SFL BassHunter

4" Watermelon Red Sticko (Senko). T-Rigged. If they don't want it T-Rigged, I throw it wacky.

Exactly 2 years. Started bass fishing Dec 2014.

I am going to replace the carbonlite hopefully next year with a custom build. 1 I have issues with the wrapping of the braid and 2 I don't like how it loads up with the HB frog. My hook up % is far lower than with my savvy. The Savvy loads up real nice.

Stick Baits, Big ribbontails, Vibe Tails. Fish slow usually works. I hear topwater baits are still working. Fish aren't lethargic yet, we haven't had much cold.

Bringing this discussion back to life as I am considering an Elite Pro Series as one of 3 options for a rod build. The OP had asked about where this blank falls between the standard and hi mod. A couple responses were given then the discussion went off into a discussion about the Hi Mod blanks instead. As 7 months have passed since the last post I figured maybe someone had some more experience with them at this point. I am looking for a durable (Lots of vegetation in Florida waters), lightweight, and sensitive rod for the same applications as the OP. If anyone has experience with the Elite Series Pro blank, I would appreciate your honest review of durability, and sensitivity of the rod. As a baseline I have a Carbonlite 7'3 MH and a Savvy 734C. If you've handled a EPS blank and either of these, how would you compare them? I know I am getting pretty specific but those are the rods I have used for these applications and have as a comparable.

lol yeah it isn't easy to answer that.

I am kind of cheap myself, but I don't do well with untangling things. Low tolerance and patience for that kind of stuff. I cut it out and start over. No one can answer that question for you. You spent 30 min untangling line to save 10-20 bucks on a new spool. How does that make you feel? If it happened again, would you take the same course of action or a different one?

Happens to me on my carbonlite rod when I am fishing a HB frog. I've had a lot of knots and tangles on my tip top. I've even managed to have tangle on the 1st or 2nd guide down. Usually on a failed hookset. PITA!!!! Doesn't seem to happen on my Savvy 743C though.

That is based on 1) personal preference 2) how many can you fit on your boat or someone elses boat I have a bunch of rods. I have 1 spin in my rotation, and usually 4 to 5 casters. On some folks boats I can take 4, some 5. Normally when I fish the spin rod stays home. There is no magic number of rods.

Hi Bendem To answer your question about invizx, yes it has a lot less memory than YZ in my opinion. It also has less stretch, and I feel slightly better bottom contact sensitivity with it. On a small reel like the trion (I have a 25) I would just go straight invizx. I am not a fan of leaders. I have found invizx to be very manageable for a fluoro. In fact I have 15lb invzx on a baitcaster and I rarely have used KVD Line spray. I took it out the other day in fact, and hadn't used it for a bit over a week. Forgot to spray it down, and had no issues with memory or manageability. This is my personal opinion. I haven't tried invizx in lighter test though. One thing I have found is it is also very strong line and a thinner diameter than YZ. I would look at the diameter you are using for your YZ leader and look for invzx in that diameter instead of going by test. YZ has better break strength than most lines I have tested. So I wouldn't be afraid to go with 10lb Invizx instead of 6lb YZ. If you want to stick with that diameter. Invizx Line Diameter 6lb 8lb 10lb 12lb 15lb 17lb 20lb 25lb Inches .008 .009 .010 .011 .013 .015 .016 .017 Millimeters .20 .23 .26 .28 .33 .37 .40 .43 YZ Line Diameter 6lb 8lb 10lb 12lb 15lb 20lb Inches .010 .011 .012 .013 .016 .017 Millimeters .263 .283 .308 .338 .405 .438

I agree with J Franco. Them bigger bass boats create more wake I think when they slow down, unless they are completely idling. Lost a rod a reel due massive wake of one of them and my inexperience with a tiller motor.

Nice fish there! Sorry you lost a bigun!

The FWC rule kind of make sense. They don't want you bringing your non native fish to use as bait and they can't really enforce whether you caught it right then and there and are using it for bait or if you brought it from somewhere else. But at first I was thinking that was just dumb because wouldn't the FWC want those non native fish to get eaten? The bad outweighs the good in this case if they allowed the use of non native fish.

George here are your pet vultures .

Jonathan how are you liking the stability of that Gheenoe? Which did you get?

I like them both! Usually what dictates which I use depends on water conditions. Popper = Calm, Choppy or Very Stained... Walking Lure= Calm water

Those are some real nice fish you got there! Looks like a good day!

Your fishing experience may be determined by weather. Our bass can be very finicky. If it get's cold (for florida standards) for a few days you may find bass become lethargic. Gotta drop the bait right in front of them and fish slow. Peacock fishing in Jan may not be the best. Also depends on weather. A massive cold front could cause a pea kill off or at the very least they will become lethargic as well. For peacock find structures, especially if the temps drop a bit. You may find them up against rocks, bridge pilings, and that kind of stuff. For peacock you can try smaller lures. Inline spinnerbaits work, smaller jigs, small jerk baits. Keep these baits moving, they are more aggressive than largemouth and in my experience tend to back off when a bait or lure stops moving. They can also be caught with 4 inch stick baits or flukes if you work them in a jerking motion. Also peacock sometimes don't strike the first, second, third, or fourth time you throw a bait their way. If they aren't very active or interested in what you are throwing but you know a pea is there, just keep trying. Eventually you'll upset them and can make them strike just because you annoyed them to that point. A good way to tell they are getting annoyed is if they slap your bait, or push it without biting it. They are territorial. I've fished Lake Osborne which is connected to Ida by a canal. Caught bass at Osborne and seen peacock. I've also gone to Ida but didn't fish it. Saw several peacock, lots of other cichlids. I'm sure others will chime in with a bit more experience than me. BTW if you plan on bank fishing, Lake Osborne will have more bank fishing area than Ida.

Went out to Lox one time without ninja blades and I couldn't get through the grass. Went after the blades and sliced right through them. I spoke with the gentleman that makes them, he recommended 2 blades instead of just the 1 for us down here in Florida due to the excess vegetation.

Go Canes! I've always been intrigued by the Kayak but have always been a little too chicken to get on one. I know I am clumsy and I am a heavy weight. So I always look at those things and go, "na that thing won't survive me." But last night I found a youtube channel and this one guy is a tall heavy set guy and he does kayak fishing videos. I guess it really all depends on the kayak. Some like you said are lower to the water, others are higher, some are more stable and some even have higher chairs to sit in. As far as gators, I'm not really afraid of them but I rather they keep their distance and I will gladly keep mine.

I highly recommend Turkey Lake in Orlando. Look up on their website and give them a call. It is actually in a local park there. They do jon boat rentals there on certain days of the week for about 4 hours. The lake can only be fished from land or their rental boats. They do not allow outside boats in there. The boat rental is like a 16 or 17 foot jon with a trolling motor. No outboard. Though I have not caught any huge bass in there, I have seen them with my own eyes hanging by the pilings of a fishing pier that they have. Also there are some very nice delicious catfish in that lake.

People can be absolutely ridiculous and something like that shouldn't go unpunished. I agree, call the game warden and get them out there and lock these punks up. I'm sorry that you and your brother experienced this. It is sad that now your brother won't step foot on a boat again and what could have been a fun hobby for him has now maybe turned into something he won't do again. Maybe if you can get him out again at some point, take him somewhere that you know will be quiet and calm.

Nice fish Doyle! It's been a while since I caught a good one out there.

Thanks for posting the report George! Sure was a fun day on the water!

George here are the pics from that trip!