GetFishorDieTryin

Cant believe no one has mentioned a D walker yet

If you havent yet, give the Duo 85 a try. Its kind of like a mix of the Rozy and Vision Jr except it doesn't have a weight transfer system, but it casts really well. I just about wore the finish off 1 last fall.

Im good on finesse rods. There aren't many reviews on the Muse, I was just curious what you thought about it. I got a 7'1 M F C a few years ago and for the most part I really like it. It reminds me of an Avid, but just a little lighter all around. I like Dobyns, but the exposed threads on the spinning rods are really uncomfortable.

13 has a couple soft plastics out. Its a stiffer plastic, that gives the swimbaits a good amount of roll which I really for swimjigs. Someone else has a similar scent to that donkey sauce but I cant remember who it is.

How does your Muse compare to the fury and lancer?

palomars are great, but constant reties will eat up line fast. The uni knot or some form of it is what I would recommend.

You lucked out with that DC. It shortens the learning curve considerably and is an absolute workhorse of a reel. I bought one of the 7' MH F SLX rods and they arent bad, but I just don't like it. Its incredibly stiff which helps with sensitivity but it limits casting distance even with a bait in its sweet spot. I would run that DC on the HMX if you plan to throw cranks on it. That way you would get the advantage of the DC on longer casts especially in wind.

The concept o guides dont look as nice as the guides on the avid x, but I think the Vic has the AX beat in everything else. The blank is more advanced, lighter and I think the handle/reel seat is more comfortable and feels more secure because of the rear locking nut.(last 2 are opinion so I guess they don't count)

A M power Victory would be the way to go. It would just be a matter of which action you would prefer F or XF.

Some plastic absorbs better then others so I think it would depend on that.

Yeah, I just stretch the TRD and soak them in water overnight and they're good to go. The zinkers have a higher salt content then the TRDs which makes them softer and more prone to tearing.

Zman baits can be a pain, but in a few cases I think the performance of the bait warrants the extra care. Ive taken so many fish on that palmetto bug from places that have literally just been worked over. Most creature baits dont last more then a few fish where the palmetto bugs can last more then a dozen good fish which makes them a great value. My biggest issue with is that you cant straighten kinked appendages very well without risking ruining the bait. That makes me hesitant to buy them in bulk online.

Try a DS with a really short tag end to keep it just above the bottom. Try to use the lightest weights you can find. Tie a weak knot to the weight so its easy to break off if its stuck. If you think you may lose a bunch of weights use lead weights if you can to save money.

I like uni knots and snells. Just be mindful not to put too many twists in the knot and lubricate it well so you don't burn it.

Surf fishing can be anything from floating bloods for kings on panfish gear to tossing 6 ounces of lead and bunker head past the breakers for bass. The rod really depends on what you want to throw and how far. If you just want to see what its like use a 6'6 or longer M-MH spinning rod that you would use to catch LMB in freshwater. Get some 1/4 and 3/8 jigheads for soft plastics/gulp, 1/2 bucktails and a few 1/2 and maybe a 3/4oz spoons. You dont have to spend top dollar on Acme or Hopkins the cheaper Hurricane spoons work fine. (wal mart sells them) You can bomb a 1/2 spoon even when its windy so theyre great to start off with to find fish. This time of year if you cover enough water you eventually should run into some blues and you can get fluke to if you fish it slower and closer to or on the bottom. At that point if you want to invest in heavier gear to throw bigger plugs you will at least have some idea of what you need vs what you want. As a kid my family had a house in Stone Harbor so I started really young. Even though I have good 9' and 10' surf rods I dont use them unless I have too. There's no sense in casting a setup hundreds of times that weighs nearly 3x the weight if it isn't necessary. Thats why the westcoast/JDM finesse surf rods are getting real popular now. Thats what I would recommend to you if you wanted to get rod that designed for light surf. Unless you just want to soak bait, in that case just get an ugly stick.

When I first started throwing chatterbaits I would use a regular swing impact the majority of the time. I still use boot tailed trailers on occasion, but now my go to trailers are either straight tailed like an i-shad/pintail or fork tailed like a zako/swimmon. I think that erratic action can trigger a bite especially when break a cadence or changeup speed or direction on the retrieve.

Thats a perfect example of what its supposed to look like, but it doesnt always take that form. It can be anywhere from a brown to that aqua marine color in the picture and anything in between. It can be much thicker as well like typical algae. IMO the best way to ID it is with your nose. It has real pungent smell. In water with little to no flow it can smell just like sewage. Honestly I don't think there are many health risks for adults as long as you don't ingest the water or eat the fish.

I concur

Its just difference in quality. The Red Label is like a budget option. Blue Label used to be Seaguars top of the line leader material. Even though its been around for the better part of 20 years its still the best overall leader I've ever used. Gold label is Seaguars latest leader material. Its a little thinner then BL which is impressive because BL is really thin. Not sure if they have increased the abrasion resistance enough to make a practical difference or not.

I want to say its the fish hitting the blades, but I'm not sure that I've ever had a fish push a spinnerbait without a solid take. I would either try to use a SB with more compact profile or shorter arm. The other thing you can do is try to get the fish to concentrate on the bait and not the blades. You could use a bigger/more aggressive trailer or use a bold color skirt or trailer. IMO trailer hooks hurt more then help by limiting the action and trailers you can use and making the bait more susceptible to hang ups.

When your fishing ponds and small lakes your presenting your bait to the same fish over and over. You can go from catching 30 fish in a couple hours to just 3 or 4 in a couple weeks if your hitting the same spot over and over again. When the season starts to change the fish kind of reset when they change their pattern.

Ive bent quite a few ChB hooks out pulling them out of wood and have yet to have a blade break. You probably just got 1 that had the hole to close to edge of the blade. Try contacting Zman about it.

That was the first CB I did really well on as a kid.

Thank you

I know its an EWG ned, I was curious of the brand.