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Micah, Those year nitros were bad about getting stress cracks right behind the seats on the top cap. Don't think they really got it under control until 1994. My honest opinion is you can find a better boat for $3k, and that's what I would do. You will forever hate yourself if you buy a problem. Been there, done that.

He's fishing for a paycheck, get the fish and get on to another cast. As a recreation fisherman I see no point to it, I'm there strictly for the fun.

Ken Block is a driving legend, but his tires don't last very long. Should I drive like Ken Block?

Revo Elite Aurora 64 Limited. The finish made me do it.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you might want to check your scale. A 21" largemouth would have to have roughly a 23" girth to be 10 lbs, which is WAY outside the norm. Here's a fairly accurate way of estimating the weight of your fish by length only https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/catchrelease/bass_length_weight.phtml Also here's a calculator that you can enter length and girth and get an accurate weight http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html Very nice catch though, and definitely a fish to be proud of!

If you try to carry a fish with your rod in the 90° position, it's putting way too much strain on the blank. People often try to lift or carry fish with their rods held like that to get the fish higher. Rod blanks aren't meant to be flexed like that.A normal hookset is probably around the 45° mark. This doesn't flex the blank so excessively. When you add in dents and dings that the rod might have sustained over the course of time, overstressing a blank can cause failure. Heavy hooksets with braid can also cause a rod to break but are less likely because the rod is normally held at a safe angle.

My bank beating gear.... Rainshadow RX7 sj781 pfluger supreme St croix avid 7'0 medium light fast and pfluger supreme ....and some fish slime

Well it's not tackle, but it is fishing related. My car I traded in wouldn't pull more than my little boat. Now I can open up my boat search to a bigger boat!

It was probably aiming for his sweet jorts and just missed.

Some of you may already now, but for those that don't, I volunteer with Heroes On the Water as often as possible. HOW is an organization that offers service members the opportunity to experience kayak fishing at no cost to them. For many of them, this is the only means of escaping the confines of the VA Hospital or some other form of rehab. It is very fulfilling to say the least. Last weekend, I took my son along as I had done on several past HOW outings, only this time it was a smaller event where we were paired with a lone service member. Along with another volunteer, we managed to put the veteran on several bass on the day. During the event, the volunteers are also fishing as well. My son and I ventured back into a protective cove and both hooked into fish. I landed my first bowfin, while my son landed his new personal best largemouth bass measuring out at 17 3/4". It was an awesome day!

That chain pickerel knows it's Shark Week.

Good decision. The world of boat shopping is a frigid SOB. Unless you have the money to walk in and buy a showroom one, you will grow to hate the shopping. My house went under contract and if it sells, I'll be in the same boat you are. (not that I don't already shop around). Hell, you stop fishing in the 2 man and your luck/skill might go out with it!

Kids fiscar scissors? $1.xx at wallyland

He said Hillsdale

Thanks for the input guys! I think I am just going to pass on this one. I was planning on waiting longer and spending more money on a nicer boat. I will probably just stick with that plan.

I'd want to check compression

Swimbait Carolina Rig Roger

Those d**n big head wobblers! lol. I keep telling Clayton he needs to put on a C&C only tournament.

More than I need, but less than I have.

Probably the most unfortunate shortened link I've ever seen

The longer a fish is in the water, the longer it has to get off the hook. "Skiing" a fish in is a good way to prevent them from having a chance to fight. It depends on what they're caught on and where they're caught at also. A fish caught on a deep crankbait in open water can and should be played out carefully. A fish caught flipping in heavy cover is going to be "horsed" in quickly to prevent it from getting back into the cover it came out of. As for how you should do it, do what works for you. I fight fish in quickly but carefully.

I started building rods for the long term. It is much easier for me to spend the $$ over time than at one shot. I can purchase components over a period of months; meanwhile creating a vision of what I want this blank to do. When I got "serious" into fishing I decided I wasn't going to buy the new best $100 rods and end up with 5-6 meh rods. I would build them one at time based off what I learn on the water and where the techniques I like take me.

Ummm....no. Clayton got it right. As long as you don't have some sort of incentive to promote said product or business, you should be ok. Even though we do shoot down spammers, we're pretty good about sniffing out honest mistakes and firing off a warning instead.

^^Usually Wal-Mart has free rodents, all you can catch. Behind the Deli is always good for a few mice and a couple rats.

Take a close look sometime. too much finish. bubbles in finish. wavy finish. gaps in wraps. guide feet not tapered. cardboard arbors with insufficient epoxy to seal out water. reelseats filled with epoxy instead of using arbors. cork veneer over tan colored EVA to emulate a solid cork grip. IMO, crap. Musky rod brought in to have full grip made into split grip. Here's what I found when i started tearing into the project. This nice looking chunk of cork was only tacked down in 3 places with epoxy. Oh, wait a minute, it's not even cork! If you're spending $500+ for a rod, something like this is unacceptable. This was just the hook keep. there were 8 or 9 guides, all with the same gappy wraps. 1 piece blank? Think again! Here's one from another supposedly popular maker. This is all on one rod. every guide looked like this and every winding check had the same gap. Maybe "football" is the look they were going for? These examples are why we build our own rods. Plus, it's fun having something that no one else has. The only time I've ever duplicated a rod is when the customer wanted 2 of the same thing.

I use Batson Dream Reamers. Well worth the money if you're going to do this a lot. Not worth it for a one time task. For a one time thing get a piece of 5/8" dowel, chuck it in a drill and sand it down to to size you want. Use some wood workers glue and glue on some grit.. Might do what you need, on the cheap.

For me it's to build a rod exactly how I want it. I can pick and choose the best blanks that each company makes and use the exact components that I like a rod to have. I can't buy a factory rod set up the way I like it, with the guides, reel seat, hook keeper, keeper placement, grip, grip placement, etc. exactly how I want. I can build one pretty easily though. Some people like to have something with custom colors and a custom design, that's more important than the performance aspect, or a combination of the two. For some people it's just something rewarding and creative to do that keeps you involved in fishing. It's cool to catch fish on a rod you built. I never found money savings to really play into it at all.

Dude: this Shane guy is out to get you. Lol

17 is probably all you need. I have fished 17 for many years and never needed anything more than that in any kind of cover.

I don't subscribe to the theory braided line is good for crank baits or buzz baits. A medium power rod and mono with a little stretch will hook hold more fish.

Got the rod for 20 bucks! Cant wait to try it out..

I get the impression that AdamsEye is trying his hardest to convince everyone that if they use brakes on a baitcaster, they suck at casting. They didn't learn the right way (his way) and they are making all kinds of mistakes (I didn't know I was making all of these mistakes) when I am out there casting lures for bass. There are millions of baitcasters in service all over the world and I don't know of any that do not come with brakes. The brakes are there to be used so use them and don't let a guy with 35 posts get into your head cause I can guarantee you that he won't get into mine.

The hippies of the 60's didn't rear their children and those children are now parents and don't have a clue how to teach proper behavior to their little devils. Well I guess that says it all. I think this wins it ( the most rediculous statement Ive read on a Bass Forum) Congratulations Sir.

If I'm reading this correctly, you lifted a three pound fish completely out of the water using just the rod itself? This would be like boat flipping/high sticking and is most likely the cause of the break. On another note, I don't ever store my rods with that much tension on them.

Yep, please spread the news... fishing is done for the year. Stay home, we'll take it from here.

If you're planning on eating a lot of fish rib bones, I'd encourage you to always dine with someone who is proficient at this . . . A-Jay

Aiden with a new personal best at night on a Rage Lobster!

How is the sensitivity of this line? I am used to fishing a worm in 10 ft of water with Flurocarbon Stren 100%. 15lb. Would this line be noticeablely less sensitive if I got 15lb Big Game?

If you didn't actually see the fish you lost, you can't be 100% certain it was a bass (but I'll bet it was). Studies suggest that a bass's memory spans about 20 minutes, so you can lose that same fish several times on the same lure. IMO, the setup that you described is perfect for catching the pond matriarch. Keep hammering that little pond and I'll bet you'll eventually land your quarry Roger

There's certainly a good possibility that you could. A friend of mine caught a 7# several years ago out of a farm pond. He relocated it to a newly built farm pond on the same property. That fish was caught again around two weeks later and then a third time a couple months after that. All on the same lure. Most likely she's already thrown it, especially if she was mouth hooked.

I agree Roger, the Scrounger has less stuff like a metal blade, snap ( I tie direct) to get snagged at the jig head, however the hook point is exposed. The flexible Scrounger collar on the long bill type does a decent job as a hook protector, but it's not weedless.Hope you and yours had s good 4th Holiday, the folks heading home leaving the water less congested so we all can get back to fishing in peace. Tom PS, deep water in our deep structure lakes during the summer-fall is about 35' to 40' or wherever the thermocline-life zone happens to be.

I'm not surprised...That's Captain Shane Roger

I would say if you like it and are happy with it its a winner..

You are young (probably not what you wanted to hear) But some good advice above.....buck up. You have a lot to be thankful for.

17 year, right C&G ? At this age, and for a few years coming, you have to learn to be a man. Sometimes, you have to fight thru the smoke & heat to get to the fire. Have you ever considered the Military? You want to serve something greater than yourself? Service to your country is a fine option for a young man.

Dang! Talk about being in the zone. What a great day. And for those that don't understand a frog hookset, this is a great example (except one lol) of the bite, pause and set. Every one was textbook. Shane, I'm comin down!

Senko Lover, I tried to share here last night but it has been so long since I posted that I forgot how I was going to try again this morning and Bam there it was posted by you. I am much obliged to you.

Pictures or it didn't happen... Haha

Wow. I have never heard of this. I would love to hook into one just for bragging rights.

I've only fished the lake 4 times (twice last spring, twice this spring), but I would say it's possible to take your sedan with kayaks. The road is rough in spots but not impassable. I went with a buddy in his pickup towing a Bass Tracker. We never had much luck but there are big ones in there. Good luck!!