Darren.

You can certainly use bass gear for saltwater. I do Just be sure to rinse off with fresh water after you're done (both rod and reel). The spoons might fare well. All depends on what is biting down there. Some locals should be able to give you good advice. Live bait is *always* good in salt. I've had success with soft plastics I use in fresh for drop shotting. Caught reds, flounder, croaker, etc.

13.1 !!

I am so sorry for your and your wife's loss, Lonnie! I'm only 48 and have a son with the flu home all this week. Reading all the awful stories of deaths to flu. Yours is too close since you're BR family! My condolences.

That's VA for ya. Mild mostly but with a little bit of the white stuff for good measure. Looks like the snow on Tuesday will be on top of ice as it's gonna rain Sun and Mon. Oi.

My wife and I love Italian. She's an amazing cook and makes a ridiculously delish baked ziti. Among many dishes. One of my absolute fave dishes is Penne Rustica at Macaroni Grill. My wife learned how to make it and holy cow is it almost identical!! Love ribs, love BBQ, but I'm actually waaay more partial to Eastern Carolina (vinegary) style BBQ over ketchupy-style BBQ...but I like both.

Dang, man! I hear snow's back on the menu for us next week, too. Dadgummit!

Welcome aboard! I'm the opposite, kinda, as I'm getting in to inshore saltwater fishing! Not leaving fresh by any stretch of the imagination, though!

Welcome aboard!

My absolute fav is the Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm.

Original, but only because when I bought it at DSG, that's all that was available then. I need to get some more soon. Imagine they'd all do well in saltwater, too. Oh, and I did use Brylcreem once upon a time. A little dab did NOT work on my mop, LOL.

My .02 - I use a ML Carbonlite at 6'6" and was able to throw some very light baits with my Chronarch 50e.... By light, I mean no weight added Zoom Finesse worm, and even a weightless Zoom fluke (smallest), though not a far cast on that one!!

There is none of it in Hampton Roads Virginia. You're welcome down here

Dude, good luck and yeah, @Captain Shane Procell would be the guy I'd go to

Can't take credit for it, though First I heard of it was watching a Bill Dance TV show where he demonstrated the technique!

Welcome aboard! I second that it's a good worm rod. And since it is your first, you probably want to practice a bit with it to get proficient! So perhaps an inexpensive mono or copolymer line would be the ticket. When you get it spooled, put a casting plug on it (maybe a 1/4 oz) and cast as far as you can. When you've stopped the spool, cut a piece of electrical tape the width of the spool and tape it over the line there. This way if you have a nasty backlash (which you will), you will only lose some of the line up to the tape, not the entire spool.

I wouldn't call the FG simple... Simple implies the entire knot is easy to tie from start to finish. I'm pretty good at knots, and have 99.9% success with the double-uni in both fresh and salt, but I could not get the FG to cooperate whatsoever with thin diameter braid and line up to 15# test. No doubt some, like you, are adept at tying it, so kudos to you and your success.

IMHO, the simplest/easiest is the double-uni, which I use 99% of the time. Next for me is the Alberto.

Neat stuff

Bought mine on ebay, too, have even sent 'em in for warranty repair! Just be sure the seller has a high rating! I usually look for 99.7 and up before I consider buying from 'em.

Congrats and good luck! @boostr is right, hit up the local forum for questions on where to go in your area. And be safe!! Wear your PFD at ALL times! Don't be *that* guy who thinks he's a good enough swimmer he doesn't need to wear one...

I'm of the less-is-more group, as well. The most I brought on my kayak was, I think 6. Waaaay too many. I usually bring 2 or 3 and concentrate on a few techniques.

Here ya go: http://www.daiwa.com/us/contents/reels/tatulalt/index.html I love Stradics, but put Daiwa and Shimano mostly side-by-side in quality. The problem I have with some of the higher-end Daiwa's is with Magseal. And this is not based on my own use but on reading reviews from the likes of Alan Hawk, et al. The idea is great, but if you need service, good luck. Magseal, though, is only in Ballistics on up in price, so not in the equation with the LT and below.

I think Pats will probably win, too, but hope Eagles can bring one home to Philly. Problem is, they've already goaded the GOAT with "pretty boy" comments. Not good, LOL. Tom will have that on his locker for the next 2 weeks!!

Welcome aboard, Jason!

I use braid exclusively, both 10 and 15#. The 10 is regular yellow Power Pro, the 15 is also yellow, but Super Slick 8. Leader for all. As for line loops, there are some, mostly around rod tips, but nothing too unusual, IMO. With the braided mainline, management is a breeze for the most part.