pondbassin101

What you said about easier to work topwater sounds like a big benefit when fishing from a yak. It's decently stable standing up but still a balancing game and I'd rather not go for an unplanned swim. That's exactly what I planned on pairing it with. I have a 6:3 with I think 12 pound mono on it. Don't remember what brand because it's been a while but it's definitely not cheap line.

Ok so I was pretty set on a MH M rod but now I'm not so sure after doing some more reading. The general recommendation I'm seeing is if you're running shallower cranks with smaller hooks, i.e squarebills and lipless (which is mostly what I fish), then you're better off with a MM rod. This is to not have too much power on the hookset and bend the hooks I presume? This type of rod would also work for poppers, spooks, jerkbaits, etc.? I also see the recommendation for spinnerbaits, jigs, and worms is a MHF. As I mentioned above I have a MF casting rod that fishes more like a MHF so I think I'm covered on that front for now, might buy an actual MHF rod in the future. Anyways based off all this, Okuma has the EVX-C-681Mb for sale for all of 58 bucks. It's a 6'8 M MF/F rod, which I have a few questions about. What difference does rod length make, will the 4 inch difference between 6'8 and 7' be a advantage or disadvantage here. Secondly, what's the difference between a M/MF action and a MF/F action, also in regards to my use case? Am I turning this into rocket science? I know there's alot of leeway with what rods you're "supposed" to use for certain applications and that there's a good amount of overlap, but I do like having a good grasp on the theory.

oops thank you for pointing that out. Seems I ordered a spinning rod?

I went with the Okuma EVX-S-702MHb, thanks for the help everyone.

This thread actually just reminded me that I need to renew my license.

Are you talking about the Garmin striker 4?

I'm trying to learn how to fish a few clearwater lakes around Orlando (from a yak). The Conway lakes and I assume Lake Underhill would fall under that as well? Very clean water, hard sandy bottom, and tall submerged grass. Depth up to about 30 feet. Highly developed, houses all around with lots of docks and pleasure craft. How likely are the bass to be holding around docks and pads in 2-4 feet of water with it being this warm? Don't wanna waste my time flipping jigs and senkos at docks if it won't deliver. I managed to catch one today in about 8-14 feet of water (had a nautical map but drifting alot) on a small deep diving shad crank. How would I go about finding them in the water column? That's a good bit of water to cover. And finally, what difference would there be between a deep diving and lipless crank and a swim jig or some sort of a swimbait? Is it literally a case of trial and error?

I see the grass flat you're talking about, that gives me a starting point so thank you. I live about 5 minutes from these lakes but I only recently started kayak fishing and haven't yet learned how to cover water and find fish. What's good for crappie fishing? I'm definitely interested if they're in there and can get that big. I've heard they're good eating

I've taken a look through the pinned rod threads here and I'm eyeing a few different ones. I'm looking for about the 100-150 range. Dobyns Fury lands squarely in that range and from what I'm reading is also a pretty good rod. Also seen some recommendations for the Daiwa Tatulas and I read alot of good things about St. Croix on this forum. Those are bit more expensive. How often and how big of sales can I find on them? How often do rods like that pop up on the flea market here?

Your 3 rod selection sounds about what I'm looking for. I'm trying to use mainly what I have and buy one more casting rod. That leaves the question of if it should be a MF or F. I'm thinking a MH/MF paired with my 6.3 reel? My current M/F casting rod is a 7' Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0. I bought it years ago when I was in my early teens with lawn mowing money. It without a doubt doesn't fish like the 150-200+ Fenwick, Doybyns, Daiwa, and St Croix rods but it's served me fairly well so far. Anyways to make a long story short, when I was researching it people were saying it fished more like a MH than a M so I think it'll be sufficient for throwing T rigs? I want to invest in a decent moving bait rod because currently I have some $40 rod from Academy and it feels like fishing with a telephone pole. Correct about that. I don't know if I've ever thrown a glide or swimbait and definitely not 3 or 4 oz ones. I see no need for a Heavy rod in my arsenal. I'm just trying to relax and catch some bass in my downtime not chase 10+ pound trophies all across the state.

Gotcha. Yeah I'm definitely not above bending the "rules" of what should be thrown on what. What's your reasoning for a H fast?

I'm not so much being OCD about using the"proper" setup for specific baits as trying to make sure I won't be trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver once I get on the water. So my idea about getting another MH rod holds merit? I like fishing lightweight t rigs on a spinning rod for the sensitivity but that only really works in open retention ponds and canals. You need a bit more backbone fishing t rigs and jigs around pads, timber, and docks correct? Would you using my M casting for stuff like squarebills and rattle baits work good?

I'm fishing mainly banks and off a kayak in Central Florida meaning I usually won't carry more than 2 or 3 rods. My current gear is as follows Daiwa Exceler 7.3 caster with a 7' M fast action rod running braid Pfleuger President spinning with a 6'6 M fast action also braid Daiwa Exceler 6.3 running mono with some cheap rod not worth mentioning that I want to upgrade I throw mainly soft plastics with the spinning rig. The 7.3 I use for topwater, some moving baits, and jigs. The slower geared 6.3 is better suited for moving baits like spinners and cranks correct? I want to put together 3 rods that will be able to cover pretty much all baits and situations. Would it be better for me to get a new MH casting rod and pair it with the 7.3 to have more backbone fishing topwater and jigs around cover, and run my existing M casting with the 6.3 for moving baits? Or would it be better to keep the M casting as my all around rod and get a dedicated moving bait casting rod?

I'm trying to get back into fishing after a sort of couple year break. Moved to a different part of Orlando not too long ago and am trying to get familiar with the water around here. I'm well aware that every retention pond and canal has potential for bass and I'll definitely do some pond hopping. Also do want to get out on my kayak a bit, does anyone have any info or suggestions for lakes Conway, Little Conway, Jessamine, Holden, etc.? They're all small lakes and I would guess pretty shallow?

Hey man where in Orlando are you located? I'm in practically the exact same boat as you, fished alot when I was younger and then kinda forgot about it for a while and am looking to get back into it.