SirSnookalot

I use spinning and all my rods have a foregrip, holding the rod on the grip I not only suffer no fatigue or soreness but my hand is always in perfect position for a hookset. I can see why one would get sore or tired using b/c and holding the rod down by the reel using your weaker arm, it appears to be both awkward and have less leverage.

Whether it's rigging a live bait, cut bait or a plastic bait I try and match the hook to the size of the bait. I only use EWG for frogs and some of the thicker plastics. I normally use a standard off set worm hook, my primary plastic is a fluke.

We have lots of lightning strikes here in Florida, we lose power all the time. One early morning I'm fishing at the inlet, the road A1A is just above. There is a transformer on a pole about 40 yards from where we were fishing, a lightning bolt hit it. It was like the 4 of July and the Normandy invasion all at once.

I grew up fishing freshwater, the mind set between salt and fresh fishermen is miles apart IMO. In my observation the overwhelming majority of salt fishermen, even the sports minded, are there to take home their catch. I do not see selective harvest, the care for the environment, honoring bag limits if any here in the salt. I won't rag on all them as I do hang with fly fishermen and guys like myself that are there strictly for the sport of it and release about all of their fish. Hard to say whether the fish population is hurt or not, I suppose there may be a difference between migratory fish and resident ones, but I do feel taking too many fish affects the food chain. Every year people take out thousands upon thousands of blue runners, they seem to come back in great numbers every year. On the opposite side Ma & Pa Kettle (that's what we call them) come down from Ohio every year for 3 months, they fish only for sheepshead. They take all legal fish back home with them, they do wonder why they catch less every year, they are not sportsminded c&r freshwater fishermen. I do have a number of people that don't like the fact that I won't give them fish, there are some that I do but I do put a limit on it. As much as I love salt fishing, the care and responsibility is no where on the same level as it is in freshwater. This is what the mullet run can like some days\

This is exactly what top shotting is.

Backing is used to take up space on the spool so less main line is used. Using braid will work fine but no real reason to use it when cheap mono is doing the same thing. When throwing lighter lures I'm sure many opt for their spinning outfits then. Is braid used as backing, sure is and it's referred to as a top shot. Top shotting is using a several hundred yards of braid then 50 yds or so of mono as shock, needless to say most people are never going to use this set up.

Pretty much all I'm doing now. I have been using a Storm chug a bug 3/8 oz for the last few weeks. Not catching anything too small on them, most fish have been running 20-24", I'm not even into the best Florida bass season. When I switch to a jekbait for example that's when when I'm catching the smaller bass. Without any doubt my favorite way to fish for bass, using it mid day a blue bird skies too. I don't keep records but I wouldn't be surprised over the last 10 years a popper has produced my biggest fish. That said the biggest fish one catches is usually from the lure they use the most, in my case it's the popper.

I use both PP and PP ss, happy with both. Most of my bass and peacock fishing is done with a light spinning rod, 25 supreme loaded up with 10# ss. I like this line a lot as it does everything I expect it to do, can't think of any problems.

Nice, nice fish ! There isn't much out there to rival an AJ, I've caught many of them.

Melbourne is still quite ways from Lake Osborne, tack on another 60 or so to Miami. Peacock fishing is different in my area as compared to Miami. Down there the peacocks are much more aggressive, just about any kind of lure is going to catch them, one of the most prolific baits to use is a crappie jig. In my area the peas are way less aggressive, quite often I have to tease them with 20 or more casts, up here the locals use roostertails and jigs, I tie my own 1/8 marabou. I do catch them on hard lures but not like I do in Miami. The guides around here for the most part are using shiners, which is almost a can't miss. I have places where I get them but I don't score every time.

It's pretty much over, very short lived this year. This past week we have been getting non-stop ladyfish action for about 45 minutes just prior to sunrise, then the bite goes dead. Those ladys give one heck of a fight, they are junior tarpons. And so do all the other meat hunters. Heavier reels and rods, 50# line with 80# leader or wire, drop it along side the jettie and just lift one up. The goal is to get a slot which is 28-32", nice fish but not a big one, believe me if no one is around they take home any size. Yes this is exactly how it is, I've been thru it dozens upon dozens of times. You just gotta keep casting non stop and hope you get lucky, it's very frustrating when you know the fish are all over the place.

Fish everyday, make my decision early am as to where and what I'm fishing for, then grab the appropriate set ups. I usually keep a ml spinning in the car.

Exactly the way it is here, plus we got an ocean too.

I just catch fish. On any given cast I catch or I don't, that puts my odds at 50/50.

That's true, some of the larger duolocks can be hard to open, 1 inchers is about as big as I like them to be, I'm only using them now on a barracuda set up. For all my other fishing I tie everything.

For me the amount of vegetation will dictate my rod choice not the size of the fish, exceptions to this but not for my bass fishing. The heaviest rod I use is a 7' med spinning rod, whether I'm using a jig, senko, flukes or hard baits. As of late my biggest bass are coming from ponds void of vegetation, light power spinning is what I'm using.

For me there is no wrong catch, if I had a good battle even a fish smaller than my intended target is welcome.

Probably good advise, a wrist band may help some. I fish 7 days a week, I don't get sore or tired at least not my wrist, arms or legs. Having a pinched nerve and bulging disk there is some discomfort in my neck, which comes and goes. I do believe having the those fishing muscles conditioned is a big benefit. I would not rule out changing techniques and equipment if your muscles don't respond. A good example of conditioning are PGA golfers, most of them do specific training on their muscles related to the swing.

What ever your preference is. My own take is that I have given up using duolocks, however I never had a negative issue using them. I tie my lures with a loopknot or clinch for jigs. I fish both fresh and salt and the fish can get pretty good size. I tie on a fresh leader for each outing. On the flip side I have friends on the jettie catching the same kind of fish that I do, many of them do not do what I do. They use both braid and mono tied to a swivel, knots are seldom retied or swivels replaced. Some use wire with the cheapest snap/swivels and wire with no shock leader, these snap swivels seldom get changed. These set ups are totally unprofessional, too bulky with hardware, risk salt water corrosion, yet I have never seen one fail. These guys catch as many fish as I do, and lose less lures, go figure...........lol.

The only experience I have with floroclear as a mainline is 20# on my Avet mxj for offshore fishing. There is an issue, that being sometimes I have had to tie more than 1 knot as some of the knots have broken. Once I had a good knot I had no problem in landing pelagic fish. The line was not used for a cast and retrieve, but for drifting and light trolling. I have about 700 yds of it, I'm using the floroclear as bass and inshore leaders attached to my braid, it's working quite well for that.

For the most part I agree with Squirmin. I'm not overly technically on this drag issue, knowing the exact amount of drag is information I don't really need to know, that said using a scale at first to get a general idea isn't a bad thought. I target all kinds of fish, some require more or less drag to land them given the same weight class of the fish. You do have to know the capabilities of your target fish.

Whether it's Gulp or another soft bait it's going to get torn up. 1 strike from a bluefish and it's probably toast, good reason why many people use some type of a metal jig for them like a diamond jig. Although I personally don't use wire, it's a common practice for blues. Day in and day out if I were to use a live mullet there is no question how many more and bigger fish I would be catching. I can't remember using live bait over the last 10 years where I've been skunked, I get skunked all the time on artis. You may want to try this, clip one of the fins on a mullet, that can be a big help in helping that bait stand out in a school.

It isn't just overall length, the distance from reel seat to tip and whether the rod has a fore grip or not may have bearing on preference. Additionally some prefer longer or shorter butts. The situation dictates the rod for me, at 5'4 I could use an 8' rod and a top water lure for bass, but I would prefer a 6'6 or 7'. That 8 footer using a top water lure off the beach or jettie is a rod I really like to use in that situation. As far as distance goes with a longer rod, that has to be judged by ones own personal arsenal. I have 7' rods brand A that cast as far or farther than an 8' brand B rods. Backbone is another variable that has to be judged by your own rods, I have 7' rods that don't handle the fish quite as well as the same exact rod but in a 7'6 length.

I thought this was the inquiry. I caught about 20 fish this morning, several different species and all caught on a 1/2 oz bucktail, from beach and jettie. My friends caught about the same number of fish, they used both gotchas and spoons. I've never seen anyone use gulp from a tub, I'm sure it works but so does everything else.

For bass and all around fishing I go from 6'6 to 8'. I probably have over complicated it, my rod selection for any particular outing is based on boat, bank, high canal, species and wind, don't like using more than 7' if it's windy. My most used bass rod is a 6'6 light power rod and most used other species would be a 7'6 med hvy.