SirSnookalot

Worst thing to do is feed a gator, they lose their fear of man which is dangerous............it will grow!

Beautiful pike, look more like a freshwater barracuda.

IMO, if it's a picture worth posting, it's picture I'm saving, I"ll wait until I get home, use my PC in comfort. When I'm out fishing, playing with my droid is on the bottom of my to do list.

It may be a simple fix for an auto repair shop, not dealer, I'd probably go that way, I'm not an expert.

It probably is panfish like others have mentioned. Everyone misses some, but 22 in a row tells me it isn't bass or it's user error, any other explanation is moot because no one should miss 22 using a bent paper clip on a cane pole with a piece of twine. I would put on an inline spinner to see exactly what fish are there, both bass and panfish are going to hit it and you won't have too wait long. I don't mean this to be flippant, but isn't worth being upset over losing a 12" fish, it's not like losing the benchmark 5 pounder. However I would be concerned as why I was losing fish, your equipment is not the problem, I could understand if you missed a few, but not 22. One positive thing, 22 strikes in an hour isn't shabby, you're in an area that has fish.

Try a lure with exposed hooks.

Don't know about Coumbia shirts and pants but I tried on a Columbia rain suit (Frog Togs too), label said made in Vietnam, I decided I'd rather get wet.

Yesterday wasn't a total loss, caught some snook, the conditions were good and they didn't disappoint. Went out in the PM for some bass fishing, first cast I catch a dink on a topwater, I knew that was the kiss of death, and it was. I even tried a few different types of lures, it was just an off day.

I don't have that channel. Even though I no longer fly fish for trout I enjoy those shows. I don't care to watch any kind of tournament fishing, to me fishing is not a spectator sport. I love tarpon fishing as much as anything, I can't watch those Boca Grande tournaments. Not only are those boats literally on top of each other, but I do not like the weigh in procedure. A good fish is caught, then motored to the weigh in location with the fish still in the water. It is refreshing to see the all girls team landing those 150# fish.

It's almost always warm in Florida, my clothing selection is based on the wind. West wind and the no seems will eat you up alive, I wear long sleeves and fishing pants with a head buff, and the heat boils me. If the wind is from the east, no bugs, shorts and t shirts then. I don't care for synthetic fabrics for my shirts, cotton keeps me more comfortable.

I never say never, but my choice in rods are always with a nice foregrip.

I don't have to imagine, in comparison it would be like comparing a Mack truck to an F-16 fighter. A technique gaining popularity is to lure a sailfish in by trolling then toss a fly on a fly rod, this is out of my league. Fish don't have to big to give you a thrill, there are countless varieties of fish that pound for pound are just amazing fighters. I agree with Slonezp about trolling, not that hooking a large fish isn't fun, but the Capt is doing the majority of fishing while you're having a Bud, he is selecting the water, the depth, the lure or live bait. Jigging with a butterfly jig or similar type lure for Amberjack is about as awesome as it gets, pound for pound they rank high on about every outdoor writer's list. Forum selections for hard fighting fish are usually based on their local favorites, which is some good info if heading to those areas.

X2 on toothpaste, you might try brasso also, it's little more abrasive. A little rust on the bodies won't hurt anything, the fish don't really care, only we do.

Only 1 lure and it's discontinued, I have 4 left. A Blaze minnow, maybe a coincidence but nothing produces bass and peacocks better for me than this lure.

My response is a bit unorthodox, if I'm fishing to catch fish in hot weather it's a senko or jig. However I do not fish to catch fish, that's a byproduct, I fish to have fun and for me it's a top water popper, I much prefer open water fishing. I fish from shore and I'm fan casting so I'm covering different depths. There is no question that I pass up a lot of fish, but I'm most happiest catching fish on my terms, not theirs.........I hate frogs, lol.

Time and a place for most lengths for me. First of all I see no real difference in distance between my 7-8' rods, a 10-12' rod will cast into another county but that isn't for fishing that most people do here. It can be windy here in Florida, when the wind really blows I back down the length to 7', the rods are much easier for me to handle. For my pond use a 6'6 rod works well, canals it's med 7 footer, that said the thickness of the cover is coming into play too.

Actually inshore saltwater fishing most of my lures will go between 1/2 oz jig and I throw nothing heavier than a 1.5 oz spoon. I can use a 10/20 spinning rod mh for just about everything. Trolling offshore I generally will use heavier gear, whether spinning or b/c. The heaviest lure I use is offshore for butterfly jigging, 4-8 oz, a jigging rod and high ratio reel are a must for that technique, something I don't do often, talk about a sore back, lol. I do understand people use much heavier lures for muskie and the right rod is needed to handled those lures, also much has been said about getting them in quicker due to their possible mortality. I have caught my share when I lived up in Michigan and from my own point of view it's a fish that I no longer have a desire to target, I didn't always feel that way.

St. Clair is my old stomping grounds. We caught sturgeon fishing bottom with nightcrawlers in the river, always liked the Algonac area. The only reason I see the need to use hefty equipment for muskie is their mortality rate, they are not that hardy of a fish. I personally would never target them again, just my opinion.

Mark.............you're right on! I'm a bit jealous, we don't have redfish in Palm Beach county. My rod choice is going to vary more on the types of lures (weight of the lures) I'm throwing and where I'm fishing. If it's off the beach or a flats boat where I'm close to my work, I go with lighter rod, if it's of high sea wall or jettie I need a heavier rod to keep those fish out of the pylons, instant cut off. The target species is of less importance to rod choice, cutting to the chase, the rod selection may be more important than the reel choice.

The 4000 spheros has a max drag of 22# also (I own the 4000&8000), the spheros is not uncommon to see being used for inshore use, although it's classified like the sargassa as an offshore reel, it's considered to be a workhorse. I actually use my 4000 on a frog rod for snakeheads. I had the very same thoughts, sargassa vs the Penn conquer, I went with the Penn 7000 with a max drag of 32#. Especially in inshore fishing I don't put the emphasis on max drag, I'm not going to crank that drag down anyway. People that are not exposed to fish like juvenile tarpon and good sized jacks think that 15-20# of drag is going to stop one of those fish, think again. Your most important asset is learning how to land them, not technical reel specs. I don't think anyone is saying the stradic is bad choice, just that there are other options that are going to perform every bit as good.

On lake Internet the some of the fishermen are unbeatable, every other cast is a slob. The reality is that on a real lake given the use of the most sophisticated equipment that one cane have, most not only wouldn't fair well against the upper crust, the bottom level of professionals would blow them away too. Being confident is one thing, another thing to over rate yourself and under estimate one's competition.

I only use a bait like hollow belly if I'm targeting non toothy fish. In the event my bait gets chewed up, either it's a new bait or I change my presentation to a hard bait. If you get chewed up once it's a good bet it's going to happen again. However if the environment calls for a weedless presentation, going thru a lot of plastics is just the nature of the beast.

Fishing for grouper has no relationship to inshore fishing at all, a conventional reel would be my choice, not that a Penn international is a bad reel to use, fishing in 80' off a reef and pulling fish that get large requires heavier equipment. Inshore fish for the most part are caught in shallow water, the fish have nowhere to go but out (if that's the right wording), not deep, that said different equipment is required. I own that Penn conquer(7000) and it's a real workhorse, I use it for offshore use, I know others that own smaller ones for inshore and just love them. The Quantum Cabo or Boca lines could be the best drags in that class, reels are a bit heavy for fisherman that only fishes freshwater, many saltwater anglers are bit less concerned with reel weight, not saying I don't love my stradics for inshore use, but's a reel that I would never consider offshore, it isn't built for it. People can spew technical data all day long, it boils down to the fisherman, not the reel.

I used a mg reel in saltwater for 2 years without any problems or wear and corrosion on the frame, I still use this reel almost every day. The Stella fe has a mg frame and shimano approves it for saltwater use.

A proven winner for me has been my Pflueger supreme (not the xt) 35 size. Before moving this reel to the freshwater ranks it was used for nearly 2 years as a light saltwater reel. Light does not mean 5# fish, it means snook and jacks off the beach. If a reel stands up to that it's a proven winner in my book.