kikstand454

I can't add much to this well written post on squarebills, good job catchandGrease. I will say this to all my fellow inshore fishermen though. Throw a squarebill around oysterbars, bouncing it off the bar. ...... and then send me a dollar for every redfish and seatrout you catch.

I've done it with fair success. Another thing you can do is cut the front facing hooks off the front set of hooks. This makes all the difference in the world to me in terms of hanging up. I have noticed 0 change in bite conversions.

I fish a trick worm more than any other plastic. Weightless on top -3/0 EWG. T-rig and Carolina rig -3/0 round bend worm Shaky head Drop shot They catch fish. Period. My favorite color is black. If I can't have that. ... I want black. Watermelon red flake, junebug, banana swirl and bubblegum are other favs.

You can "get by" with alot of things. Brand new, the laser sharps are fine for everyday rec fishing. Problem is their points roll fairly easily. Most house brand hooks (bps, acedemy, etc) have fairly decent hooks, and that's what I rec fish with. But when its tournement time- the trokars come out. There is a DEFINITE difference to me and I want every advantage I can.

Yeah- don't necessarily wait a second. ... jut reel down and if you feel the fish- THEN set the hook. The problem with swinging on the strike is not only do you pull the bait away from the fish, but if the fish missed- you have now jerked the bait out of the strike zone! If you just reel you give the fish time to inhale the lure, and if its a miss .... then your lure is still right there where it was and you can call that fish back up!

The key (for me) with the frog bite .....or any topwater bite really, is to reel when you see the explosion. Make this become your topwater habit. Most people set the hook and pull the bait right out their mouths. If you see "boom" and your first instinct is to reel- you will catch WAY more topwater fish. Do it! Practice it. Make it habit. I have made it a habit of smiling at the bite then reeling down into the fish for a hook set. Its keeps things relaxed. I fish a LOT of topwater though for inshore fish, and a topwater hit is "normal" to me now. Still super exciting. ....but normal. When I'm working a topwater I EXPECT to get bit. Its a different mindset.

SOT. Not even a debate.

Just because its not walking, doesn't mean it won't work. I "bob along" an h2o frog all the time and do just fine with it! Believe!

Nah, everyone does that! Lol. The first thing I want to do when they start schooling is throw a topwater over there and have fun! Just seems that I have experienced that when its hard to get those active fish to bite, there's always some bigger fish under the school that are more than willing to snap up the scraps!

Ill let you in on a secret. When you see that happening, espicially if you know its a school of smaller fish, toss a Carolina rig into the middle of it. The bigger fish are under the energetic little guys, waiting for a stunned shad to drift down to them.

While I don't own a smoke, I do own 9-10 quantum reels, some of them for close to 15years, and I don't know anything about their company or customer service department either. Because I've never had an issue with a single one of them- and therefore have never tried to contact them. *shrug* Congrats on your deal, OP!

6# ultrasoft is the way to go. See if you can exchange it or. ....use that 10#hybrid on your baitcaster for shakeyheads, and lightweight work. That's what I use sometines for deep cranking! Lol.

For flouro, I liked berkley 100%. Its pretty good. Theres alot better I'm sure. I just use yozuri hybrid/ultrasoft now. .... and PPbraid. If you're in a rush, berkley big game is a good mono. So is tripplefish camo if they have it.

Ill admend my original post a bit and say that when I do go bass fishing in the kayak, I rarely use my net. Only on big fish and only during a tournement. Treble hooks makes me use it more also. In general though you can lip most fish. If a fish under three pounds gets off at the side of the boat, I laugh about it and call it caught. If its bigger I'm just annoyed I didn't get a pic. Lol. I guess since I'm not keeping any anyway, I'm way more relaxed about if I actually touched the fish. Now. ....fishing inshore for seatrout and reds etc., that I want to bring home to eat- I net almost everything. Even the shorts. Because handling them takes the slime off them and that can make the fish sick. I set my little rubber frabil net in that useless "rod holder" that comes on most kayaks behind the seat. I clip the lanyard to my right side handle so after I get the fish in, I can just throw the net overboard and deal with it later. Its out of my way, easily in reach, and I've netted fish up to 30" in that little net I shared the link for. Good stuff.

With all due respect, if you're not closing your bail manually, espicially a budget one, then I think I will have to take your advice with a grain of salt. If you're spending $50 on a combo, then that means you're spending $25 for a rod and $25 for a reel. If it lasts a year of use, I would say you not only got your moneys worth, but that's about what you should've expected to begin with. Shimano and Abu and daiwa all have complete garbage at that price point as well. So the brand snipe is unwarrented. OP if that's what you can afford, and what feels good in your hand- then get it and get out there and fish! Set your drag correctly, close your bail EVERYTIME with your hand, and don't just throw it around in your vehicle. It will last just fine.

Both these things ^^^^^

^ fully understand. I have had no issues with the one I linked to in both fresh and/or saltwater. Ymmv

I get where you're coning from OP. But things are different in a kayak in the sense of- its hand to hand combat, right near your face. To answer your original question, don't reel up any more line than about level with your reel. This will have enough pressure on the fish, but won't be loading your rod for disaster. Wear the fish out a tiny bit more than you used to on land. It'll get back in the water quicker in the kayak. Which leads me to this: You should get this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001FTSADY?pc_redir=1408808604&robot_redir=1 And also : http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002L96JG2?cache=b23620d8150b57aa9f33f4f2b840c20cπ=SY200_QL40&qid=1409141658&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1 This will keep you from having to handle the fish, or even take them out of the water really. This is MUCH better for the fish, and much safer for you! Especially with treble hooks!

Ugly stick graphite lite with the cork handles. Only way to go. Great rods!

^ that's what I'm now using as my crank/jerkbait/trap rod. 7' m/mf. Working great so far on cranks and jerkbaits. Haven't thrown a trap on it yet. .... may be a bit too soft for where I throw traps! Lol. We shall see. .... Great deal!

I like 15# yo zuri on my t-rig rod. The crucial is MUCH more sensitive than you need for cranks/jerkbaits IMO. Its better used on bottom lures. Furthermore, at 50-70 bucks I believe it would be IMPOSSIBLE for you to find a better rod than the crucial for what you're wanting it for. If you're going to use the crucial for that then for your treble lures, look into something a bit softer. It can be a medium/fast or even a mh /moderate. Just something to take the shock and load a little better on the cast also. I like 10-12# hybrid or flouro for that. This can be a "cheaper" rod in the sense that you want light and balanced to chunk and wind with. The sensitivity can be average. Lots of rods between 50-100$ will cover this need. Jmho.

I recently got a 6'6"mhf veritas and I'm really liking it. My previous t-rig rod was (still is/can be) a 7'mh shimano convergence from the '90s.

Check out the acedemy reel AND find a handle for your PQ. The h2o mettle will go on clearence soon and can sometimes be had for $25-$29.

Why are you looking to replace the pro qual? Is it broken? If you're just looking to "upgrade".... then stop. You're not going to find a better reel than the pro qual for <$60. If its broken, then check out the h2o "mettle" by academy. Great reel especially at that price point. I would rate it 1/4star less than the pro qual, at half the price.

Do you close your bail manually, or reel until it clicks shut?