SirSnookalot

I agree with LgMouthGambler, interesting we fish similar waters and live within 15 minutes of each other, my exception is I use lighter braid and spinning gear. I see no problems with braid and slack, I have no problem in detecting bites with a slack line, but there really isn't that much slack all that often. The heavier weight as with a bullet weight or jig head, the less slack. I can see having problems with slack using a line that stretches. Bottom line if you don't like braid, don't use it, but say there are better choices is only a personal preference.

Exactly why I don't care for mono, I don't like the stretch and I get a better hookset with less effort. 0119, on January 25 2012 - 03:40 PM, said: You think 8lb. mono took fight out of fish? Fight that they had when you use stronger braid? Yes, when accustomed to braid and the feedback you get every little twitch from the fish fighting going to mono makes the fight feel like your reeling in a dead fish. ^^^^^ Absolutely ! I'll tell you where I am giving up braid. I was offshore yesterday and destroyed 300 yds of 30# braid trolling, I was using a drone with 2 BB swivels and the line twisted unuseable within minutes. Not giving up braid, I'm giving up drones, back to only using lures that won't turn over, like a sling jig.

I have been using P-line 20# floroclear on my offshore conventional rig the last few years and for the most part It was fine. The reasoning I had was wanting to pack more line on my reel using a thinner line. I was wrong, if a fish is going to spool 200 yds of line it's good chance an extra 30 or 40 yds probably won't make a difference. Not a theory, reality. I have caught countless numbers of 50# fish with 20# pline, but it snapped on me last week, something really big. I've respooled with a heavier line and sacrificed capacity for strength, I think the right move.

To each their own, I don't bad rap what anyone else is using. For me, it's strictly spinning gear with 10 or 15# braid and I'm not overly fussy on the brand, on sale is ideal. Fishing in Florida I fish in some very weedy areas 15# cuts thru very well for me. I'm a real non technical guy and lazy, using braid, swivel, short leader and a duolock, much of the time I don't retie any of it for a week or more and I fish everyday. Braid will cut and it happens all the time, in saltwater on coral and barnacles, don't often experience cutting in freshwater. Fishing a senko yesterday on a very windy day there was no problem feeling bites with slack in the braid, no I wasn't using a Loomis. No question wind knots can be an issue, for me the trade off is well worth any line management problems I may with other lines. My windknots in freshwater are not rare, but not common either, saltwater I get them more often. The best choice is the line that you are most comfortable with.

Never could understand the reasoning for using mono with treble hooks, I use braid for everything and I don't need a specific rod for fishing any particular technique. If some choose to use mono, that's fine, I choose not to. I've yet to meet any one that has never lost a fish whether it be a spook, crankbait or anything else.

Braid with a short leader, virtually no stretch. My biggest shortcoming bass fishing is the hookset, we do not set hooks for saltwater, braid is my freshwater savior.

I set my drags by feel, fairly light, I do tighten it up just a bit when fishing weedless and have to drive the hook a little harder, I only fish spinning. I use braid but the drag is set more to mono specs, I just know where I want it.

I won't claim Florida is the best, but it ain't bad. 100 yards from my back door is 1/4 mile of canal that holds 5-10# bass, those same kind of canals are just everywhere. I have 6 ponds, all of which hold good bass, and I've been to other areas in Florida that are way better than my honey spot. No smallmouth, but don't really miss them, we have peacocks. Not too many places where you can catch lmb, peacock, snook and tarpon all in freshwater, the Florida freshwater grand slam.

The avatar sums it up..........my favorite target.

Looks like it is for 2 of them, in that case I think the $70 is about the max I would go, still prefer to buy new, but I know it's not it every ones budget.

I'm looking at the OP for a used Sahara and bidding $70.......why? A new one isn't that much more. Bidding on a picture with an explanation of condition for me would be border line insanity, the guy that bought it for $81 is out of his mind imo, be happy you didn't win the bid. I don't buy anything used for personal use, if I did I would not pay more than 50% of the original price. My approach is from a business standpoint, not one of " having to have it". Many times buying something used is buying someones headache, for me not reason to take a chance. However the exceptions would be, can I fix it myself pretty cheap, or am I buying a collectors item that I plan on never using and the value exceeds the original msrp.

I'd go with the one that feels better on my rod.

I've never sent a rod in but I have sent reels back to the manufacturer without mailing in the registration card, never been an issue. If it be a warranty repair I've included my sales slip. I'm looking right now at a BPS receipt for a reel I purchased, my name is not on it, I don't think " original purchaser" means anything except to maybe discourage some one sending a rod back. Reputable companies generally bends over backwards to satisfy a customer, competition is fierce and they do want to sell you something else in the future.

I had a terrible fishing outing yesterday, not that I didn't catch fish. For some unfathomable reason I spooled up a light duty reel with 8# mono and headed to the intra coastal waterway. I fished an area totally void of weeds, rocks or any thing that I could get hung up on. I caught 2 smaller barracuda and with the stretch I thought I was hung up on something, I wasn't, the mono took all the fight out of the fish. As a rule cuda's make a vicious strike, they don't inhale a bait and they can be incredible fighters. On the way home I stopped at a canal and caught 7 or 8 bass, 3 of them about 18", again hardly knew I had a strike, the fight with mono was non existent. The difference for me between braid and mono is night and day, the strike and the fight are so much more amplified with braid, mono took all the fun out of it. Ist order of business, buy a new spool of braid today.... Update: I stopped by the same spot this morning and caught a few more using same size outfit but with braided line...........what a difference in ! I'm already respooled, lol.

IMO the drag should be set based on the line, because one reel may have a stronger max drag than another doesn't mean it has a better drag. I have an Avet MXJ b/c max drag of 19, I can stop a good sized fish in it's tracks providing the line is strong enough not to break. Using my Penn conquer max drag of 32 or my Soron 60 max drag of 30 which are spinning reels, couldn't come close to stopping the same fish. This not a theory......, it has happened very often. I believe in knowing how to use your drag properly is a much better recipe in landing fish than have a reel with a strong max drag.

Magic eraser does work, it's fast and effective I've yest to use cork sealer.

IMO supporting only American made plastic baits would not dramatically affect the lack of American manufacturing jobs, I believe that industry is just too small. Not that I disagree with only buying American made products, but to be to true to that conviction I'd have to give up buying foreign made rods and reels as well. It may be one thing to spend an extra 50% on a bag of worms for a few bucks, but how about spending 50% more on larger ticket item like a $200 rod or a $200 reel( many peeps spend much more than that). I really don't see too many people wanting to do that so their next door neighbor can go to work, it's a selfish world. Who wants to trade their Shimano in for an Ardent? And for the record I do use an Avet reel, made in America. To address the real problem is to take this thread into an area that is a forbidden topic.

Yes, we caught lots of them last year in about 80' over a reef off singer island, about the same size. Guys I was with were using squid and chicken rigs. You can hi-jack my thread any time you wish...........no problemo !

85 is a long life and his was filled with great accomplishments, imo always putting education ahead of athletics.

Last year i was catching snook in the winter, this year I'm not......go figure, lol. I'm spending more time than usual bass fishing because saltwater inshore has been so poor in my area. I do know they are killing them up at Sebastion.

I'm in Florida and I see hundreds of boaters every week including myself. In the ocean the reality is hardly anyone ever wears one, now and then you see a child wearing one but that's rare too. We have been stopped for safety checks and life preservers are always checked, ours are stowed as most people I know do and that seems to be ok, never a mention of it by the FWC. I've thought about buying one to wear all the time but haven't pulled the trigger.

Went offshore yesterday morning, weather conditions were perfect with a about 10mph east wind and 2-4' chop, but it was pretty much of a dud day. After several hours I finally get hit on a sardine and my rod instantly bent in half and line was reeling out. I tightened my lever drag just a little bit from my normal weak strike position and thought right away it was a pretty good sized shark, I could not turn the crank on the reel. Not wanting an hour plus battle I moved the lever up a bit and let it break the line, had it been another species I would have attempted to land the fish. I fell in love with a lure that I hadn't used much before. While we were out I was doing some trolling on light rig, 25 lb inshore rod with a Soron 60 reel, 30# braid using a sling jig, some call it a freestyle about 1.5 oz, get slammed reel hard and pull in a nice king about 15#. Later on I did some casting with the same outfit and was quite happy with it, caught some blue runners, maybe next time a king.

How does anyone know what's in my mind or any one else's for that matter? I have no idea what motivates buyers of any price range, except me. When it comes to rods I choose to be in that 75-$150 zone, if I want a higher priced rod I'd buy it, but I don't care to buy used equipment. Buying a rod for 70 bux without a warranty regardless of a companies history is a chance I'm willing to take. In the past I've both pleasantly surprised as well as being disappointed.

What ever feels right for you that's what you should be going with. Over the years my hand has migrating in front of my spinning reels (I do know why), one of the reasons I only buy rods with a foregrip. Balance is not my critical issue as long as it's not way out of whack, I throw lures of different weights so it's never going to be perfect anyway. When using mono with spinning reels I prefer to match the line to the reel, line management is not very good using 12# on a small reel like a 1000 for example. In all honestly I only use braid.

I don't think fish care about line color and I certainly don't. I generally buy basic green, I did buy yellow braid only because I thought it looked good on the reel. I think Baluga may be right about the confidence using FC leaders. I have tried it on a countless number of species and the strike ratio is about the same with or without the use of FC. I don't think fish give a hoot one way or the other, the most finicky species don't seem to care about anything except the bait itself.