SirSnookalot

I've used a number of different brands of braid on my 20 some odd outfits, I don't notice any noise issue with any of them. As long as the strength and knot holding is good, I don't care which one I'm using, I prefer the ones on sale.

Where on the ICW? When you say drum, I say black or red, a red drum is also called a redfish. I don't fish for sheepshead, they use shrimp, crabs, barnacles, insides of clams. They say sheepshead are great table fare I know lots of people that fish for them. You may want to try one of the piers or jettiies, the action may be better, especially if you use bait.

I usually buy Power Pro and I like it just fine, I don't use backing and buy 300 yd spools. Next time I buy it's going to be 1500 yd spools, cheaper in the long run with less waste and I will always have it on hand.

Not to dampen your hopes, winter time gets tough for snook and jacks, takes time and patience. Fishing off a sea wall or docks I might suggest using either a bucktail jig or a fluke on a leadhead jig and work as you might for a bass, If the snook are "on" they will even hit a senko or brush hog. Snook like to ambush, they hang in shadows, outgoing tide is best by far. Jacks on the other hand do not bite at night, it's rare when they do. Jacks do not ambush, they just swim looking for bait pods, then they start a feeding frenzy, pretty common for them to come in feed for 30 seconds or less and move on, be ready to cast when you see them. I would suggest if fishing off a sea wall that you get yourself a long handled net, pier net if off a bridge, pier or jettie, there gets to be a limit to " flipping them up".

I've caught aj's over 50# on spinning 6000 reel, 25lb hvy class boat rod with 25# braid and 40# leader, they are common in our waters. In fact I've caught 150# shark on the same outfit, 2 back to back, 3 hours or so of fighting non stop, not bad for a 67 year old guy weighing a mere 135#, that was in my youth, I was 64 then. Young guy like you should be able to handle those fish all day long, lol. The equipment you used was adequate for your aj, but may have not been heavy enough for a larger fish. In the ocean you never know what's swimming by, whether offshore or from the beach or a jettie. The outfit I was using has landed many a great fish, like that permit in my avatar, I chased it on foot about 300 yds to avoid being spooled. That same 4000 stradic on a mh rod 20# braid was used today, pretty standard fare for beach fishing, most out there had comparable gear in fact bassn was using 10# braid with a stradic 2500 on his new star 7'6 mh rod. Many guys hook a big carp or catfish when bass fishing, think they land them all? One of the differences between boat and shore is that in a boat you can chase the fish down, a very light outfit has not enough drag to slow the fish down and not enough line on the spool, a 40 or 50# tarpon can bust thru 15 or 20# of drag like it's nothing, that tight and your line is going to snap. I'd suggest doing what you do best and stay in your element, the fish out here can be pretty tough.

@ Bassn.............went to the spot this morning, a wonderful groundswell coming in, I just knew there was going to be a lot of fish. Daylight comes and bait is everywhere, catch a little one. About 30 yds out I see a long ripple of fish, looked like a dragon going thru China town, heave out and fish on. Within seconds about 170 yds of braid get stripped off my reel, got spooled and lost a plug I bought this morning, couldn't have stopped that fish with a Mack truck. I walk back to my car about 3/4 of mile get another rod, first cast catch the one below, nice fight and fish and bait are gone. I head back down to the rock, lady fish and spanish mackerel come in, I get off from a mack. Time to come home, lol, 3 miles of walking, spooled and 2 brand new lost lures............haha.

Don't weigh, measure or photograph them unless it's something really special or you're in a tournament, get them back in the water. Special is something different to everyone, whether it be size or a memorable event, I don't really care about the weight, an estimate is fine.

Hook should be dead center.

Not that I ever measured my casting distance, but pretty positive I don't cast 75 yds while bass fishing.

As long as the combo with braid is casting far enough I'd forget about it. The longer cast sometimes can be a disservice, gives the fish more time to get unbuttoned.

Braid will not slip it tied or taped properly, backing is not needed unless you choose to use it. Backing for freshwater is a good idea from an economical standpoint, I'd use 8# mono with 30# braid and no more than 20 or 25 yds longer than your furthest cast. As stated above 8# may not be strong enough for larger fish if you reach the backing, for me I never use backing, I always go straight braid, even 15# braid won't break until well over 20 lb of pressure, you can land a hell of a fish on that.

I already have way way more than I need, I could easily get by with half the gear. Money has never burned a hole in my pocket, I have always been a saver and investor. To me buying a $250 rod for a $100 is not saving $150, it's spending a $100 if I don't need it, plus I'd need a new reel and line. If what I'm already using is in good shape, catching fish and enjoying it, no real point to buy anything just to match what I'm already doing.

WTG Doug !!! It was an outstanding display of the proper way to play and land a fish. Doug is selling himself short, it was 10 lb braid and the fish being nothing but pure muscle was more like 8#. He didn't have leader, a no no out here, I was remiss in not noticing. As I recall within a few casts there was a braid issue and his skitter walk went flying into the brine, as he was tying on leader and lure the jacks appeared out of nowhere, 1 cast in the nick of time is all it took. Doug was the star of the day, I had nothing. We will do this again....................

For me it's overkill, big rods, hvy line, winching fish isn't sporting enough for me, not even in the realm of consideration, 15# braid max.

Everyone?............Come with me one day, lol.

Not exactly but pretty close, in fact I just got in from using it and caught about 10 bass. I've got a light Redbone 6'6", 4-10 line wt. with a supreme 25 on it. I fish this combo maybe 90% of the time with a top popper ..............it's a killer and lot fun. Personally I would not use it with anything but exposed hooks, have to set the hook harder than I care to with a t-rig. Braid and a light flick wrist, seldom do I not hook them real well.

Sounds like there are a lot of techniques, but not really. Lures are cast and retrieve, with varying the retrieval speed or pauses and twitches. Dragging bottom bottom baits. Jigging, which can be used thru the entire water column. Drop shot which isn't too different than bottom baits. 3 techniques I can use a bunch of different ways. Keep the thinking simple, the object is to outsmart the fish, not outsmart yourself.

I match my rod to my lure weight and if it's fresh water the vegetation is a consideration too. One mfgs hvy rod may not be another's, I don't use a heavy rod for anything( hvy rod is a bait rod for me), mh 10/20 lure weight max of 1 oz is as heavy as I go, freshwater is lighter than that. When it's time for hook replacement I use mostly 3x and 4 x, setting the hook is of no concern, whether it's a top water, jerkbait or spoon. With a moving bait, especially if it's a larger fish, you should be getting hit hard enough the fish sets the hook themselves, I don't see enough difference to be using a xf over a fast tip. In the case of a smaller fish where I might have to set the hook, I don't want to catch them little guys anyway.......braided line is the equalizer, I use it exclusively for repetitive cast and retrieve.

@ Ryne, your Abu is a saltwater reel.

I use their top water popper quite a bit, it's one of my favorites, poor hooks.

A top popper like a rebel, but not married to any specific brand. I'm confident I catch less fish, but it's the most fun for me.

I'm more than content with my Redbones, only the fish I catch matter.

The measure of a good reel is not how smooth it is out of the box, but what's it going to be like 6 months or a year later after a lot of fish are caught, my reels handle some rough elements. I have liked every Shimano reel (spinning) I've had, even though some have needed repairs and other reels have never been serviced, that does not detour me from buying another. 1 one of my stradics is 4 or 5 years old, it has been serviced for a line roller bearing, the rubber handle is starting to wear off and it's making a little bit of noise. I won't put another nickle into it, 5 years on a reel is long enough, I'll be replacing it with a new stradic fj 4000. I don't think Shimano reels are the most durable, but the performance makes up for it. BTW I have never had a wind knot on my stradics or my spheros', big plus for me, I think they have the best spool lip design in the business.

I have has some real solid action over the last 4 days, a good guess might be around 500# of fish, excluding any bass I've caught in the afternoon. Most of the fish have been around 4-5#, quite a few in the 15# area, these are jacks with a few snook thrown in. Every fish has been caught on a Poppa dog, yesterday I filed it in the trash, it don't pop anymore........lol. Baitfish (greenies) all over the place, at least where I've been not all places are seeing the same kind of action, but I do hear of some mullet pods appearing, early this year. If anyone is looking for some hard hitting action, hit the beach, it's that time of year.

If I understand correctly, sounds like the leader is breaking above the knot that attached the lure. Maybe the leader was stretched ( burn) and it was weakened, quite honestly I've only read about and never experienced it. Ever put 2 socks in the dryer and get only 1 back, one of the mysteries of life with no answer. I believe there is a message from God, trash the rod, reel, and line and start from scratch or do some Zen meditation.