dsidle61

That's makes sense, I would probably need 3 setups one for frogs, one for hard baits and one like you said I just throw a hook on and use it for all sorts of soft plastics. I'll look into it I usually have 2 setups but getting a third may not be a bad idea

Ok I'll check it out, how many times can you cut and re tie a lure before having to re do the whole leader?? I imagine after only 2-3 lure re ties you'll have to tie a whole new leader

I have always shyed away from leaders only bc I don't have enough set ups for each lure so I don't want to have to change my leader every few times I cut and re tie a lure. That's the main reason I just use mono for my "underwater" lures.

Yeah I'm definitely going to use it when frogs come around. I'm not a fan of braid w cranks or soft plastics. I tried it for awhile and literally thought fish left my pond, put mono on and they were back. But definitely plan on having a braid and mono setup just can't drop all the money at once, it would be a tough sell to the wife to explain why I need another rod and reel already!

I put on 12lb mono for now. Not fishing a whole lot of stuff or areas I need braid but once spring rolls around I'm hoping to get another setup to throw braid on for the frogs and pads

alright guys well I appreciate all the input. I went to dicks today and took back my righty just to try the lefty figuring if I didn't like it I could just return it and get the righty back. Well I went to the pond w the lefty and I love it. It feels so natural having the rod back in my right hand and reeling w the left. And I like not losing any time switching hands. Even a half second could be the difference if a fish is hitting the lure on the fall or as soon as it lands. So I am really happy with the lefty. Obviously itll take me some time to get the hang of it but I spent about 2 hours and definitely left better than I started. My toughest part is im so concerned w feathering line out w my thumb and not birdsnesting that I tend to keep my thumb pressure a little to high on the cast so my casts go a bit short and to my left. I got few good ones here and there so with time ill get used to it. As far as the fish go nothing biting today, was mainly using a popr just bc its a bit heavier and a little easier to learn to cast on. Saw a ton of topwater action at the pond but they didn't want the popr or frog.

hey guys so im heading into the bait-caster world. Want to get the hang of it now while fishing is semi slow so im ready to go for spring. Ive been doing a lot of research on it, I went out and purchased a nice starter (abu-Garcia silver maxx) and tried it out today for the first time. Good news, I picked it up semi quick and no backlash......yet. Bad news, it feels so awkward. Now I know that's normal and its gonna take some time to get used to it but ive always fished spinners holding my rod in the right and reeling w left hand. I got a right hand caster (rod in left hand reeling w right hand) bc that appeared to be the norm. That was the awkward part I couldn't get a good feel on my lures or my rod holding it in the left hand. Now I know theres someone out there that has made the transition from left spinning rod to right baitcaster. My question is do you have any tips on getting a little more comfort or is it just a getting used to it thing, or should I just go w the left handed baitcaster? I think im overthinking it bc I keep going back and forth so any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks guys on that last eBay post by Avalonjohn I'm pretty sure it's the bottom one

Ok guys im trying to help out a buddy of mine here. He has this little lure that he used to light up the bass and pickerel on up in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately last time I was up there visiting he had the lip of it break off compliments of a pickerel. Basically we couldn't find it anywhere, so im hoping that just maybe someone on here had one at some point and can remember the name. Here is what I know. It was made by Matzuo, its about 2" long, it once had a lip on it BUT everytime I watched him fish it he was basically pulling it topwater. So its a super shallow diver. Here are a few pics!

haven't been posting to many pics but did have some good luck this weekend on the boat. Went to 2 different places, my usual spot Saturday and a new spot sunday. Caught 10 between AK and myself on Saturday, nothing huge, biggest was in the upper 2s maybe 3 but fish none the less. Sunday he put in at a new spot that has limited bank access that weve fished before. This time it was less numbers but bigger fish. I caught a nice 3 1/2 pounder and one a bit smaller but still in the 2-3 range. Caught all my fish on lizards both days. Super slow presentation seems to be doing it, kinda obvious given the time of year but AK had some luck on the jig Saturday. Most on here know we are impatient fisherman and don't like to throw the jigs or slow lizards but if it works were gonna buy into it!

spend the extra $ and go with capt shane, his videos speak for themselves. Im from Jacksonville, only a few hours north and my dream one day is to get with him on the big o

If your looking for spots on the st johns, we are a bit far north. Down south its much narrower and less brackish and lots of tournaments are fished on the river further south. As far as tribs to the st johns, I know on your side is julington creek, never fished it and don't know whats in there but im thinking about putting my boat in there during the spring/summer. If your up for a little drive down 17 in orange park there is doctors lake again never fished it but I know of several people who have. And further down is black creek, ive only fished it once for about 30 min and my friend had one miss. Again like AK said, youll catch that 10lber in the place you least suspect it on a lure you shouldn't be using. My 8+lber was caught in December on topwater in a pond kids fish for bluegill out of, my 6lber was on a frog mid day in 85 degree temps. Just keep at it I haven't LANDED a fish over 2lbs in about a month fishing the same places ive got those two big guys out of. Closest I came was around 4-5lbs that snapped a hook off at the boat back in December. And I robbed AK of a 5-6lber by snapping his lure off at the boat. The fish are still recovering from those 2 weeks of 30 degree temps we had just recently, youll see this board start blowing up when the fish get active again.

Those aren't bad numbers honestly, fishing has been very slow for us almost since the new year. Where have you been fishing in argyle? There are two ponds I know of there if you go down argyle make a left on cheswick oak and then another left on Spencer's plantation, there is a longer skinnier pond on the right behind some apartments then just past that on the left there is a smaller pond that looks bad but I've caught some decent fish out of. Also on wells road there is a bigger lake (lake wells or wells lake) that's pretty decent kinda limited access without a boat though. I'm not to familiar with south side I don't fish over there much.

60s tomorrow here in Jax and mid to upper 70s Saturday and sunday, hopefully going to be out both days catching those fish coming back shallow from the depths of the 30 degree weather!

I appreciate the help guys hopefully I can swing by tomorrow and pick up what I need. Ive had some people tell me the liquid nails stuff would work well. I had thought of contact cement but im afraid if I ever want to take that carpet off I would be in for a hell of a day of scraping.

I have a Minn Kota endura 30lb thrust that I use on my 10 ft jon boat it pushes me around just fine. Not sure te weight of your boat but this one is just around 100 lbs and usually 2 people in the boat to give you an idea. I take mine on lots of small/medium size ponds and rivers. it does just fine on big lakes just can't expect to run across the whole lake and back in 20min. Bass pro makes a good 55lb thrust if you want more power. It's called the prowler I believe. That runs about 200$ and my minn Kota ran 100$.

hey guys so I didn't think I wanted to do this but for some reason im going to change my mind lol. I would like to throw down some carpet in the jon boat. As of right now im not looking to do the entire boat but just the seats (front, tops and back of each bench). My plan for now is to go to HD and get one of their indoor outdoor area rugs and cut it to the correct size. I got a piece of it as a truck bed liner for taking the boat in and out and I like the color and how it feels and has done well so far getting wet and drying out w no smelling or staining. ive been trying to find some videos but most people build decks and carpet those which is not what im looking for. If anyone has ever done this before im just looking for the best way to secure the carpet to the bench. My two guesses were to glue it down or screw it in if those are my two choices id rather glue. So if anyone here has ever done this and can pass along some pointers for me or what type of glue would work best id greatly appreciate it.

This is a big city lol there are spots over an hour away from me that are still considered Jacksonville, give me an area or side of town and ill see if I can help you out.

Just something to keep in mind especially with you being in florida like me. The plastic on these things can actually melt in the florida heat especially if you plan on storing it outdoors. Even if it doesn't melt the constant heating and cooling of the things will expand and shrink the plastic and make it weak. That's my only negative here. If youre careful about where you store it (a garage does fine in the summer) you shouldn't have problems. I went to bass pro and was ready to purchase a pond prowler and I was talked into a 10ft jon boat that ive been happy with and can load in my truck. ended up being a little cheaper. Im not trying to bash this boat like I said I was ready to purchase the pond prowler but just something to think of.

The highest rise I would ever put on them is the 7" one just so it doesn't get to tippy. So you just screw the swivel into the aluminum?? And if I were to put the riser in it screw the swivel and riser onto some plywood an then onto the bench?

Thanks for the info, those seats were the ones I was looking at. About the first clamps you mentioned they can tip sideways, did you screw them into the bench seat or just clamp it down?? I feel like screwing it in would eliminate the sideways tipping and perhaps you need more than a thumb tightening of the screws in the clamp.

hey guys so ive had my little 10ft jon boat for a few weeks now. I fish mainly ponds and small lakes most w out ramps which is why I went with such a small model. Im loving the boat so far its working out exactly how I wanted and even better. My first mod for this thing I wanted to do was put some seats on it. As first I was gonna go all out drilling into it or even cutting out a hole and putting some long pole seats in it. My main reason for this was I didn't expect to be able to stand in this thing at all so I wanted to be top notch in the seats. Well ive been fishing and stood in this thing for hours at a time and its great. So I did some research and found the clamps for the bench seats and people seem to have good reviews on them. That's the route I have decided to go and now im just looking for some seats. I figured before checking bass pro, cabelas, dicks etc I would check here to see if anyone had some they are looking to get off their hands. All im looking for is something padded (high or low back is not really a #1 concern for me as im sure I could adapt to either) and something that will screw down onto the clamp, folding would be an added bonus. If anyone on here has anything they would like to sell or knows someone who is just send me a PM and we can talk. Or as always feel free to post your recommendations for me!!

great catch man, did you put it on a scale or tape??

hey you better not bring that secret lure around me, ill "accidently" snap that one off too and scoop it into my back pocket lol

You guys aren't sneaking off to another forum are ya?? lol jk jk but if you don't mind me asking what this other site is, im always looking for fresh input from different people. As for me I have had a busy past week or so I acquired a new fishing buddy in the form of a 6 month old lab puppy (I say puppy even though he is already 60lbs) I took him out on the boat for the first time Monday and he loved it. Sunday a buddy of mine from back home made a surprise trip down here to take the new boat out so I took a few days off work and we spend most of Monday and Tuesday on the water. We had most of our luck Monday catching probably 6-8 fish between us. A couple 3ish lbs were our biggest. We did some night fishing Monday as well, started out just hanging out catching some catfish but I quickly got bored and decided to try some top waters for bass. Didn't have any luck w the popr so I threw on the frog and boy they loved the noise. I caught 1 and missed about 3 more and my friend missed a monster that blew him up right at the boat, we both almost fell out of the boat when we heard it. We got a lot of rain Monday night and the water was higher than ive ever seen it and weather cooled down and the fish shut down. They didn't want anything we threw cranks, senkos and topwaters w no luck. My next day out will probably be sunday, we are having some cool nights here w day time temps in the 60s so ill have my work cut out for me.