FryDog62

Pretty close comparison so far - 6 for South Carolina, and 4 for Florida. I appreciate all the opinions coming in so far… keep ‘em coming!

I was a short stop, so maybe that's why we're only here for awhile...

I did, the Tatula Elite vs, Chronarch MGL - same line, rod and 3/8 oz Buzzbait+ trailer. Both great reels - distance rating on the Elite 10, MGL 9.5

Is there much temperature difference in the summers between N Georgia and Central Florida? I get it though, we are in Naples - and it’s actually cooler here in the summer than it is much farther north in Orlando.

I have 2 BFS rods that are ML-F. I use one for Ned rigs and the other for Strolling. Both with 7 lb Sniper fluorocarbon.

lol… probably South Dakota before I’d go back to my roots in Minny, but will forever miss the Rum River..!

I visited Greer last Fall - liked it and my wife and I went to a festival in the park. Also drove by Lake Robinson but didn't fish it. A guy in a kayak at the ramp said he just caught a 6.5 LMB. A friend has a place on Lake Bowen, and I believe that is also HP restricted.

Very true, as we've visited Greenville SC/Hendersonville NC - And have found ALOT of Floridians have either moved there or go to the elevation during the summer to escape heat/storms. That's a factor as well as my daughter is moving to that area and I think soon to be engaged. If I move there, would be very interested in learning about those smaller reservoirs off the beaten path (I've seen Lake Lure, NC but not fished it). Don't know that I go back to a bass boat right away - and those waters sound good for a kayaker. What city do you live?

Totally agree on the cold... although more storms in Option 1.

Not the Villages, but we are exploring possibilities near St. Augustine/Ormond Beach... cost of living is said to be good there as well. Do you live in the Villages?

We moved from Minnesota last year to a temporary residence down south and are contemplating a more permanent move later this year/next. Have narrowed down to these two general locations - which one would you prefer and why? Option 1 - North/Central Florida within 2 hours of: St. John's river Harris Chain Rodman Santa Fe Orange 100's of smaller lakes Option 2 - Greenville, South Carolina within 2 hours of: Hartwell Murray Russell Clarks Hill Jocassee Keowee Both locations are near enough saltwater for the occasional trip I do of that... so that's not really a deciding factor for me. I'm still a bass guy at heart👍

Yes and no… yes there is always the next gimmick technique to hook fishermen, but I do think Neko fits a couple niches for me well. I’ve pretty much switched over from Shaky heads. I would lose a fair amount of shaky head jigs in rocks or bottom structure where the head of the Neko just flexes and doesn’t bury in. I also use Neko worms to skip docks… the lead is buried in the plastic and if you hit any metal structures like dock posts, pontoons, etc. it’s just a soft “thud.” A lot of times I get a reaction bite skipping a Neko, and sometimes I just let it soak/twitch with the tail straight up (as opposed to a wacky worm that lays flat) and that seems to work pretty well for neutral and negative fish when the bite is tough.

You can still find a few Bubble Butt’s around: https://battalionbait.com/shop/soft-plastics/13-fishing-bubble-butt/ The body of the T-Mac worm overall floats better than the Trick Worm. And if you do want a worm that looks like the Trick Worm and has an actual air bubble in the tip of the tail, GrandeBass makes a good one: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=20&searchtext=GrandeBass+Wiggler&_gl=1*1jyg0oo*_up*MQ..&gclid=CJDT3-2SjNECFZCMaQodOJECzA

I’m typically stages 3 and 4. I used to be 5 a fair amount and got the nickname of “Captain” when I had my bass boat. Now I’m solo in a kayak and in search of a huge bass or two - I guess “my way” because I’m in a one-person watercraft now. Sometimes on tough days, I am stage 1 for sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever been about stage 2. The exception when you’re Captaining and want to put novices on fish and keep them busy.

Well, I actually bought my first Elite to specifically get better distance from a buzzbait. And it definitely did... so well I traded off many/most of my SV reels that I was using for other applications. If I'm not skipping something, I really don't want to use the SV reels anymore (I've had Tatulas, Steez, Zillion and Alpha SV). Buzzbaits are relatively light and have a high profile that catches the wind, so I wanted to upgrade and get optimal distance without zinging my chronic tennis elbow. I've tried Shimano MGL and MGL III spools and they are better than SV's, but not quite the distance as the Tatula Elite.

No drag slippage ever on the 9 Elite reels I have, been bullet-proof. Good point above about braid slippage if you don't have backing. I typically throw either 12-17 lb fluoro or 30 lb braid on my Elites. Never went heavier, would only do that if heavy flipping or frogging, but I have other rod/reel combos for that.

Those look like a good find. Another alternative is the 13 Fishing Bubble Butt worm. Beefier worms with floating tails just seem to be the ticket for larger fish...

Trophy Hunter best color, second is Ballostic Bluegill 👍

EASY - both of them have floating tails: 1) GrandeBass Airtail Rattler is the bomb. Best big fish lure for me in the past 5 years. 2) Second is the T-Mac worm which is such a great replacement for the inconsistent Zoom Trick Worm.

I tried to use my SV Daiwas (Tatula, Zillion) to throw a 3/16 oz lure (lure+ plastic = .19 on a postage meter scale) and it didn’t cast very well. You end up tightening down the brakes far enuf to prevent backlash, but the extra resistance limits distance and also pulls the lure to the left. 1/4 oz and above works pretty well. For 3/16 and less I go to a Curado BFS and it works phenomenally. Unless there’s a lot of wind, then you do have to tighten down a bit.

Nice!

Already eyeballing my next kayak purchase…

I can’t remember on all of the reels, but if I did it was minimal to no adjustment..

I throw 3/8 oz buzzbaits on about 9 since they are light with a lot of surface area, I set at 10 for 3/8 oz swim jigs and 11 for Chatterbaits 1/2-3/4 oz. All estimates based on wind and other factors.

Give that dog a bone! 👍