Chris at Tech

When I went to Baccarac, bringing my own equipment was a very good decision. To me, trips like this are too valuable to risk with mystery rental equipment. Since you’re local, I could be persuaded into letting a fellow BR member borrow my travel rods (the ones I got for Baccarac) for this trip. You get the best of both worlds - quality equipment that is with you at all times in a carry-on rod tube

15-20 lb mono, 20-30 lb braid. I'd say line capacity and drag management are key especially when you don't know what you're gonna catch. Bubble rigs, gotcha plugs, spoons, 5-6" pre-rigged swimbaits should all get bit. With that said, don't be afraid to bring a bass rod or two to wade for redfish, trout, etc. A 2500 size Shimano spinning reel w/ 10-20 lb braid and ML/M freshwater rod will more than do the job. Keep it simple here -- a handful of jigheads 1/8 - 1/4 oz and a few packs of DOA shad tails will work just fine. If fishing really shallow flats, rig an Owner screwlock 3/0 1/16 oz keel weighted hook with some DOA 4" jerkbaits. Best advice I can give is to go into a local tackle shop and get local knowledge. And don't forget to factor the tide into your planning.

Took the annual family fall pilgrimage to the Gulf Coast, Panama City Beach to be exact, so of course I had to wet a line. Fishing in the surf was unproductive but my usual guide trip and wading excursions to St Andrews Park were both great! On our outing this year with Captain Justin Leake, I think we caught just about everything swimming in the Gulf at this time of year. Red, mangrove, lane and vermillion snapper. Black, red and scamp grouper. Amber and almaco jacks. Flounder, Blue Runner, King Mackeral, Triggerfish, Dolphin, Tripletail, Cobia, seatrout, and the ultra sought-after remora and lizardfish ? Gotta love that crystal clear water of the Gulf. After wearing out the bottom fish for a while, we stumbled on some floating debris and had an awesomely fun time pitching trout and redfish jigs to dolphin, triple tail and cobia. Just an incredible site watching them attack the bait, and an incredible fight they put up on super-light inshore tackle. Let’s just say the freezer is now well stocked! My other favorite part of this trip is wading across the shallow flats of St Andrews State Park, and the trout were on fire! I must have landed 25, mostly on the small side, but with a few keepers mixed in. I also was fortunate enough to get a few visits from Mr. Redfish, and I love it when he stops by to make my ML Avid and 2500 Stradic sing. I’ll keep saying it til I’m blue in the face – anyone on this site who has the opportunity and the means to do some inshore fishing especially in the SE and Gulf Coasts really owes it to themselves to give it a shot. Now I will warn you that you will never look at a bass the same way after your first redfish, but that’s a price worth paying!

My wife hates you for posting this

First upgrade I do for new spinning reels. Largely in part to the fact reels do double duty for inshore saltwater. And those suckers will absolutely test that drag!

My advice is to take full advantage of the saltwater fishing in between bass trips

Kistler KLX

No reason to suffer the discomfort of reeling with the wrong hand with all the choices available

Charter The trip is personalized for your needs and experience Get a few charter recommendations and CALL the guides directly. Ask them questions, ask their suggestions, etc. if you don't like what you hear, call the next guide or go with the party boat. But if you're a serious fisherman and cost is not an issue, the charter beats the party boat every time

A few options... heavier gauge hooks use fluorocarbon keel weighted hook pinch a split shot a foot or so in front of the fluke try a Caffeine Shad

Do you have a tackle shop where you can feel them on your rod in person? As a few others have already mentioned, my guess is the FK will balance better but ultimately go with your preference. Either will be more than adequate. I'd personally go FK and use some of the money saved on carbontex drag washers so you can have some fun in the salt with the same rig

Nice. Need more of us around this place

Goldschlager hehe...

Pretty well-regarded rods in the saltwater fishing community

What jigheads have you found that work well with the 2.8 Fat Impacts?

With the continued unveiling of higher and higher speed ratio baitcasters, I'm curious what you guys as your "general purpose" ratio. Looking for a new reel for my Kistler Magnesium APC "all purpose casting" rod that is one of my pond-hopping rods due to its versatility. Topwaters, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, swim jigs, light/weightless plastics, frogs, etc. all get some play-time on this rod. What ratio would you use to maximize versatility? Who's still sticking with 6.x:1? Who has stepped up to 7.x:1? Any others?

Congrats! Got a baby seat in the kayak yet?

Third vote for the sv103

Don't be jealous of the man crate!

More than a jonboat should cost

I noticed a post you had in FB that you would NOT be interested in the Pats adding Calvin Johnson to the roster (even though it's just total internet gossip). I can only assume that dementia is already setting in

How big are the fish? For general tidal creek and wading inshore fishing in South Carolina/Florida, my ML Tidemaster does just fine on the trout, reds, flounder and other surprises. I imagine it'd do fine for schoolie stripers, but I'd step up to the M if the stripers were 10+ lbs.

Do this -- You just answered your own question. Spinning gear will be ok around sparse grass, but you're bringing a knife to a gunfight if you try it in heavy grass. One compromise could be re-spooling your spinning rod with 15-20 lb braid but that rod will still be unlikely to be able to horse a big fish out of the salad.

Check ereplacementparts.com

While I do love me some Stradics, I prefer Abu Revos and Daiwas for my casting reels. With that said..."specs" <> execution. Just because another reel has the same number of ball bearings and the same gear ratio does not mean you can expect the same fishing experience with both.