islandbass

Something like that would be used to probably target king and other salmon in the saltwater with heavy spoons and buzz bombs, jigging them in my neck of the woods. II imagine that rod should be good for any swimbait and metal lure you want to throw at the salt water fish. Bulletman guessed right. it can get tiring so don't forget to take breaks. I jigged for salmon just yesterday for nearly four hours without even one bite and momma said there would be days like this, lol. Add to that I managed to gloriously birds nest two different baitcasters through no fault on my part. The line caught the Fuji Ez keeper both times so note to self to remove it next time lol.

Thanks!

You weren't wrong so don't worry or feel bad. We were just trying to make the point that heresay should be taken with a grain of salt and the best way to confirm or refute a claim is to see for one's self. Ever since I was young I always questioned things. When I was told 2+2 = 4, I asked my teacher how. Of course that was simple to prove. When they told me that the sum of the squares of the two sides of a right triangle was equal to the square of the length of the hypotonuse, I didn't doubt it but I wanted to see how that conclusion was arrived. Now that's a fun one. Although I don't have a proof, I think I "see" a curado in your future, lol.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to do that. Any advice on for reels? I get the impression that when fly fishing the reel just stores the line while the hand not holding the rod "manages" the line during the battle. And that looks like it's a blast.

Whoever told you that must not know how to properly set up a curado. There are too many variables to factor of which I'm willing to bet the cause is likely angler error. Any reel in the curado class and its counter parts from other companies should be able to cast far when properly set up and in the hands of an experienced user.

Great topic. My greatest "fear" is finally giving fly fishing a try. Why? Because my spinning and casting gear might start collecting dust. I have this gut feeling I'm going to really like it a lot. I also know that I would definitely be making my own flies. My bait monkey has been dormant like a volcano, but he'd wake up if I went down the fly fishing road, lol. Someone gave me a multiple piece fly rod but first I'll need to find it and see what its weight rating is.

Any bc reel capable of casting 1/4oz lures should suffice. With that said and all things being equal, the lure's aerodynamic traits and wind conditions and the overall ability for the angler to execute excellent casting mechanics will far more influence the max distance than the reel. Basically, you can expect to cast a 1/4 oz spoon farther than say a 1/4oz spinnerbait or inline spinner. Equal weight, not equal aerodynamic traits. The spoon should cast much farther. Also, 3/8 oz is nearly 1/2 oz and any bc reel worth its salt should handle 3/8oz and up easily. As a shore bound angler myself, I can identify and relate myself to this constraint. I am willing to reasonably assume that any reel in the curado class (this is the "highest" I have in my arsenal and I'm talking the old greenie and battle ship gray models) or up is more than adequate. On one of my heaviest powered rods (rated to throw 1/2oz and up) I am able to toss a 1/8oz spinner (so light that this rod won't even bend backward on the cast, lol) with my curados a very long way. I need to qualify it by letting you know that it is an 8'6" rod, and a longer rod should assist in maximizing casting distance. Go as long as you can get away with for rod length and if the rod's ratings have the 1/4-3/8 lure weight range, you will IMHO give yourself the best chances to maximize your casting distance.

@gus: Sorry bud, but you can no longer be called a bc newbie. By the powers invested in me, I hereby promote you to Baitcaster Master 1st Class, entitled to all rights and privileges granted to those possessing this title. ? Thanks for making an informative post.

Is it the fraction that catches your eye? ? It's just 1/16 oz shy of 1/2 oz. Last I recall, a 5" senko weighs about 3/8 oz which is equivalent to 6/16 oz. Therefore, one of the main baits you were planning to use falls within the rods lure weight range, albeit 1/16 oz shy of the max less the hook Not always, but when I use a lure heavier than a rods weight rating, the rod can still cast it and work it, but it feels like the rod is "overworking" figuratively speaking by bending/flexing more than you feel it should. This is felt in both the cast and working the lure. The reverse, going light, the rod seems "underworked" ie, the rod barely bends on the cast so a efficiently made cast is harder to achieve. The rod also feels "stiff" during the retrieve, not flexing to little bend. The reason I say not always is because some rods can handle lure weights outside what is listed on the rod.

I third Richf and wrb. Please use mono during your learning period. Don't do what I did, starting with 30# braid. First cast and that braid was toast,lol. Anywhere from 10-15# mono will be sufficient.

I don't even need one and I felt like I needed to be two of them, lol.

I am glad that I don't have to deal with that for my neck of the woods, but if that's a "gimmick", then it's a darn good one that looks like it does the job it says it will do. It's no frills and practical. Me likey for its intended purpose.

First, let me say welcome! Although I live in the Pacific NW, I have not yet fished in your area for bass yet and am shorebound so I can't be of much help. However, I think if you can search posts related to river fishing in the summer in general, there might be a nugget or two of information that you ought to be able to apply for our neck of the woods. I hope the site owner sees this and can chime in. I believe he has good knowledge for this area. Sorry I am unable to be of further assistance. -ib

Those are also the primary hooks I use too. It's just me but when I saw those spin shot deals I thought gimmick but I could be wrong. What I use isn't broken so no need to fix so I apologize for not being able to support my initial at first glance of the spin shot. Because if the way the fish practically set the hook on themselves we don't need a cross the eyes hookset but I still add a little tension to assist with reeling in of the line. Also, when in the fight are you losing them? There might be a clue there that might shed some light. That's the nerd in me though. I like to analyze when things go wrong to minimize error and failure duplication.

I didn't fish when I was a kid (starting when I was in my mid-thirties), but I had a newspaper route that paid about $130/month. It was a job that required discipline. In addition to delivering papers, I had to collect money for the subscriptions and there were no holidays or days off. Had to wake up at 3:30am because that was when the papers arrived. If it rained, I had to put plastic bag over every paper. I also had to fold them up and band them together before starting my route. I used my BMX bike and lived on top of the hill so every trip home was an uphill hike. Had to be done before 6am so that I could get ready for school. They even made us have to buy the rubber bands and rain bags. I also worked during the summer on top of that. Where I lived, the minimum wage was $3.30/hr. So hats off to you if you're a teen or younger. What you're doing at your age is honorable and respectable. Sadly, a good percentage of the younger generation seem to have a sense of entitlement, or no desire to work, and worship what I call the "new" god (intentionally lower case), the almighty hand-held smart phone. Take it away from them and they think it's the end of the world, lol.

Not at all. One of the benefits of a rod not having a hook keeper is your rod won't get scratched up by the hook. The Fuji hook keepers work well and don't look too bad but you still run the risk of scratching the blank. If that is an anal concern for you and because you mentioned that you didn't want to go the Fuji way, you can attach your hook to the rod at the butt section with a strip of Velcro long enough to wrap around it at least a couple times or more. That's what I do. Blank stays scratch free from hooks. It's my solution to this situation. The purpose for the Velcro to wrap twice or more is that the first wrap secures it to the rod and the second and following wraps give you wiggle room to accommodate your hook or lure.

Very excellent advice. Place your bets now. I'm betting drmevo is going to choose the casting with the handle on the same side as his spinning reel. ?

That's messed up, Catt. I bet something like that stays crystal clear with you forever. Almost Catching an owl ? must have been a hoot for your friend. Great stories! Keep them coming.

I bet we've all caught something strange and possibly unintended. This was a while back. I was fishing a dock with the sun going down. I was fishing a pink worm on a jig head. All the flying creatures that target flying insects were doing their thing in the air. As I neared the end of my retrieve, I yanked the line up to swing the jig back to me to make my next cast. Because it was getting dark, I misjudged my grab of the jig. As the jig and pink worm swung away from me, a bat came out of nowhere and went for my jig. There was enough light to see that at the very last second it changed its mind probably realizing it wasn't a bug but as it tried to maneuver away, the jig's hook got hold of it's wing and caught it. So there it was, flying around like a kite on a string. Fortunately, it wasn't solidly hooked so it was able to free itself without my help. I was relieved because I didn't want to deal with an animal that might possibly have rabies. Share your strange catches.

Certainly, especially if I had the chance to fish a few consecutive days. But it only lasts for about 5 minutes, lol.

Awful. Does your state have laws against leaving fishing rods unattended? Not that they'd be able to enforce it anyway. Sad story.

Just tried their number. If it is their phone line, they definitely have it in fax mode. I'd send another email. Good luck.

You'll probably get to it before me. Got a long honey do list as of late. Hope you keep us posted.

Welcome! UL is great for panfish, trout and even bass in not so heavy cover. I just looked up that reel. It looks pretty slick. I would choose 4# or 6# mono. Is that Frog hair some type of fly fishing line? For lures, smaller scale versions of regular bass lures would be great, along with small spoons and inline spinners and dare I say it, live nighycrawlers.

I am so glad I saw this. I was thinking about doing this to one of my spinning reels and now, I'm not going to... for now. Maybe I'll try it on my cheap Daiwa (super low end reel I use for trout and pan fish) so If I mess it up I won't feel bad.