SirSnookalot

I have small but bright flashlight around my neck (you can see it in my avatar), it comes off when it gets light out. I wear a fanny pack that is very light and holds quite a bit of stuff, lures are kept in plastic lure boxes. Attached to the belt of the fanny pack is a sheath, pliers tethered. Just in case I have 5 or 6 pairs of pliers in my car and I use different pliers for different targets. I cut my mono with my pliers, braid I use lighter, I always have a backup in my fanny pack. 2 most important things I carry is fire, just never know when you need it packed waterproofed, and emergency phone numbers in case of a medical situation in my wallet, packed waterproof and in a zippered pocket. I don't have the need for any thing else.

Nice fish Diggy !! I'm headed to Ft Laud airport Tuesday, may head out west afterwords for some peacocks, last trip out there I saw tarpon rolling, my interests is piqued. I can't quite place the canal but it looks familiar.

Not fishing for bass, in 1975 made my first strip to Key West, back then I didn't realize I should be using saltwater tackle, caught this cobia using a fresh water spinning outfit. Chefs from the local restaurants show up to buy the "catch of day" off the boats, this fish was sold by the pound.

It isn't age, it's whether I like it or not, I prefer to give something away rather than throw it out. Only 2 items I don't care for, a B/Pro tourney 2 piece spinning 7' med rod, it's in near perfect condition. A Shimano tallus blue water rod 7' 25 lb rod used once, with a 7000 reel in real good shape (don't need the reel, have 3 others the same size). Both rods have been dust collectors for several years, just waiting to find an appreciative home for them.

I would think most do their own homework, after all we're already on a computer, but we always don't find what we are looking for. That's one reason so many of us are on forums, to gain knowledge from other's experiences, nothing in print replaces real life. I've caught fish on red and just about every other color through out 12 months of the year.

A beautiful fish, congratulations, job well done. I can attest to pulling in fish swift current, our inlet is very fast, like holding the end of a hose with your thumb, coast guard estimates speeds of 12 knots.

If RW says he caught it, that's all there is to it, IMO his integrity is beyond reproach.

If it takes 10 minutes to walk it, take your time and fish it in 20 minutes and concentrate on areas that look a bit more promising. Your bait of choice should be determined on whether it's open water or heavily vegetation. If conditions allowed I would using nothing but a topwater lure, but that's just the way I like to fish.

Many times! Where I fish Penn is the predominate brand, but that is a saltwater reel not freshwater, not that makes much difference. The battle is slightly more than $100 but I'm sure it can be bought a little cheaper. Not personally owning one I wouldn't give a review except to look at the stats of the reel, for a smaller reel for freshwater use l I would prefer something a bit lighter in weight, Penn's are not known for strong drags, but they are smooth, efficient and more than adequate if one is using their drag properly. I can honestly say I don't have a favorite reel or consider one as being the best, If I don't like a reel I get rid of it or it sits unused. As far as I'm concerned if my reels require a minimum of service and work as expected I got a winner, regardless of the price paid.

We call big flounder down here doormats as well, I took a photo for a friend of a 30" one, must have deleted it from the computer, can't find it.

Know what you mean, sometimes ya just can't hold them at arms's length. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/gallery/image/1439-sail/

bic lighter

I think you mean red bait that prey fish eat, a red snapper is red and do eat other fish. Paul makes a good about point about bait being identical as not to stand out, this is the very reason when we use live bait during bait runs we clip a fin so the bait stands out as it's swimming differently.

8' mh 10/20 full cork rear grip, just got it and it's dynamite...........beauty is I got it for nothing. https://www.okumafishing.com/product/view/rods/inshore/cedros-coastal

My tip.........don't digest too much information, it can be overwhelming. Stick with 1 or 2 techniques, a few different kinds of baits and learn how to locate fish. For a beginner a plastic worm is pretty easy to fish, produces as good as anything and will teach you how to set the hook and keep your interest high because you have good chance of catching fish.

I've had guide problems with only 1 brand of rod, the rod comes with Fuji hardaloys and they rust out, have replaced guides about 20 times on various rods, they get a total rinse down after each outing. As I like the rods I treat it as a mere inconvenience, the replacement guides are generic and they never rust, go figure. Weight differences in guides are probably measured in grains, I've not noticed a difference when in my hands.

I have had only Verizon and no complaints about anything. I've bought new phones from Wirefly.com, each and every time it has worked out just fine, quite often the deals are better than directly dealing with the carrier or Best Buy, ya gotta shop around. I don't think it will make much of a difference with a flip phone, they're cheap or free almost everywhere. I have kept all my old flips and smartphones.

No testing, but I believe what I own works as it should, at the slightest "sniffle" they get professionally fixed or replaced. Recently I had my Penn conquer 7000 and my Avet mxj serviced and my Soron 60 replaced with a new one. I was only curious why my b/c has a lower poundage rating than my spinners, yet it can handle a larger fish. A more extreme comparison would be landing an amberjack with my b/c 14# max drag( which I've done) yet trying to land that same fish with one of my soron 20 or a supreme 35 with 16# of drag would be near impossible, plus you know as well as I do locking that drag down all the way is instant disaster. I'm actually thinking buying a Fin Nor marquesa to add to my offshore arsenal.

My favorite is the one I caught my last fish on, today it was a windcheater.

I don't practice. The similarity between golf and fishing is being in shape, you won't be much of a golfer over 18 holes if your golfing muscles aren't in condition, weak legs and core muscles. I fish 7 days a week, most my fishing is not using feather lite gear, I can fish for hours and not get tired or sore, I could not do this if I were out of shape. With the exception of fishing offshore once a week (standing the entire time on a center console boat), I'm walking beaches, sea walls, fresh water canals.

Swimbaits cover wide range of sizes, I've caught many a nice fish on lighter soft plastic ones. I personally have no interest in using a heavy one that would require me to use a larger rod for bass. My largest bass probably have been caught either on a top water popper or a jig and trailer.

Not being a techno kind of guy I don't understand this. Why is my Avet mxj with a max drag of 14#, that never has needed full drag to handle fish while my spinning reels (Penn, Shimano, Abu) with 28-32# max drags have been cranked down much more and still don't slow some of the same species I catch with the Avet. To clarify, I have a little bit of an easier time handling the same fish on my conventional outfit, I do prefer the spinning.

It is preference. I fish braid with a leader and spinning gear 100% of the time in freshwater, I've given up on F/C leaders several years ago. A few instances where I fish mono or copoly, my lines are always trolled out, as these lines are only used by me in saltwater no reason to expand on the reasons.

Happy to hear

http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/fish/freshwater/ http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/fish/saltwater/