BrianSnat

I'm the opposite. I own 17 freshwater rods (20 including fly fishing) and my boat's rod rack holds 8. I usually fill all 8 slots and sometmes bring one or two more. I have a HUGE tackle box with a few of nearly every type of lure. I had to get a second tackle box for just pastics. Yes, I'm a lure hound. Descriptions of "irresistable action" make the lure irresistable more to me than to the fish. In reality, I use maybe 15-20 of those lures consistently. The only time I dig deeper is when the fish are not biting on my usuals. However I find that if they aren't hitting on my usuals, they won't hit anything I throw at them. I think the times that you will find the one "golden" lure that will work when nothing else does are incredibly rare. I do have a small, pared down tacklebox of "essentials" that I use when shore fishing, fish from my canoe or bring camping, and limit myself to 2 or 3 rods. Times when it would be impractical to bring the big box and a quiver of rods.

Anything that will get you off the bank and out on the water will be a huge plus to your fishing. Personally I like canoes over kayks for fishing and I prefer a regular boat over both. Even a small jon boat, float tube or an inflatable dingy would open up so much more for you.

OK, what the heck is a "steer stick" boat? I've been around boats all of my life and never heard the term.

They don't make stock brackets for roller bunks? The bunk mounts on my trailer are all bolted in.I would hope I could find a bracket that I can simply bolt to the trailer frame. I don't have a huge boat. It is only 15 ft but it is old, thick gauge aluminum and the 3/4 inch marine plywood floor adds a lot of weight. I had a newer aluminum boat of the same size that I could take off the trailer by myself. This boat is pretty heavy for its size.

I have a 1992 Yamaha tiller motor that works great. I was concerend because I hadn't used it since last July and it sat on the back of my boat all winter through single digit temps at some points. In my old house I would bring it indoors in the winter. That is not an option where I live now. Though specs say it should be a 1:100 mix, I had two gallons of last years leftover gas with a 1:40 mix from my lawnmower and used it. The motor started with one pull and ran great. As long as these motors were regularly used and treated properly, they can last a long time. I regularly see motors being sold on Craiglist that date to the 70's, where the selller says they run great. I have no reason to doubt them. Beware when someone says "It ran great 5 years ago" but hasn't been used since. My dad gave me an old Force motor with literally no more than 3 hours on it, but it sat in his garage for 15 years. It cost me almost $400 to get it running again. When looking at older motors, nevermid the hours. Was it used regularly, treated well and if used in salt water was it thorougly flushed after each use? Considering how much new motors cost, a well cared for and regularly used old motor can be a bargain. But always test any used motor before buying. Not by watching it run in a barrel of water, but on a boat.

It is definitely a matter of local regulations and/or the rules of the lake. I lived on a lake that was electric only and didn't allow a gas motor on the boat at all. I would have to take the motor off every time I fished there. I bought a cart for the motor that made it relatively easy to do so. I regularly fish on electric only lakes and reservoirs here in NJ where I see bass boats with monster motors on the back. As long as they aren't being used it is OK. On the limited horsepower lakes and reservoirs around here (usually under 10 hp) a lot of boaters have a dual setup with a 9.9 on the back along with the big motor. In many cases they are hooked up so you can operate either from the console. I've seen boats as long as 28 ft on these limited HP lakes using just the 9.9. One of my fishing buddies has 21 ft Lund with a 250 HP motor and a 9.9, with electric lifts for both motors. They are connected so that they both can be steered from the console and it only takes a few button pushes to switch motors. That is OK here. It might not be OK where you are.

For those of you who trailer boats, how do you get the boat off to do trailer repairs and upgrades? No way I can do it in my backyard. I'd need at least 4 strong men to lift the boat off. I thought about bringing it to a ramp somewhere where I can unload the boat then work on it, but I'm not sure what the various parks systems would think about me bringing all of my tools to work on the trailer in the parking lot. I need to replace the bow roller and the brackets holding the bunks are starting to rust. While replacing those brackets I'd like to switch to roller bunks, but how to go about it?

There is nothing evil or even slightly cheesy about trolling for bass. It is simply a different method. Personally I rarely have luck trolling for bass outside early spring, before they move into the shallows to spawn and the dog days of August when they move a bit deeper.

That's a pretty old glass hull. I would definitely check that out thoroughly

9 to 10 feet is pretty short. It will be slower than a herd of turtles in peanut butter and won't track well. Go longer if you can at all. 12 feet at least. An extra foot or two can make a huge difference in speed and tracking ability. Definitely stick with Sit on Top (SOT) models. A 9-10 foot sit inside kayak (SINK) usually doesn't have flotation bulkeads, so should you dump in the middle of the lake you ain't getting back inside. Depending on the temp of the water that can be life threatening.

I use the Alberto for floro to braid and the nail knot for fly leader to flyline.

I was a big Ugly Stick fan for years. They were basically all I fished - until I tried a good rod. It took me about a year to sell all of my Ugly Sticks and replace them with better rods. I don't have experience with the US Elite other than playing around with them in stores. I didn't like the feel. I have no experience at all with the Cabelas Tourney Trail, but I would jump on rod with and IM8 blank in that price range.

I never saw the point of these. At over 200 lbs they are realistically too heavy to car top, so you need a trailer. Also the cheapest I've seen them new is around $1,600 and they are sometimes over $2,000. Once outfitting it with motor, fishfinder, battery and a trailer (if you need to transport it), you are well over $2k and probably nearing $3K with the trailer. For around 2K you can get a used 14-16 ft aluminum V hull or jonboat, usually with a 9.9 to 25 hp motor, an electric trolling motor, battery, swivel seats and trailer. Often things such as fishfinders, anchors, rod holders/racks, and oars are included (My used 14 ft V hull included all of the above for $2K). You'll have a lot more room for two people (12 ft is kind of short for two), and possibly a third, and a boat that is more stable, safer and can handle waves better. Also plastic degrades in sunlight. If you can store your Sun Dolphin indoors that helps. If you need to store it outdoors you may only get 5-10 years out of it before it starts to fall apart. An aluminum boat can last decades. I guess if you can find a used one for $500 or so and have room issues and are only using it on small waters, the Sun Dolphin might be OK, but even a 12 ft jonboat would be more versatile.

I agree with the others that aluminum will be more forgiving and easier to maintain. There is also the weight factor which comes into play if you are fishing solo a lot. It's easier to handle a lighter aluminum boat around the dock and launch. And if you go with a used aluminum in the 9k to 12k range, that leaves you plenty of money for nifty upgrades such as a GPS guided electric motor, a high end fish finder, Talon anchors, etc. Things that can actually help you catch more fish.

Respool with Power Pro or another good braided line. If you don't have the owner's manual you can probably find it online. Lube it per the specifications with a reel lube such as Quantum Hot Sauce or Reel Butter. If that is too much for you take it to a local tackle shop that works on reels and they wll lube it for you. If you don't know how the previous owner took care of the reel, definitely lube it,whether you do it or you get t done at at a tackle shop.

Sheesh, one of those cost almost as much as my boat and motor. I would hope at that price mounting brackets come with the anchor.

I was going to suggest going with a 14-16 ft V hull aluminum with a 15 -25 hp for about $2 or $3K to run around on, but once you said you had 20K to spend, that changes things. Actually you can get a pretty good used bass boat for half that, but it is your money and you can get a nice new boat for 20K. Good luck to you whatever you decide. The bass don't care about what kind of boat you have.

I have a Toyota Rav4 and a 14 ft aluminum V hull with a 9.9 Yamaha on the back. It's a pretty heavy boat for its size, probably thanks to the marine plywood floor a previous owner installed. It's pretty easy to launch. I make sure I have everything ready to go away from the ramp so when I launch it is a quick process. The actual process is little differen than what I see most people do. The only time I have trouble is on particularly shallow ramps where I may have to push the boat off the trailer. It's pretty heavy as I mentioned.

6 ft is on the short side. If you have to deal with a lot of overhanging branches, then it can be a wise choice. But a 6' 6 or 7 ft rod would be a far better choice if shoreline branches are not an issue. When fishing from shore, distance can be an asset and you will get a good deal more distance with a longer rod.

The reel is fine. I would go 7 ft for the rod though. I have a lot of 6' 6" rods and chose the size specifically because they fit in my hallway rod rack. They worked great for me for many years. But once I move into a place where I could use a ceiling rack where length wasn't an issue, I started buying 7 and 7'2" rods. That extra 6 inches or so makes a world of difference.

I love my Lew's Tournament MB. Great reel for the money. I still prefer the Curado out of all my baitcasting reels. Every once in a while I get sloppy with my cast and the Curado is the least likely of all of my reels to get a birdsnest when I get a little sloppy. But the Curado is usually about 50 bucks more than the Lews MB

Tackle and Field in Wanaque has Shimano Crucials, don't know about Zodias, and they also carry G Loomis Rods. Davis Sports in Soataburg NY has a pretty full line of Shimano rods and other higher end brands. I didn't pay much attention to the brands becase they were out of my price wheelhouse.

I have a Shimano Curado and a Diawa Tatula with the T wing. The T wing doesn't impress me. In fact for some reason it likes to catch my leader knot if I'm running a long leader. I never had that problem with the Curado. It is also very noisy when casting. It's a good reel, don't get me wrong, but I'll take the Curado over it any day.

I prefer graphite and for crankbaits, a moderate taper rod.

Of the ones on your list I own the Curado, Speed Spool LFS, MB and Tatula. They are all good, but here is how I would rank them: 1. Shimano Curado 2. Lew's Tournament MB 3. Diawa Tatula 4. Lew's Speed Spool LFS