Topwater Surfcasting Stripers - New Tsunami SaltX Review! 

John, I always preach "Soft Hands" while landing, you are a fine example of that! Great fish, John, keep them coming...

I really appreciate this. I moved away from the coast, this is my 2nd year with no striper fishing and it sucks way more than I expected. This helps. It also makes me remember how hard it is to keep fishing AFTER the splash until you feel the weight. Not sure how many times I hit myself with a plug trying to set it the same nanosecond the splash starts. Probably half of all strikes I'd at least snap it away from the bass so they couldn't follow it anymore. Always something new to learn, thanks John.

"...one hit I had out of four trips." Glad to see you are human after all. LOL

That first one was an absolute tank! Awesome vid John!

I miss fishing long Island and the cape, I'll still do the fall run tho. I'm on to bigger and better fish....fresh water river and lake monsters in Tennessee and Virginia , like I did 25 years ago in Nashville. There are big big stripers here in all the rivers and lakes. 50 and 60 pounders. That's why I moved back here a few months ago. The last 15 years in Florida sucked for fishing. Now I'm getting serious about top dollar tackle, stellas and saltiga dogfights and accurate and avet reels, and st croix, lamiglas and loomis rods. Loving it!. I'm prowling the wilderness every night wading rivers at 3am , fishing with moster swimbaits, 80 lb braid and heavy duty rods and reels!! Switching out terminal tackle, swivels, hooks and split rings to top notch quality stuff. I want that 60 pounder and no excuses when he hits.

good stuff John !! the fall run is almost upon us!!. on this side (CT) of the sound the amount of bait is very encouraging. Doing well on small fish but hoping bigger fish move in as temps drop. Good fishing John !!

HI,John I just wanted to let you know that you can find those lures on eBay brand new, I just bought 2 of them . Thanks. for sharing the info.

RI has been hot with the stripers blitzing it was fish after fish last weekend, only schoolies but still fun.

Dam John I wish I had money to fly you out here to so cal to show us how to catch halibut from our shores. Not San Diego but Long Beach area. If you ever come out here don’t forget to film.

One hit in four trips, AWESOME! Only thing is that you hook up on the one hit and it's a 34# fish...! Then nothing for a week, sounds like reality to me. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.

That was a gutsy move to jump down from the rock to release the larger fish. I’m glad it worked out OK.

Coming from across the pond... Couldn't agree more, been a terrible year for bass. Somethings going on...

Hello John I’m Mr. Poseidon. I’m getting a little older now for the first time in my life. Soooo my question is what type of knee pads are the brand name on them? Are they for salt or water at all?

wow John nice fish! thanks for the pointers as always 👍🏼

That first one was a just a beauty.. and the real looks awesome but question. you had knee pads on.. 2 things come to mind. To stop water running down your waders just in case or do those float.. I've never seen you wear those.

Bailless spinning reels are a thing? I heard about them years ago but thought they were a gimmick. I've never seen anyone using one, ever. Could you do a quick video on how they work and why you believe they're superior to standard spinning reels.

Nice fish! Really choked that topwater. Loved the aerobatics on the second one. Yup, been super slow this year, hope the fall run proves worthy of the wait...

Not quite a rookie, but not the luckiest guy on the west coast when it come to surf striper fishing, I need to ask why the bail is the worst invention ever when it comes to spinning reels. I've never used one, and on the same note, I've never experienced any problems with a bail. What does it enable you to do that you cannot do with a bail type reel? Why is a bailess reel better?

John, Why the 6k and not the 4k?... I want to make a wise decision... Thank you!

Would you suggest the 6000 or the 4000 for a 10ft tsunami trophy 2 rod prefer to use 30-40lb braid hopefully the lower and 50-60lb leader and for lures 1-3.5 oz. So what you think?

If fishing is slow on the east end forks then what does that say about the West end. It is a graveyard over here and I can’t catch a decent fish to save my life

Hi John it looks like you switched surf bags...do you prefer the Supreme or the Canyon?

Looks like a great reel, 379 isn't bad, looks good, especially bail less. Still love my van stall. Beautiful fish btw. South shore has been consistent all season. Lots of small bass but an occasional larger if you put the time in

I have the same reel. I did not do the conversion yet. Bought mine at J&H

Hey John when using that jigging technique or jerking lure do you rver end up catching the line on one of the hooks? am i jigging to hard?

Hi john you're the man I go to for detailed and honest reviews yet in this video the only thing I heard about this reel is that it's smooth witch is good for a sealed reel. For the money is it better than the the other famous fully sealed reels and how? Thanks.

it has been slow. but hopefully it will turn around. I just caught a 26" today at the shinnecock inlet today. it was brutal out there considering hurricane dorian was just leaving us.

Nice video, any striper we catch this time of year in NC is dead when you get it in (even with heavy tackle) so we hope we dont hook one.

Ill see if i can get some of those poppers for you and ill ship them your way. Tight line's

The water is sooo calm. Do you think its best to catch stripers when the surf is calm like that? Or does it not matter.

John, there is a guy on you tube who makes really nice lures I'm sure he can make you some of that one, Marling baits is his channel !

Nice job, John. Could you tell me the weight of the reel? It's not even listed on the page that you linked to.

What a Beast you caught John!!!!

I had some intererst in this reel a few months so i posted on a fishing group to get some feedback. Overall i did not get lots of response, however, one guy spoke of a clicling noise and/or feel to it after about 6 months of heavy action/use? Have you heard of the like?

i do like to have a bail on a boat or kayak. otherwise, 100% you don't need a bail on a reel from shore. it's one more thing that can break. line rollers are robust and easy to oil or even change out if you need to. pretty much the only true metal wear part on a van staal.

Is the 6000 the same size as others out there? I usually run a 4500 series and was waiting on the saltx 4000 to come out but if the 6000 is smaller than normal it might work for me.

Hey John, how's the weight and balance of that reel. do you think it should be a good match with my Tsunami Airwave Elite 1102M ? or should i wait for the 4000 Series ?

Seeing that you guys up in thr NE throw plugs alot. What do you do when you want to throw light weight plugs in the half ounce range?

Hows is the SaltX holding up. Did you fish it alot?

My apologies if this message was not from 4 years ago😅. But I have been curious about the salt models in regards to both performance and waterproof ability. Have you or any one you know fished these reels while reeled underwater for extended times? If so just been wondering if it can be an equal to the van staal at a real half the price.

What’s your opinion on using high vis braid? Do you think it affects catching?

John- On the Bailess conversion, what size T head did you use. The one I just got is too small for a T15 and too big for T10. thanks, Tom

Hi i had a question would your fishing techniques and lures work here in the central coast of California. surf fishing for Stripers? Iv got shallow depth water with wave sets that come in one after another. I have only been able to catch the stripers on a lucky craft flash minnow that dives at medium depth. i haven't tried anything else yet but it seems that there is no one here that knows how to catch the stripers even though they are here. do you have any tips that might help? i would really appreciate the advice. thank you

Hey John see if you can get your hands on tsunami’s new surf rod, SaltX surf.

Just curious,how do you use a "bailess"reel.?is it in the hands or the drag.?....never used one may switch if i know how to use it.

He engulfed that lure the fish always gotta do that w that one lure that u considered exclusive or hard to find nice release juanito ima stick to the 4 van staals I already got 2 vs250s silver and black and the vs200 black and my vr150 VAN STAAL NEW YORK OWNED @ILOVENYTHISMUCH @ILOVENEWYORKTHISMUCH SEND YOUR PICS OVER TO GET POSTED UP GUYS WAIT TIL MY NEW LOGO DROPS

Where is this? I’m looking to go fishing for decent stripers

How does the feel of this reel compare to that of a vs in terms of resistance when cranking?

What is your preferred knot for your leader to swivel and clip?

Great video as usual !

No modern bailed reel slams down on the spool thereby breaking off lures,so why bail-less then?

Hi John do you ever work your top water lures quietly without much action.

Which knot do you use to attach your mono leader to your swivel and clip?

How has the reel held up?

What size line?

I know you said you only had that one luer can you tell me where you got it from

Never caught a striper since Ive started fishing since 2007.

Does anyone know the model and name of the reel? Im interested in buying one.

Any chance of you fishing there tsunami salt x rod ?

yeah striper fishing has been slow. good job on catching the fish.

Why are you a using mono leader? I thought you fished exclusively with fluorocarbon!

Can you use mono on the shield or salt x?

What about the reel review?

East coast stripers are bigger because of the size limit is stricter

John great one!

Really nice video I love it

Striped bass is bigger than the European sea bass ....😊.....like to catch these striped bass too...👍

Nice catch 🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

Why not eat the strips?

way easier if you replace the treble hooks with single ones.

Some monsters

Where is he fishing? North shore but which town?

I’m having fun with my penn 6 bail less.... fish on

Were in long island is that

nice!

Finally

Not a better feeling! Listen to his breathing before and after the strike.

clicking*

it's QVC for Tsunami ... SMH

dialed.

blocks out part of the screen so no one can see where he is nice …… bastard too bad I recognize rock at 3:27 muhahahah.

What the hell are you wearing ? looks like a space outfit lol.

One hit in four trips, AWESOME! Only thing is that you hook up on the one hit and it's a 34# fish...! Then nothing for a week, sounds like reality to me. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.