SirSnookalot

It's nice to be young.............hehe.

I have a pond where I live, can be pretty darn good with nice bass, this pond probably is no more than 2-3 acres. Not only do I fish it a lot, there are 3-4 other people that do as well, sometimes several people at one time. These other fishermen are worm guys and I use only 3 or 4 different lures. Either we all are catching fish or none of us are. I believe yesterday is ancient history and tomorrow hasn't got here yet. What matters is the exact instance the lure hits the water, a few seconds can make all the difference. Pressure doesn't concern me, but only to the extent some one other than me caught fish, their lure may have just hit the water at the right second.

Amazon is the midlleman, an item is actually bought from a vendor. Whether XYZ reel company backs up that warranty may be on a case to case basis. I did have a situation of getting a defective rod, Amazon stood right behind it and over nighted me a new one. I purchased a reel off Ebay, several months later I sent it into Pure Fishing under warranty, no problem at all.

This response should be tagged as the "best answer". As any every day saltwater fishermen, rinsing is always a good idea especially from the beach or boat. Sea walls and jetties IMO it's not mandatory if there is no wind, but of course no harm in doing it if done correctly. Don't forget the rod guides. I'm one of these people that are vehemently opposed to using any bass gear in saltwater, however for the occasional outing use what you have.

Part of the reason of the shrinking middle class is due to less union participation. Being a former business owner one may think I'd be against unions, the opposite is true I'm pro union. Some people tend to think you get what you pay for, especially on this forum when fishing discussing gear, why would a teacher be any different. Like any employment the highest wages attract the most qualified people. What ever poll or survey is used as reference the US ranks no where near top of the industrialized countries in secondary education, rings a bell for me. Like many employments teachers do not start near the top of the pay scale, tenure takes time. Additionally to be at the top a masters degrees or perhaps a PHD, that doesn't come easy. Education IMO should be priority for the future.

Caught 2 on that same beach a few years apart, yes it is a trumpetfish.

Same set up as every other lure type I fish, braid and leader. 10-20# braid, 10-30# leader......both conditions and species dictate the combination.

One of my most unusual catches.

I've been on social media over 20 years, did prefer instant feedback of chat rooms, I've out grown that. F/B I like along with some specialized forums, like BR for fishing, android ones for questions and support. I recently joined twitter, so far I can't get into it, don't think I'll be there too long. Haven't tried instagram as yet, if one is interested in following people with photos being the focus, it's a great idea.

I worked out doors, I have very dry skin. Never had problems with my hands or fingers but I got cracks on my feet all the time every winter. Vasoline petroleum jelly and wearing socks to bed, sometimes I used saran wrap instead of socks, and my feet heeled up remarkable fast.

It's hard to get much cheaper for a decent reel than a Pflueger trion, mine is 8-10 years smoother than silk and as ul it has caught dozens of bass 22" and over with out flexing. Shimano does make some very fine products, stellas are very good, but one expect that when spending over $600. Their high end and mid range conventional reels are very good performers, even the TLD which is a graphite reel is a solid workhorse. A spheros is in the same price range as a stradic, built pretty tough, too bad no more 3-4000 are made. Stradic and above are good reels, below I feel competition gives me more bang for my buck.

Bail wires or assemblies having to be replaced (2 times each on 2 reels) should have nothing to do with species or being used in saltwater. They get loose IMO because of the quality of the workmanship. Do we not close the bails by hand? Parts not being available has nothing to do with saltwater, or the occasional poor performance of customer service. Shimano certainly is an acceptable reel in freshwater. There good reels but I don't elevate them to star status.

Assuming all of the components are of good quality and good condition. Reel........Need a good performing drag, most of my species can strip out some line. Rod.........In the last 10 years my rods have ample backbone, cast well. They do not have to be expensive to meet my criteria. Line......... Sure a fish can be caught with a drone and the Cuban yoyo (no rod or reel), but that's not the way we fish.

When a company markets their product as "saltwater approved" and the parts can corrode more than the competition's, that's when the reel should be made more durable or remove "approved" status.

I've used Spro, Sampo and Southern Salt, at present using a BB that my local tackle store stocks, less expensive and work the same. I put on a duolcock on a #2 (45# I think) for my barracuda tubes, other than that I tie everything fresh and salt. I have been using power swivels but only with in line spinners.

Shimanos Smooth, excellent line management, never a wind knot, good drag performance. Bearings corrode, bails get floppy, shortage of parts, lackluster customer service. Get a Pflueger president for less money for years of dependable service.

Too much line on the bottom remove a shim, too much on top add a shim. My Daiwa tierra had a line spoolng problem, it has a metal piece that I don't know how to remove to add a shim. I sent into Daiwa a few years ago and I needed a part, which they fixed at no charge after warranty. I'm having the same problem again, not too bad so I'm living with it.

I totally agree. I do think a size 25 is adequate but for all around use I'd prefer a 30 size. Based on everything I read I'm doing it all wrong. I pay little attention to using this kind of a rod with that kind of a lure. I don't put a whole lot of stock in super sensitive rods. I don't use b/c or 50# braided line, don't ever fish with more than 3 or 4 lures. All that said, I whack out some pretty nice fish. I do not recommend specific rod and reel brands, more than willing to say what I use but don't take that as endorsement just because I like it.

I'm seeing a lot of beds now, I'm also seeing a lot of heat, humidity and bugs. I'll still be doing a little of bass and peacock fishing, I'm concentrating my efforts on other species.

I had been using a Columbia watertight jacket for quite a few years, served me well. Don't buy yellow lol, mine is past the point of cleaning. I recently bought on closeout off Amazon a Free Country waterproof that retailed I believe I read for $120, I paid about 50 bucks. So far I like it a lot, it fits me better than the Columbia. I tried on a few Frog Toggs, didn't like the fit or the material.

Med/light and saltwater fish for me is a no go, the backbone isn't there as far as I'm concerned, even for 1# blue runners. I have the same Avet on a 25 lb class rod used off shore. I don't use it too often as I have spinning set ups on 30 & 40# class rods and reels around 30# of drag, I've had fish pull out line with a very tight drag (something that shouldn't be done too often). Braid is more for line capacity and management than strength, most braids break well over the labeled number. 20# braid will break over 30#, a stradic 4000 has 20# of drag which far exceeds where the drag is going to be set at. Line should never break unless it's been roughed up. I use a simple formula for my braid selection (same for bass too) based on the rod not the reel or lure. ml.................10#, 10# leader (freshwater) med 8/17......15#, 20# leader m/h 10/20.....20#, 30# leader heavy...........30#, 40# Ieader, my heaviest for off shore. I'm not targeting 75-100# fish anymore, but it does happen, I handle them this set up. As simple as I keep my bass fishing, my saltwater fishing is even less complicated. Just no reason to over think any thing.

It only looks secluded. Saw some bigger fish that I couldn't get a lure to, I saw one large fin. Later it dawned on me it was a spinner shark (they jump like crazy), I didn't have gear with me that would handle a 100# fish.

I see a lot more posts of people saying how much they love their knot, both diameter and strength. There are plenty of people that tie good knots that don't fail.

Caught a pretty good one off the beach today. Referencing what I said earlier about having to walk after a fish, not a long walk today about 10-12 yards, then back and forth a couple so times, so I was on the move. Once I got the fish into the swash I couldn't pull it out of the water, I had to walk backwards to land it. I also use this same method puling bass from heavy vegetation. Since there is a knot and braid cutting threads going on my event played right into those threads. Using a 7'6 med rod 15# braid and 20# leader, I had a wind knot. After having to cut it out, the FG knot would have been a real tussle stranding on the beach holding my rod. Using my own version of an Alberto a new leader was tied in seconds with the use of my Ronson flame jet lighter. I then caught this, as one can see the knot held just fine.

If thinness were the reason to use this knot, I could buy that. But many people have stated hey have no problem with their present knot. If the reason is more strength that's something a bit hard for me to understand. If a small fish is hooked, little or no line is stripped out, not need for a super duper knot. If it's a very large fish that does pull out line, let it do just that as that's what the drag is for. When a fish pulls out line tension is reduced on the knot, again a super duper knot isn't needed. One might make a case using this knot for some beefy fish (I still wouldn't use it), for bass fishing I hardly see the need. How many people really get broke off at the connection knot?