Darren.

Same here. I have never used a Tatula, but that's probably closest I can get for a quality reel...even tho it is too large for my taste....

I was always on to P-Line's Floroclear, but for some strange reason I bought like 3 or 4 600 yard spools of Yo-Zuri Hybrid off of ebay. Hence my lack of need for other lines --- for a long time, LOL. But I've still got several spools of P-line. Never tried the CX, always went the Floroclear route. Not sure when I'll try anything else beside YZH, Floroclear and XPS fluorocarbon.

I use braid on every reel I use. So much better for line management. I can only recount 1 backlash so bad with braid, that I had to cut it out. But with mono or copoly, the cut outs were more frequent. With braid, I can get just about every backlash out. I use 20lb Power Pro. 30 is great as well. Use the remainder of your fluoro spool as leader material! Will be a much better scenario - IMHO!!

Of those two, Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Has treated me very well

Posted a link to their nets in another thread. They're definitely Rolls Royce of nets. Light, floating, strong, at the cost of 2 arms, 1 leg, and your left eyeball, LOL.

Unfortunately it is no longer made... Previous generation Shimano Crucial 6'5" dropshot rod.

First time I root for the Pats and they let me down. ... Oh well, moving on, LOL!! GO BILLS! Three of the toughest teams in the NFL over the next 3 weeks. Hooo boy.

Looks very interesting. Only have one prop-bait, a topwater, but haven't caught anything on it.

I'm with Lou, rods n' reels. More reels than rods, but...well there ya go.

In 8 feet you could do a lot of different things. Wacky rig, drop shot, splitshot rig with a small minnow as bait... Or jig. Since you've got previous confidence in it, why not go with it!

I use 1/0 Gamakatsu split/drop shot hooks now, and I tie my own weedless guard using 20lb coated malin line. They work fantastically. The other hook that has been a mainstay is the Gammy Wide Gap Finesse hook. But like I said, the split/drop hook is fav for now. Has a thin diameter, but is very strong. Thin means easy penetration into fish mouth, and they stick well. Like ww2farmer said, tho, it's all subjective.

Agreed on needing more info. And welcome to the forums!

Ditto that. Have experienced similar at my fishing spots. Caught some absolute beasts with gaping maws but were strangely thin, while catching heavier fish with smaller maws.

That was awesome!

I will say that finish is in the top 10 or 5 or 3 of all time. And I'm not even a college football follower/fan. Almost any finish that is a last-seconds dagger in the heart of the opposing team is a tremendous finish. Steelers over Rams last second tippy toe catch in the end zone by Santonio Holmes. That was a dagger. Christian Laettner's last second fade away jumper... Etc. I've seen some unbelievable soccer finishes at last second that were spectacular.

I dread BF if there's something I want on sale and it is only available during specific hours. Typically, the dread is the fact I won't be getting that item, LOL!! I was happy this year that BF sales were stretched out over 5 days or so. I got the one item I wanted at BPS on Wed. before ThanksGiving. This year's BF seemed anticlimactic to me. I saw deals everywhere that simply were items on regular sales, or slightly more discounted. Not a lot of gotta have it stuff on our lists. The Carbonlite I bought will be discounted again at the Spring Classic, for likely the same $$ as it was at BF, and the Classic the year before. So I grabbed it. No TW or such for me. I stocked up on my worms and such during other sales this fall which were NOT offered on BF.

Holy cow, that's a hog!! What a great trip! Chart I was looking at puts that square in the 7.9 - 8.1 range. I'd say + as she's looking well fed.

I used to throw a 1/32 oz jighead (lunker city) with a panfish assassin, usually a chartreuse variety. It was absolutely deadly when I was primarily a dock fisherman. Caught me everything from 24" pickerel to 2 pound bass. So it was my trump card then. Not so much anymore with me out in a kayak. I still throw them but just don't have the same success rate I did. My trump bait during the summer is a tiny fluke, wacky rigged on spinning gear, or split-shot rigged, watermelon red. Haven't found a trump bait for the fall yet, LOL.

14 lb, 32.25" striper at my favorite reservoir... Where they don't stock the fish. So it was a super special catch for me, and probably my all time most memorable at this point. But I did have fun on a deep sea trip back in the 90s catching 4' King Macks. Besides not keeping my stomach contents down....

Excellent catch!

Well done, mate! My PB and many of my best bass have come off of the wacky rig, but I have caught some nice ones on jigs.

Right. The prequels were done with 1, 2, 3. This is after 4, 5, 6. Gonna be awesome.

I'm stoked. I LOVE what JJ did with Star Trek, can't wait to see what he does with Star WARS!!

It is not the go-to for me, but it is part of my arsenal. Go-to is wacky rigged. I probably jika-rig a little more than Texas rigging these days. But I'd put the split-shot rig higher.

Hey Patrick, welcome aboard!