South FLA

2003 Ranger 185vs Intracoastal Edition with Yammy 150 Vmax, goes 58MPH with 2-200lbs Fishermen, 30 gallons gas, and fishing gear. Not a speed demon, but plenty fast for me. Also, own a 14' tracker with an Evinrude 9.9 Kicker, perfect for the small canals and ponds in S. Fla.

Braid Choice 1. Stren Superbraid 2. Suffix I use braid for just about everything from top water to cranking to jigs, but almost always with mono or flouro leader. Power Pro is for those who haven't tried Stren or Suffix, or should I say seen the light! Flouro 1. P-Line 2. Trilene 100% Flouro 3. Seagur Flouro I use primarily as leader Mono 1. Trilene XL or XT 2. Big Game as Backing for Braid I use this primarily on some of my lighter spinning rods or as backing Copoly NA for me.

Plastic worm is very versatile and can be fished on top, bottom, and mid levels so it is the BEST OVERALL, but that being said at specific times other lures or even live bait will work better. I have seen lures out catch live bait 5 to 1 and visa versa.

Primarily braid

1. Im tying 15# Pline Fluorocarbon line to 50# and 30# Sufix Braid. Should I be using the fluoro leader line? If so what is the difference for $18 for 300 yds on the fluoro line vs. 25 meters for $8 on the leader line? IMHO: Flouro "leader line" is stiffer and offers more abrasion resistance than "casting flouro line", though I am not sure it merits the extra cost. That being said I use casting flouro line as leader unless I am fishing around high abrasion objects such as rocks and oyster bars. I like the new Trilene 100% flourocarbon and P-line. For Flouro leader you can't go wrong with Seagur brand. I have been using it for years fishing for snook, reds, tarpon, and bass with no issues. 2. It seems split on whether to use a leader of tie straight to the braid. Tom Redington said to always use a leader so I've tried to follow his advice. BTW our water isn't overly clear in Nebraska. IMHO: I like the extra stretch the flouro gives me over straight braid, but then again you can set your drag a bit lighter and/or use a less stiff rod to make up for the no stretch of the braid. If water is dingy then I don't think straight to lure/hook with braid vs. flouro makes a difference with visibility, but I can tell you for certain I have used straight braid while fishing for line sensitive SNOOK and guess what they DON'T BITE. Lastly, if I am fishing a floating frog and/or a swimming frog I use straight braid, due to the conditions since braid seems to cut through weeds and lilly pads better if I catch a hog or simply get stuck. 3. I'm tying a double uni and on snags my line breaks at the leader knot. The braid knot is there along with a coil of fluoro. So it appears the leader knot or line is at fault. IMHO: If two lines of equal strength are tied together the lines will break at the weakest link THE KNOT. Unless someone in here can shed light on the a knot that test better than 100% of line's breaking strength. The stronger line will not break first unless it is damaged. Secondly, braid will cut any flouro/mono/copoly attached to it. So it makes sense that your breaking off at the knot with the braid knot side of the uni still intact. My top two knots for braid to mono/flouro/copoly........ 1. Uni to Uni 2. Bimini twist on braid side to No Name Knot on leader side (I actually like this better, but I can tie a quicker Uni to Uni), when fishing for tarpon/snook I use it exclusively) Link for No Name Knot Link of Bimini Twist (remember you can adjust the size of loop) http://www.leadertec.com/tipsandtechniques/fishing_knots/knots_Bimini.html Here is good link reviewing Flouro carbons http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbon2.html

If you were having a custom rod made, which guides would you choose and why? Rod would be used for fresh and saltwater, so take that into consideration. Please list your top 3 choices.

Just finished watching Bass Pros and they have a segment called "Art of Angling." hosted by Rick Clunn. Anyway, during the segment he advocates the use of one rod type for all your fishing style. He fishes 10 rods, but uses a heavy action 7' rod for his applications. He starts talking about it being an extension of your body and how adapting to a change in different rod can take up to 30 minutes. So who in here buys this? I don't!! The sad part about it is that my wife was watching and said, see I told you so you only need ONE ROD!! Thanks, Ricky! >, you were on my top list for best angler ever, but I think your Zen thinking is clouding your judgment.

George, Did you help put those Yankees from In Fisherman on fish or what? I watched the show, and was impressed how they actually showed snags on Stick Marsh's underwater forest.

I have been a season ticket holder for the Dolphins since 1982 and have been paying for preseason tickets as part of "the package." Don't buy them if you don't have to, just show up to the game and get them at a DEEP discount before the game.

A above average rainy season should do it also, I think if we recover this year and have a good spawn we should have a BASS BOOM in years to come!! Here is some information from NOAA What the Data Shows. Looking at more than 50 years of temperature and rainfall data from the Daytona Beach and Orlando airports, the median date for the start of the Wet and Dry Seasons was determined. Note that the "median" is simply "the middle of the road." Half of the data is before and half of it is after. The median date for the beginning of the Rainy Season in Daytona Beach is May 27, while in Orlando it is May 24. The median date for the beginning of the Dry Season is October 15 for both Daytona Beach and Orlando. The approximate start of the wet season in Melbourne and Vero Beach is May 23, while the start of the dry season is October 15. The approximate start of the wet season in Fort Pierce and Stuart is May 22, while the start of the dry season is October 16. More detailed information about this study can be found at: www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/wetdry/WetDrySeason.html.

Dude I am there!! Weekdays work best for me, I can meet you at ramp or wherever and tear them up. I'll bring drinks, food, and GAS money!!! I have been tearing them up but nothing like catching 80 bass when the catching is good. Went out Monday for about 3 hours and ended up catching about 15 in two hours. Biggest went about 4lbs.

Berkley Bionix Pulse 6' love that little pole has eva foam grips and was way ahead of its time in the mid 90s still have it

People actually do at the Black Point Marina in S. Miami. The novices are tons of fun to watch and since its Miami you see plenty of glitzy vehicles and boats, as well as your occasional testosterone induced fights. Who needs T.V. entertainment, when you can watch boat ramp traffic.

Daiwa Advantage Super-Tuned Hands Down!! Quantum is in my experience with the Tour Editions and the Cabo/Boca Series is JUNK. They do have an excellent warranty department and usually replace their junk quickly with more junk. Its like a junk recycling plant. ;D

You Cookie Monstered it!!

"Thats the problem I'm having with one of mine, apparently.... but have found that with regular cleaning the reel seems to function just fine. I would rather have the tight tolerance and responsibility of cleaning." You should be able to return it to Shimano!

As far as a "flaw in design with the backplay", that is a bunch of steer defecate. Also, quality is not simply measured by tight tolerances. For example the new Citica from Shimano had too tight tolerances for the worm gear guard, if dirt or dust became entrapped between the line guide and worm gear guide it was hard to reel. It was a known issue and Shimano fixed the tight tolerance flaw, yes FLAW. Tight tolerance are important to an extent! Can't wait to see the new Curado E, the Revo Slayer!!

I am almost finished upgrading my Ranger Intracoastal and I am thinking about getting a Power-Pole XL? Any forum members have them on your rigs? Should I get the adapter plate that mounts to motor mount so as not to have screw holes in my transom or should I just mount it directly to the transom? Its about another $189. Is the stealth pump kit or HP/kit worth the extra $700? Lastly, how difficult is the install? Thanks in advance.

Sent my rebate in towards the end of the rebate sale's period and now $50 is burning a hole in my pocket!! Pretty quick turn around compared to other mail in rebate offers.

Don't buy a Revo Premier.

The first time I saw those while I was flats fishing near Tyndall AFB back in 1998. I think it was still under development the YF-22. Anyway last year at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show they put on a heck of a show. Great pics and thank you for your service to the best D..MN country in the world.

New Car 1. Honda Civic/Accord 2. Toyota Camry/Corolla 3. VW Passat/Jetta I have a Jetta with 130K on it and it gets about 24-28 MPG depending on conditions and how I drive. They have pretty good resale value and if your use to a Volvo you may want to consider VW as a first choice. Nevertheless, I have had issues with my Jetta to say the least and would only recommend it as a distant third to Honda/Toyota or even their respective luxury brands Acura/Lexus. Happy hunting.

I was in the same "boat" your in currently ;D All kidding aside, I ended up buying a Ranger Intracoastal, basically a saltwater bass boat. Other boats I liked that are good double duty boats are Action Craft, Hewes, Pathfinders, Lake and Bay, and Skeeter to name a few. Prices can be sky high or bargain basement depending on year and model of mentioned brands. I would primarily focus my search for bargains using the internet in coastal areas close to you. For example I found my Ranger by searching on Craigslist methodically. I ended up driving many miles to get it, but found what I was looking for at the right price. You'll be surprised some of the great deals and not so great deals you'll find. Happy hunting and be patient. It took me a good 4-5 months of searching and ohh by the way welcome to the forum.

Avid of course, but the Shimano Crucial is also very nice. Or you can save your money and get an IMX GLoomis. Decisions, decisions. :

I have both the Scorpion and Metanium, of the two I would say the scorpion has less drag only compared on no scientific pulling of the line at max drag setting. So it would be the more finesse of the two. I can cast really well with either of them. I like the 4x4 especially on windy days but the centrifugal brakes are easy to get to on the Metanium and can easily be adjusted on the fly. So when it comes to casting light lures its a wash especially if you put it on the right rod. The Metanium has more bragging rights though, cause of its buttery smoothness.