SirSnookalot

Real nice fish. Every time I see a nice muskie I'm reminded of my local barracuda fishing.

In my part of Florida Walmart poses some competition to other fishing retailers, both big and small shops but as the years go by their fishing departments are drastically shrinking. Their saltwater gear is pathetic, targeted for the low end fisherman. IMO a small tackle shop has more to fear from a BPS, Dicks, etc. I fish coastal everyday, I do know this, beaches are open to anyone to fish, providing there is public access and parking such as a public beach, municipal, state or federal parks. A homeowner's property extends to the high water mark, not down to the water. Exceptions would be like a cape Canaveral, military bases and the like. I personally have no fear of my fishing areas being limited by the efforts of the Walmart Foundation.

Believe me I did not misunderstand. The majority of people at least around here not fishing from a boat or going to the locations that you do for bass are not catching much and the quality is not there. I have absolutely no desire to fish for 5# & under freshwater fish when I have to battle these gnats, they disappear after rainy season, I can wait till then. I get off shore usually 2 times a week, the other 5 I'm fishing for inshore species, as i say the action is getting good inshore, that's where I want to be.

Conditions permitting I use them on jig head, usually 1/4 oz.

Says me.......catching jacks, cuda, tarpon had over 20 snook the other morning, bite getting better everyday and bait is starting to show up. This is my time of the year.

Both the j spoon and mepps timber doodle are as close to weedlees as it gets. A trailer without question makes either one of these baits a good choice. I use them for some of my inshore fishing too, especially fishing over reefs.

Hard to wrong with a Shimano Clarus, it did win Icast a few years ago, I have a 6'6 6/12 rod ( many other size rods available) with a 30 supreme on it, 10# braid. The similar sized president or even a trion would most likely balance fairly well. Most $50 reels and $50 rods should be quite adequate.

I suppose each person defines a purists differently. To me a purist is a fly fisherman wading the flats for bonefish or wading a stream for trout. Man against fish, no 50 mph boats, no electronics, no hi tech gear, no artificial scents. I exclude myself from the list of purist anglers as the fly rod does not come out often enough. I'd rather have caught Goose's 9# fish on his gear , 9 # is definitely worth bragging about, but a 5# fish is only 5 pounds, hardly worth talking about.

That's one of the great aspects of living in a coastal environment, something is always happening. Fishing has been good and getting better and better from now until the end of the year, but not for bass. I've thought about fishing an area for the last 5 years, heard so much about this place but never made there. I finally fished it last week and in does live up to the hype, glad I went, it won't be the last time.

I would like to see those Asian carp commercially caught for cat food, hopefully would take some pressure off the kingfishing down here Florida. Commercial fisherman are allowed 50 fish per day per boat ( limits sometimes are adjusted downwards), doesn't surprise me Kingfishing isn't what it was 20 years ago.

I'd like to see some heavy rain ( keep those snook producing spillways open ) but don't want to see even a cat 1 hurricane, too hot to be losing my power and a/c. The surf fishing should be better than average with this storm coming later in the week, the big girls are starting to show up now along with some other great catching species.

^^^ I feel your pain.

Well bassn will appreciate this..............I went to the spillway yesterday morning.

I'd move on and fish the water that's productive for you, go back to the other location in a few weeks. Why go and get frustrated when you can have some fun. I have 6 community ponds where I live, 1 pond is connected to a drainage canal ( only about 8' wide and 1/2 the time void of water) and the ponds are connected to each other via underground ducts, no stocking has ever been done. Of the 6 ponds 1 produces nothing, 1 is sub par, 3 are fair and the last being the biggest and furthest away from the canal is way above average for numbers and size. Water conditions and vegetation are all about the same..........so which one do you think I fish 90% of the time? What i like to do for a little variety is after each fish I catch i put on a different lure. xrap, top water, fluke and maybe finish off with a spoon, all seem to do pretty well. Don't take it too serious, go out and have some fun.

Any post staying within the guidelines of BR does not get deleted, snafus may happen but it isn't done on purpose. I think Glenn and the staff are very fair on this issue.

Hooligan is correct about braid digging in with spinning gear, I find it to be a non issue and of no concern. It's all about personal choice, I've been using Fins lately and it works just fine...............just go catch fish, that's the only thing that matters.

Yes........check your ears too !

Use what ya got,, they'll hit it.

I think there is a difference between being an elitist and and a enthusiast, the former honestly believes the highest priced gear improves the quality of fishing and enhances the experience, pure non sense. An enthusiast likes to keep up with technology, so for me I do not want a reel to last me a lifetime. Like Diablos I'm more of a saltwater fisherman, I can easily stay up with technology spending no more than $200 for a very decent saltwater reel, but buying stellas at 900 a pop I can't do that ( I'm also not out of mind either )

Instead of 2 flukes I use a fly and jerkbait, I'm sure a fluke would work too, it's called a drop fly rig, I've used it for bass, snook and tarpon with success.

I'm a braid man, however on my barracuda outfits I use mono, braid twists up too bad using barracuda tubes and can't be trolled out. 1 outfit has trilene xl and the other has original stren, I see absolutely no difference in the 2, both work just fine. Gotta say if it weren't for the twist issue I'd be using braid, mono is like using a long rubber band.

Can't honestly say if the snook would have been on in your area but my hunch would be YES. Despite the raining coming down sideways in sheets and heavy winds the ocean itself was like a sheet of glass, not conducive for snook fishing. I fished fast moving water not the beach, i did catch some healthy blue runners on the beach day before. You never know with snook fishing but I think today may be a carbon copy of yesterday, it's 2 am and getting ready to go very soon. BTW, I was fishing with a buddy, an excellent fisherman, I was using a white windcheater, he wasn't, I out caught him 4 or 5 to 1.

For those of you in South Florida, catch the lighting display at about 4:am? just like the priest in Caddyshack( he had the golf round of his life) I had a very rare event. Cast after cast for nearly 2 hours I had a snook on the line, lightning exploding everywhere I just couldn't leave, never had this kind of action before. Healthy double digits as far as numbers go, nothing over about 7# but it was blast, never easy pulling in 7 pounders in heavy current I know where I will be tomorrow morning..

I may have had a change of heart, I don't mind giving a positive opinion of a product I owned or have had in the past. Regarding a product I didn't care for(or never owned) I prefer not to make some one feel bad after they've made a purchase, especially if it's a new fisherman(woman). Some of the negative opinions come from people not much more experienced that the person asking questions. I don't pawn myself off as a qualified reviewer, only whether I like something, that's more opinion than review.

When it comes to buying equipment I will do a little bit of homework for some technical information, upfront I generally know what I'm looking for. I may read a few professional reviews, but so many reviews from private individuals are too biased towards 1 brand over another. A few members on here are worth noting when it comes to a fair review, J. Francho being one of the few, he knows his stuff. Buying something and not being happy with it is all part of the learning curve. If possible I like to see the equipment I'm interested in being used, and hopefully catch fish with it, then I know exactly if I like or not.