BrackishBassin

You can find Buff ones cheap if you look for sales. They’re plenty long. No chance you’ll have issues with them not covering what you need them to...unless you’re a giraffe.

I used to worry about getting skunked until I started watching MLF all of the time. Once you’ve seen a few pros go all day without a bite, it makes me two or three hour fish-free sessions seem like nothing.

If you’re talking pure distance, then conventional reels win by a wide margin. Very few of the serious surf casting guys are fishing spinning reels because they aren’t capable of making the casts they need to make. However, I doubt very seriously that you’re talking about throwing baits 200+ yards. In the end, I think distance is less important than accuracy when it comes to bass fishing.

To answer your question, no. Polarization is just a coating applied to the lens in a horizontal fashion. Think old school prison stripes. What it does is block any light that is being reflected by a horizontal surface (e.g. lake, road, sidewalk, etc.) and allow light reflected vertically to pass unobstructed. But polarization ‘quality’ isn’t what limits the clarity of a particular pair of sunglasses - it’s all about the lens.

Ditto, but I don’t fish for smallmouth.

If you peg them with just a bit of space, you should still get a click. Doesn’t take more than a mm or so.

Those hooks will work fine.

There has to be an issue with the jig (sharp edge), your rod (chipped guide), or the line (frayed to begin with). No matter how hard you set the hook, it’s awfully hard to break off 40lb test braid with hook setting force alone. I’ve bent jig hooks completely out on hooksets (usually on a log or rock) and pulling stuck lures out of wherever they’ve managed to bury themselves. Haven’t broken one off yet. They always come back to me. They’re bent, but I get them back.

I have a pair of Natives (Ward) that I bought recently. I really like how light they are in comparison to an older pair of Costas (Brine) that I also own. There’s no discernible difference in optical quality between the two. I don’t feel like the Natives I bought are exceptionally dark (They have the gray/blue mirror lenses in them at the moment.). My only gripe with them, and it’s a really small one that stems from my own OCD tendencies, is that there is some sort of weird design on the lenses. I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s extremely hard to see (can’t see it when you’re looking out through them), but if you take them off and look at the lenses outside, you can see it. I’ve emailed their customer service about it, but have yet to get any sort of response. That being said, I’d encourage you to go with sunglasses from an independently owned eyewear manufacturer and stay away from both Costa and Native. Unfortunately, they’re both Luxottica/Essilor subsidiaries. I’m looking at Wiley X for my next pair. They have the added benefit of using ANSI certified lenses in all of their stuff, so you know the sunglasses will actually protect your eyes from physical damage (having a jig smack you in the face) in addition to the UV light.

If you do use JB Weld, word of warning, when it dries it DRIES. If you get it anywhere other than where you want it, get it off ASAP. I lived in a house where some moron had used about two tubes to ‘repair’ a leaking sink in the bathroom. Took me a couple of hours and a hammer/chisel to get it off so I could repair it correctly.

Play with it and you’ll eventually find a spot that works for you. The problem is, it depends completely on your face shape and the shape of the glasses. I have to adjust mine differently depending on the sunglasses I’m wearing. It’s definitely an issue though. They do make some that have holes meant to go over your mouth. Never owned one that stuff though, so I couldn’t tell you if it helps alleviate the fogging problem.

Problem with those chemical based sunscreens is that you have to reapply them every two hours, or they’re not effective. Not to mention the issues inherent in the chemicals breaking down inside of your skin, which is how they work.

Skin cancer? Bugs? Poisonous plants? Briars? Sharp sticks? Hooks?

That’s what I use for my spinning set up. A 7’ ML Elite with a Penn Fierce II 2000. Works for everything from salt to fresh. I don’t get a broomstick feel from mine, but I also fish a MH GX2 for saltwater stuff. The ML Elite feels like a noodle in comparison to that rod.

You should be able to fish a frog with no issues using that reel and a MH rod. It’s how I do all my frog fishing. Unweighted floating worms get thrown on my ML spinning outfit.

+2 Extremely comfortable for long periods on the water. Easy to wash. Only downside, they get a little torn up if you’re constantly lipping fish. Their pads get caught on the material. You can get them relatively cheap on Amazon as well.

If you don’t have a recycling option, you can always wind it around your hand and then snip each side with a pair of scissors. No loops for anything to get caught up in.

That’s one of my biggest fears. I don’t fish walking baits in a local pond I frequent because there’s always at least one nesting pair there. I’ve had them dive on my spooks before and had to snap it out of the way. Don’t even want to think about having to deal with two sets of trebles and one really ticked off Osprey.

I’ve tried on the styles they make that I can find locally. Haven’t been able to find one that fits my face well, but they’re on the short list. As are Wiley X. Really like the ANSI certification that they carry. Just do a Google search on Luxottica and you’ll end up knowing more than you probably want to about the whole situation. They’re a borderline monopoly, and they drive the price of both prescription glasses and sunglasses up.

I throw weightless stuff quite a bit with a ML spinning rod. Don’t have issues with hook penetration, but it’s spooled with 15lb braid. It’ll drive anything but those thick flipping hooks into a fish. I bank fish almost exclusively and don’t use anything heavier than 1/2 ounce (jig). My chatterbaits, swim jigs, and spinnerbaits are all 3/8. I do fish cranks (mostly squarebills) along a rip rap bank. Also throw lots of top water stuff (whopper plopper, frogs, walking baits, and poppers) because it’s my favorite style fishing and I don’t tend to lose them often to snags. And that’s about the extent of what I have confidence in. I’ve tried jerkbaits a bunch, but never caught a fish on one. However, I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a set up to throw bigger swimbaits. I feel like they’d be just as effective from the shore and the top hook style would get fouled up super easy.

It’s a cool bait. Fouls easily though. Any bit of grass or tiny leaf will mess it up. And you need to start reeling the second it hits the water, or it’ll sink.

Actually, Native is not privately owned. It is owned by Costa Inc., which was bought by Essilor (link below). So, they’re another one of the Luxottica/Essilor brands now. Really bummed me out because I was looking at them as a replacement for Costa sunglasses. My search continues. http://mobile.visionmonday.com/article/essilor-agrees-to-acquire-polarized-sun-leader-costa-in-all-cash-deal-1/

Do us all a favor and avoid the Luxottica/Essilor owned brands at all costs (e.g. Oakley, Costa, etc.). Buy something from an independently owned company.

There’s only one thing to do when presented with information as ground breaking as this - buy every color combination offered in a specific lure type. You know, just in case.

For me, it can frustrating because it means I need to spool it more often. I don’t have that reel, but I can see where less line could make people uncomfortable.