0119

Fish slow slow and slower. The rains we got yesterday and today probably made the water even colder. I found Snook belly up this afternoon. Jigs, worms and tubes dragged along the bottom are the best bet I think. Probably not till Wednesday or Thursday from what the weather channel predicts.

I put them on all my Snook lures and they work great. Snook fight a whole lot harder than bass, especially after landed. Never had a problem with them and they give the better hook ratio on super spook jr.s than any other hook I found. Only mustad hook I'll use.

I didnt mean to infer that good casting makes a good reel. Actually I feel the Ardent is poor quality. But after the new Curado, I dont feel so warm and cuddly to Shimano anymore either.

I fishing buddy of mine had to have the Ardent when he learned it was USA made. He got the lower model and was amazed at the incredible distance he got. I looked at it and thought it looked at least 10 years old tech. wise. It did cast though. Drag nothing special. He fell down a rip rap wall while fishing from shore and the handle and both side plates took a beating. He sent it back for repair and they told him they would fix it for free but they had no parts for it. He had to wait 3 months for the new model. He was thrilled to get a new reel for free. Within the 1st week the line guides eyelet fell out and the palming plate had an adverse reaction to what he thinks was sun screen residue on his hand. All the paint melted. Again Ardent sent him a new reel. Lots of problems if you ask me but he swears by them.

I think it depends on the characteristics of the lure you are using. I have a Sol on a Crucial crankbait rod that will launch a 3/16 topwater or crank great, a 1/8 spoon like a missle. But a weightless trick worm on a 3/0 hook only so so. Especially with the finicky mag brakes. I feel safer doing it with ,my curado 100d and loosing a little distance. Better yet it was a great excuse for getting a Stradic CI4 and cumara. It all has to do with wind resistance.

I think KVD uses stock reels along with stock rods and strike king lures. He's just afforded cases and cases of all of them and uses them like we use disposable razors. Probably the same with his nitro boat, he must have a storage yard at his mansion with extras ready to go.

I have stored a big quality of Slug-go's in tackle logic binders for coming on to 18 years. They are kept in the dark in a storage shed that gets darn hot in the south florida summer when Im not using them. They are still as good as the day I bought them.

I have a love/hate thing going with the Mayan Cichlad. In summer its hard to catch anything but them and this year they ran huge pushing 3lbs. I feel they fight better than a comparable sized bass. Its a shame the tarpon and snook dont seem to be putting a dent in their population.

I picked one up yesterday. I think its better made than I expected. I'll put it to use tomorrow.

Geez I didnt realize I wasnt a serious salt angler since I only use bass sized tackle. Only been doing it for near 50 years. I remember a time not to far ago when if you drove into Choko. with a spinning reel the good old boys would have laughed you out of town. Nothing but a red Abu would have been allowed in a real mans boat. Theres a whole lot more to Fl. salt than throwing giant plugs and cut bait on a huge coffee grinder. I went out yesterday and every angler with a spinning reel was a tourist using a huge walmart surf rod hunting trout. Only real anglers out there were holding baitcasters.

I felt last years catalog was more clothes and nic nacs than fishing stuff. This years seems just the same. I went to BPS today and the shelves were just about empty. 2 isles were completely devoid of rods. It was hard to spend the gift cards I got for xmas. But there were isle after isle of under armor clothes for stick people and tommy bahama clothes you'd never fish in.

On my side of Fl. 'real' saltwater anglers use the same tackle as bass anglers. Its the tourists that use 'saltwater gear', big cheap wal-mart surf outfits with steel leaders. In Miami some of the best places your gonna find for saltwater fish, is in freshwater anyway.

I would imagine you spool a modern Daiwa or Shimano spinning reel just as you do a baitcaster, since both factories recommend not doing their reels in the old standard way, but as you do a caster except with the line coming from the bottom of the spool.

My home made contraption is wearing out and I thought I'd use up a BPS gift card on one of these. Anybody have and use one? Will it handle bigger spools of mono say larger than 300 yards?

Cultiva Zip-n-Ziggy

I got a Stradic CI4 2500 mounted on a Cumara rod. 2 bags of Sebile soft plastic magic swimmers, 2 bags of Sebile soft plastic stick shads. 4 various Sebile hard baits, Yo-zuri Edge Minnows. A bunch of Zoom tubes with owner tube hooks. A few bags of 4" Senkos. 4 BPS long sleeve T's and $150 in BPS gift cards. I grand Christmas considering how tough the times are for us!

I like the D better than my E. Stronger overall feel. The main gear is thicker. The handle, cast control knob, drag star on the E have a plastic appearance. The worm gear cover is plastic on the E. I have found the D to cast farther and with less backlash. My E's plaming plate has a loose feel. Sure the D is heavy but I think it will last forever and I dont fish the E anymore.

For years it was a Shimano Stradic 1000 on a Loomis GL2 ultra mag rod. My wife bought it for me almost 7 years ago for Christmas. This Christmas day it gets replaced with a 2500 CI 4 Stradic on a 7'2" Cumara rod. That old Stradic is worn out now but holds memories of many good fish including a 36" Snook caught on 6lb mono! Most of all its special because she bought it for me right after a long and difficult seperation.

Ive used 6 and 4 on Curado 100D's and 4 on Daiwa Sol's. Put them on Crucial crankbait rods. A few years back I found the ultimate ultra light casting outfit in a Abu International Series 1600C IAR on a Loomis Kokonee rod. Using 2lb. mono it easily threw 3/16oz hardbaits.

Yeah the Tierra has one or two crb's, the coastal is all crbb's. Interesting that the Tierra is on sale, I wonder if its being phased out for a new model next year. Especially with the rumors about the 'new' Daiwa owners turning the brand into a more high end enthusiast brand.

Im loyal to Shimano but theres only one spinning reel in my arsenal and its a Daiwa. The Coastal which is a Tierra with CRBB's. It is smoother and longer casting than the Stradic's and Symetre's I have owned in the past. Very solid feel.

Great fish when they dont bleed all over you and the boat! They make super snook bait too.

I think your right sticking with a spinning outfit for weightless trick worms. I absolutely hate spinning in every way shape and form. Until last week I hadnt owned a spinning outfit for easily ten years or more. But trick worms are too successful weightless where I fish. I got a St.Croix Mojo 6'8" med XF. I probably wont use it for anything else, but it shines and is catching me fish when other techniques are letting me down. Casting tackle,weightless worm and wind equal frustration.

Im amazed that everybody thinks they have to have a huge 3000 or 4000 size reel. Maybe if your bridge hopping for tarpon and wont be holding the beast of a reel long, its o.k. If your throwing lures, walking a dog, or fishing flats, that huaage reel will drag you down. I find the 2500 size to heavy most of the time especially compared to a casting reel that will be stronger and weigh half as much. I think you'd be better off getting advise from jaxkayakfishing.com and talking to folks who fish the river and spartina grass your going to fish. His huge tarpon and snook in the Miami area and my snook and reds in Charlotte Harbor call for different tackle than what will be best for you.

Ive found no difference in taste between snook caught in fresh or salt myself. FWC and scientists say they cant or dont reproduce in fresh but Ive found baby snook in water far far from salt with no possible connection. I find their notion of eggs carries on fish feet too far fetched to believe.