SirSnookalot

This topic can go off in a number of directions. First of all are you using spinning or b/c with that 10# PP? People using braided lines with b/c gear prefer a thicker line due to digging into the spool, this is a minor problem for spinning gear, so minor it's not really a problem. IMO it isn't the fish that creates the need for a heavier line, it's the cover you have to pull them out of. My personal choice is braid with spinning gear, open freshwater I use 10#, with thicker vegetation it's 15# for me, I do have 1 set up with 20# but that is for snakeheads and it's on a smaller saltwater combo. Many braids will break about 50% higher than the number on the label, your 10#PP may be more like a 15# test line in strength. It is my contention the label is strictly for line diameter reference and the breaking strength is the actually pound test you are using. Thinner and stronger is great, but I try not to fool myself in believing that I may caught a 10# fish with 10# line, when it's really more like 15# line. This is an old chart, used strictly for reference. http://www.sportfish...-break-strength

Don't own the Blair Wiggins, considered buying them after I saw 2 people using them next to me. Both were spinning, 1 rod was an inshore model and the the fellow gave it high praise, the lack of a real fore grip turned me off at the time. The 2 nd Wiggins rod was the saltwater big game, it looked so good I checked them out at Dicks and emailed Blair Wiggins. A couple of weeks later he responded with his recommendation for me for the use I had in mind. I've yet to buy it because it felt very awkward and my Star rod hasn't broken yet..lol.

Hell I would given you one..lol. Got a couple as gifts, been sitting under some rubble in the trunk of my car, never been used, don't even know what brand they are.......haha. Walmart is carrying a decent line of Mustad equipment, I really like their curved pliers, makes hook removal on a larger fish much easier, I've got one I use offshore.

In my area of Florida it slowed down about a month ago, in all fairness I fish only from shore for bass don't venture more than a few miles from home. Other than an hour or 2 a few times in my ponds, I haven't bass fish in several weeks, guess you could say I'm done until November. My favorite time of the year is rapidly approaching, not quite here yet. I've caught no more than 6 or 7 snook, nothing earth shattering maybe 15#, a couple larger cuda and that's been it pretty much. Plenty of bait around, but even the bait soakers are struggling a bit so I know there are not a lot of fish in the area and they are not aggressive..........yet.

BassHunter, it's a nice fish what ever it weighs. As long as you had a good time catching it the actual size isn't important. As close as I get is a length measurement based on a mark on my rods, a scale weight or picture only happens if someone is walking by.

Penn rods blanket the horizon in saltwater, mated with their international line of reels. Not to overly generalize, most manufacturers make low, mid and hi end rods, Penn is no different. Would I buy a Penn for freshwater trolling, probably not, but I would have no qualms in using one for their intended use in saltwater. I own a Penn for offshore use, and my fishing partner fishes with at least 4 or them, all paired with Penn reels.

I've never put all that much emphasis on sensitivity, I'm confident in my ability distinguish a bite from a snag or weeds. If in doubt I don't think anything beats braid. I can't say I've had a measurable difference from one brand to another.

Me too.

From an achievement standpoint a trophy fish is relative to the area that one fishes, not the overall size. A 10# fish caught in an area where high DD's can be caught is no more worthy than a 7# fish caught in area where 10# is almost unheard of. I personally don't consider any tactic, live or artificial bait, and location to be cheating, especially if the goal is just to have a good time. Some frown on pond fishing not being worthy, yet some of the same people use every hi tech piece of equipment there is to increase their fishing production. I know a lot of the old timers grew up fishing like myself, from a rowboat sometimes, without the aid of a motor and no electronic equipment. As kid we fished Lake St. Clair in a rowboat with a 6hp Elgin engine, both the American and Canadian sides. A handful of lures, unsophistcated gear, 2 rods at most, little available literature to read, no internet forums for advice, we learned how to find and catch fish. I would be the last to turn my nose up at someone catching a great fish in a pond. I still say this, you're as good as the body of water you are fishing on, all this hi tech gear don't hurt either.

I totally agree with Francho ! 60 years of fishing and I've used the palomar about 4 times, not saying there is anything wrong with it. I use the simplest of knots with braid: clinch, improved clinch, alberto and to the spool just 3 or 4 overhand knots over my tape. I'm a terrible knot tier and these knots hold my offshore fish, I don't think a crappie is going to pose any problem.

I don't believe that you have! Healthy debates and exchange of ideas breeds a better a world. A topic like this one should be allowed to run it's own course without interference.

In my younger days I attended a few inspirational & motivational seminars and retreats, EST & some Eastern spiritual movements. I've read the works of Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale, Og Mandino and others. I've had this displayed in my home almost 40 years and the other one in my office, don't take the latter serious.......it's a joke, I don't even own a weapon.

Fishing imo may be more of a blood activity than hunting (I don't hunt), hunters as a rule are hunting with no intention of releasing, it's for the dinner table, personal or donated. Fishing on the other hand for many is catch and release, as it is for me, some fish just don't make it for a plethora of reasons, a shame but that's the way it is, I don't get overly emotional about it, if I did I wouldn't be fishing at all. Last week I landed an overslot snook, not real big maybe 36" and 15-18#, kinda like catching a 5# bass, plenty of them out there, a nice fish none the less. This fish was gut hooked on a red tailed hawk (jig) and totally spent. After hook removal and releasing the fish, a few moments later I saw it belly up, poor girl didn't make it. I felt bad, until I had the next one on the line, maybe 10 minutes. I treat my snook like people treat bass, but a fish that doesn't make it is just part of the deal.

Over the course of years without thinking about it my hand moved from holding a spinning reel between my index and middle finger to having my entire hand in front of the reel, pinky resting on the reel foot. Since all of my rods have a good size fore grip I find this very comfortable, I feel my hand is in position for better leverage on a larger fish. Going back to a more traditional grip is now uncomfortable for me.

I don't tie leader to line except when I target certain species that will cut you off at the swivel as quick as they will hit a lure, on those rare occasions I use an alberto knot, it's been flawless. When joining lines the alberto works real good but I usually tie my own version of a double clinch, which has been excellent for freshwater and inshore fishing. Offshore I do not join lines, if I need line it's a complete respool, I never use backing with braid. A knot at the hook and another at my swivel is all the weak links I want, just never know what you may run into. Nothing fancy on hook or swivel knots, ordinary clinch for a mono or leader connection, and I use an improved clinch with an extra wrap for braid connections, lures get a loop knot, always with a leader. Knot failures don't happen often.

I've dropped, not dunked,many a reel in sand and it's almost always a nightmare. The only reel impervious to sand, and this is from advertisement not ownership, is a Van Staal.

Shimano stradic & Daiwa tierra

I don't think it's cheating at all, it's just about having a good time. I fish my community ponds, they have never been stocked and I'm about the only one that fishes them, little pressure if any. I use pretty much the same lures all the time, they hit them like they are seeing them for the first time, I question this thing about fish being smart, they react to instinct, they don't reason and think things thru. I have pics of the same bass or caught 2 days in row. Some days the fishing is good other days it isn't, the fish have no where to go, they are here. I grew up fishing Lake St Clair in Mich, probably not the hardest place to catch fish of a variety species, any time a person can catch 20-30 or 50 fish in an outing, I can't see that as challenging, but it's a lot of fun. Challenging is targeting one species(or trophy size fish) and hoping to get a fish once a day, or once a week and sometimes not one in a month. In most cases you're as good as the body of water you are fishing on.

Braid will not troll out like mono does, well worth the few moments it takes to do it. One way to help minimize wind knots with braid is a long flowing cast rather than a snap cast. When snap casting the line is coming off the spool very fast, then hits the first guide, there's your knot. The spool design may have a impact too, I have 2 brands of reels that have never had wind knots to my memory, other brands under the same conditions have had knots. I don't think the brand of braid has any bearing on whether it will knot, I've tried many.

@ Clayton, the dentist is one of the most important doctors you will ever see. At your young age teeth are usually not a problem, but wait till you get older, it's the gums. Dental hygene is most important, as gum disease is one of the leading causes of heart attacks and strokes, not to mention bone loss which can lead to losing some teeth, which means implants or dentures. It's nightmare and expensive.

Yep, given the fact both rods are identical except for length, shorter rods give more leverage. 5'10 is giant......I'm 5'4 135# on a good day and for the majority of my fishing I prefer a minimum length 7' spinning rod. One of my determining factors is the strength of the wind, for me it's much easier to throw a 7 footer in heavy wind as compared to 7'6 or 8. Even using the same identical rod and same lure, just a different length I see no measurable difference in distance, in fact I feel my 7' may cast further than my 8 footer. Boils down to what you are comfortable with.

My root canal was pretty easy stuff, a shot of novacaine and it was done.....had no pain because the root was gone, jaw felt a bit tense for a day or so. I've had deep scrapings, 3 shots upper and 3 shots lower, then back the following week for another 6 shots on the other side. I've recently gone thru 18 months of more scapings, bone graffs, sinus lifts and a few other things I can't think of. Nowadays they do it with triazolam, and you sleep thru the entire ordeal, wake up at home a few hours later with minimal discomfort, except the pain administered to your wallet. Never really had to take the prescribed pain pills after the procedures, worst part was the stitches once the healing started. All in all, dental work isn't like it used to be, it isn't that bad anymore.

There is no exclusive right or wrong set up, but bear in mind there is a big difference in open water fishing as compared to pulling your fish our of heavy cover. In open water incredible fish can be handle on very light line and gear, in heavy cover you may be fighting the elements more than the fish itself. I do not use a b/c in freshwater, I don't even own one, I'll just go with a heavier spinning set up like a 7' 10/20 med/h rod with a 4000 reel and 20# braid, this is a pretty standard inshore outfit for me, but I can double duty it in freshawter when I see the need. This may seem heavy to some but to me it's a feather, I'm so used to it. There isn't a person in the world that doesn't lose fish in heavy cover, it's just part of the deal.

I use braid just about all the time where ever I fish. I haven't used fluro line but have used fluro leaders many times, I don't any more as I saw little or no appreciable difference in my catch. That said fluro line has never been a consideration for me. I don't feel as I miss too many bites when using ordinary mono or braid that is slack, I do believe the issue of line or rod sensitivity is a bit blown out of proportion. I also have not been bothered by my braid floating, in fact most of my fishing is saltwater and saltwater is more buoyant than fresh, depth control does not appear to be an issue, if so a simple adoption of a small split shot will cure that. I do prefer the hookset with braid, it's much easier without the need to contort myself. Are there negatives to braid?.............you bet, but nothing is perfect.

The patriarch can be used in saltwater, from personal use I used a supreme( not xt ) in saltwater for nearly 2 years will no ill effects, catching snook. Any 2500 or 2000 reel is big enough for bass, not that you need it but the drags are stronger on the stradic line that the comparable sized pfluegers. Not to diminish the floogs, I use them myself for freshwater.