little giant

@HawkeyeSmallieGambler Little EZ, 3.75" 6th Sense Whale, 3.5" Both very durable & great action.

@FloridaFishinFool I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying! It's why I got into the BFS! That is pure fun and is challenging! My best, so far, is 8 lb on ML rod, luckily not a lot of cover.

My heavies are used when casting close to or into heavy vegetation. 4 lb bass+ 6 lbs weeds= heavy rod. Dragging a 10 lb lump cause the fish can't fight

8lb seaguar Abrazx, Alberto knot to 15 lb braid, 1 gram swing 2/0 hook. ML rod, BFS

I also use big game solar collector with a 7 ft flouro leader!!

Welcome! You could try Mystic Reel Parts. He's in NJ. He mainly does Penn Reels but does others. Without a part number, could be tough. Have some measurements handy and might be able to cross reference ??

I'm a south east coast guy. Some other brands of great salt (and bass too) rods: Crowder Bull bay Fitzgerald Falcon

The forgiveness of the reel equals less distance, especially with light baits. Thinkin you will want a bfs set up. A Curado bfs will give you what you want but you will have to learn the brake and train your thumb. Also will need the correct rod to cast down to 4 grams.

Enjoy your first Falcon!! I have many and love em all! Let us know how it performs for you!!

@WRB-2.0 casts by fly gives a great summary of the cara bfs rod. It's in the falcon rod thread towards the end of the thread

Agree. The ML has a midsection more towards a medium but the 10- 12 inches at the tip loads like a ML. I can't really use a light or UL here.

I have the magic L, 7 ft ML 2 pc as a bfs. Great rod for the money. Does everything I ask of it, usually small flukes and paddletails.

I own 15 Falcon rods, both fresh and salt. 2 are Caras, more than 10 years old. They're very durable rods. All the rods have easily handled big fish: 8lb LM on Clearwater ML casting, 12lb LM on Cara MH casting, 18 lb reddish Clearwater MH spinning, 14 lb tarpon Clearwater casting. (More concerned with the reel on that one!) No issues with any of them, Evo, lowrider, expert. I'm 5'6", rods are 6'10"- 7'6"

Falcon Lowrider swim jig rod. MH, moderate fast. It will do everything that you wrote and t rigged worms or paddletails in a pinch. Tat 100 a good choice.

Sufix 832 green/brown camo. 50 lb direct tie, double pitzen knot, drop of super glue. I fish in or close to seriously heavy vegetation!

Top of my list: Roland- Florida man! Steve Rodgers- baits and underwater footage Bass Sniper (eng) lot of knowledge Random vids of anyone fishing the 'Glades or canals and Peacock fishing

Pure lemon juice. It will also let you know if you have any cuts in your skin, it does work!

I started taking my son fishing when he was 8. Got him a good spincast combo that he picked. A small tackle box with small lures like beetle spins, curly tail grubs, small hooks for bluegills and bobbers. In the beginning , I didn't fish but gave him all my attention . Get some live worms, use a bobber and he will have fun. Have patience!! Take pics and vids!! My son, now almost 29, has never stopped fishing, on his 3rd boat and salt fishes the Gulf and Florida Keys.

Pass the line through the eye twice and then tie the uni. It becomes the fish n fool knot. Much stronger than uni. I tie the double pitzen, never a failure.

I loosen my " zero adjust" spools. I like a bit more free play in the spool. I have a well trained thumb lol!

Not a stupid question at all! Yes, you can remove barb, won't affect hook at all. I actually buy Gamakatsu Octopus barbless.

Welcome to the forum!! I used to use braid only for everything for years. I do use a flouro leader on some presentations. We have stained, tannic water here in South Florida so I used 832 in their brown/green camo. Good stuff! 30 lb on baitcasters, 15 on spinning. Arbor knot and tape on the spool, no dig, no slip. Make sure you apply tension when spooling reel.

Yes! I've experimented using a twist lock swimbait hooks with loop knot on t rigged weightless senkos. Allows it to really swim freely and flutter around.

Another vote for twistlocks. And a kreh loop knot for extra action, and a micro drop of super glue on the knot for extra confidence lol

@Phillyfanatic Great choice on the Falcon rod. Look at the Crowder rods website and find E series Lite spinning rods. Either 6'6" or 7', MH or Heavy. They're inshore rods. I have the 7' MH, easily handles 30 lb fish. I use a MH casting for bass in heavy Florida vegetation.