gulfcaptain

If it's a new reel and your drag is slipping it isn't the braid. It's the reel. When they put it together they may have gotten oil or grease on some of the washers causing it to slip. If it's new, take it back and swap it out at the store....switch spools so you don't have to respool your line and check it before you leave to make sure it's working the way it's supposed to. Now if it's a used reel, well you're drag washers are worn out and need new ones.

I agree with all the above except well I like the VMC spinshot hooks. My own preference and it makes changing lengths from the hook to the weight as well since I use braid with a topshot of FC. I would def use the longer cylider weights for your shore fishing and would also include Kietech's Swing and Live Impacts into your arsenal of dropshot baits. Dropshotting from shore is a staple in S.Cal and very productive.

Deep 3600 series box, but don't fish anything over 10"s. So far the ones I have fit.

Think the clock time might have been better so we all know what 3, 6, 9, and 12 are.....well unless we all have gone digital, then back to the above mentioned degrees.

Use both shad and craw/bluegill colors. Best trailers I've found are the Rage Menace Grub and something along the lines and shape of the swimming flukes or BPS Sassy Sally.

it's either gonna be one of these 4 baits, 10" floating Triple Trout, 10" Mattlures Dead Twitch, an 8" Huddleston or an 8" Savage Gear Floating Line Thru swimbait.

If there is lots of grass, I would def have a frog and some punch jigs. Also I would include a couple of umbrella rigs. Those three are my top producers and with buzz and spinnerbaits as well as both senkos and Ika's you should be pretty much covered.

Being I used to run a charter boat, one thing I wouldn't ever go cheap on would be a quality set of Binos. To me $750 for a set o Fugee's would be a steal considering Ziess's run about $2000. But there quality def matters.

You should try night fishing around my location, nothing like slipping in under the cover of darkness, dodging the Police Helicopters and park patrols while fishing after hours. Now that's Spec-Ops Bassing. But sounds like you had a great night of fishing.

I have quite the arsenal of rods and tackle and to be honest my two most expensive rods top out at $150.00, 1 Bucco Micro 7'3" and a Quantum Tour Tactical 7'11" Hack Attack. Other then that they all run between $60 to $130. So you have lots of options without breaking the bank and finding quality rods to fish with.

The Black *** is also a great rod if you don't mind spending another $20. Also Falcon's line of Bucco Rods are right at $100 and have 6 of those. When from the H20's to Falcon's and also have a Black ***. Looking to get a Green *** as well. And can't forget BPS line of rods either. You can find lots of choices there for under a $100 in almost any length and power you're wanting.

you're fishing Smallmouth right or do they have some LM in there as well?

Oh, and when you lift the fish, you do it to the side, not straight up causing you to "High Stick" the fish which will result in a nice POW followed by a few choice words about how crappy that new rod YOU just broke.

you can flip fish without breaking your rod. I've flipped 15lb yellowtail over the rail on sportboats. Wind down as far as you can and with the rod lowered, put your thumb on the spool and lift. Once the fish has cleared the rail/side of the boat let off the spool to land the fish in the bottom of the boat. And the pro's do break their rods, Major League Fishing has had more than one pro break their rods while trying to flip the fish into the boat without it touching the deck. It's much less stressful to reach down or get a net and land the fish then bouncing it off the bottom of the boat trying to look "cool" just because the pro's do it. Main reason there is simple, TIME. If you watch the guys on FLW, most grab a net which aren't allowed in the Elite Series.

The H20 line from Acadamy is less expensive and IMO a better rod the the Skeet Reese line up. Fished both, buddy has a Skeet Reese, do not like it at all. All around good rod, H20 7' MH, great all purpose rod for $59.99. Call go with the Micro's which is $79.99 and have the 6'10" MH and use it for jerks, flukes, and topwaters. Both rods are light, sensitive, and well balanced. These were the rods I stepped up to from the cheaper $30-$40 rods. Have a Vendetta and honestly think the H20's are lighter and more sensitive.

Um, after reading all these posts, I'm gonna stick with ordering baits to fish with during the winter.....lol

If it's fiberglass, go buy some resin and make a hot batch and dab it on to seal it. Might set you back about $15 for a quart and it will hold up better then fingernail polish. West Marine also makes a resin as well as a fiberglass powder thicking additive. If you use their's make sure you get the quick cure.

I would say 99% of the time it's user error. I have only broke 3 rods, one after 10yrs of service and it was a CalStar Saltwater jigstick. Wasn't so mad about the rod exploding into 4 pieces bouncing a 3lb bonito over the rail, more upset about the AFTCO Lightweight roller guides that went into the water with 2 of the pieces. The other 2 were both the same blanks, and both broke in the same places. I found out one of them they changed their blank design and the other well an X-fast Flipping stick wasn't up to my style of fishing and decided to swap to a different action and brand. But is it the rods fault, well no as I push my tackle to the limits at times. The only one that was rod defect was the one they changed design, happened to have a weak spot in the middle of the blank.

Thanks Dwight, still haven't learned how to link a page on here onto a reply.

Deep water access all depends on the lake itself. If its a shallow lake say less then 20ft, it could be a flat that runs 3-4ft and drops off to 7, or a steep bank that has 40ft depth 30ft off the bank with a small ledge thats' in 8ft of water. So access to deepwater could be as little as a 3ft depth change or a 30ft drop off. More important to me is how the baitfish or forage base relate and hold in the area I'm looking to fish.

I would use a backpack or waste pack. Have a waste pack that holds 4 3600 size boxes which I normally carry 2 of, a smaller utility box with weights and hooks, and finally a soft binder for what baits I may want extra. Being around my waiste lets me also put 1-2 rods slipped between and stored behind my back out of the way.

You could bump up to 15lb braid and then I would add about 6ft of 12lb FC. Did you pull the hook or break them off? If you're fishing 8lb with 10lb braid and only a 2ft leader, you don't have any stretch whatsoever. May need to back you're drag way off to compensate for the lack of stretch.

Matt has a post/link to an ultimate blue gill in a post "need help wih hard swimbait". I would hit him up and ask him for advice if it's giving you problems.

Triple Fish or Maxima. But all mono is going to have stretch to it no matter what the brand is. Only other suggestion is to put a longer topshot of mono on one of your braid set ups....like about 25ft. This way you have some stretch but won't have too much on the longer casts.

Hey Matt, is that the U2 or the original series?