SoFlaBassAddict

I usually use a 1/4 or a 3/16 weight. I'll use a 3/8 if I'm fishing much deeper or if I'm casting it out instead of fishing it mostly vertical. I'm not sure the real reason why the hooks are so small, but they do work. I've heard it's because most of the strikes tend to come at the "head" of the bait. Which would make sense. It's a lot easier to swallow a small fish head first, the dorsal spines won't go down easily if the fish is going in reverse. Most of my hookups with the drop shot are usually right in the lip or upper portion of the mouth. Once in a while I'll get one thats hooked deep, but thats fairly rare.

For 200 bucks, you cannot beat that reel. I've messed around with one a few times. It's almost gross how lightweight it is. Once the larger sizes get released, I fully plan on buying a couple of them for some of my saltwater fishing.

Great post. That should be added to the Best of thread. Adding it to my favorites.

It happens to everybody, Bassclary. You develop a comfort level with a certain rod, or series of rods. Changing to something drastically different can really mess you up. Sometimes it takes a while to really develop a good feel for the rod.

Went out earlier this morning and had two dinks on a new frog. That was it.

That's pretty hard to beat. I'd buy it if I had the need for another reel right now.

x2 I've had strikes on the fall, but it seems that most of mine come while dragging or hopping it back to the boat.

If you ever wanted to make your seven year old daughters really mad at you, all you need to do is talk smack about Hannah Montana or iCarly. The looks I got from them were just spine chilling.

rofl

Good lord, thats a huge AJ. EDIT: 75 not 175. The World Record in 155 lbs 10ozs. -Kent EDIT2: Oh, well then...still a decent AJ.

Roflmao. I've seen some great ones before, but that takes the cake. Awesome.

That is the primary reason why I've started to really enjoy bass fishing. For me to go out saltwater fishing on the boat it really has become work. At least two days to prep (one if I actually have enough time). Gotta rig baits. I mean I can rig up a ballyhoo very, very quickly, but when you do twenty-four of them, it takes a good bit of time. It's nasty work also. Freshwater, I can go to the store, pick up what I want to eat, grab my bag of lures, a few rods, and I'm set.

So - South Fla - Florida Bass Addict Where I live, and my addiction....

They have a different main gear material as well.

I was very happy with the Carbonlite reel when I had one. I had to return it because the side plate release pin started to corrode. Mind you, I bought it when they were first released, so I may have caught one in a run of duds. Just keep your eyes on it. Caught a bunch of fish on the one I had. Smooth casting and very light.

Matt, Complete newbie question here, but can't you get a spinning rod with the same stiffness characteristics for a baitcaster? For example, a medium hard with fast tip is available on both spinning and baitcasting. Educate me! Spinning rods for the most part still have a lot more flex to them than baitcasters. A lot of it also depends on the quality of the rod.

Tuna really are some beastly fish. There are times down here when the Tuna schools get so thick it's almost aggravating. It's not that I don't mind catching them. After enough fish though, you just don't feel like moving anymore. I personally don't keep Tuna to eat all that often. We'll run into them when we troll for Dolphin. If we're out fun fishing, they're great fish for people who don't get to fish in saltwater all that much. As far as a food fish, I'll pass. The smaller Tuna species make fantastic bait though. Rig them whole on a bridle, or use the belly strips out on the flatlines.

Gotta love the fight a large Cuda puts up. I mean to me, they're a trash fish. But man are they ever a blast to fight. A big Cuda can really put a hurting on you if you aren't expecting it.

Rub some Megastrike on the sore spots. That stuff has mystical healing powers. People throughout history have searched for a topical pain reliever, the answer has always been...Megastrike.

That is one fantastic movie. I watched it about three hundred times when it was On Demand had it in HD for free.

Yeah. I've got two daughters. Must have sprouted from my butt one night. Darn those pod people....

Does Band of Brothers count as a movie? If so, add that to my list. Throw Big Lebowski in there also...

Best way to handle it IMO. Takes a little practice, but it's fairly easy and quick to do it. My daughters tend to hook fish deep like that, thats one reason I learned to pinch barbs down on most of my hooks.

Appreciate the replies, guys. The only reason I was asking is because I had an old expired gift card here. I checked the balance online and it turns out it was never used. Called up Visa and they are sending me a new one. I figured there had to be something that would peak my interest, or something new to try out. I recently made a few orders and stocked up on most of the stuff I need, was just curious to see what else is out there that looks interesting.

You can probably do it without a problem. When you add a trailer to that 1/4 oz jig, it will weigh more. Remember, the weight for the rod is the combined weight of the lure, not just the chunk of lead or tungsten that is written on the package.