SirSnookalot

I have a medalist 5000 series reel, it's the saltwater version of the president. I bought it a little less than a year ago, so it's not the newer one. Just a wonderful reel, smooth as butter, excellent drag, the finish shows no wear from the elements, except a few scratches that any reel would show after use. A tad heavy at 18 oz, but very manageable.

Just your daughter. Good point............. I do remember her bringing home a few losers, then she grew up. Bring back memories ?

Without question Peacock bass, which aren't bass at all but cichlids from South America, we have no Yellow perch in South Florida.

Bill Macatee had a very brief interview after Woods signed his scorecard. Phil and Tiger put a great show on, but starting 7 strokes back is a very tall order. Phils demise was his double bogey on the par 3, he lost his momentum. I believe one of the statistics quoted was 17 of the last 18 winners came from the final pairing.

I use braid on all my spinners and would not consider changing. I routinely cast into the ocean 20-30 mph almost daily..........no wind knots, there is a little trick to it. You may get knotted from jigging or top lure, the pause as you reel up the slack sometimes forms a loop and that can be a problem. With practice you become more proficient and greatly reduce it. I use mostly 15# PP.

Any of you guys ever have a second date with the same woman ( or man) ?

The bass hasn't been born yet that has the power and strength of a 15 # dolphin ( that's not even a big one), that's exactly why I tape my line and not tie to the spool. Worst cast scenario, lost line and lure. The only bass rods that will break will be ones that have a defect from the manufacturer, user handling (abuse, stepping on it, etc) or maybe a Zebco kiddie spincast outfit. Been fishing almost 60 years and broke many, each one my fault, no exception.

I am a golfer and I love watching all the majors. This one was quite interesting. I go back aways, long before Tiger Woods and yes he is phenomenal, if not they greatest player ever, he soon will be. But I have lost a lot of respect for him. He is by far not the greatest champion, much like Hogan. He has a killer instinct but does not know how to lose graciously, like Nicklaus, Watson, Player and Palmer just to name a few. Nicklaus in defeat would always praise the winning opponent, slap him on the rump, give him a hug and make him feel special. His rivals, Watson, Player, Palmer and even Trevino become some of his closest friends off the course, he was respected. Woods will never be the champion that Nicklaus is. I'm hoping his majors record stands until the next young phenom comes along.

Nice fish............. Yesterday closed the bass season for me, the gnats are out and it's getting humid. Snook, Tarpon and Cuda are turning on, kinda nice how mother nature has that one worked out.

Walgreen carries a brand called Academy for about 2.50, works excellent. I just use a cigarette or a bic, nothing works better.......PERIOD !!!!!

Best tip I've read.

Have the opposite here. I'm bassed out, I only want Peacocks.

Reel performance is wonderful these days, even lower end reels. Trion, Shakespeare agility or dimension, Abu line, hard to go wrong. An $800 Van Staal won't catch you more fish. It isn't gear ratio, but inches per wind, something I pay little attention to. With minimal experience winding a little faster or slower is just built into muscle memory. Even with crank baits I vary the speed of the retrieve.

The real answer..........ch*t happens! We call it fishing not catching. You have done nothing wrong, you just get days like that. I have outings that I can't get a solid hookset only to go out the next day with the same equipment and lures and have no troubles at all. Don't read too much into a bad outing, you found fish, so dwell on the positive.

Never a problem, excellent customer service and knowledgeable staff (at least where I go ). The saltwater equipment selection is fairly decent, but would like to see a better stock of terminal tackle and saltwater spoons and jigs. Not bad for a big box store.

My pier is being closed until dec 2010, in Florida time that means dec 2011. Putting in a new sand transfer station, resurfacing and raising it 2', no one is happy about that. What annoys me is that the county is complaining about not having enough money for education and services such as police, fire and ems. They could have slated the work to be done in more prosperous times. http://www.pbcgov.com/webcams/slwi/

The first question is how serious of a fisherman do you want to be and how much do you want to spend. The pflueger trion for about $39. is a great modest upgrade, for 79 you have the president, for my money either one would be more than adequate. 6'6 would be my chocie fro an " all around rod", the lightening is about 40, I'd take a good look at the shimano clarus for 59

I fish 10# or 15# braid with a 20# leader in extremely heavy weeded canals on a med spinning rod, this set up is beefy enough to pull thru weeds and drag them up the canal side, anything over 7# or so you just gotta down the side of the canal to grab them.

1........... ml spinning for ponds, med spinning for canals, and a few lures in my pocket, I constantly walk and never in 1 spot for more than a minute or so. Standing is what puts strain on the back, walking keeps you limber.

It was a hot day for everyone, as I've read on other boards here in Florida. I did well too, apx 22" by the length of my shoe. Bait of the day....horny toad

I have read many posts about b/c with brakes. Have yet to discover why they are needed. I'm certainly no b/c expert but my surf reel (avet mxj) casts a mile, has no brakes and it's not even level wind. 30 minutes of practice for 2 days, no more backlashes.

Minor critique, use an email address that sounds more professional or one that pertains to fishing or the object of your class. Lunch break way too long, I'd charge a bit more and be out there longer. You may want list that the student may need a fishing license and cost. Sounds like everyone would know that, but I'm sure it's overlooked.

If you are trolling for salmon a 3000 series reel is way too small,and not enough line capacity and an insufficient drag. I like a pflueger president 5000 for trolling, since you are trolling weight is no issue. I use this set up for kingfish, bonita, dolphin and barracuda, on a 12-25# muskie rod. Smoothest reel in my arsenal and blow my stradic fi away. $79.95 You may want to consider a trolling reel (conventional) I prefer lever drags, but that is a individual choice.

Transportation costs are vital, cheaper cost per #or ton means one can submit a higher bid, mill prices generally run the same for everyone. For years I ran a semi load from Detroit to Ridgway Pa, 3-4 times per month and starting around 2001 fuel surcharges were added to the base transport price and to my knowledge they haven't eliminated them. I never paid any attention to domestic produce output & cost as it wasn't my field, but my wife tells me the prices have really increased at the retail level. I know we are getting more foreign produce now as their harvesting costs are less and fewer illegal migrants coming here because of the slower economy.

I use braid for everything with only 2 exceptions. an ul outfit with 4# mono. Mono for ocean drift boats, whether spinning or conventional I float the line behind the boat so my next outing is line twist free. I have learned so much more about fishing, and equipment from the oldtimers since I moved to a saltwater environment and it applies to freshwater as well.