SirSnookalot

I would not pay more than $10 for a freshwater lure and I don't do that too often, I catch just as many and as large on less expensive lures. The waters I fish here are not conducive for some of these larger heavier swimbaits and I'm not about to use a heavy rod to catch bass, they just aren't big enough. Most expensive lure I use is a #12 xrap, but I get them for 6 bucks from a friend that's a Rapala rep. It's a excellent lure for what I use them for, but nothing out catches a $2.50 bucktail jig for both size and numbers, my main lure for snook and tarpon.

With each upward increment in price reels progressively get more refined and lighter. In the $50 range most name brands are going to perform on the same par, the reality is it just doesn't make all that much difference. The only way to have near perfect balance is to use the same lure each and every time, the feel is going to change with a different lure type and weight. By moving your hand up on the foregrip the fulcrum is changed and often times improves the feel, a lot easier to set the hook too.

I specifically target many fish other than bass. I fish for most of them pretty much the same way, fishing is fishing. What varies from fish to fish are the the fish's own habits, by knowing the quarry there isn't much a good fisherman can't catch.

The 1 day prep is the worst part of it, but it's not much more than than drinking something unpleasant and having some inconvenience. I'm sure many remember having having upper and lower GI, and holding in that barium, now that was unpleasant.

Not that I keep any statistics, with the exception of just a few species, I catch so many more fish on the pause, the drop, etc., than a fast moving lure.

I agree with S. Hovanec, for a few dollars it isn't worth packing up a rod and paying for the shipping. A local can have it back in your hands in a day or two, tips right on the spot.

I do it pretty much the same way Francho does.

derekxec, on 28 Aug 2013 - 13:03, said: Smart work not hard work.

bigbill, a twitch bait, jerk bait and flukes may work best with pauses an not a steady retrieve. I fish spoons and jigs erratically too.

I only use braid except when I need to troll the twist out of my line. Using braid over rocks and coral my abrasion has been nothing out of the ordinary but it does happen, sharp gill plates will sever 40# mono the same as a thinner braid. I use braid in windy conditions with bottom baits, there is a bit of a knack to reducing the bow in the line, I don't feel I have a problem in detection. A larger fish is going to let me know it's there, missing a smaller one isn't worth my concern.

I use braid except when fishing specific lures that creates excessive line twist, mono or copoly can be trolled out. At present I'm using 14# silver thread and it's worked well and has been tested with fish over 30#, but I'm fairly confident I'd have the same success with other lines as I have had in the past. I've tried most braids, PP by far is my most used and it has been more than just adequate, a proven winner for me. I recently spooled up 2 freshwater reels with 10# PP slick, it's pretty nice stuff but hasn't been tested enough in both size and numbers. I will be trying it on an inshore set up, curious to see how it fares there.

I normally crimp my wire leaders or use a haywire twist. I have not used tie-able wire but my gut tells me to use a swivel. For line joining or attaching a leader I go with an alberto, seems to be the best and easiest that I've used.

Those are some really nice cars. The Detroit area stages the Woodward Dream Cruise, it's been going on since 1995. It's a one day event that goes on for nearly a week, about every imaginable car is there. Prior to moving to Florida I exhibited a car every year since the ***.

Since I've been in Florida, not only myself but my wife and every other person I know has had to use GoLYTELY colon prep. In comparison magnesium citrate would be my preferred choice, not is it only $2.00 but the GoLYTELY cost me $54 with my co pay.

IMO there is no question about it. Not to say that the more experience one has can create good fortune. Bad luck may be getting your line wrapped the motor of trim tabs with a big fish, happened to me many times, result is a lost fish. In an area where fish are stacked, having a larger one hit your lure first I think is good luck

8035, it's not a saltwater reel and that's why I switched it over to fresh, but I had no problems for a year and half. Somewhere down the line each and every saltwater reel I have owned runs into some kind of problem, I'm pretty fussy on how they perform. My freshwater spinning reels just do not catch the same kind of fish under the same kind of conditions, they always are performing as they should.

Another saltwater ploy is a rubber band around the girth and slip the hook under the band in front of the dorsal fin, this is a sailfish rig. Live bait stays alive much longer this way, goggle eyes are $10 a piece.

For freshwater fishing I use 3 supremes, they do everything I need them to do and they perform flawless and as smooth as any of my more expensive reels used in saltwater and none of them have ever required anything but a drop of oil, each reel is well over 3 years old. One of these supremes ( 35 ) was used in saltwater for 18 months catching snook and jack crevalles, not to mention all the bass caught on it too. Don't accept my history on this reel as being the best reel, as best is merely subjective, but this reel has endured time, salt conditions and hundreds of some pretty hard fighting fish. For freshwater I like Pflueger.

The pound test used is as much about how you're fishing and what the gear is. Trolling I'm using a heavier line, casting especially on spinning gear gets no more than 15 or 20# braided line, IMO catching larger fish is all about drag and line capacity, lesser about line strength. Most 20# braids break well over 30#, you can catch one hell of a fish on that.

Your leader knot should be your last concern, tie it right and it shouldn't fail. I use a leader length of no more than 24", I do not like my knot coming thru the guides, I put a fresh one on for each outing. Most of the time I use just a few lures, but if I need more leader it only takes a little time to tie a new one on.

Sounds good to me.

Use as many or as little wraps as it takes to get a smooth, clean, perfectly tied knot, if it isn't perfect keep at it until it is. The line diameters are going to dictate just how many warps are needed, too many wraps on a thicker line never seems to bode to well for me. For me my bass set up is identical to my flats set up, 15# braid and a 15 or 20# leader, an alberto 8 wraps up and 2 down yields a very solid chain. In the unlikely event you have a fish on that does strip out 70 yds of line, as important as the knots is using the drag properly. Fish pulling line out takes much of the pressure off both line and knots, it's the overly tight drag that causes problems. It's human nature to tighten the drag down with a big fish on, that "panic" is what loses fish. A fish running 70 -100 yds can be landed on almost any line, if you have enough of it.

I bought 40# vanish leader, not mainline used as leader which is different, the strength and knots seemed to be fine. I don't have much success using an improved clinch in lines of that diameter, I get a better knot using an extra wrap with an ordinary clinch. I didn't see any more strikes with a F/C leader, went back to Ande mono leaders. I Use P-line floroclear in 20# for some of my inshore fishing, it has performed just fine.

Not only can you cover areas with a boat that can't be done from shore, I think it's easier to land a fish from boat. Bass from a boat I'm pulling them out of cover and from shore I may be pulling them back into cover. Other species can be easier, if necessary they can be chased down with the boat.

All that's needed to catch any predatory fish is just a handful of different lures, jigs, spoons, hard lure, top water, worm, soft plastic and a fly........I can't think of anything else that isn't a variation. I 'll let someone else look for the magic bullet.