u/MountainShark1

I fished a lot as a kid and took over a decade, maybe two, break from fishing. Got back into it hard about 3-4 years ago. I had always used spinning reels. Every now and then I’d notice someone I’m fishing with struggle with wind knots on their spinners. This is something that I have never really experienced.

About 2 years ago I made the leap to baitcasters and got hooked and never looked back. Fought through the backlashes and finally feel confident enough to never pick up a spinner again.

A buddy of mine gave me a nice travel spinning rod so I’ve been messing around with it. Well, I now know what a wind knot is. WTF?!?!? This is so stupid!! I get why baitcasters knot up and I can deal with that and mostly don’t get them at all. But now I can’t even use a spinning reel without getting knotted up. And the knots are worse!!

When I started with the baitcasters, I noticed that I had to whip the rod differently than a spinning rod. Do you think I forgot how to whip a spinning rod? What is going on?! I know about loose line lay and that is not happening.

Rod is a MajorCraft Crostage shore jig and the reel is not ideal. It’s a mother in law gifted Penn pursuit III. I hate it. It’s a tank. Could the reel be the issue? I know my set up is way off balance. Maybe that’s it.

I was watching an ICAST video and a reel manufacturer, maybe Shimano, was showing their new spinning reel with a double paddle handle like a baitcaster has. The claim was that it makes it more balanced and has less wobble. I couldn’t find these handles on gomexus or other sites. I’m wondering if there is a market for them yet to be purchased separately for my other reels. They are designed slightly different than just slapping a baitcaster handle on a spinner.

Looking for advice for my next purchase. I fish out of Southern California. I have an ocean scupper classic that is great for light weight trips with tougher approaches.

I have a 2020 mirage outback that I just flipped in the surf. I hate taking that thing on beach launches. I just bent an arm on my boonedock wheel system and may have destroyed my battery and Raymarine graph. So I’m considering keeping it a harbor princess and putting a NK300 on it.

I’m thinking of getting a FluxJet because I would be pretty comfortable with surf launches but it is a little short and heavy.

I am also considering the VoyaX Mossa. I really like the idea of spot lock/ gps and peddle assist.

I’m thinking the smart move would be to keep the Hobie but is there a motor other than NK300 that has power and gps/ spot-lock.

What would you do?

I am not a patch collector for the most part but I am currently in the hunt and don’t know where to begin. I am looking for roughly 3”x2” pvc patches of fish and wildlife from California. Specifically our local gamefish from in and around the Channel Islands and land animals such as quail and bobcat and the like. I’m also not opposed to general and generic patches based around the outdoors/ hunting and fishing.

Is there anyone company out there that would carry these?

It seems like my searches constantly lead me to companies that want to sell me bulk custom patches. I’m not really looking to buy multiples of the same patch for all these different species we have. But maybe this is the way to go.

I don’t want anything too bulky, deep, or wide. Just need it for my phone, keys, glasses, and a few other small items. I do not need any tackle storage. It will be used for wading in the surf while bowfishing. Staying clear of my drawstring and resisting saltwater splashes are the key features I’m looking for.

Back before my first taste of surf fishing, I use to fish in warm smelly freshwater. One of my favorite lures was the buzz baits. I loved watching bass dart out of docks or brush and smash them.

I was hunting for striper last night and there was a lot of salad in the water, making working the jerkbait and paddle tails difficult. I ended up mostly throwing a pencil popper and that kept the hooks mostly weed free. But the wave action was up and the lure would easily get rolled in the whitewater without having much time to pop in the calmer stuff.

So, how do you feel about buzz baits in the surf? Does anyone here have experience using them? And has anyone caught a striper with one. Bonus if you did it on the west coast.

Excuse me if it’s been covered. I tried to research but found limited answers. I am looking to buy a KC welder. I understand Hobie has its issues and are trying to claw their way back but can I still purchase this? Do I need to go through a distributor? Or are there better options? I keep seeing Polyvance in my searches, is this decent? I want to stay away from the Harbor freight one due to the tip not holding up.

Also, my kayak is slate blue. Can I find those rods anywhere? Or does anyone know of a product that matches that color well? My searches led me to one particular site and I’m not too sure about ordering from them do to uncertainties.

Taking a day trip out to Avalon with the family. I plan on bringing some rods. I’d be bringing a 2-piece rod and a couple 8’ rods. Am I going to be able to store them some place where they won’t get damaged or be in the way? Should I get a hard case? Thinking of putting the reels in a bag and the rods in a PVC pipe with some caps from Home Depot, or is this not necessary?

I know Philip Freedman sometimes gives reports on which harbors have live bait, but I am having trouble finding which platform he does it on and how often.

Is there a website I can go to so that I can see what each harbor is holding without having to call each place or having to wait to stumble across Philips report.

I have to change out a bunch of old MR-16 bulbs for new LED bulbs. I am also going to disconnect the old transformer and install a new 12v LED driver for each one. Easy peasy, right? I go to dig around in the first one and I discover that the genius who installed them, never pulled the cotter pins that hold the j-box lid shut!

Now what? Anyone have any tricks? Flathead screwdriver and pry? Might need to find some guys with small hands.