BrianSnat

I'm on an "angler survery" email list and I fill out a survey every month. Each month it asks about different things, tackle purchased, fish targeted, days spent fishing, etc. They released their results for 2011 and I thought it interesting enough to post here. Forgive me if it's the wrong forum, it didn't fit neatly into any one. Top rod brand: Shakespeare (9.6% of all purchases) Top reel brand: Shimano (21.4% of all purchases) Top fishing line producer: Berkley Trilene (13.1% of all purchases) Top hard bait brand: Rapala (21.8% of all purchases) Top soft bait brand: Zoom (15.2% of all purchases) Top spinner bait brand: Strike King (16.4% of all purchases) Top sinker brand: generic (28.8%), Bullet Weights (12.1% of all purchases) Top fly rod brand: Orvis (10.4% of all purchases) Top fly reels brand: Orvis (16.5% of all purchases) Top fly combo brand: Cabela’s (31.5% of all purchases) Top fly line brand: Scientific Angler (3M) (23.8% of all purchases) Top fly leader brand: Rio (28.9% of all purchases) Top tackle box brand: Plano (45.8% of all purchases) Top landing net brand: Frabill (24.5% of all purchases) Top fishing knife brand: Rapala (25.2% of all purchases) * Largemouth bass remain the number one targeted species of freshwater fish, with 52% of fishing activity targeting largemouth bass. * Saltwater anglers were more varied, with 31% of trips targeting redfish/red drum, followed by any saltwater fish that bites (25%), flounder (24%), spotted seatrout or weakfish (23%) and striped bass (20%). Please note these refer to species targeted on trips and not the number of fish actually caught.

I have a 2 cycle Force 9.9 OB (crappy motor, I know). Got it for free and last year I spent almost $400 at the local marina getting it running (It had LT 20 hours on it but sat unused in my dad's garage for 10 years). Anyway, that little motor pushed my aluminum skiff along at over 20 mph when I was in it alone and even 18 mph with my wife. To winterize it, I used some Stabil Marine in my gas tank on my last outing. Then I sprayed some fogger in the carb, and pulled the gas line and let it run dry. I stored it in the heated basement so it wouldn't have to endure the temp extremes of outdoor storage. I had it out for the first time yesterday using a fresh tank of gas. The motor started on the first pull. So far so good. But I couldn't get more than 8-10 mph out of it. The boat never got up on a plane and skipped across the water the way it did just before I put it away for the winter. Ran the thing for a couple of hours and nothing changed. Do the mechanics among you have any ideas what could be wrong?

I have two Berkley Lightning Rods (regular, not Shock) and I've been pretty impressed with them. Great rod for the money. I have rods that cost three times the $30 I paid for mine and they aren't as good.

I only have spinning reels. I hold it with two fingers on either side of the stem. Every one of my reels is a Shimano with the Quickfire feature and that puts my forefinger in the perfect position to use it. I remember when one of my wife's friends went fishing with us once. She told us she had been fishing since she was a child. She gets in the boat and proceeds to hold her spinning rod upside down with the reel on top like a bait caster and her entire hand behind the reel. She said it was the way her father taught her to fish and she's done it that way her entire life. She's in her late 50's so she's been doing it some for some time. It hurt me to watch but she was having fun so who am I to say that she was doing it wrong?

Of my 8 bassin' spinning rods, 7 of them are 6' 6" and one is 7'. I mainly went with the 6' 6" because the hallway where I store them is 6' 8" high and because they also don't hit me in the back of the head when I'm driving the car like the 7 footer does. I actually prefer the 6' 6" size to the 7 footer because I'm a little more accurate with them. It could be because I'm more used to the size, but I can put my lures on target more consistently with the slightly shorter rod.

I use my Med light rod for tossins spinners, spoons, poppers, floating Rapalas and smaller jigs

I pulled the trigger on the Clarus. At $39 I figured it was too good to pass up. I did a quick forum search and couldn't find a bad thing said about it.

Looking to replace my UL rod that I snapped and see the BB is on sale at BPS and the Clarus is on sale at Cabelas. Clarus is about 20 bucks cheaper than the BB. For those who have experience with these, which is the better rod?

True, but I already have a fiberglass UL rod. I retired it in favor of the MicroLite because I wanted to have a bit more backbone for trolling spinners and horsing trout and smallies out of fast currents.

My Micro Lite is not even a year old so I guess it has the cheaper guides, but after looking at the photo of the handle on the BB I do wonder how comfortable it is. It seems that the tightening nut would be under my front fingers. One reviewer said he had to file down the edge to dull it. Another complained about it causing blisters. Then again a lot of people seem to give it high marks and don't mention issues at all so I was just wondering what people here who use it have experienced

I like the drag in the rear for convenience, but they don't seem to work quite as well as a front drag. At least with my reels they don't. The drag doesn't seem as smooth and a tiny twist one way or another makes a huge difference in the amount of drag. About half of my reels are rear drag Shimanos, but whenever I buy a new reel I go with front drag now.

I accidentally snapped my BPS Micro Lite (5' 6" UL) yesterday and need a replacement. I was going to get another Micro Lite but I see the Bionic Blade is on sale for a just a few bucks more. I was ready to jump on the BB but reading the reviews, there were a number of complaints about the new handle and how uncomfortable it is. Anybody here have the Bionic Blade with the new handle (non cork) and if so how do you like it?

Love my two Shimano Crucials. Both are 6'6" MH. One is fast and the other is XF

Bagged 6 bass on the local lake (West Fayson) in about an hour and a half and lost another 3. Most of the ones I landed were in the 14-16 inch rainge. Used a black swimming Senko with a 1/8 ounce bullet weight pegged and was catching them 3-6 feet of water. Also picked up a 13 inch rainbow trolling a spinner.

I picked up a Walmart deep cycle that has been going strong for 3 seasons. This is its 4th year and I charged it up and trolled with my 55 lb Minn Kota for 3 continuous hours with it last week before it started slowing down.

My dad gave me his old tackle box and there area a lot of lures in it that are nearly identical to the ones pictured, only with some color variations. I never considered that they may be valuable. They only go back to the 70's and 80's. I was about to sell the whole lot along with the tackle box on Craigslist for $20. Maybe I should hang on to it. I always assumed valuable lures would be wooden ones that are 5+ years old.

Marmot Precip rainwear is not too expensive

I usually T rig my Senkos and Yumdingers and since they are my favorite lures they are my favorite T rig plastic. I also like the Rage Anaconda and Space Monkey.

I usually leave them tied on. I never noticed a problem with the knot breaking when I use them the next time.

I bought the regular Lightning last year. A 6 and a half ft 2 piece medium light and liked it. Walmart had them on sale the past month for $30 down from $36. I picked up a 7ft one piece medium one Wed and it's still in my car with the tags on it. I'm thinking of going back and trading it for a 6 and a half foot one, only because the hallway shelf where I keep my freshwater rods only has a 6' 8" clearance.

I have a Triumph rod, 6' 6" M (spinning) and I'm not impressed. Of all of my rods its probably my least favorite. In fact I picked up a Berkley Lightning rod that was LT half the price of the Triumph and I prefer it over the Triumph. The Triumph usually stays home these days. I just found the Triumph to be very "whippy" and not particularly sensitive. A rod in the same price range as the Triumph that I really like is the Fenwick HMX. I can't speak to the Mojo because I've never used one and I know the high end St Croix rods have a lot of enthusiastic users. I'd love to try one some day, but I was very disappointed with the Triumph.

To me a rod and reel feel balanced if I can place my finger at the junction of the handle and business end and balance it on my finger. If it leans too much toward the reel the reel is too heavy and if it leans too much toward the rod, then the reel is too light.

Whenever I read consumer reviews for rods on retailer's websites, nearly every make and model of rod invariably has a bunch of 1 star reviews where people complain that the rod broke shortly after purchase on a cast or while reeling in a fish. I've been fishing for close to 40 years and the only time I ever broke a rod was by slamming a car door on it. I never once had a rod break on a fish or while casting. So has anyone here encountered problems with intact rods breaking while fishing? Or do you think most of these rods that people complain about, break because they purchased a rod that was damaged in transit or in the store, or was damaged by the consumer himself?

I like the Yumdingers a lot. They are much cheaper than the Senkos and more durable. I also like the little slot for the hook so it is weedless. They don't sink quite as fast as the Senkos though. I tend to use the Senkos in slightly deeper water, but if I'm fishing in 6 feet deep and under it's the Yumdinger

Usually green pumpkin, watermelon, june bug and chartreuse. Sometimes black.