SirSnookalot

Have you bought the reel yet? The fierce is ok, but a 5000 series reel is a bit heavy for repetitive cast and retrieve, but would be fine for bait fishing. There are a number of choices less than your budget that would work well, but I would suggest a rod that can handle 1.5 - 2 oz lure weight, in a med hvy. Look at a Star stellar lite, $99, or a shimano teramer, about 120, for starters.

Good point ! An indication whether the knot failed or the line broke.

The pros....catch a lot of fish, hardly get skunked, works well over weeds and in the shallows. The cons... too many small fish and bluegills, puts line twist on braid, boring. I'd be opting for a spinnerbait or topwater, much better chance of a quality fish. IMO inline spinners target small fish, the bigger fish does come by once in a while. I'd rather catch one really nice fish, than 25 guppies.

I'd forget about heavy rod/reel/ line unless the type of lure you are throwing or the vegetation is thick that would warrant that extra beef. An 8 or 10 lb fish can be handle pretty easy on a medium set up. With low water I'd be using a top water popper if the water conditions allowed.

If I waited for the perfect time to go fishing I'd never get out of the house. I do fish 7 days a week, every single morning and just take it as it comes, my better success would be new vs full.

I highly doubt it was overloading the rod, a cracked guide insert will cut or weaken any line. First thing to do is try and determine where the failure is, was it the knot or the line breaking? Just about any correctly tied knot won't fail on a cast, the cheapest line in the world won't break either if it's in good shape to start with. My hunch is just a bad spool of line, not the brand itself. I would respool then test it out tossing a sinker, if the line breaks you haven't lost much.

I have to agree with this. There are many reasons for wind knots with braid, I have reels that never get them and reels that get them all the time, you are doing nothing wrong. As much as I like my Pfluegers and Abus it happens with them, but never ever with my Shimanos or Daiwas. If buying a new reel is out of the question I would try more of a long flowing cast as opposed to a snap cast. When you snap cast the line is coming off the spool at a faster rate and hitting the first guide, that's where the windknot may be happening, I would use a little less line on the spool too. This has worked to some degree for me. When working a jerk bait or topwater especially, loops can form on the retrieve, keep an eye on that and try to keep a tight line. This is a video featuring the K guides ( on a terez rod, I think other mfgs are using them now), will give somewhat of an explanation, it's saltwater but windknots happen both fresh and salt, around the 2 minute mark. http://www.spanishflytv.com/theater/shimano-terez-boat-rod-series/

I do think a shorter rod with a shortish rear butt is easier to work any topwater bait. Like anything else it's getting used to your equipment, I enjoy using my 7'6 and 8' rods with topwater.

It isn't a gimmick and it does work, but so does warm water out of the tap. I bought a bottle a couple of years, was not dis satisfied, but not overly impressed either, not enough to purchase it again.

There are reasons other than heavy cover to fish braid, most of my fishing is open water. For me it's better line management, more line capacity, thinner diameter with more strength, and no stretch. I only advocate myself to use it, if one prefers something else, use it.

The previous explanation of this knot being similar to Chinese finger cuffs is right on, the more you pull it, the tighter it gets.

I believe most people set their drag to the mono equivalent of the braid diameter, I set mine by feel the drag is about the same braid or mono. 10# of drag as stated above is a lot of drag, for 40# braid I would be setting somewhere around 3 or 4#, same as 10 lb mono. @ Chris, your explanation and the fact you'e from Conn. makes me think your set up may be used for stripers, my tarpon set ups are quite similar, never backing only straight braid to the leader. I may suggest not to use snap from snap swivels but to use a crosslock or duolock instead. My own preference is using a loopknot rather than any kind of a snap, but that is personal.

I had the same exact failure once with it, I did not tie a new leader on as I normal do for each outing, I did scratch my head and wonder at the time. I just chalked it up to user error and never thought about till now. I have caught some mighty powerful fish with that knot, with no failure, like a 40# amberjack with 20# braid and 30# mono leader.

" Be the ball".........Chevy Chase in Caddyshack. Pure nonsense! Learning the characteristics of your quarry, understanding the water, baitfish, birds, weather and experience will catch fish of any species. A Buddhist monk may help with ones inner spirituality, but it won't catch you any more fish.

It can be a tough choice, and whatever you buy won't be a mistake. My own take Shimano has the best spool lip design, but I would not buy anything less than a stradic. I personally have given up on those tiny reels, the line management is not as good in my experience. I like a 30 size pflueger for an all around size for smaller game, enough of a drag and line capacity if you hook into something larger, mine have been exceptionally durable. I use a $99 supreme, I'm sure it can be found for less, plus Pure Fishing customer service is excellent. Many good choices, but for a budget purchase, Pfluegers fit the bill.

Top photo...helluva a fish.

Mellow Mushroom in downtown Delray is really good. Buddy's square deep dish in the Detroit area is my favorite, have yet to eat it's rival any where in the country.

Snook opens today Dec, 1 on the Atlantic side, 1 fish per day 28-32" slot. The season is still closed on the gulf side for another year. http://www.timeoutpo...doors/120629267 Bit of an after thought.................not only do you need a separate saltwater license but a snook stamp as well, which is only $2.00. The shore bound resident license requirements was changed a couple of years ago, residents are no longer exempt.

Boca Raton. I used nothing but a Poppa Dog top water, my buddy was using a DOA jerk shad, then a spoon. I was at another beach Friday morning and caught about 8 jacks, same Poppa Dog.

I seldom use a mh rod for bass but I do it form time to time. I can and often do use the same rod for a variety of species, bass are just one of them. It's normal for me to cast 1 oz lures for saltwater species, then stop and bass fish on my way home using the same rod, I haven't endured any hardship between different lure weights, all my rods are all around rods.

Not sure I agree with this....personally I would not use a heavy rod for any kind of bass fishing, I don't want to use a bait that is that heavy for bass, that just isn't for me. As far as mh for top water lures, I do it day in a day out, lures from 1/4 oz to 1 oz 7' and 7'6 rods, nothing to it. My rods handle the range of lures, I handle the fish.............where's the problem?

I always liked fishing and spending time with my dad. I never loved fishing until I moved to a coastal area.

I find a few comments appalling. Hoping a store goes out of business is a pretty lame statement IMO. Large or small, stores employ people and are a benefit to the overall economy, don't care for the store, shop elsewhere. The success of a national chain rides on many variables, corporate executives as a rule are educated in specific areas and work their way up thru the ranks. Are they always right, of course not, but to think a clerk in one department, in one store has better handle on the overall picture is ludicrous. I've got nearly 40 years in business ownership and there is no chance in the world I could run Gander mountain, there is a lot to deal with on that plate.

Helluva_Engineer gave a good answer for both questions. I had a 7' rod and my buddy had a surf rod, he easily casted 2 times my distance, probably a good 100 yds. I actually out caught him and most of his fish were caught closer in to shore, that said it's just the luck of the draw as to what fish is hitting whose lure.

This has been a good beach for me the last few weeks, I've been striking out at others. Conventional wisdom would say go again tomorrow, most likely I'll be somewhere else, need another species, I'll try for bluefish.