SirSnookalot

Poetry in motion as today I did exactly what I'm talking about this morning. I was not fishing for anything special and it was dead casting lures. I then put a 2" grunt on a 4/0 circle with on my stradic 4000 redbone 10/20 spinning rod, sat back and b.s'ed with my friends. Few minutes later the reel is singing and 200yds of 20# braid is gone, cranking to max drag does nothing to slow the fish, so I start palming the spool to slow it down, after palming and releasing a few times I grabbed and held the spooled and stopped the fish. I now can start reeling in and gain ground, which I did and managed to get the fish with in about 30 yds of the jettie, my line snapped at the swivel, fish gone. I had the pleasure of the fight and fishing from an 8 high jettie could not have landed it anyway, so it worked out well, and didn't lose a yard of line. After about 6 or 8 jumps we ascertained the tarpon to be conservative 100# . The fish swam off none the worse for wear, in all fairness this species does have more strength and stamina that many other. I do understand the concern for the fish, but I don't share it. I've caught countless numbers of really good sized fish, have yet to see a problem and they all swim off just fine. What happens when out of sight, I don't know, but that could be said about a quick catch, the fish is still tired. A growing trend is catching larger fish on lighter tackle, whether it be fly or spinning or light b/c gear. Shark on fly rods is getting popular, sailfish, tarpon , permit and many others too. Not too mention steelhead, which are dandy fish to catch and fight pretty darn good too, the equipment is not overpowering for them.

You said it not me. The gear and line I see suggested to catch a fish that averages only 20# or so is something that makes no sense to me, except for the fact a heavier rod is needed to throw heavier baits. I admit I don't catch 20# freshwater fish like I did when I lived in Michigan, but I catch plenty of 20#+ fish down here. I'm not going to compare one fish against another, only to say tarpon are one of the more formidable fighting fish anywhere. Anyone that would argue that is someone that never caught one, it is the norm to use spinning gear or fly rod, mh rods, 20# line to target juveniles that are 10-50#. If I've missed something as to why such heavy gear is needed, please give me an education. I am curious about this, my love affair is for light tackle fishing, not heavy baitcasters.

Your disagreement is your entitlement. I've seen some of the posts from my gr children, I honestly don't expect much more from them, ages 10,11 &13, I would expect a tad more from a college student. The groups I'm involved with are pretty much made up of men and women my age from the neighborhoods we lived in and schools we attended, elementary thru college. I won't begin to say what college life was like in the 60's, except to say there isn't much done today we didn't do then. FB is like any social medium, it's what one makes of it. I have no experience with college age kids anymore, but I would think FB has interesting and beneficial links for anyone, even those choosing to go thru life in a drunken stupor.

Not much bothers me. One thing that does irritate me is the term trash fish. To me trash is something I put out at the curb on trash day. As far as fish goes, I like catching all of them, big or small, tasty or not. I find it almost comical that some may tout a certain species as something really special, when in fact they are pretty easy to catch, very common, don't fight too hard and not all that tasty. Then call a fish that can strip out 50-75 yards of line in an eye blink, give you fight that you'll never forget, and are very sporting to catch, since some are not classified as a "game fish", call them trash. That being the case, some one else can have the treasure, I'll take the trash.

Growing up on Lake St. Clair, I've caught a muskie or 2. I would use what I already have, but as a rule I match my equipment for the conditions and lures being used, more than than fish itself. I would not use braid if I had any intention of trolling, certain lures will twist up your braid and make it unusable, has happened to me many times, a BB swivel won't help. My first thought always is the water conditions, open water for me is lighter gear, heavy vegetation requires more backbone. Been a while since I've muskie fished as I'm in a saltwater environment now, the closest similar fish I encounter are barracuda. These fish on average run 30-50", very toothy, very formidable fighters. Myself and most of my buds use 4000 spinning reel, mh or heavy rod, 15# mono or 20# braid, 30# wire leader, we are fishing open water, but a lot of coral and barnacles, of course we get cut off sometimes. I personally would not fish any heavier for muskie. I would take extra care in crimping your wire leaders, do not crimp on the very end of the sleeve, that creates a friction point and they can break. Piano wire is good too, use a haywire twist.

Red line that's translucent will disappear in the water, at least to my eye, not sure about a fishes. Red hooks will not disappear, light does not transmit thru them, and I don't think they are any more effective than any other color hooks.

^^^^^ This makes sense to me, the lure or bait is connected to the line, when a fish bites you're going to feel it thru the line first. Lighter and better balanced combos are more comfortable to fish with, no argument there.

You can get as technical as you want, people catch fish with braid, mono, copoly, leaders, no leaders using more brands than hair left on my head and each angler thinks they have the solution. Put the lure near the fish and you'll catch them, providing they want to be caught, some days they get stubborn. The fish are doing 90% of the work.

Even healthy food is unhealthy if you eat too much of it. Formula is simple, eat less calories and burn some more. The diet and workout industry takes in billions of dollars per year, they all say pretty much the same thing, eat less food, control the foods that produce fat and get off your butt........It isn't easy, but it's that simple. Ajay looks real good, he should be proud of himself. I'm 66 and my workout days have ended, but I do a lot of walking especially in the sand on the beach while I'm fishing, my legs are in good shape and I never get tired fishing. We read all the time about weight and balance in fishing gear to reduce fatigue, sure it helps, but the reason some get tired is that hey are plain out of shape. Probably one of the added bonuses of bass fishing, you can be a physical wreck and still do it. Try throwing a 12' surf rod, 18 oz reel and 4 oz lure, surf guys do it for hours, they get some pretty hefty fish too, simply because their bodies are in shape. It just takes stamina and technique to another site, not brute strength.

By going to Kuwait it's a good bet your chances of staying alive have dramatically increased, sounds like a pretty good thing to me, bet your wife and kids are pretty happy too. By the way, everyone is coming home.

Lighter line, proper lure weight, a better quality rod generally casts better too.

Braid on everything except a few saltwater applications.

She was great.......No twang, no soul, no doowop, no missed lyrics, just one of the most memorable Star Spangled Banners. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/whitney-houston-performed-greatest-national-anthem-sports-history-020851426.html

I'm not a big guy, 5'4 and I'm 66yo. I weighed about 170# when I was 28, trimmed to 132# and stayed there about 30 years, my weight crept up to 140# in retirement then I became a diabetic, I lost 25#. I'm back up to 137#, eat a proper diet and take medication for diabetes. I think this is where my body wants to be now so I don't fight it. I'm sure most of the older people will acknowledge that the older you get the harder it lose to weight, plus many medications put weight on as well. At 25 after a good dump I could lose 5#........lol.

I'm on hiatus from Facebook, but that does not mean I think it's a useless service, I still peek in. Is BR really any different ? People that do not bass fish, and even some that do, may have little or no interest in Bassresource, clearly evident as some members seldom post. Other types of fisherman have little or no use for certain popular bass techniques and gear, however some of those types are here for the social aspect and that brings us to FB. Any of the on line forums are all social networking, each with it's own merits and shortcomings. I'm not a member of a walleye forum, cooking forum, pickup truck forum, yachting forum and so on.........I have little or no interest in them. That said FB can link you into to any of them, including BR, wonder if Glenn knows how many new members are here because they found BR on FB. I'm a member of a few of the FB groups and I am interested certain information, in addition my kids and gr kids are active Facebookers, an easy way to see what's going on from afar. Facebook has weaved itself into the fabric of society, you can be a member or not, you can be active or not, all ones own personal choice. My wife thinks I'm crazy for being on fishing forums with thousands of posts under my belt, of course she is right, I am crazy, but no more or less than a Facebooker.

IMO the line is the key for feeling, and I prefer braid. The argument I would make for using a better rod is more backbone on a lighter more comfortable rod, I do believe the law of diminishing returns becomes evident. Many bass are pulled out of heavy cover, the weeds are the reason for a heavier stronger rod, not the fish ( exception is needing a heavier rod to throw heavier lures). A better quality rod is most noticeable in open water fighting a fish where you can actually feel the muscles of the fish.

I don't like shopping and I don't like browsing in a large store, so BPS seldom sees me. I use a minimal amount of lures, bucktails, spoons, etc, I replace lost gear before my next outing, which is always tomorrow. I know who carries what and that's where I go, in and out of the store in minutes. I do buy things at Walmart, open 24/7, 10 minutes from the inlet, my local tackle shop opens at 7, 6 on weekends and is 2 minutes from the inlet, DSG is 10 minutes from the inlet but to my my chagrin doesn't open until 9 :am. If one of those 3 places don't have it, I don't need it.

I never thought there was any thing wrong in being a gentleman.

I only tie my leaders on when I target fish that are as eager to cut you off at the swivel as they are at the lure, that being spanish makerel and kingfish, a very common occurrence. I use swivels and I attach a leader about 15", only in freshwater do I use a dulock so I'm not constantly putting on a fresh leader, this system has worked well for me.

Red Earth said he does not fish tournaments, just fishes for fun, same with me and to be honest if I miss a fish.........BIG DEAL, I'll just catch another. The attitudes of some of amateur fisherman than fish low level tournaments are condescending towards recreational fishermen, that don't participate in tournaments. I highly doubt they're any better than a serious recreational fisherman.

I'm sure your doctor is taking the proper course of action. I do know, out of experience, high blood sugar level is not taken lightly. High or low sugar can affect all sorts of your well being.

I do like this site, I wouldn't be here if I didn't and it's not because it's a bass fishing site, I view it more as a general fishing site with the emphasis on bass, I prefer saltwater. I like topics about equipment, my gear is much the same and inshore fishing isn't too different than bass fishing. I give Glenn 100% of the credit, he's fair, helpful and provides a wonderful service. There are certain policy restrictions and that's fine with me, with over 30,000 members it's probably best that way, I have other places in which to air those sentiments. I have developed a commanderie with a few members that brighten my day, now if I can only get Bassn Blvd to take his bass boat in the ICW and fish the mangroves with me........lol

I don't get too uptight over much, my life experiences and age are big contributors. What bothers me a bit after going thru over 70 posts is thing about stupid people. I'm not sure if the accusers are really any smarter, they may have had the privilege of a better education, better home life and other opportunities. There are very few Albert Einstein's or Linus Pauling's around, really smart people, most of us are average at best. I try not to look down on people that have had less advantages in life, to do so makes the accuser one of of the stupid ones.

I called BPS in Ft Lauderdale yesterday. The dares for rods are different than reels. The reel trade in has a longer time frame, the rods will be only from 3/2-3/6, I did not get the price breakdown. As long as the rods are in good condition, you can use them for trade, has nothing to do with the original price of them. The trade in rods are donated, but basically this is a discount on the new rod you with to purchase. I don't want to donate an old rod, I'm going to buy an inexpensive $10 rod for trade, I'll still be ahead of the game and I'm donating something new, the BPS manager said many do the same thing.

My biggest asset in fishing is that I'm an idiot. I know nothing of rods, reels, techniques, and have no desire to learn more. I never have and never will buy into the sensitivity issue of rods and won't buy into the concept that the higher price tag of your equipment increases your pleasure, comfortable and smooth operating equipment can come on any ones budget. What increases my pleasure is catching great fish, and that I do it well. Am I great fisherman, not really, just happen to be in a great location, lowly spinning gear is all I need. Until I joined this forum I had no idea bass fishing was difficult, and so complicated, yet I've been catching them for 60 years on unsensitive and unsophisticated gear and a few lures I can carry in my pocket.