GetFishorDieTryin

Not much difference between an inshore schoolie rod and a slot red rod. Some FW gear crosses over really well. You have to match the rod to the lure your throwing. 1/8-3/8 lead heads with a fairly small plastic is most common down there for shallow water. Ideally you want a rod that can load with at least 1/4oz and still be able to handle twitch baits up to 1/2 or 5/8. A solid 7'-7'6 (depending on preference) M F 1/4-5/8 or 3/4. I like a 7'6, just because they cover water really well and you can still be fairly accurate in tight spaces, but rods that are for twitch baits topwater and bucktails I like rods that are closer to 7'. Quite a few great rods for the money Tsunami Carbon Sheild Star Sequence Fenwick Inshore HMG Daiwa Sol TD See if you cant get a Fuego or Exceler on sale. The peanut gallery who loves to repeat the "frame flex" trope is so over exaggerated. Your drag should never be that tight to begin with. If you need to keep a fish a fish out pilings or rocks then you should be using heavy spinning tackle or casting gear. The advantage with a Fuego or Exceler LT over the metal framed reels is about 2ozs. That may not sound like much, but it makes a big difference. If you have to have to have a metal framed reel then theres no question the Spheros SW is the reel you want. Its essentially a Stradic FK minus a bearing.

They'll fit a 200 well so I would think they would fit smaller 300s. I really prefer rod glove covers, they have a tighter fit and cover more of the reel.

A M F will do well as long as the spinnerbaits are lighter (5/16 or less) and the cranks are shallow running.

Zenaq has been making those triangular grips for a decade om their big game pelagic rods. They feel good in hand, but some guys say cause cramps during a hard fight, which wont be an issue with LMB. I would be surprised if they didnt have problems with initial models. Every time Fresnillo falls debuts a new rod, they have issues with the first models. It took quite a while for them to get the gen 1 mojos right, my preordered gen 1 should have never left the factory as the tip has a crazy bend in it and 1 of 3 of the newer inshore mojos are breaking. I really liked the way the previous gen bass X felt. The blanks were really nice and although the spinning grips didn't look too hot, they feel great. I guess they figured out real quick that the reel seats were a weak point so they started on the replacement right away. Personally Im not sold on the newer SC3+ material being superior to the SC3. Its lighter, thats for sure, but the only Victory I (6'10 ML) is the has the worst lightweight vibration transmission of any rod Ive owned in the past 20 years, which makes for a poor finesse rod. As a SC fan since the late 90s its sad to see. I know they will make things right its just a matter of time.

How you like the triple cross? I thought about grabbing a MC suzuki rod, but went with a Dialuna instead. The ML Dialuna is rated from 3/16 or 1/4-1oz and is a blast to fish, but there is no way I would put the screws to it with anything over 1/2 it feels like ill fold it.

Uni-Uni is a good knot, its a little bulky and doesn't run through guides as well as others. My go to knot is an Alberto. Theyre really easy to tie, incredibly strong, and very small. If you really like them Omen Greens grab a couple more while you can. 13 discounted both the Fate and Omen Green lines. There coming out with a new SW Omen thats going to have the 36t Toray and I think there going to fuji K guides with fazlite inserts. There's some info on the spinning rods, but they havent even confirmed they're putting out casting models, which is kind of strange.

Youll be fine with a M power spinning rod and MH casting rod for light inshore. The only difference between inshore rods and FW rods are corrosion resistant guides. As long as you rinse youre gear after use you shouldnt have any issues. Just by the nature of the design low profile casting reels can be vulnerable to SW. Really the only difference youre going to see in a SW low pro are corrosion resistance bearings or even better bushings where possible and possibly a sealed drag. In reality the level wind is still exposed in any model and any sand intrusion will cause problems fast. Lots of guy wade fish with SLXs and they hold up pretty well. If you have sand on youre hands make after handling a fish or w/e make sure you rinse them off before touching the reel. Just make sure to GENTLY rinse youre gear with COOL water after use and leave in open air, never leave a wet reel in a hot a car or anywhere that can encourage condensation.

There are hooks that can do all 3 pretty well, it just depends on personal preference. Really there isn't much of a difference between a neko and wacky rig, one just has weight in it and the hook is always parallel to the bait on a neko. Personally I like the longer shank hooks for neko/wacky rigs and shorter shanks for nose rigging DS baits. I have used neko hooks for DSing with good results in the past. I dont think the action is as good when you thread a DS bait on a neko, but if they hit it the fish is pretty caught.

SLXs are good reels, not too crazy about the rods. Casting Ark Brandon Cobb 100$ Ark Tharp Honey Badger 130$ The new models are coming out soon. Ark lightened the rod and improved the guides, reel seat and thinned the grips. I would wait to get the new model if the Tharp interest you. Daiwa Tatula XT 100$ Daiwa Tatula 6'10 MH 100$ at Midway blemish (open box) Casting Reel SLX XT SLX MGL Daiwa Tatula CT Spinning rods: The power on the spinning rod depends on what you want to throw. Since you want it to double as in shore rod, M power is the way to go for sure. For lighter baits a lighter M power, like a Daiwa 1/8-3/4 would work better then something a little heavier like a 3/16-5/8. 13 Omen Black 7'1 M 3/16-5/8 on sale 110$- Overall these are really good rods. Light sensitive blank, with good action and power. The only drawback to this rod is that its not great for baits under 1/8. If you have other rods that can handle lighter baits then this a great option. Tatula XT 7' M F 1/8-3/4 100$-If you plan on using a lot of lighter jig heads or light wire hooks this is probably the rod to go with. Although its rated to 3/4, ideally the range is 1/8 to about 1/2 for practical uses. You could get away with throwing 5/8 or 3/4 kastmasters or deadly dicks, because they dont have much water resistance, but 3/4 plugs might be too much. This rod has plenty of power to deal with specs and smaller reds in open water. Spinning Reel 2500 and 3000s are practically the same size. The biggest difference IMO is that a 3000 has a longer handle then a 2500. The longer handle is nice to have for long retrieves or bringing a fish in from the end of a long cast. Nasci is a nice reel, but like most of Shimanos budget spinners its on the heavier side when compared to Daiwas budget reels. Shimano did come out Miravel (130$) recently, which is a much lighter budget reel, 7oz compared to 8.5. I have a couple Fuegos (110$) that have seen some hard use in SW and they still run really well. An Exceler (on sale 80$) is essentially the same reel as Fuego, minus a spool bearing and Magseal. The Magseal is a nice feature to have if you plan on fishing in SW. It helps keep small amounts of water and debris out of the AR clutch.

Thought about some financial fudging to get into BFS for this winters grind. Kestrel and Phenix BFS are looking strong.

You can learn a lot relatively quickly, by concentrating on 1 technique, with 1 or 2 similar baits. If you start to add too many variables, like different colors and sizes it can slow you down. The most versatile is probably a ned rig. You can take the back half of torn floating finesse worm, throw it on a 1/16 jig head with a #2 or #1 hook and catch em on retrieving the bait a bunch of different ways, not just letting it soak. 1/16oz free rigs, with a little floating worm are really fun too. The fish dont see worms slow float often, so it works really well on pressured water, or at least does for me.

Even after using them for so long, Im always surprised at how well certain cranks can come through lots of different cover. My local water is mostly grassy, shallow millponds that are generally cedar water. We do have some systems, especially closer to the del river that are much dirtier and in turn there is far less grass and the bottom tens to be a little harder. The viz rarely over 30" and commonly about 2'. I actually find that these dirtier lakes have more consistent crank bite. The absence of abundant soft cover reduces the total area where the fish like to stack up, it kind of concentrates the fish a little more. If you have cover that you can bounce or rip a crank through, you don't always need to drag the bottom, especially in shallow water. I do really well in the prespawn fishing windblown lilly roots. I just change the crank and the retieve to fit the mood of the fish. You can do the same thing in grass, in the spring and fall, you just have to find the healthy grass in the fall.

If that knot isnt lasting more then a couple casts, somethings very wrong with the knot. I doubt its a cracked insert as you wouldn't be able to load the rod without cutting the line, and the failure point wouldn't be the knot. If you dont seat an Alberto completely and cut the tag, the knot is likely to slip and fail. Unless the line is nearly worm out, you will see the color saturation of the line will brighten if its properly seated. As far as I can tell this FG looks pretty good from this distance. I prefer Albertos the majority of the time. To me the slight increase in knot strength doesn't warrant the extra time and effort, especially in the dark or windy conditions, but thats just me. The best knot to use is the one you can confidently tie well. tight lines.

No, not for FW bass. If im going for big stripers around pilings or I have to keep a fish out of current Ill tighten the drag a little bit. I find using my palm when I need to apply heavy pressure or fingers when need to add a little pressure is much easier then trying to manipulate the drag during the run.

Never had a Phenix, no one carries them around here, but am really interested in checking them out. Lots of guys who I fish with that spend 1k on a Zenaq or Century, really like to use Phenixs' blanks for inshore and near shore.

Thats up to you. I really don't think its going to hurt anything if you choose to leave the tape on. If you do chose to go with mono or teflon tape, Im sure you can use warm soapy water and remove the vast majority of residue with a once over. Taking the spool off will make life a little easier if you want to lose the tape.

They have a high profit margin on the vast majority of BPS brand items. They probably make more money selling a 120$ BPS rod then they would selling a 300$ Dobyns. If they need to make room for new stock, they can liquidate their items quickly and still break even.

Years ago I saw a quick demonstration on the ODCH of a guy rigging up plastic worms on a circle hook and saying how easy it was. For bait, dead and rigged, inline circles and barbless inline circles have a much lower mortality rate compared to J hooks, which is why they're being mandated for gamefish up and down the east coast. Fish aren't as likely to swallow lures or plugs as they are bait, so circle hooks really aren't necessary, but will work great for nose hooking and neko/wacky rigs. The hook setting takes a little getting used too, but once you get the hang of it the landing % is great. While circles are great, fish can still swallow a them for sure, particularly offset circles, which is why inline circles (that will sit flat in your palm) are being pushed. Personally, I think the well being of the fish should always be paramount. Without fish there is no sport and without the sport you're not fishing at all. I crush the barbs on the majority of my hooks and have found that it doesn't hurt landing % at all. A barb is meant to keep the hook from backing out when there is no tension on the line. Hook manufacturers figured it out decades ago that the added surface area of a large barb does more harm then good. Its an uphill battle to argue that the best hooks in the world arent Japanese or modeled after Japanese designs. If you look at the evolution of hooks designed for artificial lures(other then large pelagic or big game species) whether its from Gamakatsu, Owner, Hayabusa etc., you can see the barb progressively shrink as the designs mature. The primary use of a barb on offsets and straight shanks is to keep the hook from backing out of the bait and not the fish.

Most of the local lakes around here are shallow (2-2.5" avg depth) with soft bottoms, not ideal for jigs. Whether you catch a fish or not, you have to clean that bait or at least the eye every cast. They definitely work the best in late winter/spring, when the fish start to push shallow and are feeding heavy on crawdads. Its only those 3 or 4 weeks where ill take the time to fish a jig (not counting swim jigs) more then half of the cast, especially if Im throwing a little football on a ledge or point. The rest of the time Im throwing a jig I have a target in mind. I have a buddy who's just that good when it comes to a jig. He has unshakable confidence, not just in jigs but in general. He doesn't unconsciously speed up he starts to feel the pressure and he just knows that the next cast could be the be the 5+ hes looking for, hes really methodical. My problem is that I know I can go to a shakey head or ned rig and put up more #s, which is what I usally do if Im struggling. A good bait to try if skirted jigs arent getting bit are spider grubs on a light head. They just seem to catch em all the time.

Theres so many variations of crankbaits, the options are endless. SIze, shape, depth, balsa, plastic, rattles, silent and you need multiples in key colors.

Got to preface this by saying I'm not a huge spinnerbait guy. I really only like the McCleland War Eagles and even then I much prefer Picassos Thunder blade. Never had one fail or anything, just a preference thing I guess.

Self defense

7'3 1/4 or 5/16-1oz lots of good ones out there, just depends on budget.

ML XF or M F all depends on the weight of the worm and what kind of line youre using. There are some MH inshore rods I use that have a good blank for a deeper water worm rod. A tip that can load fairly well with 1/8, but once you get to the lower end of the mid section you have enough more then enough power to set a hook deep.

Some guys do it, but I wouldn't. I just find its much easier to throw a turn or 2 of mono. If you need to use tape then teflon would be the way to go.