SoFlaBassAddict

Ok, so I picked up a new HD webcam "for the kids" today. If anybody has any requests, I can try to go out into my tackle shop and do some videos for you all. Eventually, I need to rig up a tripod of some kind so I can take a camera out on the boat with me.

David, when you said you got a deal on Curado's, you weren't kidding were you.

I usually have two brakes on. Gives me just enough control to whip out a lure without having the spool overspinning and causing line to bunch up. I'll adjust my magnetic brakes to counteract any wind. On my flipping/pitching rod I'll turn off all of the brakes. A lot will also depend on the weight and type of lure being used. I can toss a 3/8 t-rig a lot easier a longer distance than I can a 3/8 spinnerbait. The way the lure flies in the air will have a significant factor in how you tune your reel.

Be patient.

X2. The only thing that has affected my fishing is the weather. It's fricking Africa hot! Man, you aint kidding about that. It's been freakin brutal down here lately. I'm looking forward to some cooler weather in another month or two.

You can find Reds a little further south of you, Snook. I've caught a bunch of them down in some of the small inlets in Biscayne Bay. Go into Caesar's Creek, pass Adams Key, and then fish into some of the mangrove islands. Keep your eyes on the tide though, it drops really quickly back there and you can get stuck easily unless you're in a real deal flats boat that only needs to draw about 4 inches to operate. Theres not a ton of them back there, but if you find Snook, reds won't be far away. Look for the moving water. If that doesn't work you can hit Permit, Tarpon, and Bones on the ocean side of the flats there relatively easily. Nothing huge, but there is a chance at a 30lb class Permit if you've got a few live crab to use as bait.

Do you still have all of your fingers? One of the companies I use down here has some great guys working for them. One or two of them are missing a few digits. On their hands and in their heads... Yeah, it can be a lot of fun. I do get the opportunity to travel quite a bit. My brother is heading over to China for a job next month. As much fun as it can be, it's also a ridiculous amount of work during the busy season. Lots of very late nights.

Being down here in Miami, I know my fair share of Cubans. I've seen some pictures of some grossly huge bass caught in Cuba. I'd love to get down there to fish one day. Some of the big fish stories are ridiculous. Plus you can get some seriously good food there.

The Palomar and Double Palomar have never failed me. Some braids can slip a little. Thats where the double helps. I use a pair of Fiskars scissors for my cutting. They by far work the best from what I've found. I can cut braid without having to hold the line tight. Makes it very easy to trim line nice and neatly.

Have you tried fishing? I hear that winning a tournament or two will help.

I love me some watermelon candy. Don't know why, but I've had a lot of success with it lately. Btw, I don't think I have a full size pic of it anymore. I've got a decent size one up on photobucket, but I can't find the original anymore.

I use 20lb braid on one of my spinning reels. Works fantastic.

Great fish, Snook. Bet that gave your drag a good workout.

Somebody likes deep cranking. I've got one DD14 and about a dozen DD 22's. I don't think I've ever thrown the DD14.

Man. Talk about things dreams are made of.

Depends also on if it's a Cumara Reaction Series, or the regular Cumara. I'd hop on it if it's the standard Cumara. You'd be saving about 100 bucks on a standard Cumara, 40 bucks if it's from the reaction series.

I fish the same as always. Luckily I primarily fish on electric only lakes. No need to fill up a gas tank to use the boat. Once I pay of my last car and buy a freshwater boat, then I'll see how much bass fishing I really get in. I've gone out saltwater fishing a lot less this year. 200 bucks in gas for a day really starts to hit the pocket after a while. I haven't made it to the Bahamas in a few years primarily because of gas prices. Whatever they are down here, it's just shy of double in the islands.

Something like that. On a different scale though. Most of my business is generated from large corporate events. We've done a lot of stuff with the NFL (Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, etc etc), the Miami Heat, UM, the BCS Championship Game and the Orange Bowl Game, Casa Casurina (Versace's House), and Food Network to name a few. Everything we do is in house though. No outsourcing except for specialty items that I can't cost effectively build. Don't get into this business right now. The recession killed a lot of it. Thankfully business is steadily picking back up. I probably lost close to 75% of total income when everything crashed.

Special Events and Production Services Full service lighting and audio. Floral, linen, set design, and carpentry.

Believe me, thats already running through my mind. Once the specifics get released for the job, I may submit a proposal to them. My other option is to sit on my hands and wait for them to come to me.

You know what, sometimes stuff happens for a reason. I picked up another job, during the same timeframe that actually will probably be worth more pure profit than the job that I lost. Best part is that it's in Atlantis. Another plus, some of the clients have stopped doing business with the other contracting company and are going direct through my company. Because they decided not to renew the contract, I'm able to deal directly with the individual client. Gotta love it when stuff like that happens.

Thats basically what I'm hoping. His prices are also excessively high for what he provides. I hope they do well, don't get me wrong. Good group of people over there. Who knows, we'll end up seeing what happens. I just hate the thought of losing money thats been there for the last couple of years. I need to find some other jobs now to pick up the slack.

Threads like this are exactly the reason why each person must play around with a rod before they buy it. Not every rod is going to feel the same in a different persons hands. A lot of it will also depend on the reel being used. If you're in the market for a rod, go store fishing with it first. That is one of the benefits of having a big box store around you.

Well, this year is starting out great. I come into the office today to find out that I've lost a 250k contract for the beginning of the year. Suddenly out of the blue, a client I've had for five years is deciding to go a different direction. I'll still probably end up with around a half of that, but man that hurts. The bad part is they went with another company that I helped start up. And they physically are not capable of doing the job. They just don't have the work space or the manpower. I'm seriously ticked off about losing some serious cash. I need a beer... /endrant

Ok, phew.