Thank you for the in depth explaination on everything!
I will be sure to try that when i get my new setup!
I bought most of my gear
I got the fin nor ofs96 and the OM12
HOWEVER: i saw on bass pro shops website that some people recieved a damadged rod but didnt know until they first used it and it broke. Is there any way i can check to see if it is in good quality before i leave for vacation and use it?
awesome setup Man
Damaged rods during shipping is fairly common, just got over it from tip to butt and look for any cracks, splits, nicks and deep scratches.
Thanks
And is there any way the rod could look fine but be internally damadged or something?
Im just worried that i will get to florida on vacation and the rod will break and then i will have no way of fishing
Thanks
And is there any way the rod could look fine but be internally damadged or something?
Im just worried that i will get to florida on vacation and the rod will break and then i will have no way of fishing
every body is always worried about this.. What I do and many of the members on here do is bring more then one rod. I usually bring 5 rods or more depending on how many people.
Guides could break. Reels could blow up. You can get stripped... Anything can happen... Best advice would be to pick up another rod and reel.
Thanks
And is there any way the rod could look fine but be internally damadged or something?
Im just worried that i will get to florida on vacation and the rod will break and then i will have no way of fishingevery body is always worried about this.. What I do and many of the members on here do is bring more then one rod. I usually bring 5 rods or more depending on how many people.
Guides could break. Reels could blow up. You can get stripped... Anything can happen... Best advice would be to pick up another rod and reel.
I am only able to purchase one rod and reel due to cost.
hook that bad boy up to something solid and give it a few hard bends, moc a fight with a fish... if it breaks its damaged LOL It really is unbelievable the abuse good fishing rods can with stand.
Just FYI a new rod bent over hard will make some funny noises but dont be overly concerned they all do 
hook that bad boy up to something solid and give it a few hard bends, moc a fight with a fish... if it breaks its damaged LOL It really is unbelievable the abuse good fishing rods can with stand.
Just FYI a new rod bent over hard will make some funny noises but dont be overly concerned they all do
Take it from Cj, He puts more pressure on his rods then grander tunas can and will do. New glass rods will make a lot of noise.Nothing wrong with that.
Go tie your line to a tree or something that's not going to budge. Tighten up really well on your line and put some heat to it like if you were fighting a fish.Best part of this is you can get some really neat pictures and have a beer in your hand while doing it 
Alright thanks guys, i will do that.
And just a question... How much drag should i put on???
The reel is rated for up to 60 lbs
But the rod is rated for 20-50 lbs
And i am using 80 lb test braid
Alright thanks guys, i will do that.
And just a question... How much drag should i put on???
The reel is rated for up to 60 lbs
But the rod is rated for 20-50 lbs
And i am using 80 lb test braid
rule of thumb is 1/3 of actual breaking strength of line... this is for any weak spots in the line. I would have the reel set at about 28-30 lbs Give that a shot bow your rod up and see how it feels.. Or have someone help you and pull on the line at 30 lbs.If you havent felt or fished with 30 lbs of drag yet it may take a while to get used too. I Wouldnt go more then 30 lbs unless you have a fish that is stripping you and you are in desperation to stop it. I stopped 6' spinners on 13 lbs of drag. They didnt pull any line. Go try it out. Have a friend pull on the line once you have it set at 30 lbs by attaching a scale to the line. Hell even tie it up to the car and have your freind SLOWLY idle off.IMO this is going to be the best way to test your gear and get comfortable with it.This way if and when you hook into a big fish you are ready, know your gear and are very comfortable with high drag settings.
Alright thanks
Ya i was worried about being spooled because i will have about 400 yards on the reel, but i guess being spooled most likely wont happen?
And using the car sounds like fun! Haha
Another question... Will the real seat on the rod be able to withstand 30 lbs of drag?
I highly doubt you will be spooled. On a casted bait the odds are with you. you will have more line then if yaked out.
Normally when a fish takes that much line well if he plans on doing that you will find out in minutes after hooking up.
It could happen but it's not an every day occurnace. The reel seet should be more then adequate. MAke sure you tighten the reel seat up as much as possible on to the foot of the reel.I usually will wrap a towle around my reel seat and put pliers on them. or once your have a lot of pressure on the rod you can tighten the reel seat up much easier. I have never been spooled in my life. I have never hooked anything over 9' either how ever I have seen plent of monsters caught with 500 yards of 80 lb mono. I have caught a bull almost 300 lbs on 80 lb mono and he took me down to about 350 yards in the water or so.
IF you can get a live bait 5 lbs and up. Hook them in the tail and let them swim out. if the surf isnt too rough you can tie a balloon about 4 feet up from the hook this way it keeps him from getting hung up.. if its to rough you can always try with out a balloon. I have been very successful doing this method for years. I'm a live bait fisherman all around.a live 10 lb jack is a great bait. Anything alive will work. You could even chunk up some fish and cast them out. a 6 inch piece of bait will get clobbered by anything swiming around.
Reel seat should do just fine.
Ok sounds good
And thanks for the bait tips. I am unsure if i will be able to get live bait but i will try.
Another question is that we will have a house on the ocean with a pier about 20 feet long, so i will definately try to fish from there, but i have been there before and the water is only about 4-5 feet deep and there are hardly any waves. Will there even be sharks in this water to catch?
Alright thanks
Ya i was worried about being spooled because i will have about 400 yards on the reel, but i guess being spooled most likely wont happen?
And using the car sounds like fun! Haha
Another question... Will the real seat on the rod be able to withstand 30 lbs of drag?
yes, CJ has exposed this method and well it works quite well. nothing better to mirror a big fishing then a speeding automobile.
