SirSnookalot

Got a tip they were back so headed to my Jack spot. No action for about an hour, caught a little dink so I moved a few hundred yards. Was getting ready to leave and BAM......they were crashing the wall. In, out and gone in less than 10 seconds, being lucky is so important. Glad it was high tide, or would not have been able to lift this fish, this time of the year they only get bigger from here.

Give that man an RG.Dunn............right trumpet fish, I forgot I posted it before..................2nd one is a ribbon fish

That is very cool, tough story to beat. I'll give high praise to anyone that knows what this is ( don't google it, lol ) or this

When I'm wrong I'll fess up.. Just went out for some bass fishing and bumped into my bud who is tuna/striper captain from Cape May N. J. He said about using a scale to set drag for tuna, yes he does, but not every day. He says his charters sometime play with the drags and they need to be reset and uses a scale to do so. He uses nothing but lever drag reels and said for using your own personal gear using a scale each and every time is not needed. I'm the only one that uses my Avet. For his ocean stripers it's spinning gear and he sets it by feel and like many of us does adjust the drag with a fish on.

Most likely fishing for Yellowfins or other large fish a single or 2 speed lever drag reel would be used, not a typical small b/c reel with a star drag. Once the drag is set on lever drag reel there is no need to change the setting unless new line of a different test is used. I have used the same brand and test line on my Avet lever drag reel for several years and the drag has never needed any readjustment. The reel is always stored in free spool which does not change the drag setting, The original post was an inquiry regarding small game fishing and being from Miami there is a possibility of inshore fishing as well, which uses pretty much the same kind of equipment, lines and lures. If using a 6# line the drag should be around 2lb. If the breaking strength is closer to 12, are you not really using a 12lb test line? If so 4 lb drag would be good. All that said I have no idea, but setting by feel total removes that thought from my process.

The standard rule is 1/3 or so of line test. In reality I've yet to know anyone that actually uses a scale, I set mine by feel 100% of the time. Given the use of the same equipment my drag setting will vary depending on the type of bait I'm using (plastics are bit firmer for a better hookset), target species, the density of weeds, floating seaweed or grasses and the strength of the current. Sounds like a lot to digest but it really isn't, it becomes second nature. Quite common for me to catch a saltwater fish using a tighter drag, then bass fish with the same combo and using a lighter drag, like pond fishing with little or no vegetation and using a lure with exposed hooks. With experience you will get the feel of when to back down or tighten up the drag when fighting a fish, this also becomes second nature.

Suits like this one are so complicated that very few people can really understand the true legality, in no am I agreeing or disagreeing, I'm certainly not qualified. Whether you believed in the bailouts or not that's a subject for a political forum, I'll be mute on that issue. It has been advocated recently, whether in jest or in seriousness you can be the judge you can be the judge on that, I do believe from what I have read it is not legal to do so.

The number 1 thing to do in any investment or savings plan is to " pay yourself first", in other words put you savings aside before any expenses like entertainment.

I understand the desire to carry a number of rods while boat fishing, my boat fishing is strictly offshore ocean and I use 3 rods. When it comes to freshwater I'm on foot 100% of the time, carry but 1 rod, and I don't like plastic baits, my answer is zero. I will have a pack of flukes in my pocket just in case weedless fishing is an absolute must, it's my last resort.

I only know about Florida I think we have 2 varieties, spotted and blue, they don't really look the same. Crappie jigs are good bait for blues, peacocks and mayans love those little jigs too. I never caught a spotted.

I use 4/0 trailer ( mustad) hooks to make up my king rigs, they come with an open eye, just squeeze them shut with a pliers. I use the same ones as trailers for my bass spinnerbaits. If you want some extra movement with that tubing try a limerick hook ( also has an open eye ), we use them for stripers and cuda but I have made mini ones I use for bass and they work.

Jigs are great, I catch mucho grande fish on jigs. I never met a saltwater fisherman that doesn't use them, we fish them pretty much the same as you would for bass. JIg tipped with a piece of squid will catch just about any thing that swims, bass have hit that too.

Sunday was a landmark day, not for the 2 puny 10 Lb snook I caught or the apx.15 bluefish, but it was the 8" peacock bass that weighed less than a 1/2 lb that put a smile on my face. First pea since the big cold spell here and I caught it in palm Beach County, in a pond, unfortunately not my pond.

My abu spinning reels are only used for casting and only braid is used and in saltwater. The water itself has no effect on twist or knots but imo the wind conditions are more prominent, calm wind produces far less problems. Yes, braid will twist under certain conditions, that would be a bait like a spoon and in my case barracuda tubes which constantly spin 360 degrees. There is one application that I do use clear line ( mono, copoly etc) that is drift fishing in the ocean, these spinning reels are 8000 series or larger. Twist happens each and every outing without fail and is caused by 2 actions. The first happens when using baits like a ballyhoo or sardine which are about 6" long, they constantly turn around and around twist up your line, swivels help some but not much. Second reason is the way the line gets loaded back onto the spool as your cranking in. A spinning reel spool is in a fixed position mounted straight and the line is wrapped around the spool, a b/c spool is at a 90 angle to the rod and gathers the line itself by rotating, gets no twist. I just get the line on the reel knowing the first thing i do before fishing is to troll the line out ( twists in braid will not troll out), I troll my line out before every outing. Just a mention, a b/c will get line twist from using the baits like a sardine for the same bait rotating situation, most will never encounter that problem as you don't fish that technique. I am almost 100% convinced the reel is the major problem, but the way thre line loads back on to the reel contributes. I really like these abus, the drags are some of the best and the reels are built rock solid. That said and not wanting to start a reel debate, my stradics have never encountered that twist or wind knot problem, I do feel they are not built as solid. Don't get me wrong stradic is an excellent reel. I know in my head what i was trying to say, hope it makes sense on paper..lol

I do like my Abu sorons, especially in saltwater, but any new purchases most likely will not be an Abu, too many line issues, I pretty much have my mind up what direction I will be taking.

It's the reel, I have 4 soron stx's, one ( a 4000 which is brand new ) gets line twist very bad and others also but not to the same degree and I'm using braid, the line twist causes terrible wind knots. I always use BB swivels and close the bail by hand, spoons get thrown a lot, doesn't help I use a little less than about 1/2 of a spool maybe 80 or 90 yds of 20# braid, I no longer have the problem. I use this combo for inshore use, none of my other inshore outfits have this problem.

I also own a Tsunami airwave inshore rod, 8', 8/17 spinning, lure weight up to 3/4 oz but it handles 1 oz spoons beautifully. It's a good rod but I would not use it for bass rod. For my bass fishing I use a calico jack inshore 7' 8/17 rod, mainly for high banked canal use to lift them out of the water, pond use I prefer a 6'6 6/12 rod. I have 6 redbones, various lengths and power and the only negative for me is their 7 foot rods have a short butt, I prefer a longer one, also their m and mh rods are rated for 3/4 oz and 1 oz. I'd like to see them offer a mh that would be rated for 1.5 - 2 oz lures, for those baits I use a Star rod. For your use I think this would be a non issue. Dicks no longer carries the Tsnuami airwaves, I think Bimini Bay is one of the few places you can order it from, personally I'd never buy rod without being able to put my hands on it first.

I think so too. My standard set ups (I use nothing but spinning in all venues) are a $100 rod and $150 reel, not saying the reel is better quality than the rod, I rate them pretty even in value. In fresh water the same equation applies but I spend a little less on each item.

I'm not sure if that show is staged or not, there has to be a lot of "dry holes" and no scores.

I don't see it that way and I was an employer and I'm one of the 1%.

Last thing I would recommend is getting a junk car, 2 would be insanity. Driving a car with a couple of hundred k miles may be ok if it had been your car from the start, but a junker is a money pit, something will always be breaking down. Not only do I want my wife in the safest car possible but reliabilty is an important asset. Down time can cost you money, maybe even a job. I know people are going to chime in about fixing their own cars and never had a problem...........ya been lucky. In the time it takes for me to put my time in to do the labor, I could have been working and made more than most repairs would cost, not to mention recourse.

That photo is from a newspaper, that guy fell off the back of the boat into the inlet. Story has it he swam to shore and the guys in the boat went fishing......lol. Not that I condone this, but I see no more than 1 person out of a hundred wearing a life vest, except the kayaker's, who regularly go out the inlet. Those kayakers are crazy, even though they are out in only 3 feet and less seas, boats can't see them even going at a slow speed, trim tabs don't lower the bow enough. A few have flags (can't see the flags either), blinking lights on a mast should be required by law.

For bass it's the rod for me, regardless of technique. My bass reels are always smooth, ( I only use spinning), stay in good shape and I never service them. Inshore is a different story, I prefer both sides of the equation to be of better quality. Fish can be very demanding but even more so the elements take it's toll as well.

Not an usual day at the inlet in fall or winter, Boynton inlet can be treacherous.

Tyrius offers the best advice imo, but as k_mac says free advice is worth what you pay for it. I think tyrius means home owners insurance, not PMI, as a rule PMI is for loans with less than 20% down and in your case 20% would most likely be required. In your present economic situation all you need is a piece of paper, pencil, some common sense and the ability to add and subtract............I'd sell the boat.