SirSnookalot

I believe the sensitivity comes from the line, not the rod. The fish is connected to the line.

I hardly ever go to BPS except when I'm taking my wife to the airport and sometimes I don't go then. I do buy a few things on line from them. A couple weeks ago after dropping my wife off I stop in, bought a waxwing and some bucktails. I quite often buy hot lips jigs, they come in a 3 pack for about 6 bucks, they had them in a bargain bin, 3 pack for .99, I loaded up, sorry I didn't buy more.

This thread has taken some other directions and that's ok, but it is not about planning a fishing outing, poaching or even keeping legal fish caught without a license. It's about taking a little bit of time out to wet a line and I'm assuming C&R when totally different activities are the main focus. If I were on business trip I probably would not even have a rod with me.

I voted quantity, not that I don't enjoy catching larger bass and would prefer it. I'm not as passionate about bass as others, while being a lot of fun to catch a 5 or 7# bass is only a 7# fish. My bass fishing is more relaxation and getting our of the house for an hour or so, with all due respect it's the smallest fish I target. I catch my share of significantly larger inshore fish which I'm very passionate about, I get way more thrill out of tarpon or permit.

Freshwater it's a few lures in my pocket and 1 rod, pliers in my belt. Inshore I use a fanny pack and 1 rod, the pack holds about 6 janns lure boxes and a compartment for swivels and leaders. I use a lure box for spoons, bucktails, hard jerks, top water, storm shad, jigging spoons and soft plastics go in my pocket along with a few extra jig heads in the pack. Pliers in a sheath on the strap of the fanny and a flashlight around my neck. I have way more stuff with me than I actually need for any one outing. I keep lots of backups in my car organized and replenish my lures when needed.

Don't believe there is a best, the object being to catch fish, not to have them last forever. I have used a number of different bass jigs and trailers, don't feel any 1 brand of either product has produced more fish than another. Bucktails might be my #1 saltwater bait (I use them in fresh too), my catch rate is probably about the same regardless of maybe a dozen or more different brands and styles.

Before retying you should examine your line to see if the end has to be trimmed back. If I happen to go thru a bit more line than expected it's just part of fishing. I don't think having a short tag end is an important issue, it's only line. I approach lures the same way, never fish with one I don't expect to lose, it's gonna happen. I do not get overly protective of line, using a leader may eliminate some of the waste.

1 advantage of shorter shanked trebles is they don't get interlocked, longer trebles can. I'm not fussy on brand as long it's a 3x, in salt it's 4x VMC perma, hooks rust real fast here.

Current, if any, will affect the rate of fall, most places I fish for bass have no current. I can use anything from a very light crappie jig to a max of 1/4 oz.

A blessing in disguise.

Absolutely, especially bass fishing for me. I'm fishing pretty much the same places everday and I know what I'm going to use before I get there. Not the case when I'm fishing inshore, the forecast does not give me enough information to determine how I'm going to fish and what I'm using. My set ups will be different depending visually on the surf and whether we have seaweed floating in with it. I prefer to tie knots tie at the water, with more dampness in the air they cinch down better and may not even wet them down, tying in my garage before I leave I may have to make more than 1 attempt to get a good knot. I'll have only 1 rod fishing the beach or 2 rods fishing a jettie or sea wall and 3 rods on a boat, so I'm talking very short prep time to rig.

She sure does ! When kids were in school she took them on 6-8 week trips during summer break to south america, asia, israel, across the usa. She's a retired teacher, does a lot of extended trips throughout the world, kayaking is her latest kick......... Being that way kinda runs in the family.

Not familiar with the other rod models, I bought an Okuma Cedros inshore coastal 10/20 mh 8' spinning rod rated at 1.5 oz. a few months ago, on it's back is the new model cabo 40. I'm very impressed with the aluminum reel seat and tightening rings. I did expect more distance from an 8' rod but it casts plenty far. The heaviest I've casted is 2 ounces, handled it well (everyone around here casts more weight that the rating). The rod does have good backbone, so far I have caught snook in excess of 20lbs and tarpon about 40 and a 35# barracuda. To be honest I like my Redbones better but they don't make an 8' rod. For the most part I like Redbone and Star, exceptions are when I'm looking for something they don't offer.

Too bad I'm not in touch with my sister right now. She is a fairly new kayaker and on her maybe 3 rd or 4th one in the last year or so. At present she is on a 6 week river trek with another woman some place in Alabama. Mostly camping but there are " river angles" along the way that do give some assistance and does get off the water. I don't know what kind of physical requirements are needed but she is an accomplished tri athelete, bike racer, marathon runner, btw she is 65. She has a blog going of the trip, I'll post the question. Interested, take a look http://janwanetick.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/hello-world/

Works pretty much the same way as talking with 2 tin cans and a string. The tighter the string the better, different types of string will affect the quality of the sound as well. The fish touches the bait, the vibration is sent up the line, the rod does not touch the water or the fish. Whether it's a slight twitch or a hard jerk a PHD or a degree in engineering is not required to know what you are feeling. I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

Wow.........looks to be about 40#

I don't think higher priced rods do have better warranties. Case in point from 2 manufacturers, probably others as well, Any Shimano or Star rod with a lifetime warranty is over the counter exchange regardless of the initial price of the rod. IMO those warranties are the best, quite often the rod is in stock with no waiting and no shipping expense. I agree about feeling the bite more with the line, although most of what I catch give a pretty good slam.

Last rod I bought has aluminum reel seat and aluminum tightening rings, I like it better than anything else I have.

I don't find too much of a difference in distance from one spinning reel to another and I've used both traditional as well as wide spools, my opinion the rod and lure determine distance. How does one know the exact size of the fish without landing it, especially hooked at distance?

The scenario is fishing for an hour or so without a license while being in another state. I believe in that case the person fishing is most likely catching and releasing, not keeping illegally sized or out of season fish. Sure it's possible the fisherman could indure the full wrath of the law, but most likely a ticket or a suggestion to quit fishing and leave. If I saw someone just fishing, would I ask them to produce a license, I don't think so.

I couldn't agree more ! As far as spinning rods not being available in heavy enough sizes is beacuse people are not looking in the saltwtwater section. I have spinning rods that can handle almost any weight lure, no difference in the blanks and many of these rods have cork grips too. I find spinning to be much more comfortable when throwing lures of any size, I like the weight of the reel on the bottom of the rod, no rod twist that way with 30# fish, and plenty of backbone and cranking power for about any species. I may get sore elbows once in a while from offshore fishing, aj's, kingifsh, tuna, shark, never from bass fishing, put a band on my arms and fish anyway. I don't let anything get in the way of something I want to do. I was in PV, Mexico catching a 100# amberjack, lots of 20# dolphin and large snappers, sore so I couldn't raise my arm to comb my hair, played golf the next day and did more deep sea fishing on that trip..........sometimes ya just gotta man up.

User error Agree........have had very few negative issues with any line.

I don't claim to be a saint, as the scenario is painted fishing for an hour or so, I go fishing. I bet many others would too regardless of what they say. An extended stay is a different story. What, no one goes 5 mph over the speed limit?

Sam, I'm a bit confused to what is meant by power. Not only do my 2000 reels have similar or stronger drags than just about every low profile reel in the Shimano line up, but with a longer handle on spinning I think I may have more leverage when cranking. I think some people could make a very good argument spinning may have the edge in power, at least as far as the reel goes. A mh spinning rod for example, as I understand it is the same blank as the casting model. Not being a b/c user myself, I've been led to believe people using b/c gear use heavier rods, IMO creating the illusion b/c has more power. I could take a spinning mh rod and just as easy land a 20# + fish as any b/c user.

The right spinning set up can be used for just about anything. Addressing bass or other freshwater fishing, IMO the "power" comes from the rod more than the reel. Many 2000 or 2500 bass sized spinning reels have more than enough drag and cranking power, a 4000 series even more if needed. It's all about being comfortable with your own gear, I can cast for distance with any type of lure (the rod has more to do with that than the reel), I can flip or pitch, I can troll, I can jig, can use crankbaits and flukes, and I can fish with live bait, then go catch a 15# jack cravelle on the same outfit which I've done dozens of times. I think 15# braid is the perfect line for a 2000 reel. Finesse or power fishing are merely words, I don't do either, I just go fishing and catch all kinds of fish doing whatever I want to with spinning gear. If there is a negative, which has never been one for me, it's overall weight of the combination. I've fished for hours with 15 oz reel on an 8' rod without getting tired.