The Commodore

RIP. I love fishing in the rain but once I hear thunder it's time to pack up. Sounds like he tried this but it caught him.

Which ones did you get?

I have ***'s other frog. The one that looks like a real frog. It's on TW under ***. I have not used it much but the action looks good for not having hair legs. I think it would be great for letting it sit on the water for extended periods of time since it looks pretty real. When I get my frog rod setup I will be testing it more. I am sure you can still catch some larger bass on the little frog.

^I agree mostly. Although I have not had any problems using a Curado 201E7 in inshore fishing. Just be careful as to what species and size you are targeting. If you are ok with spinning, get a Stradic.

I always wanted to try WileyX. Glad to hear you like them.

If you fish with the higher quality stuff you would get it. I know it is hard to drop that cash on sunglasses (that's why I traded for mine). Costa and Maui are my tops. I used to like Oakley, I mean old Oakley. Now they seem more interested in fashion. I am not surprised they are owned by that company. You can not tell the difference that a pair of Costas make by comparing them in a store, but on the water it is evident, even compared to polarized glasses.

I have a pair of Blackfin 580G blue mirror. I also have a pair of Fathoms that broke. The Fathoms are lighter. But, I like the look of the Blackfins better and they completely block out the sun. The Blackfins make you lose some peripheral vision though.

I have a $25 gift card for them and I am thinking of giving them a shot. I want a crankbait rod.

Yeah, what Delaware said. I have a Lew's TP, and I have played with a Revo STX. They are very similar and you can tell the were made in the same factory. Get what is the best deal. And that was Lew's for me. Go to ebay.

From the little I have researched, people seem to like them. I may be wrong.

I too am interested in how they are. Might pull the trigger on the crankbait rod.

Tackle Warehouse is good. Also check out american legacy fishing. They do not have as big of a selection but they do have free shipping on any order. I have purchased 3 reels from them and their shipping is about 5 days. They have Power Pro and Sunline. Oh and I like braid on my spinning outfits. Put a leader on if water is really clear.

My brother has done this before. It does help on slow days.

Costa and Maui and old Oakley. The clarity of the 580G lens is ridiculous. I have the Blackfins and they cover my eyes pretty well. Don't get cheap with sunglasses. Get a strap so they do not fall in the water and just take care of them.

The other day I was fishing a small lake that was absolutely infested with Hydrilla. The only thing that was working for me was a drop shot with a hook to weight leader long enough to be just on the top part of the hydrilla.

I have had old braid snap. The Braid was on the reel and never used for probably 4 years.

Shimano has never really failed me. But I always like to play the field. I have a Lew's Tournament Pro that I am currently using and it is great so far. Much less backlashes than the Curado 201E7 but I do not think it is a better reel than the Shimano yet. It's on par. Just ordered a Quantum Smoke 150. Played with one in Bass Pro and feel in love. I think next I will be getting a Diawa. I have a Abu Garcia T6600CL round baitcaster that has been reliable and durable with abuse. I think people have a tendency to became brand fans too often. I used to be like that with a lot of things. Having said that Shimano has been tried and true in my book for freshwater and saltwater. I am sure other brands can be too but I have not extensively used them yet. The only other brand that I can definitely recommend are Penn reels but they are a saltwater brand.

Totally agree, and they hold their value like Honda.

Yeah I agree. There are plenty of sw species that will burn line of your spool and I would not trust a crappy backing and weak point at the knot. But, for my bass rigs I put backing on it as I have never had a bass pull a lot of line off my spool. But, then again I have yet to hit double digits on bass so maybe the big ones can? If you are just fishing fresh with it I would say a 1/2 backing would be fine.

Different generation of a model. They do it with most of their spinning models I believe. They do not make FH anymore.

Stradics are solid. Have used them in saltwater for a while. You do not need the Ci4 but it is nice. The regular FJs will be good as well. I think they are on FJ. I have 2 FHs.

I noticed that too. My brother and I together have put 4 Extreme rods through a pretty abusive time. 3 Spinning and 1 Casting. Besides broken guides that were our fault, they have held up to all fresh and salt water applications we have put them through. Even some slot Snook and fierce Jacks (Jacks make you think you have something huge until you bring it to the surface lol). Good backbone and decent sensitivity, I would say they are light but my background is with saltwater fishing where weight is not as big of an issue as with bass angling. I have no experience in Carbonlites but everybody on here says they are good to go for a budget setup. I do not think you will be disappointed in the Extremes, my brother and I have not been. I think they are on sale too. Almost wat to pick up a 7'10" Heavy for flipping but I need to stop buying things.

When I saw the title of this topic I knew you had to be in Florida. But, sorry I do not know of any. I would not mind participating in one although I am not sure how it would be conducted.

The more I think about it I really love cars and I have met some real tools that way as well. Don't get me wrong there are many times I have met the most helpful people while fishing. But unfortunately I have seen things that really bother me and the people seem to think it is acceptable.

Out of all the hobbies or interests that I have, fishing has the most shady and inconsiderate people I have ever seen. Both fresh and salt. I had a guy the other day tell me he breaks off spotted gar's beaks when he catches them and throws them back in cause the are "annoying". Yeah they can be annoying but they belong there and we are the ones throwing the lines in.