redbirdsfan44

That is the knot I use to link braid to mono/fluoro. I cannot find any depiction of the knot I use for Fluoro. I will see If I can't find something

Pictured is the knot that I use with Fluoro which I was taught long ago as the albright. The palomar knot ties tight to the main line and when pressure is applied pulls the knot tighter on the main line weakening it. With the knot I know as the albright knot the knot itself is tight tot he eye of the hook and tied correctly can be slid back up the main line. When pressure is applied the knot cinches tighter to the eye of the hook rather than the main line. As for a terminal connection knot I tie the knot that I am guessing you are referring to as the albright knot. studying that picture a little more I see that is a uni knot and not the actual knot I tie that I know as the albright @J Francho

This really depends on your line choice. Palomar is an excellent choice for most fishing lines. If you are using fluoro though a palomar is going to be a weaker knot. Because Fluoro is a denser, more abrasive line you weaken your knot by tying a palomar. Albright is one of your best options with fluoro.

This right here. I have the Fury 734 for some lighter soft plastics pitching and flipping and all I have to say is WOW. I've had numerous rods in the 100-120 price point and none of them have really blown me away with their performance as the dobyns fury.

As an employee of a sporting goods retailer I often see many different anglers ranging in experience. Just in the last week I was lucky enough to run into Elite Series Pro James Elam while I was working, but many times I get the chance to share some of my knowledge of fishing to some new guys and gals. A lot of new anglers seem timid to ask for help or even embarrassed of their lack of knowledge of the sport. Some may say I'm over passionate about fishing, but it's my love of the sport which drives me to want to educate and teach others of my experiences and knowledge. With so many different sources of information on the web a beginner can be bombarded with too much information at one time. So here I am to answer one of the most commonly asked questions from beginners and experienced anglers alike: "What are the fish biting on?" My answer to that question can vary a lot depending on the time of year and experience of the angler. In many cases, whether it's a newbie or a seasoned vet to the sport, I will tell them at least one of these four baits I'm about to list. In my opinion these are the only four baits a beginner needs to have in their box to get out and start catching fish immediately. The spinnerbait/Chatterbait The spinnerbait can be contributed to more fish catches than just about any other bait on the market. It's an easy bait for a beginner to pickup because it requires a simple cast and retrieve and is relatively weedless. It can produce fish no matter if its fall, winter, spring, or summer. The chatterbait is very similarly fished like a spinnerbait though more commonly fished from spring through fall. The square bill crankbait A square bill crank can produce fish spring through fall and lots of them. Though it is not very weedless it does require the same simple cast and retrieve as the spinnerbait and chatterbait. The color options are somewhat limitless so going with a simple bait fish pattern or the ever popular chartreuse black back pattern is a safe bet to landing some bass. The Senko The senko is a no brainer best bait for any new angler partially because your options to fishing it are practically neverending: weightless texas rig, wackey, ned rig, drop shot, neko, it goes on and on. A couple packs of Green Pumpkin Senkos (or other brand stick worm) and you can be out catching fish today. Why are these the best baits for a beginner you might ask. Well, because all of these can be thrown on either spinning or baitcasting gear and none of them require a monster hook set. Bites are fairly simple to detect on all of these set ups and getting out and catching fish is what the new guys need to build confidence in their abilities. I will say it again these are the best four baits for a beginner in my opinion and I'm sure there are others that would work just as well, but these are the ones I have chosen. So I hope this was worth the read and I hope it helps you get out and catch some fish.

Exactly this right here. That being said the SK rodent is my go to pitching bait. The deck of the boat is littered with 4 inch rodents in Big Tex. Only downside is the durability of the bait. The trokar big nasty flippin hooks really tear the crap out of them. I've started putting O-rings on the tail end before I rig them on my flipping hook to get maybe one or two more fish out of each bait. If they are biting these you better be sure to have plenty of them with you or you will run out pretty quick.

The Black Max isn't terrible but if you have a little extra in your piggy bank check out the lews mach I combo. Well worth the extra coin

Check your guides and tip to make sure the braided line hasn't warn down a grove that will damage your line. If you're fishing with a rod that has aluminum inserts in the guides I'd bet money that is the problem.

Falcon Bucoo 7'4" Amistad or the Dobyns Fury 734 or 735

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but I'm sure you could find a stradic Ci4+ on ebay for around $150 now that the new Ci4+Hg is out. I have used many different spinning reels from abu, pflueger, quantum in that $100 range and to me the extra money I have spent on my stradic FK and now the Ci4+Hg has been well worth it. I have not yet fished with the NASCI but from picking it up and playing with one just about every day (I work at Rogers Sporting Goods) it does feel quite a bit better than the symetre. As far as the bending goes only time will tell on that. Thats the gamble you take on a graphite reel IMO. Shimano is top notch when it comes to premium spinning gear. If you don't see it necessary to spend the extra money you will not be disappointed in the supreme XT.

I was try to say more along the lines that you can't go wrong with either one of those frogs

This question is sort of like asking if big boobs are better than small boobs. Either way they're still boobs

You can easily throw lipless cranks or square bills as search baits. Don't get caught up in techniques loomis stamps on the rod. You could ask 10 guys what rod(length/power) they prefer for one specific technique and chances are you will get 10 different answers.

For your first set up I will tell you not to try and overwhelm yourself with making your rod specific to one technique. The rod you have will easily handle multiple bass fishing techniques. To answer your question about jigs it just depends on the weight of jig you are throwing. Being that it's a medium power rod 3/8-1/2oz jigs or smaller finesse jigs would be better suited. You don't have the power to flip jigs into heavy cover and horse a fish out with a medium rod so I would focus on hard bottom with lighter casting jigs. The braided line will allow you to throw lighter baits such as a weightless wacky rig. You can throw spinnerbaits with ease as well as Texas rigs. Just don't go too heavy with your baits, the rod should have the recommendations for lire weights and line stamped on it. Get comfortable using the baitcasting reel with baits you're comfortable with already before diving too deep into new lures and techniques

It depends on what you're going to use the super salt plus finesse worm for. If you're using it for texas rigs there are definitely better worms for t-rigs IMO and on a shakey head the super salt plus worms do not float as well as the original trick worms so your shakey head can roll over with the super salt plus finesse worms. For swimbaits it depends on if you're looking for smaller paddle tail swimbaits or diving into the big swimbait game. For paddle tails the swing impact and easy shiner are great. Big swimbaits are a whole new ball game

To me a fish will eat a swimbait because it can see it as a large easy meal. I have caught plenty of fish on swimbaits in relatively stained water. It does take confidence. Once you catch one fish your confidence with the bait will exponentially increase. The savage gear swimbaits don't move a ton of water. The Hudd 68 is a great 6 inch swimbait with a hard thumping tail.

SK and Warts are great cranks. I doubt you find any angler that doesn't have a few in their arsenal. There are plenty of companies that make cranks in the $4-$8 range that are great lures. You don't have to go spend the extra money on big fancy swimbaits if that's not your game. Every angler has one rod, one reel, and one bait they can take out and flat out catch fish with. If you are looking to get into swimbaits there are plenty of options out there like a R2S s waver, or Savage gear line through swimbaits that don't cost a ton but again its not for everyone.

Try a variety of different brands of chatterbaits. I prefer the booyah chatterbaits because the hook extends further back from the head attached to a heavy steel wire.. Pepper customs makes a chatterbait with a free swinging hook that might help swim it through the cover you are fishing. there are a few companies that make chatterbaits like that.

Scratch the super salt plus finesse worms and go with the original trick worm from zoom for finesse. 1/8th-7/16th oz shakey heads. Rage thumper tail worms. (place brand name here) senkos, 1/4-1/2oz bullet weights (I prefer tungsten). and a wide variety of hooks. 2/0 octopus for wacky rig, 6/0 ewg monster for the 10 inch rage thumpers (just a couple that I use)

No takers on the Plopper. Caught one on a Spook there Saturday morning and my buddy I was with caught one on a buzz bait so I thought I'd give the Plopper a try.

Took the kayak out to Watkins Mill on Sunday and didn't catch a ton of fish but I did manage to catch the one in the picture on a shakey head after she picked up a reaction innovations sweet beaver off her bed and wouldn't eat it. Didn't have my scale with me but she had to be over 6. definitely my PB from the YAK.

Had to pick up a few more baits before I head down to TRL on Thursday. The past 2 weeks has hit my bank account hard with the 2 citica 200g's, citica 200i, speed spool LFS, 3 Falcon bucoos, and a Denali J2.

Comparatively they are going to fish very similar. They are the same blanks. 2 big differences between the rods is all there is. The avid will have a solid full cork handle and have regular Fuji alconite guides ( may not be alconite) where the avid x with be a split grip with cork and have micro guides. I personally love my avid x

I can sympathize with with both sides on this. Being that I work for a fairly reputable retailer ( not for dobyns ) Our store policy is a 30 day return or exchange policy except for any items discounted >30% which is 3 days. Being that the rod is new we would have exchanged it but you would still pay the difference on a newer model because it was a close out. The manufacturer won't credit the retailer on anything that is discontinued. Being that dobyns has the trade up program you should fish the rod for the season and see how you like it. If you aren't satisfied at the end of the season trade up to what you want.

I'm probably beating a dead horse here because I haven't taken the time to read over every post in the thread but here I go. There is a time and place for all variations of lines when fishing. This all depends on variables such as what baits or techniques you're fishing. Fluoro is pre stretched therefore has far less line stretch than mono. You also should avoid using some knots with Fluoro that you use for mono. Fluorocarbon is a much denser line than monofilament. If you notice, your mono or braid will float where a fluorocarbon line will sink. The advantage to this is you have a direct line to your bait when fishing baits like Texas rigs or jigs. This gives you higher sensitivity when fishing these baits. Personally I prefer a fluorocarbon line when fishing bottom baits and diving baits 90% of the time. Other factors contribute to the other 10%. The question "is fluorocarbon better than mono?" Is much like comparing apples to oranges. At this point I feel like I'm rambling so if anyone has any questions or criticism about lines and applications feel free to PM me.