SirSnookalot

I use a duolock only in the cooler and less humid months as my hands gets slippery with a light leader. Most of the time and all of the time in saltwater I tie.

Without seeing what you're doing it would difficult to point out what the problem is. Since you didn't mention line type I'm going to assume it's mono. Are you backlashing and cutting line out, do you troll your line out before each outing ? 300 yds in a couple of weeks with a reel that doesn't hold 300 yds, is beyond excessive. Since your the man on the scene my suggestion is to figure it out yourself. The education of knowing ones own gear is invaluable.

Easily answered...........Yes. I use nothing but braid for all my fishing. I always use leaders, a bit of shock IMO is important especially for topwater. I keep my leaders about 18" fresh and 24" for salt, too long leader is more stretch than I want, I may as well use mono. I don't use braid for it's strength, which is always higher than the label. If I'm using 10# for example my drag is going to be somewhere around 3# or less, plus I'm using a lighter leader. Doesn't make any difference how strong the braid is as my chain is as strong as the weakest link. I use it for line management and capacity.

Yes it was a Chug bug, my favorite top water lure. I like the 1 oz saltwater when I'm fishing for bigger jacks or bluefish. It was a male, didn't get too a good a picture.

^^ No you're not ^^ Hardly ever fish a frog, don't care for them.

There have been a number of fish that would have been nice to land, but I'm more into the "floor show". As big as it might be I'm still going to let it jump all it wants. No I don't obsess over fish of any species.

I'll second the trion. I have a UL about 8 years old, every bit as smooth as my supremes. Although I catch some good fish with it, it hasn't had the demands that some of my larger reels get, so this isn't a comparison. For under 50 bucks it's winner IMO.

Fishing offshore, inshore and freshwater I do some of everything. I'm happiest sight casting on foot in the surf.

Maybe a little bit, but not using long leaders it works well. I'll post the video again.

Pretty pea caught on topwater, check out the topknot on it.

I don't use flouro (except for kingfish and mackerel) but when I put a loop in the braid and tie my leader on that's when the leader is over the braid.

2 complaints with Rapalas, fishing near culverts and bridges I knock the lips off them quite often. On the tail treble I find they chip and bend there. Not enough of a deterrent to keep me from buying them.

If the leader has a loop I don't think the action of the lure is affected, if so not enough to make a difference. If I were fishing for fish the size of a pickerel I'd use 10# steel leader, which is pretty light in weight. One thing we have in Florida is fish with teeth. Barracuda like pike and muskie have quite a bit of spacing between their teeth, mackerel on the other hand have their teeth closely spaced and sharper. Whether it's a cuda, mackerel or kingfish they easily bite thru braid or even 40- 60# mono leader. I personally seldom use wire, I know with out any doubt I get more strikes, I also get a lot of cut offs. IMO that's the price you pay if want to catch big toothy critters. I have friends that fish defensive having a pre rigged steel leader on each lure or spoon, they keep these lures a long time but they don't catch near as many fish.

I wouldn't either. If I were spending that kind of money on a rod I'd be putting a reel on it that made the entire combo feel good. What I would try is taking various sinkers and place them on top of the reel, that's going to give me a good indication of the weight of a new reel. If 1 ounce sinker made it feel better I'd be buying a reel that was 1 ounce heavier than I'm using now. I use different lures on my rods, the balance is never the same.

Have I ever had a lure go flying, sure I have but it's never been the fault of the brand, something caused that line to have weak spot. I have tried many brands both 4 and 8 carrier, I don't find noise to be bothersome or even that noticeable. The only problem I ever have with braid is tangles or wind knots, does not happen very often with heavier lures. A few months ago I spooled up with 10# US Braid, very cheap, I like it as well as anything I have ever used. I use this spinning outfit nearly everyday using inline spinners, have yet to have a wind knot, I'm impressed. Same case scenario with other lines, windknots left and right. So impressed I spooled up 2 of barracuda rigs with 20# braid, this will be my line of choice until proven otherwise.

You don't know you have arthritis until a doctor confirms it. There can be mineral deficiencies that can be mistaken for arthritis without the proper diagnosis. Through out my working career I was outdoors in all weather handling heavy objects, trucks, cranes, etc. Even as young man there seemed to be a new ache and pain daily, always getting banged up. Kinda just took it in stride, just an occupational hazzard. The heaviest thing I've picked up in the last 15 years is a ball point pen, yet I now have some arthritis, it just happens with age. I happen to have a bulging disc in my neck along with some arthritis there too. Went to a neck/spinal specialist, his suggestion was to live with it as isn't worth the risk of surgery. Any time a doctor tells me he doesn't want to make a buck off me, I take that as good advice. Unless absolutely necessary and prescribed I take little in the way of medications, even OTC has side effects.

The golf courses I fish, I'm just a few minutes from Boca, I can park my car on the road and just walk in. When I go it's right before sunrise, the only people I see are the grounds crew and a ranger, luckily they just wave at me. I make a point of fishing holes 7-8 and 9, not the beginning holes and try and keep my distance from the houses. I don't even try to fish a course that's fenced and I would not invade a home owner's privacy by fishing behind their home. My own community I'm well with in my rights to fish where I please. I probably won't be fishing any golf courses until the end of the year.

I've heard stories of braid cutting thru the F/C, some may want to try this. I tie the Albright in the traditional manner as well as this way too. Wrapping the leader over the braid instead of braid over the leader eliminates any chance of the leader being cut by the braid, as the braid is on the bottom. I've see no difference in knot quality, I think the knot is called a Bristol knot.

Can't say as I own a mh bass rod or even a b/c for that matter. Most of my fishing is really done with a ml although I do use a med with heavier vegetation. There is a little trick to do it, this is for shore bound anglers. I use one of my saltwater methods, landing a 10- 20# or bigger fish off the beach it cannot be swung on shore with my arms, I walk backwards holding the spool and just pull the fish in, great test for your knots. I didn't invent this, it's a common practice. Bass fishing I do the same thing, walk backwards and just pull them out of the vegetation. Your legs are way stronger than your arms, keep the rod straight so it doesn't break.

Even easier. A little something I recently discovered, my new smartphone camera app has no macro setting. By using the stock "optical reader", works better for me than a macro camera setting. Yes I could have d/l a camera app with macro, but my camera is voice activated, I like it.

1 Back up in the car in case equipment failure or going to location where another rod is needed.

It's timing, throwing a lure at that exact moment in time, a few seconds before or after can make all the difference. Mathematically fishing is 50/50 on any cast, either you get a strike or you don't.

This is one of the better demonstrations I've seen tying the Bimini.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zScy2Fbnlg. IMO it's very time consuming and not easy to tie on a rocking boat in windy day. A good knot none the less but not really any stronger than making a loop using a 5 wrap uni knot as Jose Wejebe ties in his video, which is what I use. When it comes to my everyday fishing, 7 wrap straight up Albright holds larger jacks and tarpon just fine, and takes just seconds tie.

I know nothing of the technical aspects of fishing reels, I do use 2 4000 stradics fi year round. I have not had a wobble problem with them but a plethora of other inconveniences. Put quite a bit of money into these reels above the initial cost. Both reels have had the identical things happen to them, from septon knobs disintegrating to bearings going bad, to complete new bail assemblies. They are fairly smooth with an adequate drag, I'll be using them until they are completely dead, one is approaching that status. IMO the performance is on a par with other $100 reels I have, I like the reels but I don't feel the value exceeds 100-$125.

Receipts can fade and be hard to read. I scan mine and keep a file in my PC, backed up to flash drive. I've never had rod break while handling a fish.