SirSnookalot

I own the new style Cabo 40, have had it close to a year. If you are looking for the smoothest reel don't buy it. If you are looking for a reel with an exceptional drag that maxes at 30# holds 270 yds of 30# braid and weighs a mere 14 oz, it's tough to beat. 14 oz may sound heavy but compared to other reels offering similar line capacity and drag it really isn't. If I were overly concerned about reel weight, which in my opinion is not as critical for this kind of fishing a smoke 40 or 50 would be worth a peek. My Cabo took some time to break it in, just playing with the smoke I feel the same way about it.

The only split grip I have is an 8' Tsunami airwave. Not only is the rear butt long enough but it has an ample foregrip as well, it's not too bad. Many of the 6'6 and & 7' rods split grips I've handle are not to my liking, the feel awkward. Fishing last week with one of these with a Van Staal on it's back was terrible experience, I never disliked a rod more. Not a spilt grip rod but a rod with no rear grip or fore grip..........this rod took uncomfort to a new level.

Fingernails or small pen knife, just twist the blade a little to widen the ring.

I'm sure the OP means well, but if one were overly concerned for the well being of a fish, they shouldn't be fishing at all. Some species get overly stressed, some fish get gut hooked, dragging a fish in does not allow water to naturally flow thru the gills. Once released we always can't be sure a tired fish is a predators next meal or is exhausted and dies. I'm sure most don't heave a fish a significant back into the water, but the pier analogy is a good one. Fish of all sizes are dropped from 10-15' or higher, we think they do fine swimming off. I've got a question for the OP, when keeping a fish do you bleed it for quick more humane death or let it suffocate slowly?

That's trolling speed, not the speed the fish can swim.

Retired. Former owner of scrap metal company.

Niche I don't know but I do know my preference. For me nothing beats sight casting, whether it's LMB or peacock, snook, tarpon or jack. Seeing that fin or water ripple and having that fish pounce on it, then running it down on foot.

Fish a zoom fluke t rigged on or subsurface for fresh, salt is a DOA 5.5" jerk shad on a jig head.

I'm 60 miles north, Feb. and March are the 2 months that I dislike the most. Been hard fishing for bass since about mid November, about this time every year I get bored with it. For a bit of variation I've been senko fishing, productive yes but I really don't care for it, I prefer open water fishing.

I plan my my forum retirement at 10,000 posts, but I said that at 5000. From 1 am till I leave at 4 am to go fishing, it beats watching reruns of Duck Dynasty.

Sailfish comes in as the fastest fish on just about every site, marlin takes the 2 nd spot and wahoo the 3 rd. http://thetoptenz.net/fastest-fish-in-world/ http://www.top10stop.com/world/fastest-fish-in-oceans-and-seas-top-10-fastest-swimmers One thing we have plenty of down here is salifish and it't that time for the year for them.

I'd send it to Pure Fishing, good chance they fix it for free or replace it, they usually pay the shipping back too.

Nice fish, excellent fighting fish, about the only thing faster are billfish.

Ratings on a rod are merely a guideline, your individual rod will determine what you can throw. If I'm not mistaken the blanks on spinning rods are pretty much the same as their b/c counterparts. I do this just about every day (so does everyone else I see), over or under loading the rod ratings.

Pretty much the same here...........I am member of another fishing forum but there is much less activity, I don't check in too often. I use FB quite a bit but primarily not for networking, for linking me into sites I'm interested in. I do like to keep current with my kids and gr kids and they use FB. I use IMGUR, not instagram.

This is a cuda tube, I make them up myself, yellow, green and black seem to work the best. We gave some to the L.I. striper guys and the stripers were on them real good as we were told. You won't get too many under 35" with a tube.

Looks fine, once in the water they get slim.

I use a mill file for my 12/0 hooks, works very well. I don't have the same success using that file on my #4 and #2 saltwater trebles, I'm looking for something better preferable pocket sized. My freshwater hooks get replaced.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility it's already been caught. It is not inconceivable that before people carried cameras or scales and before the internet age that a huge bass of that stature was caught and became dinner. I do believe somewhere that fish is swimming around. I also believe that many great fish caught of all species are never recorded or certified, accidental catches happen all the time.

One of my very best outings was in a torrential downpour. Offshore about 2 miles a squall comes up, winds pick up to about 40 mph, waves get very high and the rain was coming at us sideways, we couldn't come in. That's when the bite turned on, for maybe an hour or so, at all times we had sailfish and kingfish on. Squall blew over and the bite ended that fast.

Nothing wrong at all with the reel but I would not want it for bass fishing in the 40 size, given the option I'd go to a 30 size. IMO there is more to a reel than just being smooth, one important factor for me is what rod I'm placing it on. I own 6 Pfluegers and each has been an impeccable performer. President 30 is 8.3 oz with 25" IPT Supreme mg is 7.5 oz with 30" IPT, I personally like a reel with a bit more line recovery.

I wouldn't use an ugly stick for bass fishing for a variety of reasons, but I do not think it's a bad rod at all. I see more of them being used than anything down here, both as a bait rod as well as casting lures. Not an isolated case but my closest fishing bud down here uses nothing but, he has about 6 or so all of them about 20 years old that came with him from Long Island. His rods are used to cast many types of lures, distance is in incredible as they cast further than my modern rods and I'm using braid and he uses 20# mono. Handling fish upwards of 30-40# doesn't seem to pose much of problem either. Saddled atop of these rods are 20 year old Penns that are quite heavy and most of these reels are now bailess, he's my age and doesn't get tired. But for bass fishing it would kill most people as the techniques are different.

Snook can be one of the easiest fish to catch at times or one of the hardest, that depends on the variables. The rule of thumbs generally apply but as with any fish you just never know. Those variables are different with each separate venue, those being fishing from a beach, or a sea wall, pier or jettie, or from a boat. Freshwater too, but I have no expertise in that area, I'm strictly saltwater for them. It's not difficult to learn their idiosyncrasies, except to say time spent fishing and observing, I've been doing it nearly 7 days a week for 10 straight years. If one can target and catch snook in the winter using only artificial, to me that's a real snook fisherman.

At times I feel I'm in contact with about 40,000 of them.

10000% agree. Always look for the "signs", birds working, bait busting and fins swimming, then sight sight cast, as noted above in front of the bait. Sometimes you don't see bait busting but you may see what we call "nervous water" which is usually bait subsurface making the water ripple. If you fish the backcountry, water is usually extremely clear and 3-5' deep. I'm envious just thinking about it.