salt. Espicially if that reel is designed for it. As long as you don't dunk it under the water, a light misting from the garden hose up and down the rod/reel will remove the residual salt from a trip. If you're feeling REALLY frisky about it, you could remove the spool and make sure you rinse the line out completely. I inshore fish 4-5 times a month in a kayak and use only Bantum curado 200s and quantum accurist reels. Like snook and I said- a rinsing and general maintenance with a yearly tear down is all that is needed to keep your reels just fine.

Just agreeing with everything above. I buy everything through PayPal and have never had a single issue.

Sorry I didn't see this in time. How'd you do? What was the water temp?

^ I fish twice as much inshore salt than I do bass- and I use bass tackle to do it. In a kayak no less. DVT is right of course. ..you need to MIST rinse your reel everytime you come home from a salt trip and let dry. Inspect/service the reel every 6wks or so and have it fully serviced once a year. It will be fine. Except the mallet damage.....

4-5. Wtg!

Wtg! I'm going to go check my academy today!

As a kayaker- I am not a fan of airboats. They make me feel unsafe. I know they can't see me coming over the marsh grass, and if I blew a whistle as regulated by the coast guard- there's no way they could hear me and avoid running me over. I think the NOISE of an air boat disturbed the wildlife in the surrounding areas and disrupts the environment. I will say though I have never observed the destruction of habitat the OP states- airboats glide over the grass with very little damage at all. Bass boats powering trolling motors through slop or flats boats gouging the bottom of grass flats- running too shallow- cause MUCH more damage. That being said- they have specific laws and ordinances set up for their operation, and as long as the operator is abiding by those guidelines, then it is litterallly none of my business who chooses to operate one. It is their right to do so. No matter how hard our govt may try- you can not mandate/regulate common sense and decency. The same type of regulation that tries to keep an airboat from flying up a neighborhood canal is the same one that is trying to keep bass fisherman from fishing docks. Or even the ordinance that is trying to continuously close off more and more waterways as "private" and offer no access to the public at all. Where does it end?

? Flipping. .... as in using your left hand to feather out a length of line and then placing the lure in your next target without ever disengaging/ engaging the reel? Braid. 65#.- at least. I guess if your flipping super clear lakes up north with mild cover then I could see some of these lighter line suggestions. ....

My phone will not find that sale on TW. I have four of last years veritas rods and LOVE them! Will someone PLEASE link it? !?! I want I new deep crank rod! Nvm: got it to work. They're sold out. I cry now.