SirSnookalot

There are spinning reels where neither backing or tape is needed with braid. Abu sorons and Penn conquers just to name 2, I'm sure there must be others. The Penn has a rubberized strip a knot or just tape over the line is fine. The Abu has 2 rubber bands, just place the line underneath the band, no tape or knot required. In the event a fish runs 200 yds down to the spool, you're not going to get it anyway knot or not.

For those conditions I wouldn't fish anything but spinning gear with 10# braid.

I don't like backing but that's my preference, I use painter's tape ( masking tape), I'm sure electrical tape will work just fine.

MSU legend

Not too many years ago women were not allowed to play golf at many clubs even if there was a family membership, some allowed play on Monday's only. The men just didn't want them on the course, some clubs like Adios here in Boca Raton do not allow women on the premises, even to work. It's all about male bonding. When it comes to a fishing club I can understand the same feelings. Do men want to join any kind of women's clubs?

I don't replace hooks until it's absolutely necessary, even when I have a broken treble with 1 or 2 hooks on it. Siwash hooks are very popular in saltwater, more so on spoons than lures. I have a few windcheaters( bomber lure) when hook replacement was needed I went to single hooks.

The only plastic baits I use are flukes, have never really noticed any defects from Zoom or any other brand. Flukes are a big part of my arsenal, I use them a lot for bass, but I use them more for snook and tarpon. Just about any fish will hit them, great for toothy critters if you don't mind putting a fresh one after each strike. I use Zooms, but have no loyalty to any brand, my catch rate is fairly constant from brand to brand.

I've use daiwa jerkbaits, worked on a par with anything else. Out here you don't worry about lure life expectency , nothing lasts too long, I buy what's on sale.

Assuming the reel is off warranty and you're on your own I would weigh the cost of repair against a new replacement, either the same reel or another brand. It may not be worth to fix it.

Fins

About 15-18", I use swivels, except when fishing for species that will hit the swivel as readily as the bait ( spanish mackerel). For 99% of my fishing I don't see the point of a long leader and tieing line to line.

Without being there it's difficult to say why you haven't done well. Just a guess, you have heard the expression 90% of water has no fish, this is especially true fishing from the beach. I wouldn't be surprised if you just there at the wrong time & wrong conditions. Fishing for snook is not the same in the different types of enviroment they inhabit, I'll address the beach only. Snook are most actively feeding apx 45 min before and 30 min after sunrise, giving a small window of opportunity, true can be caught from the beach through out the day but best during their feeding time. Tide is very important, especially the relationship to sunrise ( or sunset) an early out going tide is primo, ( early meaning a tide change coming back in just after sunrise), each ensuing day the bite weakens a bit as you get into a later tide. Another important factor is surf, snook like a trough, also called a swash, that's the area between the waves closest to the shore, flat water is not conducive for snook fishing. All this being said my hunch was there were just no fish around, some may chime in and say they have caught them in those poor conditions, I have too, but the odds are greatly reduced. Now this is how to catch them, cast along the shoreline, not out in the ocean for distance. just about any LMB bait will work fine, I've probably caught more on spoons than anything. Bucktails, soft flukes on jig heads, any hard jerk bait all work good, the key is the retrieve. Do not burn a bait it, overworking a lure does not work well, slow retrieve with lots of pauses, they like to hit on the drop, let the motion of the surf do the work. Don't stay in one spot, you have to find the snook, certain areas of the beach will be better, drop offs, the way the surf hits the shore, and it's constantly changing with the tide, I often walk a good mile when I'm hunting them. A beach with a pier can be exceptionally good, snook like to hang in the pilings, cast along them. Once you catch your first the rest come easy. ............SLOW RETRIEVE AND WITH PAUSES, FISH THE TROUGH.

Some of my target species are difficult to catch, I may average one every 3 or 4 weeks. Not that I haven't had some strikes, fish on only to be lost after a jump or 2 or not being being able to land as they were too big. I nailed tarpon yesterday morning, good hookup jumped all over the place, my drag was screaming. Luckily I happen to be fishing in an ideal place, next to the sea wall was small little beach in the ICW, even at high tide I was able to beach this critter. Decision ran thru my mind as whether to take a photo, my car with phone it in was only about 40 feet away. I opted to forgo the pic as it would not have been a good photo, dark outside and the flash isn't great, no one to take the pic and a fish laying in the sand even one this size of about 30 or 40# is just not photo worthy. The fish was totally unharmed, internal organs were supported as the fish was never lifted, my choice a clean release, fish swam away beautiful. I'm happier than I would have been taking a photo and possibly doing harm to one of these majestic gamefish.

If I were bank fishing I'd keep them alive on a stringer until I was ready to leave, I would clean them on the spot and wrap them, fish will be fine until you get home, No different than buying fish at the market, (except market fish are not as fresh), counter man cleans it, wraps it, you checkout and drive home. My dad had a fish market for 40 years, that's how it was always done.

I'm not an expert, just a junk dealer that has bought a lot of this stuff. Alum bronze ( ampco) is used in all types of gearing. the alum gives hardness to the brass, brass is really a copper alloy which is very soft. Alum bronze is also not very expensive as compared to other brass or bronze alloys.

I love to bass fish and have been at it for 60 years, why? Cause it's so darn easy and I seldom get skunked. Bass are abundant, aggressive can be caught on any kind of equipment and are not too big. When is the last time you heard of a person catching 20-40 or 100 or more muskie in an outing, it just doesn't happen. Just recently we had a thread about "most amount bass caught in day", the numbers are staggering, and some of the same people try to say bass fishing is a challenge, doesn't make sense to me. In addition to my bass fishing I target other species as well, fish for cuda and tarpon most days. Since the start of the year I have caught around 10 of each, that's 1 tarpon and cuda every 3 weeks( anyone in the world can catch them on live bait), I don't even consider that a challenge, it's just the nature of the beast. Snook are like bass, easy to catch, I've probably caught a couple hundred this year, not that I count. Just didn't see the need to pick on walleye fisherman. I"m not about to give up bass fishing because I really do enjoy it, but I gotta call it the way I see it, I don't think it's all that hard. BTW that trout Francho keeps showing is one fine fish, that's what i call fishing. Catching a larger fish of any species is a challenge, no question about. Some guys catch a lot of 2-3# bass, I get lot 6-10# snook, it really isn't a big deal, but lots of fun. If I get banned for my opinion, so be it I'll leave quietly.

I like new rods and reels, have about 8 inshore outfits and I really only need 1. When it comes to lures, lines , hooks, etc what I use serves me well, new products get little attention. I must have at least 30 spoons as back up in my trunk, I'm still using the rusted ones with broken trebles, they work and I haven't lost them yet, my back up is intact.........lol

I went into Dick's to buy a penn conquer 4000 @ 199.95. I heard thru the vine they had closed out stradics at a cheap price but were sold out and none on display. An inquiry found 1 4000fi left @ 112 bucks, couldn't pass it by. My existing stradic 4000 performs nicely so I'm pretty pleased.

I wouldn't worry about line strength unless you have to pry a fish out of heavy cover. How much line do you think a 10# bass is going to take, well the tightness of your drag has a lot to do with it, but bass do not make long runs.

Spanking instills fear on a kid, does not promote respect of authority, don't think for a second I'm against spankings. Kids have had similar problems for years, we just never had names for them before. We have 2 daughters, 1 squeaking clean, the other a real problem child. The problem child was sent away to a special facility, then shipped off to California to live and work with her Uncle. Got married and today she is a great mother, an attorney and published author, a real asset to the community. Both our daughters have kids of their own, i child a 16 year old is a real problem, tourettes, bi polar and the list goes on and on, was unable to function in schoo, he's now in a special facility ( paid for by healthcare) so far is doing well. Not to beat a dead horse but as a kid I was a problem child, parents got me professional help and sent me to military school. I came out ok... I think I know a little something about problems, #1 the kid has to want to help themselves, if not all is in vain and #2 if needed there is no substitute for professional help.

I had quite a few bikes between 1963 and 1970, sold my last bike then and haven't been on one since, as I much as loved it, I really don't miss. I started out with a Yamaha big bear 250cc scambler and some fun with it, but that bike was short lived, in favor of a Bultaco. I never raced but had a lot of fun on trails. Most of my friends were into english bikes so naturally I got a trump( bonneville), then a BSA lightning rocket and ended my english bikes with a Norton matchless, I never really got into Harley's, rode many of them but never bought one. My very last bike was a 1970 Kawi 500, that was a real screamer. I never had anything I liked better than my Norton.

If it's a public area it's open for anyone to fish. I have had those things happen to me many times and I honestly I didn't like it either, but my best option is just fish elsewhere. Is it really worth the hassle to create a scene over a fish? Also the last thing I would want to do is embarass any parents in front of their kids.

I seldom buy anything on line but wanted something that was not available in a local store. BPS got it to me in about a weeks time, I was satisfied.

A flat tax for individuals may be viable, with a starting point maybe above 40 or 50k. For businesses, no. Businesses need their depreciation on equipment, write offs on property, etc. However, jets, yachts, autos (really used for personal use, like for their kids or spouse) should be eliminated. Code should be trimmed, but I still think the rate needs to raised. First hand experience, a few percent increase in tax never curtailed hiring, if you need to add employees you do, it's that simple. Say a small business has 300k in profits, 50k over the 250k mark, a few % raise on 50, 000 is only an extra $2000. As I understand a tax raise would only be on the overage. Anyone who thinks that an extra $2000 would force a company not to hire any extra help if needed is a person who has never owned a business. Even at a million it's only an extra 30K, pocket change for company with that kind of profit, the owner probably spends close to that on his Cohibas. Hopefully an employee pays for themself in more productivity, if not the questions was is the employee needed in the first place, the tax is almost irrelevant.

No, you don't need a b/c to catch big bass. I don't own a b/c and I catch nice bass from shore all the time using bass size spinning gear. I seldom use cranks as I fish heavy weeded areas too, my presentations are pretty much what yours are, just keep at it. IMO the only reason to use a b/c with heavier line is fighting the weeds not the fish. Myself also being primarily a saltwater fisherman, find it more satisfying to catch bass on light tackle, b/c take the fun and fight out of for it me. I don't really care if I lose a fish in the weeds or not, I'll just go catch another.