SirSnookalot

I start every morning fishing saltwater, before I decide what my target is and where I'm going the weather and tide is checked. Most of the time I go to the inlet which is about 20 minutes, I can fish the ICW or beach about 10 minutes away if I desire. During the fall I drive about 45 minutes probably abut 6 times. Most of my bass fishing is in the PM and I do it at home, have 6 ponds and canal. In the winter I will venture a 30 minute ride someplace once in a while for some peacocks.

Unless you are fishing in area that will rough up your line, a well tied knot will hold for a very long time. I have knots tied that have lasted weeks and use them often. I have open water bass combos that have the same knot at my swivel from last year, using the same duolock and leader. But it's always a good idea to check your lines and leaders, but no reason to retie if it isn't needed. Tie it right in the first place and don't worry too much.

With all due respect to my buddy Bassn and any other of the bass fisherman that fish in the salt on occasion, baitcasting equipment is seldom seen, just the way it is, 1000's of saltwater anglers can't be wrong. Not that a b/c can't be used, but for the most part conventional reels are used for live and cut bait. Many of the techniques are similar to bass fishing, but that's where it ends. You will not tail drag fish and land them in 30 seconds or less. The rod size is dependent on where you are fishing, you can use lighter gear off a beach but a seawall, jettie or an inlet with lots of current IMO requires more backbone, sensitivity is of no issue. I feel a lot of line capacity is a must, 20# braid should be sufficient. If there are snook a good chance tarpon are there too, let the gear do the work and learn to pull up and reel down on the slack and take your time, don't get excited. What the heck, these fish are only 20 pounds or so that can strip out a 100 yds of line, no big deal.....lol.

I was offshore myself Saturday morning and it was another terrible day. Not often do dolphin come into water less than 200', but they do on occasion. Whatever depth you are fishing, debris and weedlines hold bait that draw fish in. Depth basically is used as a measurement of distance from the the shore, fish can be anywhere in the water column, you maybe fishing in 500' of water but catching dolphin right at the surface. Fish can come up from depths very quick, sails swim 70 mph and wahoos 50, kings are fast too. I fish using no less than a 40# leader (real leader, not cut from mono), a 20# fish can easily be lifted by the leader, a net is even a better idea for a fish that is going to be released. Last year we had limited on Cobia, had one on the line that may have been 35-40#, we attempted to net it. Being a rainy day our hands were wet and the fish was so strong pulled the net out of my hands and that fish is probably cruising the Bahamas now, hopefully it threw the net, lol. Unhooking fish while they are still in the water is job for a professional, if you can't land it cut the leader and let it swim off. Gaffing is preferred but you still need to be careful with some species, Cobia have boney ridges on their backs that can cut like a razor blade, and a kingfish or barracuda will go after you're leg. The jargon here is a bit different, a green fish is not a LMB, but a fish that is still "ripe" and not ready to be landed. A brownfish is not a Smallmouth but a fish that's ready to be landed, many turn a brownish color.

I don't fish atop the bridges, but the bridges that I do fish at I can cast to the catwalks. At the end of most catwalks are lights and they attract the snook, plus there is current and snook like that too. The distance is too far at Flagler bridge to cast out to the catwalks, I fish it from the side, Flagler may be one of the lower bridges if I'm not mistaken.

What's done here for extra distance and or lure depth is either a light egg weight above a swivel or a split shot on your leader. I see this done dozens of times a day, have done it myself. I have used slightly heavier hooks, 4x as compared to 3x, if the lure is light I've seen a difference in the way the lures moved, I didn't like it. I personally would opt to add weight elsewhere, not the hooks, but experimentation is good, you may hit upon something.

I constantly exceed the recommendation on most of my rods by a little bit. Many of my rods rated 3/4 oz max I'm tossing 1 oz, have yet to ever run into a problem, but all rods are not created equal. Actually a slightly heavier lure is easy to cast, the rod loads up well, if you have fear don't do it. The only trailer I use on a jig, and I only use bucktails, is zoom worm, it's pretty lite and affects nothing. For freshwater I swim a 1/4 oz jig, sw up to 1 oz.

I don't think saltwater fc leader is the answer. We have barnacles and coral here, very sharp stuff, the only thing that will stand up is a wire leader. 40-60# leaders get cut off in an eyeblink on barnacles, quite true the conditions are different here, but the results can be the same. Getting cut off is just something you have to deal with.

Rooster is right.

My preference for using a leader over direct tie with braid isn't based only on the number of fish I catch, one reason is foul hooking the trebles, a leader unravels easier. No dispute that 00mod's outing was wonderful, but only 4 days on 1 or 2 bodies of water doesn't prove that Yozuri is better than braid or even better than another brand of mono, copoly or fc, it only shows he had good time. To fully evaluate any kind rod/reel/lines/ lures and even techniques, IMO quite a bit of time has to be invested and compared with other brands to form a personal opinion and then it's still an opinion. @dam007, another reason why 65# braid is popular is the emulation of professionals that are cranking, yanking and dragging in small fish to boat them quickly to get on to the next cast. That's fine for the person that's working to earn some $$, but for me as recreational fisherman using line that heavy is totally out of question. Open water fishing is a different story, some very good sized fish are caught using rods/reels and lines that are not overly heavy, that said those fish are not yanked in within 30 seconds, you gotta know how to land them.

The OP is question about braid harming guides, a knot to use with braid and whether a leader is needed with braid. Yozuri may or may not be a good line but a 4 day outing is not proof that it out catches braid. Were the same techniques, times of days, lures and both given 50% time? Even if that were the case, 3-6 months or more may be better to evaluate which works better, 4 days is a short period.........It was a great outing. I can't see it either, the opinion is that while using b/c gear 65# won't dig in to itself. Hollow braid, as i'm told by those that use 20# lies flat and will not dig in.

Braid does not ruin guides, at least not modern rods. A leader is a personal choice decision, I never fish without one. I call this as I see it, a simple clinch knot has always held braid when I fish for bass, but probably not the best knot. I use for my braided lines, I only use 10-15# for fresh and 15-20# for salt, is an improved clinch. Most of my targets are 7- 20# , the knot is a proven winner for me. When I'm targeting bigger fish I sometimes give a double wrap on the final knot step, holds like a vise. Whatever knot you use, tie it right, the best knot in the world is useless if you have tied it wrong.

I'll preface my remarks by saying I don't fish to catch fish, I fish to enjoy myself and remove the pressure of having to perform, that said seldom do I go skunk. I fish places that are no deeper than 7-10' and the overwhelming amount of fish I catch is on the pause. I can go out just about anytime and catch some nice fish on senko with a few different retrieves, I don't fish that way very often. Depending on the state of the vegetation, heavy I'll use a weedless fluke, light I'm going with a shallow running jerkbait, top water popper or a spinner bait, I find I don't need anything else for those conditions. If I can I'll be using a topwater almost 100% of the time, it may not catch the most fish but I enjoy it the best. I'm popping it, walking it or doing both in the same retrieve. My advice, don't making harder than it is and don't get frustrated if you hit a bad day.

If I looked at any technical reel information it would be IPT, not ratio. Speaking for myself, I have no problem in adjusting my retrieval speed as I see fit, tailoring it to my lure type. Most of the time I carry 1 rod, adjustment is second nature requiring very little thought.

Buying a rod without ever seeing it first is like getting married to a mail order bride, sometimes you're happy and sometimes you're not. I handle everything before I buy it, most of the time putting my reel on. That goes just so far, you never know until you have caught fish to really evaluate your purchase. It's been my experience with most big box stores that if you are unhappy with your rod purchase, returning it poses little problem. I would not take off the cellophane wrap until you know you want to keep it.

There is better action elsewhere.

With 30,000 members it's possible to get 30,000 different opinions. People are catching fish with braid and no leader, some use FC, others use leaders cut from mono, and some use actual leader line which is different than a mainline cut. It just boils down to what is your confidence and comfort level, there is no wrong way. One of my target species is considered to be very line shy, however these fish are constantly caught with wire leaders, dispelling the myth that one needs FC to catch them, the rare event of catching them on wire happens everyday.

I would buy new equipment for sure, but not until I've done a lot of fishing and know that I would be sticking with it.

I've done my share of tipping to people in a wide range of occupations, including furniture deliveries, but kinda always wondered why. Unlike a pizza deliverer, an individual working for furniture store is not using their own vehicle, gas, and spending money for insurance and maintenance. The employee is investing their time and energy for a wage, whether it be hourly or salaried, not saying that it's easy work, but all work has it's own difficulty. Do people tip stockroom help when they purchase groceries, tip the pharmacist for filling a script and typing out a label?............no because those people are doing their job and being paid by their employer, it's no different than someone delivering furniture. Before going in business for myself I worked for scrap metal company, handling drums weighing many 100's of pounds each often times without the aid of a forklift, most stops were at least 10,000#, driving the trucks as well, not easy work by any means. I never got a tip, nor did I expect one, I was paid a wage. Carrying a couch with 2 guys, wheeling in a dresser on a hand truck and so on IMO isn't all that hard, sure an entire house of furniture gets delivered once in a while, but mostly not. I'm sure I'll tip them again, but it really isn't my responsibility, they are not on my payroll.

@ jitterbugger, February is a much better month to be bass fishing, winter is the slow time for saltwater, especially in the ICW.

I think Sam is right on. I never in my life used for electronics for bass, just worked the drop offs, those were in the days of no motor on my rowboat. I don't bass fish at all from boat anymore, but I'm always watching the water and birds for where the fish may be.

Right about the 3 way swivel tangling. One way I do it is a 2' leader to my fluke or hard jerkbait, I'll tie off about a 12" leader right of my swivel and attach the second fluke. What I do way more of instead of fluke on the short leader is a fly, that's called a drop fly rig. This is actually one of my tarpon setups (which I think I'll try today, thanks for the reminder), I'll downsize rod/reel/lure size for bass, it's killer and loads of fun, double hooks ups do happen. I personally do this only in open water. If you think the fly may not be stable enough, try a crappie jig instead. Update..it works, caught a nice snook on the drop fly rig this morning.

Some of the South Florida guys know the current I fish in almost daily. Being tidal the current not only fluctuates from fast to exceptionally fast but the water level changes by the minute. Bucktail jigs are the choice for just about everyone, usually anywhere from a 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. I'm fishing pretty much the same way as I fished fly in streams or rivers, letting the current move the bait, in essence I feel I'm using nothing but a weighted fly. In my area this is probably the most productive method to fish with the widest range of species. I do not vary my technique all that much from species to species, to me fish are fish, just have to know the nuances of each. A good bass fisherman can catch any species, and an other species fisherman can catch any bass.

There really is no wrong answer. Where one puts their money may depend on the level of enthusiasm, budget, target species, conditions that will promote more wear and tear, and so on. It really isn't about catching fish, you're going to do that with whatever you are using. For some it's about value and for others it's about personal self esteem.

Cash tips work out real well for the employer, less of an hourly wage to pay and probably no healthcare, pension or other bennys. Waitstaff are independent contractors, employers probably pay no workman's comp, the employee may be on their own due to an injury on the job. I'm not sure if the waitstaff gets a w-2 ,1099 or files quarterly estimates, if it's the last 2 the employer again probably pays nothing in to Social Security. A portion of cash tips should be reported as income and such SS taxes are due, in the event the employer paid nothing, the waitstaff pays the entire 14%, being a self employer independent contractor. Skirting the taxes is a red flag, sometimes it waves. I'm not a CPA but I spent 40 years as either an independent contractor or business owner in cash business. To my knowledge I never met anyone including myself that was 100% above board, it's the nature or the game, I ran to the mailbox for 40 years in fear of getting a "letter". The downside is Soc Sec collection time,(if there is one for the next generations) one is going to have a greatly reduced benefit. In the end, working for tips isn't so good, unless a really fantastic income is derived or a hs or college student.