justfishin

Congrats. Nothing like the feeling of your first buck. You will remember that deer for a life time.

Riskkid, Well put. That Snoopy rod on that day was worth a gazillion dollars. I remember years ago when my son was very small and I bought him one of those Snoopy rods and took him to a put and take trout stream on opening morning. He had his five trout limit in about 20 min on that rod and I never saw a boy so proud. I still have pictures of that day. Priceless. It always reverts back to the smile factor for me too. It doesn't matter what you use, if it works. All except braid--opps, am I bad ?

Keithscatch, " Using any sort of mono or co-poly or Flourocarbon would be silly. " Its just my opinion my friend and my choice. I would not say that my choice in line would be considered " silly ". I have pulled big bass out of mats and pads for 30 years with mono and now co-poly. It just works for me. Good luck fishing.

Welcome. A good spinnerbait rod that I really like and that maybe you can order in your situation is a Team All Star TAS766C 6'4" MH , Line wt. 10-20 Lure wt. 1/4-3/4. BPS has them. $99.95

I am a Shimano and Abu Garcia kind of guy but, I was fishing with a buddy of mine and he had a couple of Presidents that he had purchased last year and I tried one ( we were wormin ) and I kept it in my hands all day. I was pretty impressed for a reel to feel and fish that good for that amount of money. I think anyone who bought one would be happy with it. As far as how they hold up, I don't know but, they fish well as I said. They were loaded with #14 test Dura Tough. Good luck.

I use a lot of Blakemore Reel Magic on my spinning reel line in the winter time and swear by it. It keeps things softened up on these Western Maryland in the teens mornings---Brrrrr. I guess my question is--- is this stuff detramental to my reel as far as the internal parts if some of it gets inside?

Dodgeguy, I will be a diplomat for this particular post, from a braid hater to a braid lover, good luck fishin and have fun because the bottom line is that is what fishing is all about. No matter what each of us chose to use whether it be tackle, line, rods or reels. Just keep your braid away from my co-poly,lol, Good luck.

I am right with you ghoti. The ranges you mention for brown and green bass are about my deepest as well. I talked to my friend since and he said that the "statement was made" about that " 200 " foot mark. He said most of their fish came anywhere from 30-125 foot range on jigging spoons, tubes with 1/2oz leadheads and dropshots. He said spoons did the best for them at the time. I did find a sunken island on a local lake years ago that tops out at about 55' and the surrounding water is around 75-85'. I have seen a ton of boats go by that spot and I have had some great days there. I found it on an old topo map and relocated it on my depth finder and waypointed it. My little fish market I call it.

Amen, my Uncle Jack was at Pearl Harbor. He survived. I remember when he told us of that day once over a couple of cold ones. The guys of that era were stand up men. I cannot imagine. May they all be at peace in Heaven.

I am 50 so your post rang a lot of bells. Thanks, it was funny but, held true. I alway told my Mom that if we lived in this day and age she would have gotten life for some of those A** whoopins I got as a kid when I was a little too ornery. I tell you this, that woman could down a deer at 100 yards with a flip flop !!!, lol.

Vyron, How do you break this stuff when hung up ? I fish a fast, furious river and hang ups are a pretty frequent problem. Like I said, and I apologize before hand, I do not like braid.

Thanks RoadWarrior. I am going to spool it on a half a dozen rods and give her a test. Yes, I loosen the drags on client rods. Personally I back reel them. I have heard that the Tenn. River is pretty bad as well. I am going to have to get some guys and make a trek one day to this river. Heck, I might as well leave some grey paint on a few rocks on the Tenn. from the old Jet Boat to mark my spots down there as well, lol. Any recommendations on where to fish this river? May your rods stay bent !!!

Believe it or not one of our fellow guides on the Susquehanna in PA snagged a decapitated head about 12 or 13 years ago. He reported it and it ended up being part of a murder case that was ongoing. It really shook him up !!!

Like ReelMech said, loosen your drag up on this types of lines. When I first used braid years ago and I snapped a rod on a short line flippin situation. I know I better tuck and roll but, I have tried this line on baitcasters and spinning reels and wanted to like it but, I just don't. I don't like the feel of it or anything about it. As I said, give me Co-poly anytime. I am sure this is not a very popular statement but, does anyone feel like me about braid? One instance I still use braid for occasionally is on long casting top water baits in the grass like a frog. Other than that, icksnay on the braiday. Good luck fishing !!!

You are scaring me here gentlemen. Guide season starts up again in a few months and I was going to change over all my client rods to Yo-Soft. Now I am a little skeptical. I have guided the most razor sharp, rocky, nasty Susquehanna River in PA for over 16 years and only found one line that will take it. I know you are going to laugh but BPS Excel in green low vis #8 has been a real winner for me as well as a work horse and very inexpensive. I am talking the #8 test now, the #6 I have used in this line is terrible. You would not think that their would be a difference but, there is. When I use #6 ( personal use ) I use Super Silver Thread. I know, I know, BPS probably get new contracts from line makers and I have noticed that a couple of years its character changed but, all and all it has been great. One thing for sure. If you have a smaller spooled reel like a Stradic 2000 series you are going to get some coils if they sit in the warm house all week or it is in the -30's outside. I use Blakemore Reel Magic for this reason. It works. I hate to spool up a dozen stradics with line that is going to break when a 5lb smallie makes a run over the rocks. I backreel in this situation but, 90% of my clients can't do this. If they are depending on the drag and letting a big smallie run and the line breaks this is bad for buisiness. I am interested in this post so, I hope I get to read a lot of reviews. I have seen some of the other guides switch to other lines, there are about 15 of us whom are pretty close,and they always return to Excel. Looking forward to more post on this line. I just want to thank everyone for all I have read so far on fishing in general. It gives us all ideas to put in the hat and to form or own opinions. Great post.

Thanks c312. I hear ya. I have those extras like spybot and adware for the heck of it. You are right, spysweeper seems to be the best, at least for me. As far as AV programs go. Hey, I am on a pc 12-16 hrs. a day in a hospital emergency room and when I get home I get a little lax on my home security. I am the typical home user, get the cheapest or the deal from your ISP. I got the special from my ISP. First of all---back up, back up, back up---is the final word as you know. I had McAfee two years ago and during a terrible worm and trojan attack one week I crashed. I dumped Mc for Kaspersky and had it for a year and it was not as user friendly and at the time and was lax in the file sharing area. They all have their pros and cons. eTrust is rated about no.9 but, is easy for me, cheap and for a year and a half it has been fantastic. I am sure when the license runs out I will change to Bitdefender though. I think that this is currently the best, it seems to have it all. Like I said, nowadays, backup,backup,backup,lol. Here is a good site that the hospital IT's turned me on to www.SCmagazine.com ----Thanks for your reply, and I hope your fishing rods stay bent !!!!

I have only been to the Cabelas in Harrisburg PA and to put it simply, its amazing. Its a place not only for you but, your whole family. You just have to see it to believe it. Yes, they have a fantastic selection for fishing as well as any thing you can think of that pertains to the outdoors. Warning: Do not take your credit card, repeat, do not take your credit card.

I had two of them and sold them at a tourn. They are good reels I think but, I just did not like them personally. I use Curados and still use the old Abu 5600 series and probably will until I die. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

Stadic? buy it. You won't be disappointed.

As ReelMech said in an earlier post, a good rod is one that has a warr. that the builder or company will back up. I am spending the winter in the learning process of building my own rods. If you want a off the rack rod or semi custom rod check into Gator Rods and All Star. Gator is a smaller company that has a one year warr. on their rods but, I have had them for a lot longer than that and broke them or busted up and eye or so, and the owner took good care of me. I have had the same experiance with All Star rods. I do know the rep here but, I have never been questioned by them and the return and price of a fix and a couple of new rods for replacements were easy.

Another Curado 101 or the Scorpian 1000 is a really good small reel.

All my baitcasters are either Curados--which I am very happy with--or Abu Garcia 5601's in which I really love. I just like the feel of those old reels in my hand and I have had them for a long time, never failed me yet. I have six of them but, would like to have three of them in faster gear ratio. Not faster really but increased line pickup. I looked at the C-4's and thought about buying three but, I am going to ask a honest question first. I like a reel to pick up about 28" of line per handle turn. The Abu's pick up about 23". Is it possible to increase the pickup in these reels by changing a gear or so. I kind of have it in my little pea brain that a bigger spool size would fit into the equation as well. If anyone would know, I would think that a few of you, especially ReelMech could put me straight, Yeaaa or Naayy?

The Hummer. I have a older Lowrance X-52 that I like. I have had this for quite awhile now. I run stick steering in a 70/55 Express jet boat and have two transducers, front on trolling motor and back on transom with a switch to run either one. I have never had a problem with this unit. I have owned Hummingbirds as well and only had one problem with it but, they took care of me. I read up on the new 500 series and they look pretty good to me. I would seriously look into a Lowrance if I were you. Any of these units nowadays are pretty good just make sure it has a dual processor. Good luck.

Please tell me that the post by Gameover was just a joke to pull a newbies chain and to get a reaction.

Crankbaits and Senkos. I still fish them because they work but, I just don't like to. A dropshot is right up there as well. I would have to say my no. one is a crankbait though. I am a jig,worm or spinnerbait kind of guy.