Yeah I'm the New guy

[JasonGotaProblem]

It was suggested that I come over here and introduce myself before firing away with all my many questions and questionable ideas. Well, here we go. I'll try to be brief, my life story reads like a fictional novel written by someone with an odd sense of humor.
I started fishing around 7 years old just walking to the retention pond in my neighborhood with a small rod, a bagel, and 2 sized hooks. I'd catch a bream with the bagel switch to a bigger hook and use it as bait to catch bass. From those humble beginnings I learned the value of simplicity in fishing, there's no need to overcomplicate it. Of course my gear collection has grown significantly since then but the mentality remains.

I took a roughly decade long hiatus from fishing (pretty much my whole 20's) because I was training pretty intensely as a judo competitor. I took a few state championships, but never got past that due to combination of injuries and lack of funding. (In the US If you medal in the olympics in wrestling you get a 50k prize for bronze. A gold medal in the olympics means you still get to buy your own plane ticket home. So without rich parents my competitive ceiling was fairly low). Judo was stolen from me by a fellow whose text conversations were too important to wait til he was stopped at a light. So 7 herniated disks, a back surgery, and 5 years of soul crushing litigation later I was in need of a new hobby. Thankfully my love of fishing was right where i left it, waiting patiently for my return.

In college I changed my major a bunch of times. I started in civil engineering, then switched to astrophysics, then applied mathematics, then actuary science, then finally to industrial engineering. Along the way I started really hating that last one, turns out most the things we hate about how the way the world is now compares to the way it used to be can be attributed to industrial engineers finding ways to maximize profit for people who were doing just fine before. I couldn't bring myself to continue, so I dropped out of school (I have 180 credits but no bachelors degree, but i worked my way thru college so no loans either) and started a hot sauce company. That was a lot of fun but it didn't grow at the rate it needed to for viability, so when my son came around I needed more stability so I shut it down and got a job as a CAD tech for a civil engineering company, and as a result I've had much more time to catch fish.

If you wanna abbreviate that further, just think of me as a science-inclined idiot who makes bad choices but has fun along the way.

In terms of gear (in no particular order) I have:
-Daiwa BG 4000 (faithful, smooth, pleasantly unremarkable)
-Shimano Spheros 4000XGSW (my favorite to use. I've upgraded the bearings it now has 6 sealed ceramics and is smooth as silk)
-Penn 6500SSV (I got this one on Craigslist from a dummy for less than i paid for the braid to spool it)
-Penn 8500SS (new acquisition and the impetus for me to join this forum)
-Penn 750SSm (Chinese crap but it was free and I use it as a loaner for guests. I upgraded the drag but its still no winner)
-Fin Nor LT100 (freaking sledgehammer of a reel)
-Penn Pursuit III (a gift from well intentioned but clueless relatives. Junk reel not sure why i listed it)
-Shimano Spheros 3000FA (absolute workhorse of a reel from my youth, saw nothing but abuse and neglect with no service at all for a well over a decade. was once used as a weapon when someone tried to stab me over "stealing his spot" but you would never guess by looking at it. stayed rock solid until I failed to loosen the drag after rinsing and a large fish damaged the bail on first cast but is otherwise still functional)
Plus some other randoms that don't see any action.im

You may be thinking "that wasn't brief at all!" You would be correct. But trust me it could have been worse. Hopefully it wasnt too tedious. I'm gonna stop now before I think of other stuff to say.

[Keta]

Hi.

[Crow]

Welcome !!

[xjchad]

Welcome aboard Jason!

[Darin Crofton]

Welcome Jason!

[Rancanfish]

Yo Jason.

[alantani]

jason, glad to have you here.  sounds like you'll fit in just fine!   

[Midway Tommy]

Welcome, Jason! At least you've figured out the right type of reel to focus on. 

[jurelometer]

Welcome!  Can always use another "science inclined" type around here.   Sort of in short supply.    No shortage of spinning reel fanatics though (some day there will be a cure or at least a vaccine . )

Might want to mention where you fish and what you fish for.

-J

[Long Enuff]

Welcome aboard!  Nice resume.

[bhale1]

Welcome
Brett

[David Hall]

Welcome
Where you call home and where do you like to fish?

[sabaman1]

Welcome Jason!

[JasonGotaProblem]

Welcome
Where you call home and where do you like to fish?

I can see how these would be relevant details. I live in Tampa, and don't have a boat so I tend to do a lot of inshore fishing from shore or sea wall around tampa bay, and i grew up on the east coast so I go back home a lot and fish the indian river and Sebastian inlet in Brevard. My parents now have a dock on the indian river with an underwater spring nearby, so i throw lines there and bag a lot of snook. plus some occasional surf fishing on both coasts.

I've been trying to start targeting larger species so I've been picking up heavier gear lately with the hopes of talking my way onto one of my coworkers' boats.

[Benni3]

Welcome from salem va,,,,,,,,,,,