LApanic

The cover/veg isn't super thick, at it's thickest in the summer...Lake Seminole, so it's a grass everywhere lake. Again pad fields, submergent to barely topped out Hydrilla and millfoil at it's thickest. I genrally throw a 3/8oz swim jig in the grass and 1/2oz on high speed reel in the pads. I tend to reel to quick sometimes with moving baits, so I opt for the 1/2oz spinnerbait over the 3/8 90% of the time. Im looking for something that's isn't so heavy to pulse/twitch the jig swimming and not wear me out as well lol. thanks for the input, I'll def put that on my list to look at

$150 bucks? Im hunting more of a swimjig specific, maybe 80/20 action, rod for swimming a jig. I'd be fishing a good amount of vegitation like hydrilla, pad/pad stems, etc but feel my current rod I use is to short (6'10") and too heavy. IDEALLY....I'd love to find good rod, with the power and action, to also frog and toss a spinnerbait, but still be a solid swim jig rod. Any help is greatly appreciated...TIA and tight lines

Thanks for the link....bookmarked!

I'm seriously looking into starting to do my own work, starting with replacing broken guides and then building my own. My local tackle store with fixing rods/replacing guides and unfortunately there is no one within 100 mile radius of me that does. I'm a local tournament angler that's a member of a club and fishes pot trails as well, so not only would I be scratching my own ***** but could be of value as a side business to the local fishermen in my area for repairs and maybe eventually custom rods. I've been researching and looking at starter kits on mudhole.com and before I pull the trigger on the $150 freshwater starter kit, id appreciate ANY advice, thoughts, etc from the rod building community here! Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

If your willing to travel as far as G'ville, but want to do a afternoon, I'd suggest the Coosa Chain. I live in Dothan and fish a local club that travels to Lake Mitchell, Lay Lake and this past March on Logan Martin. Big ole spotted bass w/ Good Largemouth as well. Easy access from Bham, south on 65 and your first Clanton exit, go east about 18-20miles and "Beeswax Landing" (Columbiana, AL) is the best ramps and creek IMO (and KVD and others) to fish in especially spring. 40-50miles east on the same Clanton exit is the best ramps/rentals/rv at Lake Logan Martin (Pell City, AL). Again if your going south the 2nd Clanton exit (Shoney's Inn & Loves), take that east for 10-15 miles is Lake Mitchell (Clanton, AL)...is my favorite of the the coosa chain...all 3 have a lot to offer and one turn off the interstate, 45min south of Bham. As far as boat rentals and marinas, the only one that im "familiar" with is Mitchell's Point on Mitchell. Again, we always stay at the Shoneys Inn when were fishing either Mitchell or Lay and at The Big Bull (70's roadside motel turned fish camp...HIGHLY RECOMMEND!) at Logan-Martin

ummmm. Pearl Melon, 3rd fav behind rayburn and chrome/black

Yep, Yep! "I knew it, I knew it" ~takahiro omori lol The inflated price of online Xclaibur Rayburn Red One-knockers in going down by the minute. It's funny how, it starts as "RAYBURN IS GONE...FOREVER" and the demand shoots through the roof, and bam, nothing changes but the label that Pradco puts on the box.

I think the durability, sizes and fishablity is what set Xcalibur rattle baits high in a lot of people's lists. Same way with the zell pop, the little things, like the subtle chartreuse belly with just enough sparkle/glitter just in the belly area. That's just good stuff IMHO. My biggest concern is that pradco is restructuring baits/brands as a race to the bottom to turn better profits. I know "new to the market" baits and color variations keep us fisherman hungry to try the latest, so that's another reason for restructuring to boost marketing and sales....BUT I think that off all the reasons I choice Xcalibur over red eyes aruku, 6th sense ****** or Yozuri Vibe rattle baits....a couple will be non exsistent with Booyah branding because of cost cutting (durability and colors mainly) Having 3 sizes is def a plus considering the alot of the alternatives have either just 1/2 or 5/8s. Here's my thoughts on XCALIBUR RAYBURN RED... 1st, the color "Rayburn Red" is also used on a Rat-L-Trap and a CC Super Spot, yet all three patterns are no where close to being the same. 2nd, It'd be crazy to think that Pradco/Booyah isn't going to release a simliar or close variant of Rayburn Red. There will be a craw for sure and they'd have to be under a rock not to see that that pattern is probably one of there best sellers if not THE best seller and the recent spike of $20+ for a Rayburn Red One Knocker is a dead giveaway to match as close as possible. Lastly, to sum up it all up, IMHO...the Rayburn Red "pattern" is probably not going away, just the name.

Here's the leaks/info, just found some...from the bassblaster again! 1. BOOYAH adds Knockers. > Formerly known as the XCalibur One Knocker and Rattle Bait, these two lures received a makeover prior to joining the BOOYAH family…. > The One Knocker is the proven XCalibur bait with a new look. It features a single tungsten rattle in a sound-intensifying chamber. …the “thump” of the single tungsten rattle allows the One Knocker to stand out and above the rest. > The Hard Knocker…updated with incredible color patterns. The bait still produces like it did, only better. > New color patterns were designed by some of the best anglers in the world, including Terry Scroggins, Jason Christie and Alton Jones. Both [baits] are available in three sizes (1/4-, 1/2-, and 3/4-oz) and eight color patterns. Boss Pop The new Boss Pop has an egg-shaped face that’s less deep than other chuggers to allow it to skitter across the surface like a panicked baitfish but still chug and spit. Available in two sizes, 2-5/16″ (1/4-oz) and 2-3/4″ (3/8-oz) and eight colors.

From an ad on the Bassblaster Daily email. If you click the image it takes you to booyahbaits.com but the literally have 5 lures that they've had forever on the site...thats all. iCast leaks, coverage will tell all!

Yep, It was stiffer than the Smoke, but it just didn't feel right!? The cork but was a turn of for me....because I've got a "nails on a chalkboard" deal with cork and dry hands or dryied out cork in general. All my rods are either EVA, wrapped in rod wrap or grip shrinking tubing from mudhole...just the way I roll, lol Have you fish the Concept reels?

I had that exact 13 rod and traded for the Smoke HVY....Didn't like the butt, but overall it was a great rod, not as light as the smoke but good!

What rod do you use for froggin with recoils? I'd like to get into recoil guides especially if I can get em and replace with stock guides. Currently using a 7'4" Smoke HVY. I have mixed feelings on micro-guides for frogging, but work fine till I invest in a Frog specific rod, like the new duckett frog specific Frog rod suggestions welcomed!