GetFishorDieTryin

Try a big TRD. You dont need to use an o ring and they dont really tear easy.

Not at all. I hear the bite often, but I'm waiting to feel it before I swing. Other than seeing the basic action of the bait, you don't need great vision to fish a topwater effectively. The majority of topwater I fish is in the pitch dark where it's impossible to see anything.

So long as it's a balanced outfit a lighter reel is going to increase felt sensitivity.

Both are good options, if you don't mind the heat. I've never spent time in SC during the summer, but FL is brutal in July and August. Population growth may be something to consider as well, I don't know how you're going to be able to flush a toilet in some parts of Florida if people keep running there in droves.

No kidding, it makes sense on paper....The issue with short handle is the first crank is slow after you stop, because you don't as much leverage. A longer handle with larger grips gives you more leverage to take slack quickly once. It feels like it takes more time to build that momentum with a shorter handle. Thats one of the reasons you won't see short handles on power reels. Ive yet to meet anyone who prefer to flip or pitch, pitch or jig with a short handle.

Temp can be a problem with soft plastics when a plastic warms up and cools, setting in a kinked position. Really the damage from the sun is UV. Thats what melts elaztech and 10x tough formulas and causes discoloration. If you fish a yak often and leave the boxes in the open than upgrading to slightly heavier duty boxes that resist UV deformation to boxes and baits inside may be worth the upgrade. They arent clear which is a drawback but that's by design to keep some of the UV out.

The upgrade in the LTB is a jump in blank material from SC 3 to 4, you notice it more in the action than sensitivity and that varies from model to model. You get an upgraded guide train from AL O to K Alconite, not a night and day difference as the O guides are light, but the Ks look much nicer. Although im not crazy about the LTB blue, it does make the rod standout, I actually like and prefer the raw look of the Victory. Paints nice, but it makes the blank noticeably heavier. Ive handled a half dozen of the LTB and you notice a little increase in weight compared to Victory, but I feel like the LTB are balanced very well so that extra weight isn't felt very much. Surprisingly Victory has a 15yr warranty and I'm pretty sure LTB has the same, you have to go to Elite to get the lifetime, but 15yrs is great. Victory is probably the better value, but if you're just buying 1or 2 and it happens to be a spinning, bottom contact, JB or anything where you want a fast recovery and max sensitivity than I can see the upgrade making sense.

No theyre 100, which unless youre using #20 FC or mono it doesn't make a difference with usseable line. The handle is the hang up, unless you get the 8 speed you get the typical 70 size handle. Its 10mm shorter than usdm which feels like it slows you down more than it really does, but I admit I much prefer a 100mm to a 90 for anything but cranks.

Its an absolute blast. I have no idea what goes on in Texas, but you guys have more options gamefish wise. You cant go wrong just taking a 7' M and tossing a 4" swimbait on 1/4oz head around sandbar cuts or holes. You don't have to heave 3oz with a 12' surf rod to catch nice fish in the wash. If you can find drop offs and changes on the bottom you don't need to cast very far at all. If you cover enough water you're going to bump into something good. I see what you mean with the comparison. Miravel is actually Shimanos answer to the LT series, Fuego in particular. Shimanos budget spinners have been weighty (8.5+oz) in comparison to other options on the market and Miravel fills that gap. Really a sleeper reel that no one pays attention to at a similar price point is Spheros SW ,its a Stradic FK, minus a bearing. Butter smooth, robust frame and the worm gear gives it excellent line lay. Problem is they only come in 3 and 4k. I suspect Shimano does that to avoid cutting into Stradic sales.

Outstanding reel, but no reason IMO to pay that much for a used 1. The JDM is a 100 instead of a 150 and the handles are a little shorter, but it's the same reel.

Right on..Taylor is just a size class, about 3-6lbs. A schoolie bass is smaller sized fish, 16"-25". I use lighter gear (2500 and 3k) all the time on the sand to throw lighter plugs, metal and baits, its just more fun than using conventional USDM surf gear. I wasn't suggesting that you get it to use it on the beach. My point is that if that a 2500 Fuego can survive that environment and catching fish it was never designed to handle consistently, but remain smooth, than its a solid design. The feedback on Miravel isn't nearly as good.

Go to a small swimbait w lightest head possible and use spinning gear. Use the slowest reel you can and dont allow yourself to turn the handle more than 180* at a time without stopping.

I've never tried Basix, as I run into issues with RL, but either way that's definitely not ideal for any PP line.

Never had an issue with the Pond Magics I use and I absolutely smash em on them. When they bend I bend them back and go at it again. I did break 1 trying to behind it back, but by that its had paid for itself 10x over. I used to buy them by the half dozen every time I went to walmart, so they are older, hopefully they didnt change too much.

Ive seen it happen when seating a knot using a rag, and that was good leader material lol.

I carry an old Penn 704 around as a back up. Its not particularly fun to fish, even packed with a ton of grease the clicker is loud enough to be annoying. Not very smooth, particularly heavy in comparison with modern reel and just tolerates braid. What it does do is work, whether its been dunked or full of sand its just goes. All i do is purge the grease and reapply and its good as new lol. I caught my first 40+ as a kid using it, so its cool to break it out sometimes and just have it with me as JIC reel that wont fail.

The answer is Exceler or Fuego. While Nasci got a great upgrade with the threaded handle, its a bit weighty if that matters. What really surprised me is that the new Exceler/Fuego are noticeably smoother than Nasci and I'm fairly sure Nasci still uses a coated main, which is very smooth initially, but you can feel a little difference after it wears. I dislike zinc over AL, but I have a Fuego I honestly cant believe is still running after using it for bluefish in the surf for years along with its FW duties and it still smooth. If the Daiwas are smoother and just if not more robust than Nasci, at a lighter weight its a no brainer. Miravel is kind of funny. A buddy works for TD and he told me there are some hangups with it. If you get a good one theyre outstanding, but there are enough issues to cause a bit of hesitancy and its not just 1 problem. More than few local guys have come back and said the reels run rough after some hard sessions with schoolie bass and taylor blues, could be flex. Oddly enough there have been some issues with the drag, just not working. Nothing groundbreaking on Miravel with its spool, so I dont know why there would be problems, but it is so. In hand, both I picked up honestly felt great, I just dont think I would risk going JDM and losing the warranty when there are some rejects about, the USDM is not much more and you wont be out your $ if it starts to run rough. If you do go JDM, its worth getting a Stradic or even Caldia if you want some cranking power.

The vast majority of MLs will be underpowered, especially with the 3.8. There are some stout MLs, Shimano and MB that can do it, but IMO a mainline M power 1/8 or 3/16-5/8 is the way to go. The Tat 6'10 XF will work, but I really like the 7" M F over the 6'10. I dont think the XF action will cost you any fish, the sweet spot for that rod is just smaller and wont handle the upper ranges as well as a F, IME anyway. The 7' M really feels like a ML and essentially it is. Its rated 1/8-3/4, but the 3/4 is very optimistic IMO, 5/8 is about topped out for me.

ML F/XF 7'1 or under is probably the answer, any longer and an XF fishes more like a sub 7' F. They have just enough power in the back to deal with decent fish or set a hook but are light enough to have fun with just about anything. The more money you spend the better the guide train and recovery will be, which make the material more sensitive, but in hand it is. The rod depends on the budget. 7'1 ML and 7' M F Taula blanks are great, the particular line depends on the $ you want to spend on the upgraded guide train.

I'll take anything out, but I am careful with certain rods and reels that aren't readily available. There are a couple reels and a rod or 2 I have retired because of sentimental reasons, same goes for guns. I've got a few that are very valuable. The memories of passed family that flash through my mind every time I open my safe or pick an old reel can't be bought or replaced. I can see buying a certain SE reels in rare colors to display or even hold onto for resale possibly, like the gold VSs. Other than that, everything sees the water to some extent.

Duos awful hard to beat. They're high quality, excellent hardware and very consistent, makes it tough to even consider a Rapala when for literally a couple more $ you can get a Duo.

Changing the color of a baseball wont make you anymore accurate and line color is no different. The bright color is to watch the line for bites you cant feel due to slack. I fish almost exclusively braid-leader with spinning tackle. I would really be surprised if my line has spooked more than handful of fish in the past few years if any. That being said, water clarity is rarely over 6ft and commonly 3' or less. The exception where I make sure to take at least 1 outfit with FC is when Im fishing quarries or blue holes with clarity over 10', particularly in the winter when Im practically dead sticking a JB in middle of the water column. Bass can be spooky, but I've found wild trout to be skittish at best. For what its worth, all of my fly lines are high viz and I still manage to catch them somehow.

MLs are somewhat subjective in power and action depending on the brand. The majority are good for anything with lighter wire open hooks or treble hooked baits. There are some companies that make a ML that is has enough power with PE line that have enough power in the mid section to set a the hook on a t rigged bait, but that seems to be an exception to the rule nowadays. The older SC ML F/XF were incredibly versatile, but they went with softer tip and mid section blanks recently.

Once a bait is discontinued I'm really hesitant to fish any I have left, even if they're great because I know supply is finite. Hard baits Ill fish more readily, but IM just careful with them, but soft baits go too fast to incorporate them into a lineup consistently while rationing them, but that's just me. AT wigglers are a good example. I'll never understand why GB discontd El Jefe, just that and trophy hunter will cover 99% of all situations IMO. Ive got some bags of El Jefe in AT rattlers and wiggler, but they will go fast if were to use them as I normally would. Ive heard good things about the Tmac, I just have dozens of unopened bags of flat bottomed straight tails. Shame about 13s soft plastics, they were good quality and werent crazy $. All of the ones I tried out other than some of the swimbaits were neutrally buoyant, so they looked good on a t rig or shakey head without and air pocket. Something always seems to be going there. In the few years Ive been using them theyre perpetually shaking things up, and not for the better. Initially they only had a few baits, but all were solid performers. I think they changed hands, because they disontinued some super popular colors, introduced a bunch of new baits, even getting into hardbaits and also changing the scent of the soft plastic 2 times in as many years along with bag graphics.

I like to grind the bottom too, but 9 of 10 bodies of water around here are millponds which are soft bottomed. As soon you clip the bottom the bait slimes up. Working roots or stumps is the same principle, except the cover is just oriented differently.