bassman

I surf fish in Florida several times a year. Freshwater reels WILL get destroyed by the salt water, I learned the hard way. The best bang for your buck for salt water gear is Penn. They make solid rods and reels at a very good price. They can be purchased from either Amazon or Walmart. I have various sizes of rods and reels depending on what species I'm fishing. For smaller fish, I use a 7-8' rod with a 2500-3000 reel. For larger species I'll use a 10-11' rod with a 3000-5000 reel. I hope this helps

Hey gang, I took a long break from the board but I see a lot of familiar names still here. I hope everyone has been well and catching lots of fishies. Does anyone have a line on any live leeches? I know it's late in the season but I'm hoping to get lucky. I've called dozens of bait shops with no luck. If you know of anyone in the Durham/York/GTA area, please let me know. Alternatively, if there's someone in the Peterborough area, I'll be fishing nearby in a couple of weeks. Thanks

Ditto, i use 30lb fluoro for pike, 80lb for musky. No breaks off yet.

If live bait is out, use the bass or walleye setup I mentioned, a couple of DOA shrimps, walk down any beach, and chuck them into the swash. You may get yourself a snook or two. My link

Pier fishing can be very tough in the summer months. Your best bet is live bait, however, you will pay an arm and a leg for it at pier 60. You may be better off buying at a local bait shop, even the live bait shop at clearwater marina. Gulp Shrimp, DOA shrimp, and even spoons may get you a fish or two. I'm in the clearwater area almost every year, and I've never had much success from any pier. I've had better luck just fishing from the beach. My usual setup is a 10-11' salmon rod, a 3000-4000 series Shimano reel, 20-25 lb braid with at least 25-30 lb fluoro leader. My bait of choice is either live greenbacks or pinfish that I catch myself of off the beach using either a cast net or a sabiki rig. When I'm casting lures, I use my usual bass or walleye rods and reels, and the same line setup as above. Some of the more popular lures are Mirrolures, DOA Shrimp, zara spooks. if you want to escape the busy beach in Clearwater, there are several less populated beaches just a mile or two south that have public access. There's a local site and forum that has a ton of local reports and info, and has helped me become a not bad saltwater fisherman. http://capmel.com Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to chat live. I can talk about FLA fishing for hours. Cheers

Awesome report. Thanks.

Any pics of your design? Just wondering where you cut the hole, and how long of a rope you use etc. Nice idea!

Thanks Garry, what's the bug report like?

Heading back to Jack Lake next weekend. Hopefully we will find some hungrier fish this year. Does anyone have any reports from the last few weeks? Cheers!

Done it in the Tampa area, just north of Boca. I suggest you do your research on a good local guide that will put you on fish. You may want to check out one of the FLA forums called Capmel.com and do a quick search for a guide, or register and submit a post.

I've got an Alumacraft Navigator 165 (full windshield), thanks Gord. I fish with family and friends, so the full windshield is great for everyones comfort. In regards to Lund vs Alumacraft, you cant go wrong either way. Both are top quality, however, Alumacraft does not have the marketing machine or the sponsorship that Lund has, therefore more Lunds out there and a higher price. I have had Lund owners in my boat and they have been impressed with the quality, and the smooth ride of my Alumacraft. In my two year search for a used boat, I was primarily looking at Lunds, but I found the AC, and I have been very pleased with my purchase. At the end of the day, you will not be making a mistake either way, just find a boat layout that will meet your,and your passengers, criteria. Cheers!

The plan is to inhale only the nicotine and not the other 4000 chemicals.

Aint nothing like the real thing......but this is a close 2nd.

I've been using the e-cigs for about 1 1/2 months, and although it's not exactly like smoking a real cigarette, it's pretty darn close. I've reduced my intake approximately 95%(I still crave the odd real one) and I've saved enough dough to buy some fishing stuff. There are a ton of companies out there, but I settled on a US company that had some good publicity and reviews. The cool thing is that I'm smoking these things everywhere, at work, in the house, at the pub. Anyways, I went with the company below, and I even started a Facebook page. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ping me anytime. My link My link

Capt. Tyson Wallerstein http://captaintyson.com/ Capt Tyson is one of the finest inshore guides in the TB area, and can make recommendations as to what's biting that time of year. You best bet for inshore fishing would probably be redfish, sea trout, and snook. He does specialize in tarpon, but as previously said, it's not the best time year for them. Capt Tyson did put me on my first tarpon a few years back, and I do follow his reports on twitter and facebook. If you are considering this guy, tell him that Ari from Canada sent you. He will cut you a deal. Another great site for local fishing information in the Tampa Bay area is Capt Mel. http://capmel.com/ Good luck!