SirSnookalot

i have noticed the same thing, very few fishing and way more hunting shows. my neighbor was a producer for tv fishing show. tells me sometimes they have a live well full of 6 pounders in the camera boat. when they are hawking a lure they stop the camera and put the fish on the lure and then start the camera again........lol. ever notice on a tournament show the rod tip is kept close to the water and on a tv show the rod is held high so the fish can jump for the camera shot, we never see the ones that slip the hook........haha.

I'm not crazy for them at all and do much better with an xrap, howver there is a time and place for them and they do catch fish. I use a worm bullet style weight on the nose and I use a leader on my braid as well. Now.......if you fish salt or brackish try this. DOA swim jerk shad(white with red tail) and DOA 1/4 oz jig head. This has produced at least 150 snook and 20 tarpon this year for me and others I know get the same results. let it just float in the current of the outgoing tide at an inlet or spillway, reel and twitch it in the ocean or icw or jig it. Works for bass too. I have much better success than a zoom fluke.

On the beach or pier I see buckets outnumbering bags and boxes. They sell buckets down here for that purpose, even walmart carries them. I use a fanny pack for salt water and in fresh I just put a few lures in my pocket.

the line is probably the most important part of the equation, it's the connection to the fish........go with what you are comfortable with, there is no wrong choice, just preference.

Totally agree with strikeking. More power on the rod and better coordination at least for me. Not unusal down here in fla to catch peacocks or jacks 2 at a time on the same lure.

i use blue painters masking tape and and i just tape the line to the spool and reel. no backing, no knot, easy and fast. been doing this for a couple of years and works great.

I'm also in S.E. florida and I fish both fresh and salt. I use nothing but braid (except on a drift boat, crew complains about it) and powerpro works just fine. I see no need to spend the extra money and pay shipping on top of it when you can walk in to walmart and buy 300 yards for 23 bucks. The real question is what are you fishing for and do you use bait or artifical. I think pilings I think the piers and you may want line capacity if you are fishing for snook or tarpon. If you go with mono or copolymer try soaking the spool in hot tap water first, it takes the "coil " out of it and spools up better. On the rare times when I use mono, I will go to the inlet and let out a bare line into the current and reel back thru my fingers to take the line twist out.

Peacock vs largemouth..........no comparison, give me the peacock any time. there are about 4 species in the amazon and some go over 20 lbs. my buddy was down there catcing them on fly rod. i want to try barramundi in central florida, hear they are awesome.

WHERE WHERE WERE .............. peas been dead here in delray-boynton

I don't worry about abraison, I check the line and just change it when needed.

I use 20Lb p-line flurocoated with 15# Powerpro, works very well. It's thinner and it seems to have good knot strength.

carbomax is a discontinued model, not too bad a rod especially for 10 bucks, i would never buy a 2 piece. i own 6-12 clarus med, but it fishes like a med light. my favorite rods are hurricane redbones about $90, i'm sure in the price range there are better, but i like them and much of the money goes to cystic fibrosis. a few times a year sports authority puts them on sale for 70 and if you have store coupon (10 off if you spend more than 50), makes them a good buy. i own 6

Have family coming down over xmas. Thinking about renting a boat at Holiday Park in the glades or renting one up at Lake Ochechobee. Any input would be helpful.

I've used both and suffix does get the edge, but I'm perfectly content with PP. I retie at the start of every outing (fish 7 days a week) and I singe the tag line to prevent slipping. Every couple of months I take the line off the spool then respool using the clean unused end, getting twice the mileage and it's like putting brand new line on. I tape it using masking tape so no need for mono backing.

Didn't realize they were that far north

Depends on what you are fishing for and the lure of choice. In freshwater I may use a duolock tied on my leader for crankbaits, topwater plugs I always tie a loopknot. In saltwater I limit the use of swivels and I always tie my leader to whatever lure or jig I'm using. Mackeral will bite you off at the swivel so it's important to tie line to line(they even go after the knot sometimes). My one exception is casting for larger barracuda with a spoon or tube, wire leader is very important.

If blowing up means the fish hitting the moment the lure touches the water, that's not uncommon down here in Florida. Jacks do it all the time in saltwater, in fact 2 fish hitting at the same time is not uncommon either. Jack Crevelles are awesome, my #1 favorite.

Two things to consider when purchasing a reel, the first is the reel itself. Drag, weight, performance and does it appeal to your eye. Second and just as imprortant is customer service. I won't say who I don't like but I will tell you who I do. Any equipment serviced by Pure Fishing out of Spirit lake, Ia. Turnaround time is fast a week to ten days. They usually just send out a brand new reel no questions asked and they even pay the freight coming back to you. I have sent out of warrant reels back and they fix them free or replace it with a new one. For me it's abu or pflueger.

I always felt the same way about conventional reels and stayed away from them. I bought an Avet mxj (left hand crank) and wow did I ever do the right thing. I use this reel off shore and when pulling larger fish, sails and kings I like having my power arm on the rod. I pulled in 2 lemon shark this past summer in the 125 - 150 lb range back to back and I would never done in holding the rod in my left arm.

I try and keep things SIMPLE, I seem to catch more fish that way. I use braid 99% of the time and powerpro works fine for me. I prefer the hookset and lure action with braid. The only time I use mono or copolymer is on a drift boat because tangles with other fisherman are nightmares and the crew will be giving you the evil eye all day. Soak your copolymer or mono in hot tap water for a bit before spooling and your line will spool up without any coils and lay better especially in the heavier test lines.

A place you want to try is in coconut creek, Sabal Pines park. just north of wiles rd and east of lyons off nw 39th street. i have heard good things about lmb and peacocks and i personaly have caught a few peas around 3lb, spinnerbaits work well there. i will say last couple of times there i did not have great outings but i go around 7:am and i think the better bite is in the late pm.

i fish the 441 canals often and never had any luck catching peas north of boynton beach blvd, have caught quite a few in the canal behind my home ( hagen ranch and lake ida rd),biggest maybe 3lbs. i 've caught many smb and for me i'd opt for the peacock anytime.

Go South Young Man ! I'd give up on lake ida. i get plenty of peas in the canals in west delray where i live. you can start at atlantic and work your way south along 441. however they are bit sluggish now with this cooler weather. try the afternoon and spinnerbaits, spinners, rapalas and gold spoons. there are some lakes in broward that fish real easy from shore and the peas are there, i've caught them, send me an email.

What lake did you live on before you moved? Falcon Cass Lake in Oakland county. My family had a cottage there back in the 50's & 60's, before there were year round residences there. As an adult I bought a home there.

Never had the problem of line catching the line keeper but I would put a small piece of masking tape over it. When does it happen, on the cast or retrieve? Conventional retrieve or a popping motion when using top lure?