fishingman88

I am aware of NFC rods. I don't know anybody who's fishing them right now so I haven't had a chance to test them yet.

Thinking about testing out some Phenix and *** rods. Been a faithful G. Loomis guy most of my life but after having fished a couple friends' Phenix rods I have to say I'm impressed.

Great setups to add to the collection Hope you enjoy them in 2015. It's okay, I fish both left and righty reels too

I think that was my biggest qualm about the CI4. It didn't feel "solid". I'll have to go try out the CI4+ sometime later this month.

I actually haven't used the CI4+ personally. Was it that much of a difference over the CI4? *Doh, just noticed the OP mentioned between the CI4+ and the FJ so my assessment is probably not fair.

I fish a lot of saltwater/inshore and personally after having fished both the CI4 and the FJ, I'd go with the FJ. The extra weight savings of the CI4 didn't really make much of a difference for me.

The tackle monkey....the only way to get him off your back is to purchase all your ideal setups haha

Clean reels. Rebuild rods. Buy gear. Rinse and repeat till the weather is warm enough

Welcome to BR!

Congrats and those scenery pictures look surreal!

Welcome! Good luck on your future endeavors

When you realize that going to your local tackle shop doesn't help anymore....you have better fishing reels and rods than them. Also...when you find yourself searching for months to buy a reel that no longer exists or very few people have and don't stop. There is this one Mustad hook we use out here in the East Coast for drum fishing from the surf. It was discontinued but I still think it is one of the best hooks made for drum fishing. My 2 buddies and I called 70+ tackle shops, searched eBay every day and every time a pack of these hooks come up we buy them all. It's been 2 years now and we still search regularly and buy every pack that comes up. Can't let anyone have them.

Welcome!

I did some quick Photoshop....here's a better option IMO.

That's a hog of a bass already. I don't think he needs to make it bigger But in all seriousness, number 3 definitely looks better. You could possibly use another photo editor and add a filter to put some life back into the picture.