SirSnookalot

Both RW & Francho couldn't be more right. Especially for the recreational fisherman as RW has mentioned a number of times one needs but 3 combos, I don't even carry 3 but that's just me. Given the fact that so many people carry 3-5-10 combos, each one costing hundreds of dollars, then penny pinching on plastics makes little sense sense to me. As far as I'm concerned it's the bait that catches the fish, worrying about the durability is what I call defensive fishing, I take the offense and don't even use wire for toothy critters. I may lose a lot of lures but if I'm catching fish I don't care, lost 4 hard jerkbaits in the last 2 days, not even phased by it.

Took the words out of my mouth. The more one fishes the more they get tuned into their own comfort zone, regarding leader length or none at all, knots or swivels, type of line and what color. I'm not a fan of hi vis lines, that's just me, fishing at night I don't need them and I use the same combos in the daytime. Doing quite a bit fishing at night with only a flashlight to tie knots I pretty much fish by feel, don't line watch in the daytime as I'm always looking for signs where I want my next cast to be. IMO keep things simple and don't over complicate. Fish more and you'll have all your questions answered with your own efforts.

Even the most experienced people tie a bad knot once in a while. He did not tie the knot correctly !! I don't care what kind of knot is used, if it's a knot suited for the type of line it will hold. I don't use a SD jam, I have no doubt it's a good one. I use a double warp improved for my braid, an ordinary clinch for jigs and jig heads and a loopknot for lures and spoons. My braid is never more than 20# and my leaders 20 and 30#,I've had quite a few fish apx. 40-70# this year. Same knot set up for my bass fishing except using lighter lines. Let the drag do the work, that's going to take pressure off the knot. Do I tie a bad knot sometimes...............hell yes ! I had a alberto come apart a few weeks ago on cast, it happens.

Exactly ! There is no leader length set in stone, it's purely up to the individual. Most of the time I'm using a swivel so my leaders aren't long. Even when I do tie I'd guess most leaders are less than 3'.

Absolutely ! As said losing a claw isn't a big deal, I catch many fish on the jig alone. I use a Flappin Shad by Gambler quite a bit, once that paddle tail is bit off that bait is useless, I'm not bothered how many I go thru. This time of the year I can easily lose 10-20 or more hard lures and spoons in a month, the more I lose the better the bite, in the end I catch more fish.

I've caught 2 snook since the first post, been strikeless for almost a week with good tide conditions some of the time. Either there is too much bait or not enough, people seem to think you get a fish a cast in saltwater.............lol, yeh right.

Circle hook isn't a bad idea, many of these ocean fish hitting lures the last thing you do is set the hook, they hit with a lot of speed. Whether I'm catching bluefish or jacks getting a treble out of both lips can be a nightmare and that happens often. For the most part stripers, snook, cuda and tarpon get hooked in only 1 lip so a treble works ok.

Not underhanded at all, most people that start businesses learned the ins and outs working for another company first, how does one start a business with no prior experience. Don't recall ever seeing a no compete contract with an employee, with a partner yes. As I say for my own protection I hired people do only what I wanted them to do, nothing more and I didn't need a Rhodes scholar.

Both the type of boat and the target species would play a part in whether I want the guide to fish. If a guide is working a trolling motor I don't want him casting in front of me, and I don't want to share the bow. A good chance I would not get involved using guide under those conditions. When with guide in a center console boat most likely going to his/her honey holes, looking for birds, bait or busting fish, once on fish I don't mind the guide fishing. Bow or stern doesn't make a difference to me then, I don't want to be on a boat with a bimini top, gets in the way of casting. Fishing the flats a guide is going to be on the platform poling, the guide fishing doesn't enter into the equation then.

Good advice.

Served me well being in business. Owned a scrap metal co. for 35 years, had a stamping plant, slitting operation, new steel sales and built a 180 unit storage facility. Teach an employee too much and before you know he's taking your accounts. Exactly how I got into business, worked for guy and learned the business, 2 years I opened my own company, I didn't take his accounts but I took his education, he taught me too much, lol.

I've been on head boats where the Captain fishes, they are selling the fish, I don't much care for that. Most guides I've been with do not fish. One guide in particular out of Ft. Pierce does fish with us, but asks first. This guy is nothing short of sensational, don't mind him fishing at all, this guy is going to teach you something.

Being in the manufacturing world I have seen jobs go awry and cost the company lots of money, I've yet to hear an employee say "take it out of my check". People expect to be paid on their job and so does a guide. A guide puts his/her time (I do know of a female guide, very hightly rated too) and should be paid for their efforts. Countless number of variables can take place to slow the bite, not the guides fault. I have seen no fish no pay, that said I may not have caught sailfish but always catch something. Even down in the backcountry of Florida both bonefish and permit can be hard to comeby, it's rare one won't catch trout, snook, redfish and shark there. There have been guides I didn't care to go with a second time, maybe I didn't like his personality.

Pure fishing is like that. I've sent $150 reels in for a basic cleaning and have gotten new reels back. Doesn't make me wonder how much these reels really cost to make, not near what one might think. I was involved with a manufacturing co, $10 msrp item cost about 50 cents to make.

Can't compare a large company to a guide service. A guide can go out just so much, whether it's 250 different customers per year or one customer going out 250 times, the gross dollars are pretty much the same. 250 outings a year sounds like the upside and probably not the norm. Companies add staff to service increasing clientele and add locations for expanation, not that a guide couldn't do that. First rule of business, never hire anyone smarter than yourself, that's your next competition.

Even $200 a day is too cheap for a guide, if the initial price was less than that I'd be dubious of his expertise in the first place. A contract is a contract written or verbal, make a deal and live up to it.

You have gained credibility with me, lol. I use a Quantum MH 7' 1/4-2 oz rod for my targets that average 40-50", just love this rod. I personally wouldn't use a heavy rod, doesn't fit my fishing personality.

I would let any of my family and close friends use anything I own, my generosity stops right there. Shipping out of town there is a risk of rod breakage or a lost reel, replacement enters the equation. Not only do we rely on the integrity of the other party to ship back but his/her integrity taking in responsibility if an equipment mishap were to take place. Don't think swapping gear with a stranger is a very good idea.

I'd love that.

Exactly how we do it when hung up on a reef. Tighten the drag, wrap the line around the reel a few times, hold the rod perfectly straight and let the motor do the work. Either breaks free or the lure is lost, usually at the lure or swivel knot.

I think the main reason the upper sizes of any species may be more difficult to catch is because there are less of them. Secondly when targeting ambush type fish quite often the larger ones seem to be a bit more stationary, they may feed less because they don't require constant calories to fuel their metabolism. A fish that roams is burning more calories and IMO more aggressive. I do think more fish will be caught with smaller baits, after some thought I do think the chances of catching a really nice fish are greater with a larger lure, but it won't happen too often. Timing is the most important factor, casting to the exact spot at the exact time is going to determine no fish, small fish or maybe a larger one, something I have no control over. If I have no control then luck is playing a big part.

Whether I'm snapping the bow or pulling hard there is a limit to my aggression, I've had too many lures fly back at me. I use 10 and 15# braid, up to 20# in SW, leader and swivel, either the lure breaks off or the braid knot at the swivel. When I do pull the line hard by hand I always release my bail, I broke 1 tip by not doing this, that was a great education. If pulling the rod make sure to keep it perfectly straight, it won't break that way.

Wind knots are a major problem for me in freshwater, braid brand hasn't made a difference in that regard. I get far fewer fishing saltwater, I do believe the heavier lures I use most of the time help to reduce those knots. I think the line stays straighter and doesn't hit the guides with the heavier lure.

First off I'm a spinning guy and everyone else I know is too. Where I fish it's the norm and not the exception to overload our rods. A med rod for example with a max lure of 3/4 oz., it isn't uncommon to use an ounce or 1.5 oz., I've seen others go heavier than that. In 10 years of doing this with the same rods I've yet to see any structural damage. On the flip side throwing underweight isn't out of the ordinary either, tossing a light lure about 20' is very effective when fishing the swash. When it comes to bass fishing I don't see any need for this practice, I pretty much stay within the rods parameters as most of my lures fall into that range. When it comes to the blanks I don't think there is much difference between a freshwater rod and an inshore rod, most of my freshwater fishing is done with inshore rods. I will admit I'm cautious with a new rod, but I get over it pretty quick.

Having a pond about 100' from my door and a canal around 125 yds my answer is no. When I have a rod in my hand I'm fishing.