VinnyR

Hey all, current bank fisherman here. I want to get a float tube or pontoon to get on the water. I have a general idea of what I want/need but could use some tips. I live in southern California, I want something to get on the water in the harbors and lakes. Where to even begin? The tube itself: I basically know I want one one of the bigger ones, with oars, that sits high. Anyone know if the Savage Gear one is solid? Flexible budget here but not gonna go crazy. Maybe 300-500 range. Want to avoid the random/off brands. And I'll need to be able to put rod holders on it (or get one that comes with them). Everything else: Don't even know where to start here -- fins, waders, pfd, etc. If any float tube enthusiasts want to just throw some tips at me I would greatly appreciate it! Diving fins, float tube fins, chest waders, boot waders, neoprene waders, I'm drowning in information here. I've got the fishing gear covered though! Thanks guys

Just got my first swimbait rod yesterday, took it to my local pond when I had a couple of hours free before the park closed at sunset. First time ever trying swimbait fishing and stuck this nice one on the huddleston 68! Never caught a fish bigger than ~1-1.5 lbs in here before. I felt bad getting some dirt on her when I pulled her out but I think she'll be alright. When you're new to this it's hard to imagine how they inhale this whole bait, but wow!

I hear you, this drives me nuts too. They stock trout and catfish by me, if you want to catch your lunch, make it one of those. I'd like to still be able to fish here next year. But if they're keeping bass within the law what can I do besides shame them on fishbrain ?

Man some of you guys could be great deep sea fisherman, with how salty you are! Of course California is crowded and heavily regulated, what else is new. It also has beautiful weather year round and easy access to all sorts of outdoors. Love it or leave it (half kidding) My ponds couldn't possibly be any more crowded than usual, so I haven't noticed anything except more non-fisherman and families at the parks. Still tough, I think I'm gonna give up on weekend afternoons, there seems to be no point in even trying

Spiderwire makes one not as heavy duty as some of the others mentioned but perfect for my bank fishing -- it's big but not heavy, comfortable to wear, has two rod holders so I can walk and cast while still carrying multiple rods, holds 3-4 trays in the bottom compartment (comes with 3) and then there's plenty of room in other big compartments. Also has several smaller compartments for if you want to keep your lunch or your wallet/keys/whatever separate. Plus a hard sunglasses section so they're protected. Something like $60-70. For the money pretty good I think

I'll probably get that Bailey's or daiwa dx heavy. I like the irod brand and quality of my last rod, and never had a daiwa rod, but it's nice to see reviews on TW about rockfish & inshore for the daiwa. Discovered irod also has a kaimana inshore swimbait series but not a lot of info/reviews on that one, so maybe something to ponder but probably not. Anyway, thanks as always Hammer

If the the rod is rated for as low as ~1/4ish oz but you still don't think it's sensitive enough, maybe try going down to 30# or 20# braid. In my experience I feel more on that lighter braid. If that's not what you're talking about then ignore me completely

Glad you brought this up because it gives me a chance to complain that I recently broke the tip on my fiber Fred's magic stick and I really liked that rod. Used it for small swimbaits inshore, probably caught 100+ spotties on that rod with big hammers. So I'll definitely check it out. Do you have the "Bailey's swim" or "jr swim" or something else? As for the FMS, I replaced the tip myself with one of those cheap tip repair kits, I think it's probably just a broomstick frog rod now with ~3" missing off the top, but haven't taken it out yet. Thanks everyone else too, going to check all these out. Love this forum!

Hey all, looking to get a rod that will serve 2 purposes: 1. Glide baits/swimbaits, wake baits like rats, maybe mess around those funny huge topwater things they have now, stuff like that 2. "Deep sea" fishing for rockfish in California ("deep" = less than 100 ft). So 2-3oz swimbaits, bigger spoons and jigs, and live/cut bait (instead of renting gear on party boats). I think for both applications I need something long and bendy that won't rip out treble hooks. I think I'm looking for a swimbait rod here? New to this type of fishing. Plan to pair with a daiwa coastal 200 size reel. Flexible on the budget, I guess I expect to spend $100-150. Not sure how much I'd benefit from spending more. Open to it though! Thanks

I also have 2 reels with tws, spooled with 30# and 50# sufix 832 for about a year. No problems

Marina del Rey. Thanks for the tip! I'll try it soon. I'm always in the rocks so that's why I opt for the heavier line, but I tie to a snap and then snap on a jig head, so the bait moves pretty freely. I don't think the snap bothers them (at least I haven't noticed getting fewer bites with it). I'll try going down to 12 next time I'm out. Other thing is I fish spots near docks where in order to land a fish you have to hoist it out of the water probably ~8 feet, so I don't want to have one shake and snap my line on its way up to me I'll add that I usually go after dark because that's when I have the best luck *by far* so i tend not to think much about color Jonas, sorry to hijack your question!

When I hear "swimjig" I picture a black and blue skirted swimjig, do you mean something like that or like a big hammer lead head?

Possible it was sharper halibut teeth breaking your line off but even so, fluoro should help with that if it's still happening with the new setup. This is interesting to me. I mostly catch them on small swimbaits and if I pull too early I just get my lure back with teeth marks on the tail, below the hook (they're hitting it from behind and it takes a second for them to work their way up the lure to the hook). I think this depends on the bait. Next time I use a football jig + craw though I'm gonna try swinging

Do you like braid? If yes, try a good abrasion-resistant fluorocarbon for a leader. You can get a small spool of 20-25yds so you don't have to spend too much. I fish for spotties around rocks so I go with 20# sunline fc leader, but I'm sure 10# is fine for this. Still i never found spotties to be line shy. You could probably get away with just sizing up your line a little and checking it frequently for nicks. But switching to fluoro should make a big difference. Only thing is then you have to remember you're not fishing mono and you have to be careful not to yank the hooks out of their mouths before they take it all the way

Yeah they might not be as good as I think. I wouldn't be shocked if it doesn't work out in that locker room and they win 7 games again. It would be a shame, with that much talent. Still my guess is 9-10 wins

I really do like the browns this year. I think Baker is the real deal. Browns were 7-7 in games he played last year, with 5 of those 7 losses coming to playoff teams, and the other two in overtime. And baker's stats were obviously really impressive, almost ROY if not for the once-in-a-generation rookie rb saquon. This year he gets to throw to Odell...plus they'll have half a season of Kareem Hunt. I think a lot of people forgot how good OBJ actually is, since Eli has had a limp noodle for an arm since OBJ's second year, and because of his stupid drama. I think OBJ gets back to being one of the top 3-4 receivers when he's part of a good offense with a competent qb, and the Browns make a deep playoff run. And the Giants look as stupid as they ever have. I'm a Giants fan in case you can't tell

I've been hoping for the same thing for the last three years but it seems to get worse every year. As does my patience for it...

If you consistently are catching carp when the moon is full and never catching carp when the moon is not full, over a decent period of time, then I could believe that has something to do with it. But based on just one outing, the full moon thing is probably just a fluke. Probably better off listening to bluebasser and paying attention to the other factors that are known to have an effect, like water temp. I caught a decent carp a couple of months ago on a live shad. They're freaking weird

It is extremely sensitive! I didn't update here because I haven't caught a fish on it and thought it might be bad luck or something. But since I got a few more replies... It's sick. I've only had the chance to use it once so far, and like I said no fish landed yet, but I have a tatula 100 on it with 30# 832, and I can feel everything. At first I thought I was getting bit, but I was just touching grass, little bumps on the bottom, etc. where I wasn't used to feeling it. I did get one bite on a texas rigged 10" ribbontail but I was in really thick grass and when I set the hook, I got stuck in the thick stuff and it got off, and I pulled up a pound of gunk. The whole pond is thick with moss and overgrown, it's pretty unbearable. Not sure what else to throw besides topwater. Anyway, the rod is sick. But i still need to catch a fish on it...

How light do you want to go? I just suggested this to someone else on here earlier today -- I recently got a 13 fishing omen green spinning rod, 7'2 ML, for around $120-125. Paired with a Shimano Sahara 2500 for around $80 (you could get a president or one of the other reels people are recommending, I honestly can't tell them apart). But this has been great for 1/16-3/16 oz t rigs and drop shots with small plastics. Good sensitivity for bottom baits and feels great in my hands, really comfortable and balanced. I was looking at this one and the St Croix, this one felt like it had more backbone

I recently got a 13 fishing omen spinning rod, 7'2 ML (~120), and a Shimano Sahara 2500 reel (~80) and so far it's great. I've only caught two fish on it so far, haven't had it for too long. But the sensitivity is good and it's really comfortable to fish, great balance. 7'2 is a little long for a lot of people's taste in a ML spinning rod, but I really like it. Helps with distance on throwing tiny baits. I got it with dropshot in mind but my ponds have been loaded with grass all summer so I've just been using tiny Texas rigs

Make sure your drag is set right and that won't be a problem. For 8# or 6# line you can still swing and set the hook hard if your drag is set around 2-3 lbs (better if you actually measure it but most people don't, myself included. With light line you want it loose enough that you can pull some out without trying real hard, but not so loose that the grass/weeds/whatever pull drag on your retrieve) Further, whether swinging hard or not, you don't want the drag set too tight because you might hook into your first nice bass and have it break you off (that would suck!)

I'm a data analyst so I apply historical probabilities every day and my whole life is based on statistics and science. And even I'm a little superstitious. No bananas, don't bring a cooler (saltwater), never say "seven" at the craps table, etc. Deep down I know it's crap but it's kinda fun to go along with it

I don't even buy that eyes > no eyes

Appreciate the input, thanks!