Crabcakes

I fish for basically everything that swims in fresh and salt water. I use conventional/baitcasting gear probably half of my fishing time. I however do not use it for bass fishing very much. For light presentations I use spinning gear with mono in 4-8lb. For heavy stuff I use spinning gear with braid. The advent of modern braids has removed the limitations of spinning gear in terms of line twist and the inability to use heavier lines. Within the context of bass fishing I don't think baitcasters have any practical advantage in terms of power or casting distance (for me at least). I understand baitcasters have technique specific advantages and "just feel right" for lots of techniques. Really.... in this day and age it boils down to personal preference. Both types can more or less do it all.

I caught a nice 20 inch fish one time on a jerkbait that was spiraling on the surface with a leaf stuck to it larger than the bait. Probably the worst presentation ever.

I would even go lower than 6lb hybrid. I've seen that reel and it is tiny. IMO 2-4# mono or very light braid for that one.

I'd guess a little lighter around say 35-40lbs. it is impossible to tell though

Is that you in the video? Looks like your picture. Good video if so. Nice presentation.

If you're fishing in salt infrequently it's not really a huge deal. Just don't dunk it. If you fish salt a lot I'd recommend a shimano saragossa. It's basically an overbuilt stradic with simpler internals that make it very easy to break down and clean should your reel get salt or sand inside. Gosa's are way more than 80 dollars though. I'd also recommend penn slammers and shimano spheros.

You guys who use snaps should check out breakaway clips or other similar types. They've pretty much made using snaps on lures obsolete in the surf fishing world.

Squishy Shad Squishy Shot Slimey Shad Slimey Shot Squishys Slimeys Sinus Shads Chest Colds Jiggle Shads Shad Shakers (with shad and pepper as a color) yeah it does look like a booger. ;D

Buy a used reel in the flea market here or look for a sale. For baitcasters at 60 dollars there aren't a lot of options. Spinning wise there are some serviceable reels.

704 or 706? Did you drill it yourself? Nice work. Actually looking at the handle that one is even nicer than I realized.

Got a few 1lber's last weekend. Since then haven't been out. Bait was active and the some fish were sunning.

I tend to agree. It's really about whether the bass actually took the frog. Waiting is just a tool to help you feel if he took it. It also prevents you from ripping it away should the bass come back for a second hit, which frequently happens. Many times the bass just flat misses. Sometimes it comes back for a second hit sometimes not. Set when you feel him. Not when you see him. Could be 1/10 of a second or 3. Could be the first blow up or the third. Set when you feel the fish on the end of the line and not when he blows up the frog. It takes a lot of discipline and is very hard. But if you commit to an arbitrary rule like three seconds you'll miss bites.

I use a knot. Swivels are way too easy to reel into your tip top especially in low light. A slim knot like an alberto will pass through the guides easily if you happen to reel it too far. Bass fishing should not require a leader so long that it needs to be reeled into your guides.

They are the same fish. Stripers (aka Stribed Bass, Rockfish, Rock, Linesiders or just "Bass" in some areas) are anadromous. This means that naturally they live in saltwater and breed in fresh/brackish water. Stripers can breed successfully in some larger freshwater lakes and river systems Stripers found in inland freshwater rivers, lakes and impoundments were put there by humans. Same for the population on the pacific coast. there are populations of stripers in coastal freshwater (or mostly fresh) areas that occur naturally. As to the question of if you took a striper form a lake and released it in the notion I'm not sure. The sudden change would probably not be good for it. If you gradually introduced it to saltwater it would be fine. They are biologically the same fish. There are also hybrid striped bass (wipers, hybrids) that are a mix of striped bass and white bass. These are different than stripers and are often found in the same bodies of water as stripers. Hybrids are stocked in many lakes and rivers.

/agree I have two Winches, both are at 17.5 cranked down. Both were 20 on the nose fresh out of the box. Thanks!

I understand how mounting a reel on a rod will change how the drag behaves. Obviously mounted on a rod there's going to be a bit more effective drag from friction and the arc of the rod... but how would mounting a reel on a rod reduce a reels drag capabilities? If a reel can put out 15lbs of pressure on a bench scale it'll do that on any rod.

Nope just need about 12. I just needed to know how much it could put out. They claimed 24 which just seemed silly.

Thanks guys. If I could count on 12-15 off the bench after some break in that'd do the trick. 25 is just unneccessary anyways for the size of that reel.

I know the Revo's are highly praised but I have a question. Has anybody actually hooked a Revo up to a spring scale to verify the 20+lbs of drag? How about other small low profile reels with similar claims? I'm asking because I have a specific (non bass fishing) purpose in mind for a small reel with high drag pressure. That drag rating seems really really high for the size of the reel so I wanted to verify it. I actually need a reel to put out some big numbers and not strip gears or warp the frame. By way of example I have a Penn International Torque star drag that's like 2 lbs of stainless steel with a 2 inch main gear that puts out 25lbs of drag and for the size I know it can outpull almost all my conventional reels. A similar number for a small low profile reel seems a bit unbelievable.

What great and honest answers. No runaround no evasiveness. Sound like great ideas.

If you really want to know about the reel read this. This is the Stella SW but it will give you an idea. Technical read but it is worth the education. http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/showthread.php?t=647666 (I checked the FAQ and don't think it is in violation of the rules to post this link since it is non promotional. Please remove if I am mistaken.)

A few striper spawning factoids for you: Stripers release eggs and milt (sperm) directly into the water without making beds. They need at least some water movement to ensure the two mix properly. The eggs actually suspend in the water and develop into larvae that feed off a yolk. Water movement helps ensure the eggs stay suspended off the bottom. They also need the proper salinity level to ensure that their eggs don't sink to the bottom. Striper eggs hatch after 48 hours and they must remain suspended in the water column before they hatch and turn into larvae. If the water is too fresh they sink and become silted over before they can hatch. They spawn all the way up and down the length of the Potomac in the marshes and tributaries, not just up at Little falls. Wherever they can find the right balance of salinity, turbidity (clarity), temperature and oxygen levels. Many of the real big girls actually spawn up around the Susquehanna Flats area on the edges of the main Bay.

Generally the term "run" refers to a concentrated migration or mass movement of fish that often results in them being easy to catch. Often times this is for spawning but it can also be temperature or food driven. Here's an example: Every spring Maryland gets a spawning run of rockfish (stripers) from March- May. I fish for these fish every year. In June I fish the "spring run" of stripers in New Jersey. This "run" is actually the same body of fish I was catching in Maryland the month before but this time they are "running" North towards New York and Massachusetts for food. In both places it's a "spring run" but the biological reasons aren't the same. Later on in the year I fish the "fall run" in New Jersey which is in fact the same body of stripers swimming south towards warmer water and plentiful bait off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina. The same general idea holds true for most fish.... They're seeking conditions suitable for what they need to do eat (eat, breed) and sometimes this concentrates them in a small area for a period of time.

For me fishing has always been about learning and this was some quality learning. I've never fished steelhead but this was still very interesting. Got my mind working about the finer points drift fishing and how it might be applied to species I fish for more regularly.

I have one in front of me right now. Made in France. Just caught a nice channel cat on it last month. Bought on that auction site for 15.72. Can't beat that deal.