Amelia Island Fishing Product Reviews

The Live Bait Feeding System - The Expixor EB-80 is a "bait runner" type reel, Okuma calls it a "live bait feeding system" reel. Before we get into the EB-80, let me explain the concept. One of the problems (or benefits in some cases) with saltwater fishing is big fish; you never know what's going to end up yanking on the other end of your line. If you're standing on the pier holding your rod in your hand when that big fish starts yanking, it can be a good thing. But if you're sitting on your cooler ten feet from the rod when that big fish yanks, there's a chance that your rod and reel may go flying over the railing into the drink.

Rods and reels flying over pier railings, and rods and reels being dragged down the beach into the surf by big fish are problems that have plagued saltwater fisherman since the beginning of time. Well, at least since the time we started fishing with rods and reels. But fisherman are a pretty creative lot, so we've come up with two standard methods that are commonly used to overcome these problems.

Method one is to unscrew the drag on the reel every time the we set the rod down. This method works OK; if a big fish grabs the bait and takes off for parts unknown, the fact is brought to our attention by the reel screaming as the line goes out, but at least the rod and reel remain in the general vicinity. The problem with method one is that the fisherman needs to tighten the drag back up before he can set the hook or fight the fish, and that can be time consuming enough to cause the fish to be lost. In the event that the fisherman get excited and makes the drag too tight, the fish is liable to be lost along with a long piece of line and the terminal tackle on the other end.

Method two is the bungee cord. Wrap one end of the bungee cord around the pier, and wrap the other end around the butt of the rod. This works too, but it's also got a few drawbacks. It's more time consuming to get the bungee cord undone when the fish hits than it is to tighten the drag up (method one), and strapping down a rod can also result in the fisherman winding up with a broken rod when a big fish decides he wants to play. A broken rod, I guess, is better than a missing rod and reel, but obviously still not the best option.