SirSnookalot

No it's not an old wives tale, but there are levels of mercury in many fish. Some of the worst are king mackerel, tuna and swordfish, shell fish too. Barracuda is classified as a moderate risk, I have heard heavy amounts of mercury can be spotted by dark spots once cleaned. As I mentioned the man I gave the fish to is a chef, he did say there was no mercury present, I would interperet that as a low amount as most fish will contain some. What many people associate with barracuda is ciguatera (reef disease) which can be be found in reef fish. It isn't the fish that produces it, it's caused by a tiny marine organism found in algae and coral. Tiny fish eat and it works it's way up the food chain. The disease could be caught just easily eating red snapper at your favorite restaurant. In my 10 years down here I've never heard of anyone getting ill from them, they are mainstay for many people down here. I personally don't eat fish much fish any more and when I do it's salmon,my wife is fanatic about healthy foods. I'm dying for a bag of potato chips..............lol. I don't fish cuda for the food, I fish them because it's one of the most challenging fish I have ever encountered, they don't strike often but when they do, words don't do it justice.

I made these originally for snook in the surf, use them more for bass fishing, they are my go to peacock lure. 1/8 oz head I use them with lite, ml and sometimes medium spinning.

Absolutely Can't say I agree with saying a B/C is heavier. Med heavy rods are virtually the same whether they are spinning or b/c, a 2500 reel has no less a drag and cranking power than most low profile reels. Granted heavier mono can be used with a b/c but many spin people use braid which IMO negates line strength. If one prefers mono, copoly, or f/c by all means use a b/c if it works better for you. There are people on this site that fish only spinning, has any one caught more and larger bass than FishChris? Rolo is a spinning user, catches great fish and lives in Florida. I'm a Florida fisherman too and I'm doing just fine with spinning gear. Others may emulate the way a touring pro catches fish, I fish to suit my own personal taste. I don't have to be a complete fisherman, all I want to do is catch fish.

Home made barracuda tube, orginally made for striper fishing

I would like to think most people already know how to properly handle fish, whether they choose to or not is up to them. The ones that won't handle them properly will not change what they do regardless of lecturing, people that handle the properly don't need the lecture. I never said I don't properly handle a fish, I said I don't take a fish's demise too much to heart, If I did I wouldn't be fishing at all. We have no control of what happens to a fish once we release it even giving it perfect care. In the case of a gut hooked fish the original intent was to release, with some the hook may be removed safely, again we don't know how they fair once they swim off. Some of those fish are going to die, it's part of fishing and I understand that. I just can't get too worked up over a fish that doesn't make it, doesn't mean I'm not doing my best to try and avoid it.

The rod and reel is only a delivery system, what is ever is most comfortable that's what I'd be using. I'm northern guy, fished up there 50 years with nothing but spinning and fly rods, everything from bluegill to muskie. Until I joined a bass forum I never realized the kind of gear that people use, to this day I'm still scratching my head. Now that I've been in Florida for the last 10 years I do believe I have as many if not more variety of fish to target, bass just being one of them and certainly not the biggest. I do see the desire (not the need) to tail drag a 5# fish in using a mh or heavy duty rod with 65# line, something I would never consider. I want the challenge of landing good fish on med spin or lighter, if I lose one so what. Down here in Florida I could go for weeks or months with out ever seeing a b/c, true the emphasis is mostly on saltwater fishing. Fairy wands, sissy sticks, lol, when I read about a 5# fish on heavier gear and lines, then I see someone catching a 30# jack crevalle on a med spinning outfit makes my decision pretty easy on what I'm going to use. I'll use a sissy stick.

Probably a larger profile blade on the spinnerbait is causing more water resistance. Try using the same reel with a thinner profile lure and see how that feels. Bigbill, you aren't that old.

More people get sea sick from rolling rather than being under power, my wife gets sea sick at the dock before we leave. I fish with a guy on his boat and he gets sea sick, we troll a lot and he is fine. Never being sea sick myself I don't have an opinion any medications. I personally would not go fishing without a good breakfeast, I want my energy level high. I also will not take any food or drink high in salt or sugar, that promotes thirst., IMO nothing better than water. I'm not sure what the association is between river monsters and offshore ocean fishing is. I don't know what kind of Penn combo you have in mind, I would be using the charters gear, they will have the right equipment. I wouldn't buy anything until I knew exactly what I needed. That Penn rod with the rollers may be fine for deep water grouper, but not for King Mackerel. Kings can be almost any where in the water column and they are constantly moving, groupers are the opposite. My set up would be different for those 2 species, that far offshore a grouper rig is going to have a considerable amount of lead, maybe 8 oz or more, kings would be less lead.

Of all the barracudas I've caught this one was one of the most memorable. Far from the largest I've had and being pretty much an average size, this one fought incredible. The strike literally was bone jarring, right from the git go the fish went airborn a number of times. More runs than I normally experience, maybe 5 times and each one of them the fish headed into the current which runs 8-10 knots here. Using a MH rod with 14 Lb copoly, you can't manhandle them in. I also caught good jack crevalle prior to the cuda so I had a nice day. Yesterday we had a west wind, crystal clear water and a flat surf, good for cuda. Today we have 12 knot NE wind, rougher water with the outgoing tide, water will be dirty, that's good for snook, not cudas. Fish was delicious, the guy in the background is a chef at Hunters Run County Club, he filleted it and I took some for myself and gave him the rest. Despite the horrible odor and a extremely slimy skin of these fish, the meat is a white and pure. Every wants barracuda down here to eat.

Saying treating a fish with respect after one has taken it out of it's natural environment in the first place is total hypocrisy. If we cared that much about the fish we wouldn't fish for them at all, sell our gear and join PITA. We don't always know what happens to a fish after it swims off, personally I think most are ok but no real way to know about all of them. As a group of fishermen we handle fish as best as we can so we can keep catching them. Are we not really putting our priorities first? I'm not about to torture a fish, keep it out of the water longer than I need to in order to take a photo or weigh a tiny fish. I'm also not going to kiss or caress it, stroke it with more kindness than I would my wife. Fishing is a blood activity, some fish will be fine and others not, I don't take it to heart that much.

Filleted 10 minutes out of the water and ready for the grill.

I could shed some light on this. In saltwater fishing the lure is not the major priority, what's important is whether fish are in the area or not. We may cast lures pretty much the same as we do for bass fishing, but the nature of species for the most part are different. Most of the salt species do not lay in ambush, they follow the baitfish, it may dead where you're at but 200 yds away the bite is hot. To be successful you need to be watching the water and air for signs of activity, like birds work or fish busting on bait. In the way or lures you don't need very much, spoons or diamond jigs may be the #1 weapon, bucktails, fluke type baits on a jig head, hard lures like twitchbaits and bottle poppers. There is nothing where you are at that won't hit these baits. For a little fun bluefish and stripers go crazy on surgical tubes.

What size is the rod and what model reel ? At face value one could use the same set up for both salt and freshwater fishing. More specifically that may not work that well, I'll list just a few differences. On some of the larger freshwater species you may have to pull fish thru heavy vegetation, requiring a some backbone, that would be good for a pier too. Those same size fish in saltwater can be handled on lighter gear from shore or boat, your just not going to handle a 20# too well on light gear from a 15' high pier. I'm not overly concerned about the reel providing it will stand up to salt water use. It really boils down to the size rod you have, the heavier the better for double duty in your situation.

What ever you do, don't plagiarize.

At least it's a spinning reel.

I use a fanny pack, I can get 6 or 7 of these lire boxes, each box will hold 3-5 items. The fanny pack has an extra pocket for leaders, and small misc items. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/polybags-boxes/371111.aspx

I agree. It isn't my business what kind of pictures are taken by others, as far as picture worthy is concerned. If a fish has an unusual marking, blemish or a scar I may take a photo, or catching one on a new lure. I just don't see the point of taking a picture and weighing a 1 lb fish just because one is in possession of a camera and scale, unless a 1 pounder is your personal best.

This thread is about fishing rights. If one disagrees with fishing regulations, you don't take it up with a game warden, you talk to to state legislators. The trend today is wanting less regulations in our daily lives, sticking to fishing only we can't have it both ways. If regulations are less restrictive there is a possibility that our fisheries will suffer. Case in point the canal behind my home, at one time really good now it's terrible as cast netters have pillaged the fish. The FWC can't be everywhere and by the time I call them, the purps are gone. I fish for snook every day, we have legal seasons, slot sizes, limit 1 a day, it's common to see someone "sneak out" a snook, I've seen it many times. I have no problem with a game warden or police wanting to search my car, if this helps to protect my fishery I welcome it. I don't feel I've given up any rights.

Had the topic not been lakes, the backcountry is my one of my favorite places, it's an incredible fishery.

With exception of one brand, that being Pflueger, every single reel I own has needed repair work at some time, including Quantum, Shimano and Daiwa. I'm not condemning any of these companies, but I have needed repairs on items that I wonder why they failed. Bails that get floppy, have a reel in service for that right now, line stacking problems, anti reverse not working properly and bearings that have been corroded. I have dealt with companies that have addressed these problems in a professional manner with super fast service, also companies with a less than stellar performance with customer service. That doesn't mean I won't by their product again, just know what to expect. I'm passed the point of thinking that if a reel is smoother and lighter it's better. As of late my most used combo is a 14 oz Cabo reel on an 8' rod that weight nearly 10 oz, it feels really good and I've been banging out some real nice fish with. Is this reel as smooth as some others, no it isn't, but when a 20# + fish is on the line that's when I really appreciate it. As much distaste that I have for Shimano I'm going to buy another, it is a very a smooth reel but that isn't the reason. I've yet to have a windknot on any Shimano product, I get ton of them freshwater fishing. I'm not overly concerned with durability, freshwater fishing doesn't seem to take the same kind of toll on my equipment.

A fishing rod, cast net or a rifle IMO is probable cause for search. The biggest problem in Florida is just not enough FWC officers in the field. I've yet to seem them flex their muscles without a good reason, like a border patrol agent they "sniff out" offenders, they read body language quite well. You do nothing wrong, you have nothing to be concerned about.

It may feel fine casting in the yard, but no telling how the rod is going to react with a fish on. I'd prefer catching a few fish before I made the decision.

Fished Lake St Clair for nearly 50 years, caught some wonderful fish. I'd pick the Canadian side.

I really like my 3 Cabos. More to a reel company that just performance, service too. I had little problem with a Quantum Boca still under warranty. Quantum did not fix my reel, they sent me a new Cabo as replacement in 24 hours. Between the outstanding performance of their reels and the stellar customer service, I have love not hate for them.

How about 20 years. My best fishing bud bought some inexpensive 20# mono in bulk 20 some odd years ago when he lived on Long Island for stripers and bluefish. He's been in Florida for about 20 years and he is still using it, now it's for barracuda, I've never seen the line fail.