SirSnookalot

I have seen my share of stolen items sold for scrap but the bridge is a first. Only thing that what puzzle me is the time factor and not being detected, or local authorities noticing the dismantling before completion. Could have be done by hand loading pick up trucks, but that would take a long time and a lot of hard work and countless number of trips to a scrap yard for unloading. I could venture another guess which makes more sense to me but I'll refrain from telling you how it was most likely done. I will say this, someone may have given information that generally is known to a " professional".

I change when needed, not before. I step up 1 size and use saltwater hooks even for my freshwater fishing. Sometimes they may get tangled with each other, a second to untangle and back in business. Best hook I use comes standard on Mirrorlures.

I use braid 100% of the time, spinning gear 10#. I always use a leader with a loop knot.

@ Ken, I don't think anyone is talking about tournament fishing, which I could care less about being personally involved. When I do my offshore fishing I have multiple rods with me, for trolling, drifting or casting, all are important. I think the thrust of the last few posts have more to with recreational fishing from shore. Many people such as myself fish from shore with only 1 rod, quite common to walk and cast for a mile or more, when changing a lure the balance and aerodynamics are going to change, adapting should come natural, not a whole lot thought to it. Whether it be bass fishing or inshore saltwater fishing the techniques and equipment are quite similar, The bass world may be different, but fishing is fishing, if a semi experienced fisherman can catch bass they are more than capable of being successful inshore and the reverse is just as true. My roots are freshwater for 60 years, and have inshore fished about 30 years, I fish 7 days a week both saltwater inshore and bass fishing and enjoy both, there really is not a whole of difference. This is as simple as it gets, present a bait in the vicinity of a fish, hope for the best. @ Baluga, I didn't realize some people are that fragile. Conditioning and proper techniques go a long way in prevention of injury, discounting any predisposed health conditions or accidents. Let the rod load and do the work, a long flowing arc to your cast is much easier on your body, that's called a saltwater cast, a freshwater cast is wristier with more of a snap to it, having my roots in freshwater I've been accused of casting improperly in the surf. Doing this for 60 years has conditioned me to do this daily with no discomfort.

I have a number of combinations that have excellent balance, then I change a lure and the balances changes, not that bothers me, especially considering that except for boat fishing I have but 1 rod with me. The balance changes with the position of the reel on the rod, how many guys tape their reel on to a bare cork handle these days to alter the balance. By your own admission your only exercise is fishing once a week, I think that plays in perfectly to my point, Most activities I can think of require a repetitive motion, doing it infrequently would probably cause some pain and discomfort at times, even with the world most perfectly balanced rod and reel . A person doing it day in a day out doesn't tire out or get sore, perfectly balanced or not, the muscles are trained and strengthened for that activity. I'd be willing to bet a world class marathon runner would get a little sore and tired from an activity they seldom do, like casting, or bowling, or golf or tennis. I'm fit and my muscles are conditioned to cast for hours regardless of what kind of rod and reel I'm using with whatever lure weight, since I don't tire I'm always relaxed. I'm 66 years old too ! I apologize to the rest of the members for getting slightly off track, but some fisherman actually think there is some kind of magic bullet out there, the magic is really within each of us, not the equipment. I happen to fish with some really nice gear, but that isn't what catches the fish.

Today was no different than any other day, started the ICW at 4:am, hit the beach at 5:30, then the jettie around 8. Fished a top water for maybe the first 4 hours. All my fishing was done with 1 rod, I used maybe another 4 different weighted lures the rest of the time, oh yeh stopped off with the same rod and caught a few bass on a spinnerbait on the way home. All in all fished for better part of 6 hours, had a good day too. Am I tired, body fatigued or stressed, not in the least bit. Doing this everyday and being fit eliminates those problems, I'll be going bass fishing for the rest of the day. Train your body and be in shape you won't get tired or sore whether your rod is perfectly balanced or not. I never soak a bait................I strictly walk and cast.

I agree that a short handle is easier to operate top water lures, especially for bass fishing. Other types of fishing using a top lure I prefer a longer rod with a longer butt, I use 7, 7'6 an 8, doing it so much I'm accustom to it.

I'm not so sure I agree. I owned a scrap metal company for 35 years in Detroit, it can be a fantastic business, but the good times come with bad times too. What a scrap metal company does is quite simple. Buy scrap from plants generally in their local area and move them along to a some sort of a processor (mill, foundry, refiner, smelter, or user). XYZ company will manufacture something from material bought in the United States or overseas, the country of origin in most cases isn't relevant. That said the bulk of scrap over the last 10 years or so winds up in China, but the scrap was created here. It is true manufacturing is not what it once was, but the number of active scrap companies is less too, meaning less competetion. When I first went into business there may have been 30 major ferrous yards and another 30 or 40 major non ferrous companies, those numbers did dwindle to no more than 10 when I retired, but those 10 kicked butt in the income department. As far as a degree ,never hurts but it depends on what one's job position is . I never did know metals all that well, didn't make any difference, my customers knew what they had, I could read an analysis sheet, and the people whom I sold the material always did some sort of analysis. We had a metal man working for us that knew it all, he was a sorter. I highly recommend the scrap business, there is no limit to earning potential.

good point about the gaffing, it was a thought. I'm quite familiar with the BPS inshore extreme which is an excellent rod, probably a close cousin to the extreme.

He will be missed. He lasted a lot longer than most do with pancreatic cancer, don't know if that was good or not as there is much pain and discomfort associated. One of my boat mates just passed away from pancreatic cancer and went real fast.

If I read the OP post correctly I don 't believe this is a rod issue if a net would be a big asset, it's more of how the fish is handled once along side of the boat, a shortish gaff solves this problem. I don't know anything about a cumara rod but I think there are better types of rods available. Just to mention, I have broken only 1 rod that I can think of and it wasn't the weight of the fish that did, the rod was stressed in the first place and was going to break at some point in time. This is not an issue of one brand against another, this is an issue of the type of rod best suited. I routinely catch larger fish than the average snakehead and hoist them up from the jetties which are about 10 feet high, this is done by springing them up, this is not done once in awhile but daily, no question some fish require a pier net. It's the type of rod I use, not the brand as I use a few different brands. A rod with a good backbone to hold them in place and a gaff is the ticket, I don't care what brand you buy, these fish hit hard enough that a phone pole is sensitive enough.

In Florida for sure. I have caught good sized bass in the turnpike retention ponds, also most schools have a retention pond, they can be good too.

Gators are there for 1 reason and that's to eat, bass are a part of their diet. On more occasions than I could count I have seen predatory mammals, reptiles and fish move my target species into hiding. One many may not think of are dolphins ( flipper, cute cuddly nuisance) clear out the game fish real quick, sharks too.

It's a generational thing, my kids, their husbands and their kids all text like crazy, leave a message on voice mail, they don't even bother checking. Only time they use the phone to call us is when they want something......lol. I did buy a smartphone and for me was a mistake, I use a few apps but I get can any of that info at home before I leave. I'm looking forward to getting back to my faithful flip phone. I won't return a text, you want me, use the f^^^ phone. As a former business owner any employee of mine was there for 1 reason, to do the work I hired them to do. There was no texting then but cell phones were getting real popular. The rule, leave your cell phone in your locker or better yet in your car. In case of emergency have your other half call the office, we'll get to you real fast. I furnished cell phones for my drivers so I could get in touch with them, it was ok for them to use it for personal when not at work.

Isn't enough bandwith to list it all.

I take no insult as I like the way i fish, do it 7 days a week and catch some great fish. Actually I grew up in Michigan and fished bass and most other species for nearly 60 years before moving to Florida. My dad was an avid fisherman and we either lived on or near lakes since i was a kid, being within 20 minutes of Canada we fished there a lot too. I have always kept my fishing real basic and simple, it has served me well. Got my first real taste of inshore saltwater fishing when my wife and I bought our first place in Florida ( as snowbirds) in 1982, love at first sight.

I only fish moving baits, I may fish a plastic worm maybe 2 or 3 times in an entire year. Quite common for me to fish a variety of lure types from 1/4 to over an ounce at the beach or inlet, then use the same rod to do some bass fishing on my way home and use fairly light lures. Most people I encounter down here fish exactly the same way, carry only 1 rod, except bait fisherman. Our kind of fishing, perfect balance does not seem to be a concern.

Unless the exact same weighted lures are used the balance will never be the same. On many of my setups I throw a range of different lure weights, 1/2 oz to 1 1/2 oz is not uncommon for me. I'm not into dedicated rods and reels as I prefer to have only 1 with me. The exception would be offshore, I have 3, 1 for trolling, 1 for drifting and 1 for casting, but only 1 at a time are used.

Very nice snook. As far as I'm concerned nothing beats catching fish in the surf, I do it daily. Even small fish, once they hit the swash feel like they are cemented, hard to budge. Snook have been very difficult this year, my beach production has been dismal. Have seen by others and caught some really nice ones myself, but those have come from the jettie, not the beach. Sidebar, the jacks were everywhere yesterday, small but great fun on light tackle. One of the very rare days, a fish on every cast for 2 solid hours, caught a whole bunch. Today I'm heading to where the big jacks are, had a nice one last week, but that doesn't mean they will even show up today.

As I say I see few if any bass fisherman, everyone I know strictly fishes saltwater. In my area of Florida just about every trailered boat I see is an offshore boat, this part of Florida the emphasis is not on bass. That does not mean I don't enjoy bass fishing, I do, it's relaxing and a nice break from my normal routine.

Tony Romo is not the future of the Dallas Cowboys !

I did not want to avoid naming exact rods but as long as my bud Baasn' did, I will too. in a prior thread Star rods were mentioned, I'm using a star steller lite 7 10/20, rated for 2 oz, for piers and jetties, targeting bigger jacks, snook and tarpon, excellent rod but personally I think it's too much rod for snakeheads, especially from a boat. Redbone is a good choice I have 6 of them, I don't use mine for freshwater, I'm using a calico jack which is made by the same company that makes redbone, only $55. I use a 7' med 8/17 spinning, I love this rod, but I notice they have recently come out with 10/20 mh, that's what i would buy.

I don't understand this focus thing, the fish need to focus not me. I can have the most intent conversations and not miss a beat, it's automatic, the fish are doing the majority of the work. I can recite the Gettysberg address while pulling in 30# jack crevelle, what do I need to think about?

Been a hard core Lions fan for about 60 years, I'm elated. Calvin Johnson is incredible, first player in NFL history to catch 2 tds in first 4 games.

Terry Bradshaw said on the pregame show Romo was a taxi squad quarterback and plays like one. I have never thought Romo was a major league player.