blckshirt98

As a shore guy I throw the 1.0 and 1.5 95% of the time since I've been getting lazy and only bringing my spinning rod. The 2.5 I'll sometimes break out when I bring my cranking rod, but even then I'll usually grab a chatterbait first, and will also throw the 1.5 on it. The 1.5 might be the perfect size all-purpose crankbait.

Ugh, you're right, those reviews don't look good. The Sojourns I use are about 4 years old and a generation or two before the current Shimano products.

Dick's has a flash sale on Shimano Sojourn UL rods. https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/shimano-sojourn-spinning-rod-15shmusjrn60mdspnrod/15shmusjrn60mdspnrod I use a 4'6" 1 piece Sojourn and a 5'0" 2 piece Sojourn(both of which I got for half off when Sports Authority was liquidating) as my two primary trout bait rods and they're fantastic.

Knowledge. A local pro uses mainly Zoom trick works because they're cheap, and he finishes in the money more often than not.

Anything heavier than 8 lb FC on a spinning reel will shoot off like a Slinky. What kind of braided line do you have spooled right now causing the wind knots? Have you tried going to a heavier braid like 15-20#?

Welcome to the start of your doom! However you organize your tackle now just know that it'll get spread out in no time! Your crankbait box will eventually be split into deep diving crankbaits and squarebills; your squarebills will eventually be split into large and small squarebills; your small squarebills might be split into Strike King squarebills and all other brand squarebills; and so on and so on. Only thing I would suggest is keep your soft plastics in the original packaging and store/carry them around in ZipLoc freezer bags. Soft plastics can get messy and the colors can bleed into the Plano plastic. Carry a smaller Plano 3500 for terminal tackle, or set aside a few compartments in the larger 3600.

I'm in Cali so can't offer up any advice for your itinerary, but hopefully on your trip you have the time to keep some sort of thread updated on here to let us know how the trip/fishing is going! Hope you enjoy your stay!

Hi all, I'm going to be heading to Cancun in the middle of August for a weeklong vacation and thinking of bring a travel rod/reel to fish whatever is around. It's the start of hurricane season so there's always the chance the weather will be terrible, but I'll be staying at the Moon Palace (which is more south of the touristy area). Anyone have any info on what's in the surf down there? Also I know it's kind of dangerous in the surf, buddy of mine and his friend almost got swept out to sea by a set of rogue waves, but I read some bits of info about a lagoon somewhere with barracuda?

Yeah you kind of need to game the system a bit to get the best deal. Get a $100 gift card from a reseller like Card Cookie (at 14% off you pay $86 for the card). Add the rod and another $20 worth of stuff from Cabela's to your cart, apply the gift card, apply the code for free shipping. You'll have to pay the $8 surcharge and any taxes but it should be under $100 shipped, for $100 worth of stuff.

Remember the Rage's are discontinued so this could be your last chance!

Cabela's looks like they found a stash of St. Croix Rage rods. Only one model (6' 8" MF Casting) but it's only $79.99 which is a steal, plus you get a free hat (rebate). Spend another $20 and you can get free shipping as well. http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/fishing/rods|/pc/105591780/c/105740280/sc/105742080/st-croix-rage-casting-rod/1253428.uts

Try twitching one of these - http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Grand_Siglett/descpage-MBGRS.html

Picasso has a couple of copper bladed options on their Shock Blade - https://www.picassooutdoors.com/product_p/pshock.htm If you can find a supplier that sells copper swimjig blades, D&M recently started selling their Piranha jigs without a blade, where you buy the blade separately and close the eye on the jighead (it's a creative way to get around the Chatterbait patent to basically sell the original Piranha again).

Going to throw a couple of local companies into the pool - RMD Revolution - http://www.rmdrevolutionspinnerbait.com/tech.html Bass Art Creations - http://creationbaits.com/bassartcreationbaits.html

I use almost all Shimano 500/1000 size reels for my UL spinning setups, and the Sedona 500FD I think is perfect reel for price/performance. Check if your local tackle shop has any left in stock, or there's always the 'Bay.

Those setups look awesome, I'm curious how those feel/fish. Nice project that turned out well!

As a shore guy I don't see how boat guys fish the front of the boat like that and don't fall in or step on their rods more often, especially when there are swells. I see some of the pros when they fish the larger bodies of water in bad weather, and then realize a boat/tournamenet fishing is not for me.

Never hurts to look! One of the Sport Chalets that closed down around here had a whole bunch of Roboworms that lasted until 90% off (I saw them the day before on 80% off day, but didn't grab them because I don't fish Roboworms and already have a bunch I'll never use). I went back the next day when everything was 90% off and got a Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook, an Arctic Ice Pack, a Thule trailer hitch lock, and some scupper plugs.

I'd avoid personal watercraft in SoCal right now unless you don't mind Great Whites - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sharks-20170511-htmlstory.html Post on scsurffishing.com if you're looking for advice on surf fishing down south. NorCal surf fishing kind of sucks compared to SoCal. I like Mission Bay (Fiesta Island) because you can park your car right on the sand 20 feet from the water, and you don't have to deal with waves. Small fish yeah, but it's more the convenience.

I've used the lipless and they seem to work fine, really no different than the RES. I stopped by DSG the other week and they still had some in stock, though nowhere near the amount they had when I bought mine (this applies to all of the Banshee series). Caught a ton of fish a week ago on the Red Craw lipless, so no problem with them here!

The Hudd Shad is impossible to find, it's been sold out and out of production for months. If you find them on the secondhand market they're going for 2.5-3x list price. You'll probably pay just as much as you would for a Hudd 68, so I'd look into the Hudd 68!

A few years back I was fishing the surf by myself off of a long jetty (Half Moon Bay) where you need to hop rocks the whole way out and back. On the way back I jumped to a rock and heard the sound of a rubber band snapping and something in my calf popping. I had to slowly butt crawl my way over the rocks until I got to some sand and then limp/hop back to the car. Partially tore a calf muscle and to this day there's a north-south divot in my right calf. Haven't gone back since, now it's just the beach to surf fish.

95% spinning because as a shore guy I usually take only 1-2 rods with me, and a spinning rod can cover a lot more techniques. Finesse, smaller crankbaits, etc. I'll use as baitcaster when throwing chatterbaits, topwater, or larger sized crankbaits. Not a whole lot of pitching/flipping or deep water fishing from shore.

Friend of mine just went up there a month ago for a bachelor party...they were all smashed and only caught a handful of fish but he did say there were a lot of recreational boats up there. So I guess not too much advice here, except you might want to scope out some sheltered spots that would provide cover from the recreational boats.

I went there once last fall and fished from shore - water was gin clear, a TON of birds, and even after watching schools of shad going airborne for about an hour wasn't able to get one of them to chase any of the junk I was throwing. I'd have to check my spreadsheet at home but I think I only caught like 1, maybe 2, fish on a dropshot.