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Interesting Heartland. Never heard of them or seen any of their rods down here in Florida. Went to their website to see if they had any dealers down here but couldn’t get it to show anything...strange. Looking at them on their site, I’m not sure about the lack of fore grip and how that would feel. Tough for me to buy a rod sight unseen.

Why haven’t I heard of Dobyns Rods? Are they new?

I agree Tennboy, new is not always better, at least in reels. WRB, you hit it, lighter weight and sensitivity are my main goals. A lot of my rods are old Shimano Claris and they are outdated and heavy, compared to today’s rods. I find I get what I call “rod fatigue “ ,for lack of a better term, that I feel is related to the older, heavier rods. Goal is to keep rods below $150. I have a couple old green Curados that that are really tired that I plan on replacing but I still love my Citicas. I’ve added a new Curado to my Crucial worm rod and have a new flipping stick with a new Curado as well. I have a number of spinners needing upgrading as well. Just took care of one with a Fenwick Tech Elite dropshot rod I found for $128. I say my main goal right now is a crankbait (and rattletrap if possible) a spinnerbait and Carolina rig rod.

I’m curious how you guys go about making tackle upgrade decisions. Specifically rods and reels. I have some rods that are at least 10 years old(some older?) and wanting to update them. My thought is to go with technique specific ( ie crankbait, spinnerbait...) as opposed to generic action rods. What say you? At age 65, I’m hoping the newer technology will help in areas I’ve lost a step or two. Being on a limited budget, hoping these will last me well into retirement.

That helps. I’m in Oviedo so we’re kinda close. I’m semi retired myself. I’ll pm you my info and we can talk. I grew up in south Florida too.

Where specifically in central Florida are you Andy(city)?

Not trying to put salt in any wounds guys but it’s just starting to change down here. From now until April/May will be our best time. Will have to fish around the cold fronts as FL largemouth get lockjaw for a few days after every front but then it’ll heat up fast. I’ll be targeting sunshine’s/hybrids from mid December until end of February any time a front comes through as they seem to like it cold. Summer is when I take a break from chasing them.

65 here. Body’s in pretty good shape for my age. Back gets a little sore during the day but tolerable. My neck/shoulder area get “tired” during the day. My left wrist gets sore from working the baitcaster so I switch up with spinners a lot to give it some relief. I don’t do many full days anymore 7-8 hours is my max.

Mike L, look forward to helping you out anyway I can.

Geo, that’s an ongoing joke up here on the Fellsmere Resevoir ramp. The state keeps saying “ next year” but they’ve been saying that for the last few. The story is some genius ( who no longer works for the state) agreed to let the new landowners have the final decision on anything the state does with the lake/ property. Who would agree to something like that? If and when they build it and open it to power boats, they’ll have a HUGE job on their hands first. The new lake is so overgrown with hydrilla it looks like a cow pasture. The kayak guys can’t even get on it. What a cluster. Oh and Geo, I grew up in Plantation (we were one of the first houses west of 65th ave). I fished all your favorite lakes/areas back in the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s.

Been fishing the SM since it opened. Still lots of stumps on the south end of the Farm, not as many in the Stick as there used to be. Hurricanes took their toll over the years. Water levels are up some now so that helps too. Hurricanes in 2010 (I think)did the most damage. Ripped all the hydrilla out of the Farm by it’s roots due to waves. It all settled to the bottom and rotted. Discolored the water bad. Now any wind out of the north stirs it up and reduces water vis to less than a foot. Best to fish it after a couple days of south/SE/S.W. winds to let water clear up. I normally don’t normally fish it in fall as I’ve always been deer hunting but no longer on the hunt lease. Went a couple of weeks ago and was worst day ever. Wind forecast wasn’t even close. Only managed one. Water temp was still up there. Needs to cool off some. Late winter to late spring is by far the best times to go but be prepared for a LOT of company. Fish don’t seem to care though. If anyone is interested in learning more about it let me know.

Thanks guys

Yes Mike in Longwood https://www.bittersbaitandtackle.com/

We still have them although not like it used to be. Bitters Tackle is our store here in town. It’s owned by John Bitters, Jim Bitters brother. They have an unbelievable selection of plastics that no one can hold a candle to, not even Bass Pro or Cabelas. They make their own line and have every color imaginable (and some you didn’t even know existed). In addition, they have every other type lure or tackle you could think of for bass. If they don’t have it, nobody does here in town.

Coach I might take you up on that offer. I’ll expect you to come down here and fish the Stick Marsh with me though.

In Florida we fish cover, everywhere else you fish structure. That’s probably the biggest obstacle anglers face when coming here. Anything they can hide in they will and that’s where you look for them. Look for areas where cover mixes or changes, like underwater grasses against reeds or pads.

Once the weather cools off the Marsh/Farm 13 should improve. Key factor there is wind direction. Anything with an N in it will stir up the water due to the sediment (created from past hurricanes when they ripped out the hydrilla and it settled to the bottom after dying). If you must go with a north wind, try what’s called the “north 40” which is the section that’s separated from the main part of the Stck Marsh.

So fl, that’s why I’m starting early on my research? Ksam I’ll be in touch.

This is why I joined this site! Excellent information guys. I’ll keep an eye out for you Harold. Roadwarrior ?? Catt & Coach, I’ll probably start north Bama and work north from there only because I have a buddy I hunt with in Abbieville ( SE of Eufaula) that I can stay with and fish eufaula anytime I want to go there as it’s only a half hour away. Now where in north Bama do you recommend for spots? After watching some of Zona’s shows, Erie looks like a must do. Ok, list starting to look like Picwick, Kentucky lake and hopefully Erie or St. Clair for smallies (so far). What lakes would you specifically target spots?

good stuff road warrior?? Oregon, it’ll depend on what I find in regards to guides if I drag my boat. Having never fished for smallies or spots, I’d have a steep learning curve on new lakes. Yea, I have researched techniques and such but it’s a different story on the lake. At least for me it is ?

What time year would you suggest hitting those in Bama Coach? Scott and MIyak, I have a good friend that lives in Milwaukee so that would play into our choices. I’ve read/heard that if you want smallies, that is the area you need to fish. Any suggestions on lakes? Sturgeons bay was one area I was considering. WRB, I wasn’t planning on bringing my boat only because I think I’d spend too much time just trying to figuring out the lakes. I think using guides would be money well spent.

The wife & I have been kicking this idea around for awhile but we’re going to try pull it off next year. We’re semi retired (I’m 65 and self employed ) so we can work around work and the seasons. My focus would be on smallmouth but would like to hit some spot lakes as well. Never caught any spots and I’ve only caught a few smallies on a trip to Dale Hollow 20+ years ago. The ideal trip would be to spend a couple days fishing a lake and then drive to the next location and repeat. The amount of time of this trip would of course depend on the distance needed to travel but would probably be in the 3-4 week range before heading back home (central Florida). I doubt we could do this in one trip but trying to see what you guys think would be achievable. My guess is we could possibly hit 6-8 lakes in that time with drive time included. If we have to do another oh well ? Because of fishing new unfamiliar lakes, we’d probably lean towards doing half day ( due to price) guide trips to better our chances of success. Probably focus on size over quantity the first day and depending on what happens that day, repeat or go go for numbers the next. I would also be willing to trade trips to the Stick Marsh if any of the members here would be interested in doing so. I was thinking late spring for this trip but again, I will rely on your advise. What lakes would you recommend we try to go to for this trip? Thanks, Steve

Hey all, finally got around to registering. Mainly bass fish but do my share of saltwater too. Look forward to getting y’alls input. Steve