Boomstick

I have seem some of the fishing spots in Florida, and I have to agree. It makes anything we have up here in the northeast look tame. That isn't to say it's all like that. As far as the original question, I am not sure but I would honestly think fatter braid would be louder going through the guides since it will likely hit the guides more. But I will say 8 strand braid is generally pretty quiet.

I do both. I use Seaguar blue label frequently, but I currently have enough extra line that I've been using that. I have before, although not regularly.

I currently need two more reels to match my rod count, but fortunately I need kayaks a little bit more so I'm gonna hold off. Maybe I'll get a 2020 Tatula SV or two on Black Friday this year.

Spinnerbaits are often extremely productive for me, in clear water with chop or muddy water alike, spring, fall and also in the summer (mostly dusk & dawn). My PB came on a spinnerbait.

I will never beat the bait monkey entirely, but I have been doing a wonderful job keeping him at bay when it's not black friday or I lose a productive lure in the middle of the season I would fish it in.

Personally, I think the Tatula SV is kind of a no brainer out of those. However, if money is tight I could see going with a SLX and using the extra cash to buy some new lures as well.

Given this winter, I believe I will be fishing (or building my harbor freight kayak trailer) in more like 50 days or so.

^8

A mod will have to move it for you. No worries, honest mistake.

Line is largely subjective for the most part. I like braid to fluoro leaders on spinning reels, straight fluorocarbon on casting reels when I don't need braid for heavy weeds or a frog, and straight mono for other topwaters on casting reels personally. Many people prefer straight braid or even straight mono, and it's not always because it's cheaper. I can name some of our very own forum members who prefer straight mono, and they also catch more and larger fish than me to, so I'm not going to say they're wrong. I have been using Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon for fluorocarbon line, largely because I buy it buy one get one free from Bass Pro Shops ever year but I have stuck with it because it's strong and has served me very well -- regardless of the price. There's many other quality options too: InvisX, AbrasX, Tatsu, I think Sufix and Sunline make a few that are supposed to be good etc. The one I would not recommend is Berkley's Vanish. For braid, I run 12lb Sunline SX-1 on my finesse setup. That line is particularly abrasion resistant for its size, and for braid that thin that's important. When it comes to 30lb and up, I usually go with Daiwa J-Braid x8 Grand, which is a fairly abrasion resistant 8 strand braid. Power Pro Maxcuatro is also a very good line which is a thinner than normal 4 strand braid, but regular old J-Braid or Power Pro is also decent and a little cheaper. For mono, I usually go with Berkley Big Game early in the year when it is possible it could be exposed to freezing temperatures because it's good and cheap, but later in the year I prefer the Sufix Siege which is some abrasion resistant and well handling line. I personally think it's worth the premium.

Painted black blades are also good for night fishing.

I am honestly not as good with blade color as I am with skirt color and blade types themselves, but generally nickel puts off a lot of flash in clear water, and gold will be more visible in stained water while still putting off flash. Painted blades also work in stained water, in particular brighter colors. I believe copper falls more inline with painted blades in that it's particularly good for muddy water that they won't see a lot of flash in. I often like hybrid gold and nickel blades myself, especially in water with a lot of chop.

Welcome to the best forums on the Internet. It's about time you signed up -- they always do eventually

Hello fellow northeasterner and welcome to the best forums on the Internet.

Welcome to the best forums on the Internet, and don't let the bait monkey bite!

Fishing a river I take it? Most of our lakes are frozen -- not too thick, but still frozen solid. We've had some decent weather at least

Welcome to the best forums on the Internet! You are correct that things have changed, and they continue to change -- largely for the better too (I mean options are good right?), except like you said for you wallet.

Welcome to the best forums on the Internet!

Welcome to the best forums on the Internet!

The new thing people are worried about is coronavirus...

I will second this. The Tatula SV skips really well, just turn up the brake and keep the tension spool at the point where you normally run it. You can skip on other reels as well, but I don't have any that skip as well as the Tatula SV. The Pflueger Patriarch certainly isn't too bad either.

I have seen many replica mounts that look pretty convincing, so I have to agree with this. That said, I doubt skin mounts are a leading factor contributing to the deaths of many large bass. Some people catch a 8 pounder and take it home and eat it. Others leave them out of the water for way too long.

If nothing else, jigs or frogs. I usually wouldn't use a heavy for a chatterbait, and if I did it would be a H/MF (although the Veritas might be a little more moderate than some if I recall right)

My favorite rod for a chatterbait is a Daiwa Tatula Glass 7'2" MH/R (basically mod. fast).

Anything over 7' is going to be extremely hard to walk a lure, and anything too much shorter is going to sacrifice casting distance and maybe some hookset power when that comes into play. I'm 6'3" and I could argue that 6'10" is the best rod for any scenario because walking a lure is still easier on 6'10" and is easier to cast around brush, but then again I might prefer a 7' rod the majority of the time as well.