islandbass

Awesome. That be bait monkey $$$ lol 😂

I eliminate the rod from the line breaking equation. This means pulling out enough line so that the rod is NOT involved in the process of breaking the line. This ensures that the rod has zero chance of breaking.* The “hold the rod straight pull from the reel method?” Well it srill involves not only the rod but also reel. No thanks. As a shore angler, I don’t have the luxury of getting close to snags. I will the wrap the line I’m working with around a dowel or pliers and pull back until the line snaps. Walking in the opposite direction if necessary. I try to minimize the amount of line the will be left behind. *unless my clumsy self steps on it, falls on it (yes, I did this. I tripped while walking in a bridge and long story short, I landed in a way I managed to break my best of 3 rods. The other two cheap Walmart special rods? Of course they didn’t break.)

@Rockhopper: I hear you and you’re right. I was just having a little winter doldrum fun. 😎

I remember this. This sounds like fun. However, let me state that Western Washington formally withdraws from this competition - effective immediately, because we don’t an iota of a chance of winning, 😂. J/K

@BassKat: I can tell you from experience that CX and CXX are very good lines. However, one thing that they do possess that you want is memory. They get memory up the ying yang. However, that does not mean they’re bad lines. They great lines and I use both lines. Memory doesn’t bother me, especially because it doesn’t affect performance. As a mono user primarily for many things, there ain’t no such thing as a mono line that doesn’t eventually acquire memory. It is only a matter of time. With that said, if the monos I’ve tried, sufix in my humble opinion seems to acquire memory much slower that other comparable monos. Both CX and CXX for me seem to acquire memory much faster. You can throw the Berkeley line, ande in that same camp. This has been just my own personal observations. like I said, memory doesn’t bother me one bit.

Like Wolverine, I have a mutant healing factor. I absorb every harmful and damaging blow received from skunking out but I quickly heal those wounds, pick myself up and go at it again.

Welcome back, coming from the Pacific Northwest. 😎👍

@Crankin4Bass: I use pool noodles to protect the top half of my two piece rods and they are a functional no frills way to keep them padded. I’ve been protecting my top halfs initially with pipe insulation way back when but they didn’t protect spinning rod tips well because of the larger guides. Pool noodles work very well if your trunk is well kept and doesn’t have any loose and heavy things in it. I’ve probably been using them for 10 or more years. If I needed more protection than a pool noodle, I will probably make something out of pvc tubing. The bottom halves stay safe in my rod quiver with the reels attached. It’s a beautiful thing, 😇 To the op, @Bazoo: there are a lot of 2 or multiple piece rods already given, but if they still make them, Shimano’s convergence and compre lines are solid, best bang for the buck. The challenge might be in finding them. Best of luck.

@senile1: great minds must think alike! I am so out of touch with the changes that the last time I looked in a store at spinning reels I was wondering why I couldn’t see any symetres, lol. Miravel or nasci or something or other. Honestly not sure how to even pronounce those two one sounds like an alternate universe to marvel and the other might be the Japanese word for nasty… it’s Jackson if you’re Nasci, 😂 (Janet Jackson reference)

@ABU is overpriced: by your definition, all of my reels are old school. I don’t think I bought a reel in over 10-12 years. Still in use because it’s all I have: shimano curado 201bsf 201d 101d shimano Cardiff 301a - I don’t know if this reel has changed much since I’ve had mine from the mid 2000s. pflueger trion - their tan colored 1st generation reel shimano 2500 symetre- the older, light green one, probably from the 2004-2006 era. My reels function well so I see no need to get more reels. I can honestly say this is where the bait monkey has not been able beat me in this arena, lol.

Very cool point to bring to light. I think the fishing coach is usually 1) the parent or relative (uncle, cousin, older sibling, etc 2) you, yourself (like me) I think it starts this way for many of us, myself included and I took route #2. Fishing had always been something I wanted to try and I finally took the dive in 2004. I had no friends or relatives to teach me since none of them fished so I learned on my through personal research (heavy on books) from which followed experience and time on the water. It does seem a bit odd now to see that long-term coaching in fishing just doesn’t seem to happen as in other sports. I also love golf and finally started playing again after about a 15 year break. I hit my 9 iron about 150yds (early 2000s) and now I’m lucky if I can eke out 125 yds from it, lol. Sometimes I can string together 5 pars and snowman 5 other holes. I only play about once every 1-2 months now, so I can’t expect too much.

@Jigfishn10: I was trying to convey what bulldog said more completely and not necessarily about fish being toothy. The conjunction “and” instead of “or” was probably the better word to use. The environment might dictate the “stronger” or thicker leader. Btw, I’m with you in reaction purgatory 😇

It is probably because of the species targeted or perhaps the cover. Or, using 15# braid enables them to store more line on the spool. A spool will hold more 15# braid than it would 15# mono or fc line and the angler might benefit from such a scenario. Also, there isn’t an unwritten rule I’m aware that says the main line has to be stronger than the leader, but one of the reasons I would if I had to use a lesser strength leader is for easier break offs when snagged. That said, even using a stronger leader probably won’t matter too much because the weakest point will be the joining knot. I don’t have an answer to your last question though. That one has me stumped. 🤔 looking forward to seeing what others have to say about this one.

I will only recommend going straight braid if and only if you are fishing from a floating device. This is also a real NO (for me) if you are fishing from the shore. Many here giving advice probably fish from a boat and so their advice is good. However, if you are fishing from the shore, I would consider going with mono straight up or mono with your fc leader. Here is why: 1) Even at 15# strength, braid will be very difficult for you to break off. Even if you managed to break the line, there is now a strand of braid floating around for nearly forever in the river because it will hardly break down. Another question - how is your catch rate compared to your friends? About the same, better, or worse? If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I am only talking about straight braid that wouldn’t recommend if you’re shorebound. A 4000 size also holds a heck of a line of line so if you decide to use braid so I recommend the advice already given about putting a mono backing, then the rest braid until your leader. One last thing. FC sinks so if you’re fishing poppers and you see a worsening in performance, just switch to a mono leader. Oops. One more thing. I recommend the alright knot to join all your lines. It is a great knot and can be used even when the diameters of the lines to be joined vary greatly in diameter. Personally, I’d stick with the 8# mono and add an 8-10# leader if you “really” have to use or want to try fc.

Here’s mine: