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Well the deal is done. now I just need to get it shipped out to CA. I owe someone on this site a beer. They posted a link to this boat several months back. The seller was not willing to lower his price. Patience paid off. I got a steep discount. Probably the last 2016 Z522 that was available with the 300 Racing Mercury motor and brand spanking new. In pretty much the exact color combination I was looking for.

Hey everyone, Looking for some help here, I had a co-worker/friend ask if I still did things with our veterans, he asked if there was any venue that I had that could get some use from some old fishing rods and reels. He brings me these, it's not so much the value that's important but more so the history/age of the equipment, I'm thinking that maybe some of the old dogs may enjoy this stuff or maybe even some of the younger generation that have an interest in this era of equipment. My idea is to give them to the foundation that I belong with to help raise some money and or bring a little joy for someone who appreciates something like this, these came from an old Marine that just wants to give what he could. Any info is welcome and thanks all !!!!

Worms...Same as every year, always was and always will be. Each year has its new and improved, gimmick or designer lure or a new presentation or style of fishing catches on. Some work great for some people, while some just work for others. 2016 is no different. Mike

I agree the Ned Rig is "IT" this year, so far, and probably everywhere. Personally, my "IT" lure is the same every year. The Senko

The Whopper Plopper. It's been getting a lot of chatter on forums but really got a boost when Chris Lane fished it on BassMaster Live.

Just a short story I thought was neat. Was smallmouth fishing up north yesterday evening with my son and we saw a bunch of seagulls hovering and picking at the water. It was windy blowing 25+ so we couldn't tell if bait was surfacing or something else. This went on for a good half hour. We got close enough I started throwing a crank bait over where they were but got nothing. Next thing you know a bald eagle swoops down and grabs a big fish out of the water where the gulls were at. Presumably, the fish was dead and was too large for the gulls to pick up. Chaos ensues. There was a dozen gulls attacking the bald eagle. The eagle flew back and forth between land and water trying to shag the gulls but they were relentless. After about 15 minutes or so the eagle goes to land in a tree and drops the fish and it falls in someone's yard who just happened to be outside. A young kid and his mom. I know they heard the fish fall from the sky thru the branches because they went towards the tree that the eagle tried to land in. The gulls kept screwing with the eagle until they realized the fish was gone, then they went back to minding their own business. We trolled down the bank a little further and now the eagle was back being chased by 2 small black birds, not sure what he did to tick them off. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the eagle even though he was the instigator. Something else we thought was neat was how the eagle just glided thru the air during the time he was not being attacked. The seagulls were struggling and constantly flapping their wings while the eagle just seemed to glide using very little energy. He was using the wind to his advantage rather than fighting against it like the gulls. Not sure if it was just due to the sheer size of the eagle or he was working smart and not hard. Guess I'm just so used to seeing gulls geese and cormorants(I hate cormorants) that seeing such a majestic bird is a breath of fresh air.

Last Friday my wife & I took a day to hang out, relax & enjoy something we both love & respect. Nature's beauty. We headed to one of our favorite lakes within a National Forest. Back in the Old Town, human power only, fishing is allowed in only certain areas of the lake due to it being nationally protected Eagle & Loon Sanctuary & nesting grounds. It is catch & release only, no live bait, carry in, and carry out. We came across a ball of this year’s largemouth fry (group of baby fish) Lynn managed to get a close up video. She lowered the camera underwater and was amazed at the fry swimming circles around her hand & many of the fry swimming right towards the camera. Due to the high sun, you can really see how iridescent and nearly see through they are at that age. Extremely beautiful. Such a gift. A-Jay

I needed a bass fix, so I headed to my neighbor's pond for a couple hours, since the moon was out and I could see pretty well. Tied on a Jackall Pompadour and went to work. I ended up landing 4 bass, all of them under 2lbs but at night it doesn't take a big one to get the blood pumping. What will get the blood pumping is when a beaver slaps his tail a few feet from your lure and your brain tells you it's the craziest topwater strike of all time before you realize what is going on. As A Jay has said in some of his recent posts about night fishing, you lose most of your vision so every other sense is incredibly heightened, making for a really neat experience.

So......you bought this reel. In a very short period of time you have A.) Dropped it in the water. B.) Lost the tension control knob. C.) Taken it apart and struggled to put it back together....apparently not believing the schematics and, I'm assuming, NOT watched any good videos showing you how to do it. My advice? Zebco

Went out to Lake Beulah on Sunday. Fished for 6 hours and we got 7 fish. I got (2) 15"ers and my wife got a 14",15", (2) 16" and a 17-3/4" largemouth. She had a good day. Fishing was very tough. Pic of her 17-3/4" bass.

Beavers get me every time. Tons of them on the Kansas River. They always seem to do it right as I'm dozing off when the bite is slow and I almost fall out of my chair because of it.

Weeds and boat docks are my specialty. Good places to start are, and what I look for when fishing weeds are: #1 Any kind of change in the weed bed....like for instance, if you have a long straight weed line, and then it turns in or out, makes a point, tapers off, etc... Good bet there will be fish there #2 Holes..................a hole in the grass means something on the bottom is different...........rocks,wood, whatever............I like the smaller holes, they seem to not get hit by everyone and there brother like large obvious ones do #3 Mixtures of weeds......any time (at least on my lakes) where two different types of grass meet, there will be fish, as often it's a change in bottom composition. #4 Milfoil...............Milfoil................Milfoil................and did I say Milfoil. It trumps all other weeds. If there is Milfoil in this lake bass will be near it, or in it............most of the time they will prefer it to ANY other weed. #5 Bait............you can fish acres of fishless water, because there is no food in the grass for the bass. Look for bluegills, and other panfish,and you will have found bass. #6 close to deeper water....grass that is close to deeper water is often the best grass to get a hog out of. Esp if there is something in the area close by outside the grass, like a rock pile, wood, sunken man made crap, etc...

Operator error, you have a good reel, learn how to use it. Do you plan to tell the buyer it's doesn' work? Tom

Big one for the day. Male, if i had to guess it was over 4lbs. Rest were all in the 1lb range. All caught on offshore structure. Strike king bonsai shad and swimjigs. We fished north of sturgeon bay today. Going to launch in Sturgeon Bay tomorrow.

After Christmas and Easter, this is my favourite day. I didn't get much sleep last night, and found myself awake at 2:00AM after only about 4 hours of sleep; it's amazing what a bit of adrenaline can do to a person... The Kawartha Lakes chain is located in central southern Ontario and is home to a decent population of bass which sees a lot of both tournament and weekend warrior action given its close proximity to Toronto. With its mid June opener for bass, the spawn is protected and thus ensures that future generations will be able to grow in this fertile watershed. I went to Sturgeon Lake like I do every opener, arriving at my first spot around 5:15AM. Was lucky enough get a few on a Skitter Pop in a frog pattern but nothing of any real size. I did manage to raise one on a bone w/ a chartreuse head patterned Storm Rattlin' Chug Bug but it just wouldn't commit. The Chug Bug also coaxed a few other fish into hitting at some docks but nothing of any size. I drove back through Bobcaygeon with the intent on fishing the faster water in the centre of town but the water was so low I didn't bother getting my gear out of the car. I then continued along the south shore of Sturgeon, stopping at a couple of spots and successfully caught a few more fish on the Chug Bug and Skitter Pop. While it was fun catching numbers of fish, I really wanted to get something over 2lbs so I decided to put on a lure that worked well for me in the past; a Heddon Pop'n Image in the Gizzard Shad colour. I managed to raise a few more fish and had the giant I was looking for follow the lure into about 6" of water but once again it just wouldn't commit to the bait. All in all was a fun day to be out and about and I'm looking forward to next weekend when I get the chance to fish at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in the Bay of Quinte area and take in the Quinte International Air Show as well. Attached is a picture of the average sized fish I managed to catch today. In total I caught 17 bass but with no real size to them. Hope that everyone else made the most of their day!

Hi there. I'm new to the forum and fishing. I'm hooked though and really enjoy getting out and shore casting. lots to learn, but I'm having fun doingit

When my wife asked me what I wanted for Father's Day, I was serious when I told her I wanted nothing. I really have nothing to want, but I knew that answer wouldn't work. A few people on here know that my wife is pregnant with our second child. Well when our son, Lake, climbed into my lap with a bag I wasn't really sure what to expect. He insisted on helping me, and proceeded in pulling out of the bag; a blue wiggle wart, a pack of blue bug Rage craws, some blue raspberry saltwater taffy, some blue raspberry Mike & Ike's, a cool blue Gatorade. I'm sure most of you probably get why everything was blue, I sometimes need a little more than just hints. Luckily, my wife had also found a poem and, with a little tweaking, wrote it out just right to let me know that sometime around December 26th, I'm going to be the daddy to another little boy! We were both kind of hoping for a girl, but girls are very few and far between in my family for whatever reason, so we knew the odds weren't good there. Now we have to start thinking up another name for Lake's new baby brother. On the plus side, Lake was born December 16th, so a lot of cloths and toys can get reused this time around

First, I want to give a shout out to Power Tackle for the rods they make. I just bought their football jig rod for C-rigs and big footballs and it's an absolutely ridiculous rod. I compared it side by side with my NRX 894 and it wasn't even close, Power Tackle by a mile. Caught two smallies right at 3lbs on an S-waver and a spawned out largie dragging a lizard that was teetering between 3.9 and 4. I just hit those smallies in a huge school and some bank fisherman showed up right on the point, put down their lawn chairs and have me the "you can leave now" look. You know, even though I had been there twenty minutes before them, but I digress. The highlight of the trip was hooking an 8" smallie on a 10XD. The crank bait was still wobbling at full strength with this little fish just getting the life shaken out of it. It was hilarious.

Bought this about a month ago and used it a couple times and again this evening. The body is soft and compresses better than other name brand frogs. Also the upturned hooks makes a world of difference. No need to take pliers to the hooks to bend them up, it's already done for you. The legs kick out nicely, such a nice change from other frogs legs. I did noticed a few times the legs gets crossed, but wiggle your rod and the legs come un-crossed. Also noticed that this frog does not take in water. After quite a few casts, I tried pressing the frog to release water, just small dribbles came out instead. So this frog will stay on top and not go submarine. I've read that LH frogs, the legs are it's weak point. Well, I have to say I caught my first bass on the popping frog and the legs held up well, both legs still on the popping frog. I don't know how well the legs will fair after a few more bass, but judging from the pic of the quality bass I caught this evening and if the legs eventually rip off...I got my money's worth. The sound the popping frog makes is not like a Rebel Pop R "bloop", it has it's own popping sound. It's good enough to catch a bass' attention that there is something on top of the water and frog legs silhouetted during a full moon night. It doesn't do walk the dog, but a single pop or skitter it like a frog swimming by the bank, you'll get a bass to notice it. It's been a few years since I've used a frog and caught a bass, tonight I caught a quality bass on the LH Popping Frog. Wait for the popping frog go on sale, then it's a good deal. I'm guessing this bass is under 7lbs, didn't have a scale but I can tell you it sure fought tough and the frog was all the way down its mouth, both hooks in. The body compressed perfectly and the upturned hooks did the rest. Such a blast seeing from 50' away a huge splash where I last popped the frog and after a second, setting the hook and feeling the rod getting way bent. Now I know what I've been missing all these years. Also have the new Daiwa Tatula CT reel, that reel with 30lb braid made a great debut with this bass. Casts far and the T-wing works. No grooving issue. Only issue is the cast control knob is a bit tight that you have to make sure that you have it turned to where you need it to be. And that rod is my trusty 6'7" Carrot Stix. I know those rods were either loved or hated, I've not had any issues with mine and it handled that bass great.

So I took you guys' advice and started looking for a separate rod/reel rather than strictly a combo. I originally tried to order an Abu Silver Max combo but it turned out to be a one piece rod and I need two. Today I picked up a Lew's Carbon Fire baitcaster on sale for $49. Cheapest regular price was $80 so I figured that was a good deal. Can't wait to hit the water this weekend!

Best of 15 this morning went 19", but a somewhat "trim" 3.65lb. This is one of two I caught shallow early on a black/black cavitron, before switching to a finesse worm on a shaky head to probe a steep, weedy dropoff ...and for a little while it was a fish on almost every cast. Mostly dinks, but 2 others about 16".

My beaver story. Many years ago a friend and I snuck onto this lake way out in the woods. This place was some kinda spooky. It was some kinda sun worshipping cult place back in the 1940s. They had little huts built around the lake with what looks like sacrifice alters here and there. The place was long since abandoned and overgrown with weeds. It was a moonless night and we were so scared we could hardly fish. That's when BAM! right next to the boat! I've never paddled so fast in my life! That beaver scared us right off the lake, never to return...

I've been driving an hour north of my house to fish the mosquito lagoon lately because of the huge fish kill we had in march in the Banana River (actually ended up being the biggest fish kill recorded in north american history).. The banana river no motor zone has been my go to area since I was a kid and it killed me among many to watch it get hit so hard.. I have been avoiding it and trying to let it recover and not add to the pressure that the thousands of other anglers are already putting on it.. Yesterday morning I decided it was time to check it out.. Glad I did.. Not only is it full of life but the water is cleaning up very nicely.. I managed to pull something off yesterday that I have been trying to accomplish for years which is the 5 species slam of a redfish, spotted seatrout, black drum, snook, and tarpon.. I have came close many times but have never been able to seal the deal on this elusive slam.. Well, yesterday the fish gods smiled on me and not only did I accomplish it, but I also got two black drum and a trout on fly.. Probably not a big deal to most but I am a complete beginner on fly so basically any fish on the whip for me is a d**n good one.. I am thrilled to see my home waters begin to perk back up... The banana river is not out of the woods by any stretch when it comes to its ecological state, but it is on the right path thankfully.. I was pretty stoked when I landed that snook and sealed the deal.. It's pretty rare to get all 5 species in a day, the banana river really produced yesterday.. Also noticed as I was paddling that I was spooking up shrimp everywhere.. Got out and threw the net out of curiousity and got a couple dozen in one throw.. Threw it about 4 or 5 more times and came away with a half gallon of nice size shrimp after I culled the little ones out so they could go back and reproduce.. I can't recall ever seeing the shrimp that thick in the no motor zone so hopefully that is a sign of things to come for the banana river..

i see the live target floating bluegill everywhere.

REVS68MXF-SBAll purpose bass/Freshwater 6'8" 6-14 3/16-1/2 0.455 4.5 X-Fast 1.92 M $52.0 Rainshadow Revelation from GetBitOutdoors.com Everyone I have heard about who has built Revelation has been pleased. Another good option would be the Amtak Bushido series, find one that best meets your power needs in a fast or Xfast action. Again, very good blanks at an attractive price.

From the forum rules; I have a question about the Kicktail, Banjo Minnow, Doug Hannon Snake, Walking Worm lures, or the North American Fishing clubDo a search on the name. There's plenty of posts about it, which will answer your question. LOCKDOWN!!

Upper Niagara River last Friday. Almost impossible to take a selfie with a muskie. ?

The small birds are typically harassing the larger predator-type birds away from their nests. Last time I was out I saw a hawk carry off a baby red-winged blackbird after a failed misdirection attempt. More often than not, though, the small birds are successful. At least in my observations.

Just as long as you steer clear of the jorts I think you're ok.

Not much you NEED to do with a Calcutta 200B. A drag upgrade is good bang-for-the-buck. You could upgrade the spool bearings and super-tune if you want to spend the bucks. Handles? Lots of them will fit. You might want to install a longer handle if you think you need the additional leverage. The Hawgtech handle works well and looks good on Calcuttas (see photo). If you decide to super-tune and/or upgrade bearings, our board sponsor Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle could handle that for you. Have fun - Calcuttas are nice reels...

As much as I fish, there are still times the fish confuse me. We've had some unusual weather here lately. Lots of rain has fallen, and there was a good chance of rain Monday through Wednesday this week. Monday I ended up not fishing because of it, but then the rain never came. I was bummed and itching to go, so yesterday when I looked at the radar and saw I had a few hours, I hooked the boat up as soon as I got home from work. It was a gorgeous day, completely overcast, a slight breeze, and storms moving it. I was thinking it was going to be lights out, and in a way I guess it was....the fish were fickle because the lights where out? haha. The lake I chose to fish has some large pad flats that I've caught quite a few fish out of. With the front coming in, you would think they'd be aggressive and with the lower light, there would be a movement out towards the edge of the pads. That was not the case yesterday. I couldn't get anything going on the edges, and had a few blowups on a frog but couldn't connect. Since they were at least slightly interested in the frog, I figured I'd give it a little longer before abandoning that pattern and trying something else. I was burning my frog back to the boat to make another cast when I noticed the signature bluegill boils come from a clump of pads as my frog came by and spooked them. I clipped my frog off and tied on a bluegill colored one and while I was doing so saw something pretty big roll a distance away. I finished tying it up, and zipped over to where I saw the roll. I must have thrown 15-20 casts in that area before the water under my frog erupted. I finally got one to stick, and it follows my theory that the bigger fish don't miss a frog nearly as often. I managed to wrestle her out of the pads and I finally got a look at her when she got in the open water an dang did she ever look big in that clear water! When I managed to get her in the boat, I found out my eyes weren't lying. Just a smidge over 20 inches and tipped the scales at 4lbs 12 oz. Man what a rush it was! I decided to work the area a little more and within 5 casts I was hooked up again. This time it was a northern that I was battling through the slop, but it was a good one. I got a great look at it boat side before it pulled off and it would have been pushing 30 inches. I continued to work the area and this time it took about 5 minutes, but there was a "v" coming towards my frog. It turns out that v was made by another northern, but this one I got in the boat and she measured up at 33 inches. I only caught one other little dink last night flipping a rock bar with grass on top. Admittedly, I probably spent a little too much time frogging, but I was getting some action I just couldn't connect. I still don't know why they weren't more aggressive though. Even the one I caught flipping just kind of picked it up. Oh well I guess I landed the ones that mattered and because of that it was still a good evening on the water!

Congratulations to you Both ~ Best of Luck picking his name ~ How about one of these ? Berkley, Kalin, Livingston, Norman, Stanley, McCoy, Toray, Duncan, Huk, and finally Lowrance. A-Jay

Ned rig, seems to me.

So you got Lake already. How about Reservoir?

To throw 1/32oz jigs, you're talking an ultralight blank. Not at all what I would recommend for a dropshot rod. Seems to me you need two different rods. But, take a look at Rainshadow Immortal blanks. Their popping blanks, and their walleye blanks. The IMMSW72MLTC is one of my favorite blanks. I've built two for myself, one spinning, and one casting. And I've built three for other guys. I use the spinning rod for trout, and the casting version for BFS bass fishing. Neither species seems to care that Batson calls this a walleye blank.

Tdz 103 with red SV 1012 spool, T3 1016 cast control cap, 100 mm Steez handle, and black Zillion Type R drag star I took off this SV103. SV103 with Steez drag star and green trim pieces. My current 2 favorite reels.

Big one in the pic went about 3+.Tough bite today. Only 1 spot held more than one fish. It had 2 lol. Otherwise it was one here one there with long breaks in berween bites. Did a lot of moving around today. Fished in the ship canal late morning to get out of the wind. Picked up some small largemouth, 2 juvenile pike and a juvenile musky. Also found some panfish which helped break the boredom. Drove up to sister bay in the afternoon and launched there to hit the spots we were at yesterday but was too difficult to fish because of the wind. Had to move close to shore to dosge the wind. Picked up a few more and called it a day.

New Phoenix 919 ProXp with a Mercury 225 Pro XS

Can you help me tie a UNi-Knot ? A-Jay

I finally get to post a pic in this thread:

A couple shots from the recent fishing/camping trip. Great fishing all weekend. Top-water bite was ON FIRE! Got these guys along with 99% of the bass on a Rapala Skitter Walk. Pictures of the best fish are on a camera which now resides at the bottom of the lake Most fish were spawned out and skinny, but wanted that Skitter Walk!

Just picked up my 2015 BassCat Caracal Memorial Day weekend. Not new, but new to me!

Neat story! Funny how small birds always hate big ones. I've seen all manner of large birds being harassed.

I have a client fishing Mexican big bass lakes with that blank. He loves it. I'd like to see a lighter power in that line.

I see this spread around as gospel in a lot of places, but the fact is this just isn't correct. Here is a link from the horse's mouth, CA Gov. A google search will turn up a lot more info correcting the myth of the 2 Stroke ban. http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Environmental/TwoStroke/ There are some bans of carbourated 2 stroke, which nobody makes anymore ( and these bans are on PWCs not boats), having moved to DFI Engines, which match or exceed 4 stroke emissions. Just took delivery of my Tracker 190Tx with a new 2stroke 115 Optimax Pro XS on it.

Weightless Trick Worm. Frog.

Depending how thick or if it's lilies or hydrilla or both. Little boot tail swimbait spinnerbait, texas rigs, frogs. Fish the edges of weeds first.

Because it's fun to and you can still glean useful things from people not fishing the exact body of water you are. In my opinion a Florida lake is closer to what I fish than a lot of other bodies of water in this country. Catt you're down there in Louisiana, certainly you've got some experience in tidal waters as well as lakes

Figure out how to send me a personal message on this forum. Then send me your name and address. Then I will send you an old one that I took off a 14 ft aluminum. How's that for staying in a budget?