Shanes7614

That could be a good thing!!!!!

Isn't this the same line you have a problem with snapping with your hook set? Setting the hook as hard as you can was and should still be an old school mentality as flouro and braids being used today have way less stretch then the monofilament line used years ago. Guys got used to such a hard hook set to eleviate the amount of stretch in mono.

Check your rod guides also. Use a Qtip and run along the inside of each one. That may be your problem. You may also need to think about user error and your actual hook set being too much. Plenty of guys use 4 and 6# test and are able to set hooks without line breakage. If you use sharp hooks you shouldn't have to "swing for the fences" hook set everything. A quick snap is plenty to get sharp hooks even through bone.

Small tip also for trucking around with your rod in the back. Take a pool noodle and split it length ways and when you return to your truck wrap around your rod and try to bungee it pointing out of the bed. You can also hook your lures into the foam and they are pretty cheap to replace instead of having something sliding around in your bed and breaking a guide or tip.

I'm gonna buck the trend on here a little and say it could have been a bad blank. Almost everyone on here has boat flipped fish before and will continue to do so. Whether I myself would do it with your exact rod I'm not sure as I don't know it's specs. Any rod medium action and above should not have a problem lifting a fish that size. Not sure I would try to flip anything bigger though. The action of your lift is what may have been at fault. If you keep a constant pressure on the rod and don't allow fish to bounce your rod I don't see a problem with it. I tend to leave a 3/4 rod length when I do it myself. Check out some videos and just look at some people ridiculous hook sets. If rods can handle such a violent action lifting should be the least of your problems. A net or a pair of waders would resolve the problem as others have stated but I certain situations those don't even help. If possible when you get fish to shore try to reel down and point rod at them and hold your spool and walk backwards, also depends on line used though. Most rods I have been witness to user error tend to not have that clean of a break either. Just my opinion. Check with shimano as they do have a decent return policy or even better if you bought it at an actual store may have good return policies as well. Good luck with its replacement.

I'm sure they have gotten plenty better. I personally would suggest a Berkley Lightning series rod or something made of all graphite for general bass fishing. I believe they are along the same price range. As to sunshine bass I had never heard of it before I moved here myself. I have caught saltwater stripers up to #38 and the freshwater version my largest is 8#. Both are extremely fun to catch.

It's not always the prig manufacturer that makes the difference. Try using a hotter running plug from the motor manufacturer recommendations.

Check your inline fuel filter.

I would also dolly the rear of the boat as it tends to have more weight there and if v hull then easier to pull by one front handle compared to balancing the front.

Pictures or it didn't happen... Haha

Snook tend to have great eyesight from what I've been told. I don't have a ton of experience fishingbut am a firm believer of using flouro where it can benefit you. Some baits arent necessarily best thrown with flouro. If using live bait I most certainly would use it.

Just to clarify a couple things. Are stripers not bass??? From what I know and I could be wrong but there is two types of "stripers". Firstly there are striped BASS that live mostly in salt water and then return to fresh water to spawn. Then there are stripers, whipers, or their original name, a HYBRID striped bass which live in fresh water mostly or some with brackish water. If these are the "stripers" you speak of they most certainly will hit a spinnerbait. These are the ones I refer to in my post as I believe most guys here fresh water fish more then salt. Hybrid striped bass however have a smaller mouth then their salt water relatives as they are a combo of a striped bass and a white bass. In Florida they are even called sunshine bass. When schooling the smaller fish will also chase whatever baits the school has rounded up and feeding on. When using a spinnerbait the smaller ones will target on the shine of the blades and strike the blades only as they again have a way smaller mouth. You can easily feel this as your reeling through open water and there is a brief vibration stoppage as if you have fouled your bait and then continue vibrating again. I too also began fishing with an ugly stick and do believe they have many purposes. Sensitivity is not one of its best qualities. I'm sure over the years they have improved but you are always limited at how much sensitivity you can get from a fiberglass rod. I loved the durability as mine as a kid took a beating. The price range is certainly a deal when on a budget or a young kid starting off. Many bass fishermen use fiberglass blanks for crankbaits and other moving baits where a desired delay is caused by a more drastic parabolic curve and again less sensitive so guys don't "jump the gun" and set a hook too soon or too hard. Hopefully this clarifies what I was trying to explain to the OP.

Is this in salt or fresh water? If salt my number one bait would be fresh clams. Number two would be bunker/menhaden depending on where your from. Use elastic string to hold the clams on your hook better and if using bunker/menhaden and there are bluefish present them use the heads mostly as the blues can't get their mouths around them. Hope this helps.

Haha. The fuego.... Got the STX from another Grant. Lol

They don't always hammer baits like you may think. I can feel small ones hitting the blades of my spinnerbaits and totally missing the body. That's NOT something your gonna feel with an ugly stick.

Gen 2 STX is what I got from you???

Fuegos brand new???

Looks like an old Heddon Crazy Crawler with a prop on its ass..... Lol

If these never fail to catch fish.... Wouldn't they be the only baits you use?

It sure can be a great place. After sunset there always seems to be a small transition time when fish move from deeper water to the shallows and vice versa.

Snook can be caught on a lot of hard baits used for bass. Live mullet arebalwaysba good bet if you have a cast net. Then you just need terminal tackle and your rod.

What lake is this?

You can also fill the bottom cross section with concrete and no need for tying it to blocks.

If its that shallow grab a snorkel and some fins and mask and check the place out!!! See for yourself where and what these fish are doing.