SirSnookalot

They kiss them on the lips too.

I look at the water first, then decide exposed hooks or weedless, and the depth I want to fish. I think I catch most of my fish on the pause, I select lures that I work, topwater or jerkbaits for various depths are used a lot.

I only fish techniques that are fun to me, having the most sensitive rod isn't my issue I don't fish bottom baits more than 6 or 7 times a year, using braid gives me all the feel I need. I use 3 sizes of supreme spinning on 3 sized rods, 2 of 3 are actually inshore saltwater, these set ups work perfect for me. The average cost per combo is less than about $180. My SW combos average about twice the price.

Bassn is right on. I do it different, I only fish artificial and do not fish bridges. I fish the sea wall about a 1/4 mile noth of Flagler bridge on the Palm Beach side, you can legally park on any residential street and you are very close to the water. I walk the bike path fishing both the seal wall and cast along side the many docks. Snook are not my primary target there, this area is known for really large jack crevelles and believe they show up. I'll fish snook until about 20 minutes before sunrise, I then put on my top lure (grab a heavier rod too) and wait for the jacks to show up. If they show up, which may not always happen, they crash the sea wall, it looks like a tsunami. Jacks are in out and gone..............You may have less than 20 seconds to hook one, if you happen to nail a 20 pounder or more, it's well worth the time.

As this is a fishing forum, it's normal for captains and mates of party boats to get a tip, for the most part I always give one. Party boats derive a good portion of their income from snowbirds and vacationers, most with little or no fishing experience, they need help. One boat in our area is known for the mates having a rather gruff attitude, and the captain is always fishing off the back of the boat, they sell what they catch. One outing in particular didn't go all that well, not only were the mates rude to all, the Captain kept getting his line tangled with mine. I'm known for not taking crap from anyone, I displayed my anger and told the captain, your job is to find me fish, not compete with me. As we disembarked the boat the mates are standing their hands open expecting a tip, this trip I give zero, the mates gives me a look, and I tell him...........I just gave you 2 kingfish, 20 pounds of fish is worth over $40, is that not a tip?

IMO it's more about line and rod and to a much lesser degree the reel. Surf rods are bulky and heavy, I see them used quite a bit, 100 yd+ casts are commonplace. Dealing with a more traditonal style rod, I don't see anything that casts further than an ugly stick. The lite series, which are still a bit heavier than " better" rods, I don't feel the extra little bit of weight would be of major concern given the intended application. I use a soron 20 on redbone 7' 8/17, from a 10' high jettie half my line is casted out, the spool holds 170 yds of 15# braid, the uglies cast past me. The disclaimer would be I'm may be using a diamond jig, a tradional lure or bait is never going to go that far. But this is the easy fix, put a 1/4 or 1/2 oz egg weight above your swivel, real common set up and the "chunkers" cast their bait out a ton.

Only FC line I have used is 40# FC leaders, not leaders cut from a FC spool. It is a bit harder to get a good knot, I've tied as many as 3 or 4 times before it's perfect, once it's tied right have never been broken off, my knot is an ordinary clinch knot.

I've never fished up in the Stuart area, don't know how far Sebastion is but that is heralded as some of the best fishing around. You may want to Google state and local parks, most parks open at sunrise, but some are open 24 hours.

What I going to say doesn't not apply to bass fishing or at least no bass fisherman would do this, and I wouldn't have either until I did it. I see this no less than dozens of times a day, many guys, mostly meat hunters, use crappie jigs ( the Walmart kind 10 for buck or whatever), a great fish catcher. Many are using the cheapest of equipment and a crappie jig won't load up a rod enough to cast. A 1 oz egg sinker on top of a swivel and that jig casts a country mile. So much for balance, tip heavy, but tons of fish caught. I'm using this set up today, 1 oz sinker, rattling casting bobber, and a clark spoon, on a med hvy rod, real tip heavy, catching fish is the goal, never hurts to think outside the box.

A tip is optional, that said I always give one. The problem lies with the employer not the customer, waitpeople, delivers, just to name a couple occupations, rely on tips because the employer is paying them a low wage without benefits. True, if wages went up the cost of the product would too, but if we are tipping already it may be a wash to the consumer. As long as many of these occupations are kept as part time, wages will never keep pace. Tip is an acronym for "to insure promptness", what goes if the service isn't prompt, should I tip then?

HAHA........that's SW fishing....BTW I do own a scale, it's buried under some rubble in the the trunk of my car, haven 't seen it years.

Well said..............Each different lure type, whether it's weight, or profile changes the dynamics any way

Let's drop the tuna comparison, even small black fins that seldom are over 20#, that's offshore open water fishing which for the most part requires different kind of gear and different playing and landing techniques. I agree with the "can't fail" quote and IMO this stems from watching the pros on TV cranking, yanking and dragging fish in order to boat them quickly and get on to the next cast. I can see this method for tournament fishing but for recreational fishing it's way overkill for my taste. Most bass fisherman will fish their entire life without landing a 10 pounder, and when you do the vegetation gives you more of fight than the fish itself. For me the challenge is light fish with light gear, one of the reasons I enjoy bass fishing. Getting back to drag, our inshore techniques are similar to freshwater, except it's a lot more open water. Our drags as a rule are not set very tight, the fish most of the time hook themselves with their size, power or speed, we let them run. Commonplace to chase them on foot a 100 yds or more just to land a 10 pounder, my palming and grabbing of the spool technique is exceptionally effective, all the drag you need when you want it without ever having to make an adjustment, pretty neat stuff. I use this same technique bass fishing, one of the BR members tried it for bass and was very successful. All said the drag is important, but setting by feel is all ya gotta do.

First and foremost the fish has to be legally caught, not an accidental snag and if it's an over slot fish it has to be released regardless. That said taking measurements and a photo would be cool for a replica. IMO a trophy is a fish that is no less than 75% or the regional record. Catching a 10# bass in Florida may be a once in a lifetime event, great thrill and a fish very worth of mounting or having a replica made, but I would have trouble calling it a trophy. I do a lot of snook fishing and my largest snook went 35#, seeing as the record is over 50# my catch was short of being classified a trophy. I see snook caught often around that size, I did nothing special, in no way am I diminishing the excitement I had, but just the way I view it. Mine is purely an opinion, I'm sure others will disagree.

If the lake is only 5-7 deep I wouldn't worry about fishing the bottom. The live bait of choice may depend on what you plan on catching, small gills and bass I'd be using red or leaf worms, nightcrawlers may be too big. If I were looking for larger fish with less action I'd be using minnows, more costly unless you net your own. The rig would be real basic, mainline to swivel and put your bobber on top of the swivel, it won't move down. 18-24" leader with a small hook on the end, a small split shot an inch or 2 above the hook is an option.

Jigs sometimes last for days or maybe a cast or 2, depending on where I'm fishing and what I'm catching. I don't bass fish at night, but I do start my fishing day at about 4 AM. When I'm fishing the inlet or a spillway it's pretty easy to cast over the expanse of water and get hooked on the other side, not to mention all the rocks on the bottom if you aren't careful. I can break off a 30 or 40# leader with some effort, all I've lost is $3.00 jig. I carry a small flashlight to retie, when I see these people camped out with bright lanterns I gotta leave, it's too bright for me, lol, those are bait fisherman and I don't like being around them even in the daytime. I just won't do any bass fishing at night, blacklight or not, too many gators and snakes around.

One of the best posts I have ever read.

Most of my fishing is done having only 1 rod with me, the lures I'm using vary in weight and profile design, each have a different feel when casting and differ in water resistance on retrieve. I do not pay as much attention to weight and balance as many do, true much of my fishing is in saltwater but that doesn't mean I'm casting any less. I never get tired or sore and there are 2 basic reasons why, 1. I let the rod tip load up and cast with minimal effort, not trying to break the world casting distance record and 2., doing this 7 days a week my body is in shape, not only to cast all day but to handle about any sized fish that comes along. For example my cuda outfit is a heavy spinning rod with an 18 oz spinning reel, fatigue isn't in the equation, my buddies are using the same kind of gear. One of the things I like most about bass fishing is the light gear, a 6'6 or 7' med rod with a 2000 reel or smaller is exceptionally light and comfortable, whether the rod is tip heavy, balanced or not, it's like fishing with a feather. I know many fish heavier lures, hence the need for a heavier rod, my philosophy is heavy rods for heavy fish and light rods for light fish, but that's just me.

I was offshore yesterday morning, west wind and I considered our catch as being skunked, 1 small grouper and grunt, my partner had a few file fish. I had beach day like that at Juno this past Wed. lots of action but who counts......lol. I love the mr20. Target goal.............try a Cuberra Snapper, get very large and really fight hard. Offshore and wrecks, nothing in the water beats an Amberjack, not to be confused with Lesser Amberjack or Banded Rudderfish.

There has been a change in the wind pattern, so the fishing has really slackened off. What annoys me is planning, which I do based on the weather forecast, the last few days this week the marine forecast has indicated an east or northeast inshore wind, well it's been west. Often on a west wind I'm a barracuda fisherman, so much freshwater and filth spewing out from the spillways have chased the cuda away. So far the mullet run has been a bit of a disappointment, hopefully that's going to change.

Well it's still summer in Delray Beach, quite humid and what bass aren't lethargic are running tiny. As far as I'm concerned Fall doesn't start until the end of October. I like to target the species that are " running", won't be focusing on bass until I think it's time, which for me isn't now.

A bucktail jig is about as traditional as it gets. I catch the majority of my fish on them, 1 reason I use them so often is, because they always work. I catch everything from bluegills to tarpon on bucktails, they can be fished in variety of ways. Not unusual to catch snook on a 1/4 oz bucktail, and use the same combo and jig to catch bass on my way home. I put trailers on them just like using a bass type jig, I have never bought a bass jig.

Probably won't hurt a thing, but I would opt in using one of my other combos. It's only a day or 2 of fishing, why take a chance. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

I would drop down for sure, either 15 or 20#, depending on how much vegetation and current you have to deal with. Most name brand names lines break at a number well above what's on the label. From the reviews I have read, 20# PP breaks at about 36#, Suffix 832 about 41 and Spiderwire ultra cast is about the highest at 51#, I think you would be safe with any of them. I use 15 and 20# PP braid in very fast current, fish weigh much more than 3# line breakage is no concern.

I agree with the above comments about using 65# braid. I use nothing but 10-15 and 20# braid on spinning gear for my everyday bass and inshore saltwater fishing, some exceptions for offshore in the ocean. I may get the inconvenience of wind knot once in awhile, but have no major issues with braid, I love it. I may have to agree, the purist may feel braid with it's exceptional strength gives an advantage to the angler, but so do modern reels, rods, electronics and the list goes on..............as I say just have fun.