SirSnookalot

I never use a hook keeper and don't miss them on the rods that don't have them. Never damaged or nicked guide ever, but like Capt Bob I sometimes use the cross member of the guide. For transportation in my car I do not have have a lure tied on, only a fresh leader, on the way home everything is cut off.

Moved to Florida full time 10 years ago, at that time I played golf every day and did some bass fishing in the afternoons. After being here about a year I went to a jettie on the ocean one day and saw these guys catching these little jacks. Next day I go out there and catch a few, never thought a 1-2 lb fish could bend a rod in half, I was hooked, never played golf again. I am totally obsessed with saltwater fishing and fish the ocean about 340 days a year, can't think of too many Florida species I haven't caught.

Those Walmart plans aren't bad. I have Verizon with 2 smart phones, unlimited text and phone and 1 gb of data which is sufficient for us, my bill is $130 plus taxes. For years the cell phone industry has operated on the Gillette business model, free or cheap razor as long as you keep buying our blades. For years my upgraded phones were quite cheap as long as I extended my contract for 2 years, but that's changing. Not only are upgraded phones a bit more expensive now but the major carriers are charging an additional $30 upgrade fee which they never did before. Technology is great, but don't think for a second it's created for us, it's developed so the phone makers and carriers can make more money, we are brainwashed into believing we need the latest and greatest, and what you had a year ago doesn't cut the mustard anymore, gotta admit I do like it. Nothing ever worked better than my Bell phone hanging on the wall in the 50-60's, they never broke and if the rare problem happened they were out with a service call at warp speed and replaced it for free.

I would agree, at his age his earnings most likely would not cover the expense of a new car payment. Once a person enters the full time workforce buying a new car is a different story.

Bacon, grease, fat, nitrates and clogged arteries, tastes pretty good but I prefer pea meal bacon. Cheese, more flavor choices, but it can be binding. I'll go with cheese.

In 30 years of the fish business my dad sold thousands of pounds of Canadian Lake Erie walleye commercially caught, sold tons of Lake Superior white fish too. People just love those fish, we sold retail and wholesale to restaurants, without a doubt the 2 most popular fish we sold. If the batter had no taste, I'd put the onus on the restaurant itself, I wouldn't condemn the fish, millions of people can't be wrong or maybe you just didn't care for it. Worst tasting fish I ever had (I can still taste in from 40 years ago, lol) is Finnan Haddie which is popular in Europe.

That's true, bear in mind an offshore rod is not designed for casting, not that people don't do it. Some offshore rods may have a line weight but do not state a min-max lure weight. Inshore rods will all the information printed on the rod, I don't think there is too much difference between them and a heavy bass rod. My heavy inshore spinning rod is 12/25 lb, 1/2- 21/2 oz lure weight.

The size of the reel is important if you plan on using mono or copoly, I would not go heavier than 8# on a 2000 reel, smaller reels I would use 4 or 6#. I will always pick braid, 10 or 15# is good but 20# isn't that much thicker and line capacity for bass fishing is not a major concern. As said a 6'6 med rod is not the best choice for frogs, but if this pretty much an all purpose set up and that's what you got don't hesitate to use them.

As with most things I prefer not to review any item with limited use. I've put this line thru it's paces 12# and 20# on spinning gear and as much as liked it at first that sentiment has waned a bit. Any line will twist with spinning gear, once this line starts to twist the coating breaks off. Not debating whether it loses strength but just the look of it made me quite uncomfortable. As Capt Bob says the line is very smooth and quiet too, I don't think that is enough of a game changer for me, I never minded lines like PP which probably will remain my go to line.

The issue is bucket fisherman, bass and how it affects people that like to sport fish. Any legally caught bass the owner of that fish has the right to do as they wish with it. When fish are caught undersized, over bag limits or netting, the state game authority has to be more involved. With budget cuts in most areas, we are going in the wrong direction, we need more not less wardens on patrol. As citizens all we can do is alert authorities, to be personally involved may be an unwise act. I'm not about to jeopardize my safety for a fish, I get hurt or worse that affects my family.

Online diagnosis are guesses, like looking at a broken clock, right only twice a day. Fixing this car may be throwing good money away, something will always come up that requires money and time for a car with dwindling reliability. Just the thought of losing work time, or even a job due to not be 100% mobile would be enough incentive for me to move on. If I were looking at dollars and SENSE, I'd drop a few more bucks a week in the tank rather than making a major cash outlay.

I don't use anything on braid, don't use anything but hot water on mono, don't see the need for those products, tried them and never saw much of a benefit.

Makes sense to check out the true accurate mileage first, on board computers and gas gauges are not always on the mark. If you car is running fine, the mileage should not be suffering, if the car is laboring you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Unless you have tools and a good amount expertise fixing your own vehicle is totally out of the question, a driveway mechanic has no recourse at all. Something as simple as buying a defective part from an auto store means you have to do the work all over again, the part is exchangeable but your labor isn't. Have a professional diagnose then repair, put in on a credit card and if the work isn't 100% hold back payment, that's putting you in control. That said, what's the car worth and does it pay to fix something that may be on it's last leg, my guess is time to move on, nothing lasts forever.

I just decide what I want to use that day, I base it on what the water is like and the level fun I want to have. I do not fish worms or jigs too often, I don't enjoy it. I can fish for several hours with a topwater lure and enjoy it much more even though I'm catching less fish.

Time and and a place for everything and the species dictates the course of action for me. Under no circumstances will I fish any kind of live or cut bait for freshwater or inshore fishing, it just does not appeal to me. I don't care to take the time to use a sabiki or throw a cast net. On the very rare times when I have used bait, the success rate is night and day. When I'm fishing offshore I will always try and catch some live bait, or use bonita strips (I gotta catch the bonita first), I won't buy bait except squid or frozen sardines, live goggle eyes are 10 bucks apiece.

I did not want to overload you with too much information on lure types, imo the lure itself is a secondary concern, the main concern being in the right place at the right time.

Very few people teach themselves how to fish, many of us old timers learned from our dad's and grandfathers. We had no internet, Walmarts and BPS and much of our tackle was purchased at the little tackle shop at the boat ramp or livery, as well as getting some local knowledge. The wealth of information in just couple of hours of on line surfing is incredible. That said, all the research in the world doesn't beat time on the water.

Yep, one of my favorite all round lures for anything that swims is the Catch 2000, at time I use the Lumo series for bass but prefer the Catch 2000. IMO the hooks are excellent, very strong, I put a treble from a poppa dog (my favorite top water lure) thru my calf and I could not cut the hook or squash the barb down until I got help.

I only use frogs for snakeheads. The water is vegetated with slop on top, I'm using a spheros 4000 that had 20# braid on a med 7' spinning rod that I wasn't using.

Quite often fish are more aggressive before a tide change, low or high, and times closest to the sunrise and sunset have been best for me.

I seldom see anyone bass fishing so that isn't a situation I see much of. I see this all the time at the jetties on the ocean, for the most part I stay away from bait fisherman, they are in my way so I just relocate, a confrontation isn't worth it. I'm not a FWC warden or a cop, I may call them but I won't get personally involved. If someone is legally catching fish it's their business what they do with them, I have no more rights than they do.

I use the Mirrorlure catch jr for bass once in a while, work as well as anything else.

Can I use this one? hehe. http://www.captharry.com/product/Teasers-Dredges-Spreaders-Dredges-Spreaders/Strike-Point-Strip-Sardine-Dredge-Kits/Teasers,/1951.html

No question that tide is very important but fishing just before or after a tide change doesn't tell the entire story, to more finely tweek it, it's tide change relative to sunrise or sunset. The tide change is at a different time every day, progressively the later the tide change the more the bite slacks off, reason being there is usually less bait swimming around. I've spent a lot of time fishing stripers off NJ and Long Island, and now it's snook for me which are very similar to stripers. For the average striper a mh bass outfit should be fine. Over the last 30 years I have caught more fish on bucktail jigs than all other lures combined, don't leave home without some.

There are reels specifically designed for salt water and many or them mirror prices of freshwater reels, they work equally as well in both environments. One caveat does exist, some of the pure saltwater reels can be a bit heavier than their freshwater counterpart, but not always.