SirSnookalot

On the beach I always wear sandals, washed up debris, sharp sea shells, broken bottles, jellyfish. On the boat I wear boat shoe, sneaker style, I like Teva Helm 2, but they are discountinued. Bank fishing a comfortble sneaker and socks, we have fire ants here.

100% agree with everything stated by Demonic Forrest, my slight difference is I make 2 final wraps instead of one. The bottom line if one is satisfied with what they are using then stick with it, all the knots are good if tied correctly.

I just about always do but I make sure there is no bend in the rod and no tension on the guide, whether it be the insert or the foot. I have never had problem. I don't care for hook keepers, being so close to the foregrip I have grabbed the hook a few times. I saw an inshore Lews spinning reel yesterday, I wasn't aware they made them. For some reason DSG in Boynton Beach has some reels displayed without the handles, Lews being one of them so I didn't really check it out.

Lots of exciting moments. Maybe catching my first pike on a flatfish when I was about 6 years old really stands out in my mind, more of an impact than my first marlin.

I think you just have received an education. There is no reason to buy something if you don't already have a specific use in mind. Do your homework first, decide on what techniques you wish to fish, then buy accordingly.

I would have the real stripped downed, cleaned, oiled and lubed. Even in the clearest of freshwater there can be fine sediment that can't be seen with the naked eye. Saltwater is called saltwater because there is salt in it, salt will leave a grit for sure.

When it comes to mono or copoly on spinning reel I'm paying a bit more attention to line diameter than the labeled pound test. I'm not going to recommend one line over another, that's up to each individual to choose. I'd probably start with a reference point of 8# test, trilene xl .010, yozuri.011, Spider wire ultra .009. If I went with the Yozuri I'd probably opt for 6#, I'm sure it's a good line as the others are too.

Your own opinion is fine, personal political remarks are not. **Moderator note: The referenced comment has been removed. -Kent

It's probably just the way the knot is tied. I do not use a palomar myself, I use an improved clinch with 2 wraps. Any of the other mentioned knots will work just as well as long as they are tied correctly. I generally use PP 10-15 and 20#, only time I have a knot issue is when I've tied a bad one. 80# braid that breaks at 102#, IMO is pressing it a bit for bass fishing.

Personally I don't choose to use heavy braid, but you received some valid reasons why others do, which is actually the consensus opinion. I don't think you should leave the forum just because you didn't get the answer you expected.

All the hi tech workout gear and modern DVD's are great, but no better than the advice of the real GURU and that was Jack LaLanne. I've had free weights, bowflex, steppers, treadmills and Nordic Track, of all them I thought the Nordic was the best, but rendered a chronic back problem for the last 20 some odd years. Losing weight is about burning more calories than you ingest, getting fit is about exercise. It takes both approaches, you can lose a ton of weight and still be out of shape. It's really that simple, eat right, exercise and stay active, that said results vary and as easy as it sounds it takes hard dedicated work. Resistance bands are super good, pushups, jumping jacks, road work, all it takes is dedication, not a huge a investment. I'm 69 and in pretty good shape, primarily due to being active the last 50 years, I never allowed myself to gain weight, but I am wearing down. I'm nothing compared to my sister, at 65 she still runs mini marathons and triathlons, goes several hundred mile kayaking trips, thinks nothing of hoping on her bike and peddling a hundred miles. Never worked out a day in her life and she is no athlete, just has a lot of drive.

I'm not doing much bass fishing now and when I do go it's in the afternoon. This past week for the first time in ages I've seen bass busting bait, If I'm in the right place at the right time I'll catch a few. The rest of the time is pretty dead. I've been real aggrevated with the inshore saltwater bite, just hasn't been good tis year. It got to me yesterday, fish were being caught around me using the same lures I was, I got skunked...........lol, walked off and took my wife out for breakfeast.

Gold hammered redfish key spoon. Couldn't find them for a few years, as of late I did find some and stocked up. I only use them for bass, too many cut offs in salt water so I don't use it there.

Just about every rod I own has a lifetime warranty, I've yet to send one in for warranty as I've never broken one that wasn't my fault. I've had or used 3 St Croix rods in the past couple of years, none of them for any lenght of time. None of them were bad rods just not what I was looking for. I used a friend's 8' mojo surf for 2 days, great casting distance but the butt had this knarly handle, was uncomfortable. Bought an 8' tidemaster mh, was very light and a nice rod, I was looking for more of a mf tip, returned it. One of my Long Island stripers buddys living here in Florida had some kind of a St Croix for years, complained of a sore shoulder with it, gave it to me and I gave him my Redbone. Few days later I gave it back and he had just bought his own Redbone.

I have a trion, 3 supremes, medalist and an arbor, none have ever needed any kind of service, 3 of them are used in saltwater. I have other brands that are just as good in performance but some have had durability issues.

For me the weight of a spinning reel is less important, but I think it has to do with what the technique is. One of my favs is 7'6 rod mh with 14oz spinning reel, just feels great and I know people using a 20 oz reel on the same rod. But I would kill myself bass fishing with it, just isn't conducive for jigging or bottom baits. It's a very comfortable set up for long flowing casts into open water, don't have a fatigue issue with it. With the target species that I use this kind of a set up I seldom have to make a hookset, the fish are hitting a moving target with some speed, they hook themselves.

I started about 6 or 7, nearly 69 now. My dad's passion rubbed off on me, I was his fishing partner before any of his friends. I remember charters in Lake St Clair that the men didn't want me being young, my dad just chartered the entire boat for the 2 of us. Living in Michigan there was water every where, Canada was a few minutes away too, we fished a lot. Later in life he took me to places like Cabo and Northern Canada. When retired he bought a center console down here in Miami, I made trips thru out the year for a long weekends of fishing, that's when I fell in love with Florida. He's been gone 22 years, I still have the bug. Lot's of locations and all kinds of species under my belt. #1 would be backwater in the keys followed real close catching anything off the beach.

Gargle with salt and warm water

I would send it to Shimano anyway. I had a bail problem that I trouble getting corrected both from local repair facilities as well as Shimano being out of stock on a part. Shimano's repair department should have most parts even thought their parts department don't. I did send my out of warranty stradic to them, they fixed my reel free of charge and paid the postage back. I have dealt with " Authorized Shimano repair centers", like any reel repairer they may not have the parts. I would go only direct to the manufacture.

I don't spend much time posting comments on F/B but I am on the site everyday. Always interested in what friends and family are into. There interest groups that I follow as well as news sites I'm linked into. A picture was posted last week with me and my 3 best buds 50 years ago, I was real happy so that.

Why? Only 34 responses from a membership of 40,000+, another point of view or opinion is possible, if not this thread will die on it's own. Another reason I prefer spinning over b/c is with a larger fish on the line a conventional real can twist in my hands. With spinning this doesn't happen for me, the setup is more comfortable. With more comfort comes less fatigue IMO. Some may an opposing opinion, then a b/c should be their choice.

Do prefer a loopknot but use a duolock once in a while. One dedicated set up has a welded ballbearing swivel and duoclock, the lures each have their own wire leader with a crane swivel, fast lure change.

I have 4 rods nearly 10 years old (2 med and 2 mh) that catch the majority of my snook, tarpon and jacks. Cork still looks great, they cast wonderfully with plenty of backbone. I prefer my bones to any rods I've ever had.

Leader line is more abrasion resistant and stiffer than it's main line counterpart. Abrasion resistant for open water, catch Kingfish and you will know why. I don't target fish that would require a 100-400# leader. I use anywhere from 30-60# leaders and I've caught triple digit fish. Inshore I cut my leaders from mono, Big Game is 1 brand I use along with Ande, these leaders are 20-40#. My leader is predicated on where I'm fishing, my rod and my target fish. In freshwater I cut from Pline floroclear in different sizes for my leaders.

If the reels are still under warranty send them into Shimano. I have had numerous bail problems with my 2 stradic fi's, overall it's a pretty good reel.