SirSnookalot

I prefer to be at my pc, but there are many options. There are quite a few free sites to upload like photobucket, just copy the url and it's sized correctly. On google it's an easy upload to picasa, which works as well as using a ftp client and server, save the image and use paint, software program or online service to resize it. Email worked fine when I had flip phone, that being my only option at the time, but it was a bit awkward. If you choose to attach a photo rather than pasting a link from another site, set your camera to 3 mp and no sizing is required, I just did it as an experiment. For computer use 3 mp should be more than adequate for a clear picture.

Whether one agrees with a law or not, the issue is what to do to adhere to a law, not the political agenda of one party vs another. Question is to me, do loons favor the taste of lead or is the size they like? Not being an ornithologist I don't have an educated opinion but common sense leads me to believe it just might be the size and or shape. The next question would be, are there harmful effects to these birds using other materials, again I do not have an unequivocal answer. If a bird or any animal can't pass something thru their system, wheter toxic of not there, I would think there is potential for harm. What good does it do to purchase an item that isn't legal in one's home state, it can't be used. Is selective law biding the way to go?

There is not a cut and dried answer. Leader and braid combinations for me vary with species, open water or with heavy vegetation. Alberto knot can be used with leader and lines of different diameters, a swivel for connection would also make no difference in the diameters as well. Maybe it's true about line digging, but there have been numerous posts where lighter braids are used on b/c gear without the digging in issue, being a spinning user digging in is a non event. If line abrasion is a major concern perhaps braid may not be the best choice, I don't give abrasion much of a thought and use braid almost exclusively. For the most part I'm matching strength more than diameter, if it's bass fishing 10# braid and 15# leader is a close match, 20# braid (most brands break at between 30 -40#) 40# leader is good close match for saltwater.

Only thing I can say is mine has been performing flawless for over a year used about 20 times a month with many fish caught.

Tape the spool and they are all braid ready.

Rod manufacturers know what breaks rods, they have been doing this a long time. Whether it's a rod, an auto part and any about item, companies producing parts figure product defects into the overall wholesale pricing. Those defective parts during production is what kept my scrap bins full. My partner and I for a short period of time owned a stamping plant, one might think parts being stamped with the same dies and same pressure would be perfect everytime, not so. A rod is probably no different than any other manufactured item, not every one will be perfect.

Very common mistake. One of my new neighbors caught one and was excited, I saw the pic, I just hated to rain on his parade. Those mayans are a lot fun to catch on ul with a crappie jig or inline spinner, but not on the same level as a peacock.

Johnson original silver minnow spoons, they come in gold too.

One advantage to a jon boat or kayak is access to canals, they can be slid down the bank pretty easy, no need for a ramp. We had peas all over the place in Palm Beach County until the freeze, not as many around but some are being caught. I know places in Boca that should hold them, I have caught peas in Delray this year.

I use a saltwater inshore rod for my bass fishing. I find the only difference between a saltwater and freshwater rods are the guides. I would not use a bass rod exclusively for saltwater fishing. Some forget all about rinsing the rods when they rinse down their reels after fishing saltwater.

A Mayan for sure. Eye tail spots are not uncommon in the fish world, redfish fave then too.

My offer still stands, you don't like the reel and I'll buy it off you. Fishing was poor yesterday, hit the beach at sunrise and not a snook around even with a perfect swash. The inlet water on the incoming tide was jet black instead of being clear as it normally is, I did a cuda strike but no hook up, a few snook caught on live bait. Did some pond fishing for about an hour, a couple of light taps and that was it.

There are situations when the drag to line setting may not work. We have species down here than can strip out line greater than the amount of drag that can be applied on the reel, especially fish caught in some heavier current, and they aren't always big fish. Being in an area where it isn't possible to run the fish down by boat or chase after it on foot, without increasing the drag the chances of landing them become greatly reduced.

Don't use sunscreen, I wear clothing.

IMO knots should be perfected before fishing. I don't log anything but if I did it would be a simple spreadsheet on my home PC. We are always going to catch small fish, I don't think to worthwhile to take the time away from fishing to use a fishing app on a smartphone for them. For the really nice fish, having preset your phone to record your location (gps) is done just by snapping the photo. If you can't remember lures, fow, etc. jot some info on a piece of paper. I believe the more my lure is in the water the better chance I have of catching fish, time using an app reduces the time my lure is in the water.

It's more in the way of how the knot is tied rather than one knot over another, tie the one that's easiest. The majority of my fishing is done in saltwater using swivels, pretty much the same line diameters as in freshwater fishing. I use an improved clinch knot, it works quite well, the only exception is when I'm targeting larger fish I make an extra wrap on the final step of the knot. If I have a monster on that I know I can't bring in on the tackle I'm using I grab the spool and break off at the swivel, better to lose just a lure than all your line.

Conventional wisdom is setting the drag to the line, I would think if targeting bluegills one would be using light line and a ul or light set up. Even if the line was as heavy as 6lb that still is only 2# of drag at the most, which is a light drag. My assumption would be that most set the drag light for bluegill.

To me being foolish is spending way more than have I have to for 5 and 6 lb LMB and peacocks too, have caught larger fish as well. If I can buy a reel that performs smoothly with a good drag at a modest price and has lasted for 3 years without even oiling it, to me that's a winner. I have other more expensive reels that I use for freshwater, they do not perform any better or catch more fish. At one time I said to myself I'd never spend more than $100 on FW reel, I'm starting to revise that number downward.

Bass fishing hasn't been very good around here either, I'm just going once in while to get out for an hour. The fish have been small, with the only 1 thin 18" bass that was 2 lbs or so. Saltwater has been the poorest I have ever seen it too, it's a matter of location and tide. The baitfish have not shown up as it normally does, the old saying holds true.......no bait, no fish. I did have a 3 day stretch without a strike because I was trying some different spots and with the incoming tide been tossing pretty much for barracuda, had my smallest of the year only 35". On the bright side I caught my first snook of the year off the beach yesterday morning, catching them (tarpon too) on the outgoing at the inlets has been good but 20# and less, the big girls arrive in late August. Fishing the tide, production is directly related to the change of tide in relationship to sunrise or sunset.

Only one rule I follow and that is just go fishing. I have caught some of my best fish when every single factor was supposed to reduce my chances.

No I haven't. Every time I touch that ci4 it's instant turn off, I dislike a round knob and the reel was not as smooth as a Shakespere agilty that I've been using for a few years landing some really nice Florida bass. For $30 I can buy another if it ever fails. Are my stradic 4000 fi smooth, yes they are and it's a pretty good reel, best line management I've experienced, I like them a lot. When it came to buying another reel I chose a Quantum cabo 40, much heavier in weight and not as smooth as the stradics, but in pure cranking power and drag to me it was the superior reel for my use. Granted the reel is only a couple of months old so the issue of durability has not been answered, but the reel seems to be built like a tank. Quantum's warranty is 48 hour turnaround time for freshwater reels and 24 hour for saltwater, that's pretty attractive too. I'm very happy with my selection. I just tested both reel spent 2 days with both reels on the same St.Croix Avid rod and same line. Both cast very nicely but it the Stradic Ci4 seem much rougher retrieving the line back in. You hear the gears and the handle seems to have have "grinding" feel to it. The EXO Pti was much better retrieving the line. Has anyone actually tried both reels?

I gave up on b/c long before I was a daily saltwater fisherman, fishing saltwater has only amplified my position on choice of gear. For what I do and the waters I prefer to fish, bass too, there is a spinning rod and reel made to use from bluegill to tuna. For my purposes a b/c is used only for using live or cut bait and not a low profile model. I don't advocate just using spinning gear for bass fishing, if I exclusively fished bass in areas that required a mh or hvy rod, heavy lines, I'd be using b/c gear too. I avoid those areas as that kind of fishing doesn't appeal to me, I go out of my way to fish more open water regardless of my target species. It isn't always possible to fish bass ( snakeheads ) in water void of heavier slop or vegetation, for those conditions I do seem to manage with spinning gear, but b/c may be more appropriate. IMO it's not the weight of the lure that dictates the type of gear, it's what you are pulling the fish out of.

Seldom have I seen a mate on a charter not tighten a knot using this method, either pliers or a fixed object to put the hook around.

Seems to be true, Van Staal did face bankruptcy.

I did see a video with Blair Wiggins explaining that rods do get damaged in shipping and handling in the store. He demonstrated shaking the rod and stated if there was damage it just may show up at that time.