SirSnookalot

My best success is a weedless rigged fluke, any brand, I buy zooms for freshwater because Walmart is open 24 hours and the tackle stores don't open until 9.

I say no problem. As long as your rod loads up well enough to cast your lure the action should be fine. I don't cast for distance, I cast to where I want my lure to be. If the lure weight isn't too radically off the parameters of the rod, it's ok. I consistently use 1 oz lures on a 3/4 rod or the opposite with a lighter lure for a rod with a heavier rating, this is going to vary on the particular rod you are using.

I do like BPS inshore extreme rods, a good product, but can't say too much for the Johnny Morris spinning reel I bought, cast after cast resulted in windknots. I take the reel back to BPS, the rep gives me a look as to say "why did you by this thing", exchanged the reel for a Daiwa tierra and 2 years later have yet to have a windknot. As far as Shimano parts always available..........not so. Stradics are notorius for their line roller bearings rusting with saltwater use. I call Shimano and they tell me that part is on backorder for 3 months, also no local reel repairer had the part. I did have the option of removing the bearing and walking into Boca bearing, they are a couple of miles from my home, but I chose to send the reel in to Shimano repair. 2 weeks later my reel was back and the part replaced, as I was told the parts department and the service department are different entities. Service can usually fix it, but the parts department may not have the item in stock, as was my case. All in all it worked out so nothing to get bent out of shape about. I would have no qualms about buying another stradic, it's an excellent product.

The only experience I have with FC are FC leaders, and any leader material is different than the actual line. It is a bit more rigid and I think more difficult to get a good knot. I only use 40# FC leaders, which seems to be a good size for my target species, quite often I tie it 2 or 3 times until I'm happy with the knot, and prefer an ordinary clinch for hooks and a loopknot for lures. 40# is the max leader size I like to use, heavier leaders don't get a knot, they get crimped with a sleeve.

Shocked and speechless...............only fishing show I would watch.

He is !

I drive a 2012 Genesis, boat is at a marina.

If I were to fish bait for bass (which I wouldn't), it would be live bait, not that dead won't work. As a kid I fished minnows, shiners and chubs, clip a fin or bleed your bait and make it swim funny, a saltwater ploy when using live bait. It works.

And some say it's outdated.........I say it all fishes pretty much the same. I mostly fish PP, sometimes I use Fins. I may be a little particular to a certain rod or reel, but when it comes to lines, they all work fine for me, braid or otherwise.

If your main problem is a lure snapping off, it's all about tying a proper knot. If you plan on using a leader, which I always do, and in my case I use anywhere between 15-40# leader depending on my rod and reel, target species and cover. The test pound of the braid will not cause the lure to break off. Whether you tie your leader on or use a swivel, is incidental to your knot strength to the lure. I use nothing but a loopknot for lures, use what works best for you. I use an ordinary clinch knot for 1.5 oz cuda tubes, they never snap off. This is a knot issue, not a line issue. As deep says, distance is over rated.

The most awesome fish I caught was a 100# amberjack, world record is about 150#. I've caught larger fish but none that have fought harder, sorry to say a computer crash lost this photo and some other great fish from an outing in P.V. Mexico. I was on a charter with 2 other fisherman, I get a strike using a fairly hefty offshore conventional rig, battled this fish for quite a while till I run out of energy and barely got it off the bottom, hand the rod to another guy, 6'4, 240# of rippling muscle, he fought it until he ran into the head and puked his guts out for the rest of the trip, a third man handled the fish for awhile then I got the rod back and finally land it. We would never have landed this fish without the captain chasing it down with the boat. In recent history fishing in my " backyard" in Florida, I've had some notable catches, but nothing rivaling the amberjack. About a 35# amberjack Sailfish Jack Crevelle Reef Shark

I would either have a qualified tech look at the problem or do a reformat, I know it's pain, either way it's a good idea to have your data backed up. Quite often there is a solution on line, the above web site may be a good starting point. You say Google is your problem, can you access the net using IE or Firefox?

There are several points of view, not all people fishing are there for the fun of it, it's dinner for them and their family. I have no problem as long as they are obeying the law, not all do. These people do not fish loomis, their best outfit may be an old beat up spinning reel on a casting rod with no tip, an everyday sight. I cut these people slack, I feel for what they are up against, they can have my catch. For the most part I do catch and release, I just don't really like to be bothered taking fish home with me, I make an exception for a few species on occasion. On this mounting issue, real vs replica, I don't do either, there are compelling arguments on both sides. There is a chance if I caught a real trophy, that being a fish very near to a state record or an unusual fish, I'd consider a replica, unless the fish was going to die anyway. I have caught 10# bass, not even close to a record, I have caught 35# snook, they run over 50# and many other great fish, but imo none worth mounting, they aren't really special, even though they may be my personal best, just a great experience and a photo captures that.

I did get Rheem

Don't over think it, just fish !

It isn't slow in the Hvac biz at my house, having a new a/c unit installed as I sit here, first day I've haven't fished in months.

Just leave it and tighten up when needed, you won't do any damage. I've that happen to me, it isn't a big deal. A cardboard shim under the reel foot may help, but don't over tighten.

Any spool is braid ready if you put tape on it, I even use tape when I'm loading up mono.

In my ethnic community cow's tongue, either roasted and pickled, are very popular and commonplace, chicken liver's too..........chicken liver's are a superb catfish bait too.

When I do change my hooks I use saltwater 4x, prefer vmc.

For the rare times that I use mono line I soak my spool in warm water for about 10 minutes, then before I fish I troll my line out. For the techniques that I use mono I get real bad line twist and coil, I don't use mono for "traditional" fishing.

I fish bass areas from shore just like you, for me it's only spinning gear and braided line. Most of the time I'm fishing fairly shallow water so I'm not concerned if my line sinks or floats. The canals and ponds I fish have no real depth to them, when I do need to be on the bottom a bullet weight works fine. I really don't feel I miss bites even if my line is bowed. One my most productive methods is swimming or jigging a culprit worm on a 1/8 oz round jig head.

What makes a really good fisherman is fishing on a really good body of water. A person catching fish upwards of 10# in the the south or far west may not be a better fisher person than someone catching a 4 pounder in Ontario, biggest difference the photos are less impressive, but the actual catch may not be. Rods, reels, b/c vs spinning, lures and lines, all this stuff is secondary to success. What breeds success is experience and learning the characteristics of the your target species and it doesn't hurt if the the fish are there.

Never have used white braid, but my green is pretty pale now. I always use a leader with braid, much easier to unwrap a leader from hooks than braided line and that happens all the time for me.

Tony is right, surf fishing is a totally different animal, you catch fish when fish are there, usually chasing bait. I can't tell you how many days I fish in the surf and get 1 or 2 fish and it's a good day. We don't striper fish in South Florida but I have done quite a bit of it in the Northeast. For a novice I would suggest casting diamond jigs with a surgical tube trailer, most fish will hit them too, you can buy them anywhere up there, You can never go wrong with bait, live or cut. The Okuma abf is a bait feeder or bait runner reel, it's is designed to keep your bail closed but allowing the line to act is if the drag is very loose, get a strike and just flip the lever. I think 80# braid is kind of heavy, I use 20# braid for my tarpon and jack crevelles, which are very hard fighting fish. I would not use anything more than 40#, you still need to have line capacity and 40# will handle just about anything.