MikeMc

Well I'm just about to pull the trigger and order a chronarch 51 MG. I'll probably be using it with a texas rig and ~15lb fluorocarbon line. I own mostly daiwas, so I would like some opinions from some shimano guys. Is this reel as good as they say? Any other recommendations? I was just looking at the Scorpion Mg 1001 on Ichiban Tackle. Those look nice too. Any help would be awesome. Thanks

I actually practiced that knot and used it to join my braid to the backing on my reel. Seems like a nice little knot. Do you let that knot go through the guides on the cast, or do you make the leader short enough so it doesn't have to? It just seems like any knot could break after casting it through the guides hundreds of times throughout the day. My line broke right at the knot and left the coils in tact. I was left with braid and both sets of uni knot coils. The fluoro broke right at the knot.

This year I finally decided to try a spinning setup with braid and a fluorocarbon leader. I've been tying the uni-to-uni knot for many years and decided to go with that. I also read an article that Gary Yamamoto wrote about how he likes to make his leader long enough so that when he's fighting a fish by the boat the knot will be laying on the spool. I used 30lb braid and a 15lb test berkeley 100% fluoro leader to cast and skip spider grubs. I tied a good knot and superglued it. I caught a few fish on the setup, but nothing big, just small keepers. The knot coming thru the guides was painful to hear on each cast. And towards the end of the day yesterday I made a cast and the knot broke while going thru the top eye, sending my jig soaring across the lake. Any one else have this problem? I really like the setup so I want to solve this issue. Thanks alot.

When I first began fishing I used braid almost exclusively. I'm from Massachusetts and fish in waters with lots of pickerel. Pickerel are very active this time of year and will slice through braid VERY easily. You might have caught some and landed them, but pickerel are very aggressive and don't always hit on the mark when they strike. Alot of times they'll miss it or hit a bit in front of the bait and slice the line. Or swallow it down and when you set the hook the line hits there teeth and will slice. With the ones you are actually catching you are lucky enough that the fish hit the lure and got no line in it's mouth in the process. I've seen this happen a zillion times with my own eyes in clear ponds in my neck of the woods. I really don't think it's the line.

Could you guys give me any help with the Harris Chain? I'll be there the end of this week for the first time. I'm guessing lipless and shallow to mid running crankbaits and flippin. Can you give me any info on which lake in the chain is best? any tips would be greatly appreciated

Hey warmer, I was just checking out Eagle Lake on mapquest and it shows a launch on W. Eagle Ave but it says "Gate (Key Access)". Do i need a key to launch here? or is there another launch maybe? thank you

Thanks a million for all your help everyone. I just hope the cold front comin won't kill the fishin too much. Thanks a bunch

Thanks alot, I'll have to check eagle out. My uncle's condo is on lake smart so eagle is close by. I appreciate the help. Does anyone know if the spawn's on at kissimmee and toho?

Thanks for the welcome fellas.. I'm not looking for a guide. I just thought it would be awesome if I could get some intel from some locals like where they're moving up to spawn and spawning. I went down last year and the year before and hit post-spawn cold front conditions both years. My biggest down there was 6 and I really wanna catch a toad this year. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. My name is Mike and I live way up on the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. I'm heading down to FL for a week from Jan 17th - 24th strictly to fish for bass. I'll be staying in Winter Haven at my uncle's condo and we have a small, old procraft bassboat down there to use. I was wondering if you guys could give me some insight on where to fish. We've been going down for the last couple of years and we've mainly fished kissimmee, toho, and a few days on the Winter Haven chain. We went down in March and April the last two years so we haven't been down there this early in the year. Any suggestions would be awesome. We're diehard tournament fishermen up here in the north and would love to get into some pigs down there. Thanks alot