VolFan

Drive up the Little Tennessee arm of Tellico/Ft Loudon to Chilhowee res. This is southwest of Knoxville. I'd go anywhere through there if you're looking for a nice house, and fishing for everything from largemouth to smallmouth to walleye to trout to lake trout. Pretty country and one of my favorite areas. Much better bass fishing in Tellico/ Ft Loudon and you're still close to Watts Barr.

There's enough clutter as it is. Please no.

Ugly fish need love too Kent.

IMO the best thing you can do is take a few boats out and try to flip them. Fall in. Do everything you can to make the boat dump you in the water. Do that and you'll get better feel for what you can and can't do in some of these boats, especially fishing moves. They're very stable, but they're not like fishing from a dock. But, falling out of one is a far sight from flipping one.

I had heard that about them when I lived in TN. I used to catch them on a sadly regular basis fishing for stripers and bass below Ft Loudon dam. Never tried eating one, so I guess I can't say one way or the other there. They do have very strong mouths and can crush crank baits and trebles like they're eggs.

That's a freshwater drum if I'm not mistaken. Great fight, not particularly useful.

Nailed it. I do however, have one of DVTs rods, and it is worth every penny.

That's fab-o! No, the green and orange is somehow even more offensive.

The actual question was to J Francho, but all advice is appreciated. We're getting a 12' Frontier and a Pursuit. Fish tandem from the Frontier when my son wants to go, and have the pursuit for longer trips myself or if both the wife and son want to go. Likely getting a utility trailer from Harbor Freight, and maybe ladder racks so that I can put the boats Los/high, and have room for bikes or whatnot on vacation.

Even though this person is horribly misguided on their choice of college, you do beautiful work.

What would I have to do to get you to post a pic of your trailer set-up? Settled on the Nucanoes, still working out the trailer...

I love this thread. What kind of bass are these in your creek? Ozark? They don't appear to be largemouths

It's the 30-06 of line. Available everywhere,inexpensive and does everything competently but doesn't really excel at anything.

Do you put any other framing, etc. on them? I'm going to buy two NuCanoes and most likely one of those trailers... Do you just ratchet strap them down?

If you're set on a 400 round reel, you could even do a Shimano Cardiff in the 400 size for less than a Benjamin, and if it doesn't work you can sell it for a minimal loss or keep it and get something for your smaller bait range. Great reel, and it responds well to tuning when needed.

Be careful with going to max rating on most rods. Usually the "sweet spot" is right around the middle of the range. The rod might be rated for that range, but I would gear the reel to what you feel like you'll fish the most. You can certainly fish the lighter Baits on a 400 sized reel, but what line you choose may be a more determining factor. If you spool with 25 or even 30 lb test for the larger baits, you'll kill a lot of action on baits(especially glides) lower in the weight spectrum.

You'd be hard pressed to get better than a Curado 300 D or E regardless for General swimbait usage. What type and size baits are you going to throw? I use a 200 DHSV for a lot of sub 3 ounce baits, but there's a big difference in casting a 7 inch Slammer and a 7 inch Punker. I've never felt the need to go to a 400 size however. Unless you're fishing in the 6 plus ounce range, 20 lb test mono or copolymer has always been my all around line, and you just don't need a 400 size to hold a functional amount of it.

I primarily use car doors and ceiling fans to shorten mine from the other end.

At Rocky Mointain Arsenal in Denver I was fishing a sluggo for pike and/or bass. I had a pike take a swipe at it and me being me, Bill Danced the hook set. Game on! That pike fought like a bluegill, turning sideways and coming in like a 2x4. Only when I got it to the bank did I notice that the pike missed the hook entirely, and had been lassoed with my braid catching in the bend of the hook, slicing the sluggo in half. I remarked at how lucky I was...my rod broke on the next cast.

You ever do that spinning reel/line slap video?

Man that thing's disgusting! And so is the snot rocket!

Can you do pics or a video of it?

Assuming the reel is installed correctly, some sort of force would cause the line to hit the rod. Centrifugal force makes the most sense if he's reeling line with no lure attached, especially the higher lb test mono he says he's using. The other real option is gravity, if he has everything upside down.

Is the reel above or below the rod?

LL Bean has some good vests that are pretty comfortable, and you still need their large pockets for your wallet. If you're looking cheap, a auto-inflate probably isn't your best bet. Buy whatever you'll wear; it's a waste if you don't.