SirSnookalot

I fish for a variety of species in totally different environments using both bait and artificial lures, kinda tough to narrow it down. Pond fishing freshwater................med 6/12 spinning rod 30 size reel, 10# braid Canal freshwater...........................med 8/17 inshore spinning 35 size reel 15# braid Inshore salt, waters edge..............med 8/17 inshore spinning 4000 reel 15# braid Inshore salt, jettie..........................mh 10/20 spinning 4000 reel 20# braid Inshore barracuda.........................mh 12/25 spinning 5000 reel 14# mono Offshore salt..................................40# spin boat rod, 7000 reel 30# braid Offshore salt..................................25# boat rod 25 size conventional 20# mono With the exception of offshore I usually have only 1 rod with a couple of lures, always have back up gear in my car in case of mechanical failure. Offshore I take 2 or 3 rods and use them all at the same time. I have about 25 combos, all I really need is what's mentioned, the rest is just for a change of pace, but I do like to use them all, seldom do I take the same combo 2 days in a row.

I sleep on average about 4 hours, honestly it isn't enough, it was when I was younger. I don't go to bed, I fall asleep lol, my body clock wakes me at about 1:am. I leave to go fishing at various times that evolve around tide change and weather, mostly leave the house at 3:30 or 4:00 am., and almost always see other people fishing who got there before me.

And not a single strike today with the identical conditions as yesterday.

There was a similar thread a while back, IMO there are but 2 reasons a person gets fatigued or sore. Either there is a physical ailment, a doctor's visit would be a good choice or just not in " fishing shape". Lighter and more balanced equipment is a remedy that may work, but a workout program to get into shape can never hurt. I'll be 67 next week and as stated I don't get sore or tired because I'm using these fishing muscles every single day, in addition I do a lot of beach walking as I'm fishing which further adds to my conditioning. And I do believe a race car driver has to be in shape, holding that wheel at a high rate of speed takes both strength. and stamina, not to mention mental alertness which is improved by being healthy.

No. I do own 7 Redbones, not because I need the same feel thru out the line, but because it's a darned good rod. The lure wt. limit is 1 oz on my Redbones, there are times I'm throwing something heavier, so I'm using other brands. There have only been a few rods that I was never pleased with right from the git-go.

I'm only assuming that you are right handed and using a b/c, the rod is in your weaker hand. I use only spinning gear, reel on the bottom which gives me a better feel for me with the rod in my stronger arm, I never get fatigued or sore. Not that there isn't other reasons, but for that reason alone I would never use b/c gear unless I was fishing with bait for larger species. I fish 7 days a week, my fishing muscles are in good shape too.

@mg4u2nv, don't let the lack of lures keep you off the beach. Myself and many people I know only use a few, for the most part I use a spoon and bucktail jig, don't carry much else. If you don't get bit with those 2 lures, there are no fish in the area. I do use other lures, not out of necessity, but just for variation. I've done quite a bit of snakehead fishing, with limited success, I have a much better handle on saltwater species. Surprises me as I fished freshwater successfully for 50 years before moving down here full time. In fairness to my self I do put way more energy, time and expense into saltwater fishing, it's 2:am and I'm getting ready to go fishing.

That is rougher than normal, but people do go out when it is that rough. What amazes me you see one person out of 100(if that) wearing a pfd.

Not wanting to hijack the heartbreak thread as I seldom get disappointed not landing one. I got to the inlet at 5:15 this morning, went on the jettie with conditions that I love. The incoming tide produces a lack of fisherman, meaning I'm there alone, gotta love it, also fishing the rip is where tarpon a big snook hang out. if more fishermen knew that I would't be alone, lol. First cast with my windcheater I get nailed by a real nice sized tarpon, the fish starts pulling out drag, so much I had to run after it reeling in line in hopes of not being spooled. I ran from the jettie up and down stairs to the sea wall in the parking lot, maybe 500'+, I still have the fish on, then poof it's gone, got all my line and my lure back. Heartbroken no, elated yes, I had it on the line and in no way could I have lifted up even with my pier net, great thrill and that's what's all about for me. I did have 2 other smaller tarpon on that were landable but they threw threw the hook. Daylight comes and I go cuda fishing on the other jettie, land 3 about 20" on light tackle, then I hook a blue runner. Before I get the runner in a big cuda cuts the runner in half and I reel up a head. I tossed the head out (I should have put the head on a bait rod with a bait hook and wire leader), cuda comes back and smashes the head, only to cut my spoon off. Landed but 3 dinks, but had a great outing.

Want to give it a shot ? This is the inlet I fish out of. Seas soften up a bit as you get away from the pull or push of the tide.

My dad was in the fish business for nearly 40 years, I've eaten many different species of both fresh and saltwater. Personal choice dictates what is good for some and not tasty to others. For me the sign of a good tasting fish is one that is not fried with batter or breading, not that isn't enjoyable but really picking up the flavors of the oil and breading, not the just the fish. In freshwater I don't care that much for bass but walleye and perch are excellent, and I just love Lake Superior whitefish, those are usually commercially caught. In saltwater there are some very good eating fish too, there are scores of snapper species, some excellent table fare like yellowtail. One of the most sought after fish here in Florida is barracuda, makes a delicious meal, I'm partial to cold water flounder or sole. People don't mention cod much, I think it's very good too.

If you have already bought the Ugly Stick, it will be fine. The merits of an Ugly Stick are that it's almost unbreakable and they load up well for long casts. The negative is the weight, a bit on the heavy side for my taste and a far as hookup ratio, it's just a matter of getting used to it, probably will make you a better fisherman in the long run. I personally would use nothing heavier than 8# mono or 15# braid on your Pflueger. If the fishing bug takes you may want to look into a more refined outfit.

I'll back off the political innuendos. Emergency rooms take the serious emergencies first, I've waited for many hours before. I may have been there with little or no wait, then a stroke victim or a car accident or some other extreme emergency victim gets wheeled in. Not that I enjoyed waiting, but it was totally understandable, me sitting with a hook in my finger or a person near death.

On a 50' cruiser no, on a 21' center console with 5' waves.........very rough, but that's the weather to fish, calm water out there usually does not produce fish as well. Just standing even with out a fish on is difficult. I declined to go out today (Wed), forecast is for calm flat water which is good for barracuda. The cuda were really around yesterday, there were 3 caught about 40" and quite a few smaller ones on live bait. I didn't bait fish but opted to use cuda tubes, only the larger cuda's hit tubes. I had 5 strikes which is amazing, but none grabbed the hook, this is not uncommon. Having a big cuda smash a tube at 30 mph is a rush that is hard to explain, not much better for me. Caught only 1 small snook, but had a great day.

NO, especially when using spinning gear. The speed of my retrieves varies quite a bit, depending on the lures I'm using. Much of the time with flukes or hard jerk baits I'm moving the lure more with arm movements and just reeling in slack. Adjusting my retrieval speed on lures that I want constant movement is just second nature to me, I don't even think about it.

There are some that tie braid direct to the lures with success, others use F/C leaders with success, and some use mono leaders with success, and last of all some use leaders made from line (leaders and lines are not the same)..........confused, lol don't be, just boils down to personal choice. I myself would use 15-20# leader with 15# braid, many people use lighter.

I wouldn't be using mono 12# line on either of the reels, I'd be using 20# braid, some would say 30# and that's ok too. I'm not not so sure I would be using a 12/17 rod for salmon, if that's what i fished for 99% of the time. I haven't salmon fished in many years, but my memory is of using heavier equipment.

I've used Lott Bros in Palm Beach County, another Shimano Warranty center and I was about as happy with them as I was with Shimano in California..............not very. This same question has come up on my SW forum too. In my area there is a lack of quality repair shops.

The numbers on a reel are reference regarding line capacity, I do not accept them as recommendations. Different types of lines and different manufactures will have different results in line management. I use 14# spiderwire XXX on my cabo 30 which size wise isn't much different than a bass reel, the line works beautifully. Conversely I've had poor results (coiling) even with thinner lines on spinning reels of all sizes. For me, any kind of mono, copoly or F/C line is a last resort line, the lure or bait type dictates my line usage. If I thought F/C was magic, which I don't, I'd be using braid with a F/C leader.

Any landlocked snook?............j/k

My answer would be none of them, I don't think it's necessary to spend $200 on a small freshwater reel. If the main usage of the reel was saltwater and limited freshwater use I'd pick the Pflueger. Performance wise probably would not be a noticeable difference, but I think Pure Fishing provides the best customer service, at least they are my preference.

Thank you

From a trion thru the top of line Pflueger's all are smooth, have never had a bad one. I have a 35 that I used for snook for almost 2 years and very pleased. I now use that reel for bass, still going strong with just a drop of oil every now and then. I have a total of 6 Pfluegers, for both fresh and salt, it's getting pretty hard to justify spending more for reels that don't perform any better. My medalist is the smoothest reel I own, bar none, my new arbor has been performing well, but too soon to give a fair review. Some may take issue that Pfluegers have a weaker max drag than some of the competition, however if the drag is set to the line weight, it becomes a moot point. Probably the best thing about them is the price, if they happen to break, which none of mine ever have, cheap enough just to buy a new one and don't worry about fixing it. You made an excellent purchase, enjoy it, and I don't think the 35 is too big.

Fished offshore Saturday, first time in a month as the boat was in service. Thought it was going be a hot day, less than a minute into my first drift had a king on but got bit off. I had a good time, some of my offshore reels are being serviced so I went with a couple of lighter set ups, catching blue runners and bonita on that gear was a ball. Near the end of the trip we each caught a decent king so the trip was a success. The seas were a good 5' with a 15mph wind, I got physical beat up, hard to stand when you have a fish on.

That looks some fun fishing.