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1.5oz tungsten 4/0 Hack Attack Flipping hook Strike King Rage Menace just a little bit of chartreuse JJ's 7'7" H White Ice 65lb Hi Seas Braid 8.0:1 Lews Super Duty punchrd through heavy cheese mats (which I've never done before) wherever I could find them. It turned a local lake that notoriously stubborn into a big bass factory every trip this year. It worked in multiple lakes. This is now my grass mat go-to.

"Just buy it." -My wife commenting on my indecisiveness on whether or not to buy a small bass boat.

I didn't think the non-CHIRP can read CHIRP. Can it?

It's always been my dream to qualify for the Elites. Still is. But after this rule change, I realize it won't happen through the opens, at least for me. My new plan: begin a path to qualify for the FLW Tour. If I'm successful, it's much more affordable and the season is shorter. I'm a working man, and the tour is the "Working Mans' Tour".

I didn't think they could. Can they?

Say you have two units, a 73SV echomap and a 73SV CHIRP. Can you link the two together?

What sold me on the Crestliner is that is has a thicker aluminum hull, bigger livewell over the tracker (7 gallons bigger), and the 1600 has a rod locker that can fit 8' Rods (tracker doesn't have one). The Crestliner is actually cheaper for me too, by about $1,500. Easy choice for me. Good luck in your search.

@3crows, I believe Crestliner has what you want. I believe they're Wood free; at least the decks are. Small boat, small engine, built for bass fishing. Give them a look.

I live near a lake with Monster Bass and a 20hp limit. After researching and shopping around, I've settled on a Crestliner Storm 1600. Top end with a 20hp is around 20-22mph. It has 6g fuel capacity, but the livewell is 16 gallons, much bigger than similar boats of the same size. I can pick one up for around $11,000; a very doable price.

Baby Rage Craw.

I fish a small private lake here in PA that is the same situation. Ice-out through late June produces some ridiculous days. Come July, not so much. my lake is mostly 4' deep with one 6.5' area. There are stumps scattered around the center and I believe this is where the bass are during the hot months. Id suggest trying offshore in your lake if that's an option. There could be a hole, ditch, hump, or something else keeping the fish there. Good luck!

I use a Duckett Micro Magic Pro, 7' ML. Don't be afraid to get a Medium power, XF or just F action. A M isn't too stiff for a drop shot.

I have reached a point where I am confortable with skipping with a baitcaster. I skip frogs and jigs mostly, and skipping g that frog has won me some money. Although it's a system, I think that rod selection is very under considered when skipping. I like a rod with 20-30% tip. Loading up the tip on a roll cast is how I skip most of the time. If you want an idea of what I'm talking anout, pick up a 7'6" MH Duckett Micro Magic or a 7'4" H Duckett Triad and feel the give up tip: that's what I look for. this technique is 1000% worth learning and can make a difference in your everyday fishing.

I guess I was hoping for a "fishing vertical cover 101" course. Lol. For instance, when friends ask me about fishing shallow grass, I always say to fish the points and irregularities in the grass. Fishing standing timber, look for the timber around the channel or with deep water close by. That sort of thing. I don't know if the same rules apply to Deep bluffs.

I mean to ask how do smallmouths relate to vertical cover? Do they suspend off of it, lay against it? What features do I look for when fishing vertical cover? It's as deep as 40 ft in some places on this bluff:

I love near a primarily LM lake but it does have a small population of smallies. A local guy told me that he catches them around bluff walls near the main channel. I have no idea how to search for smallies in this type of area. Any tips?

I love the Strike King KVD Splash, and also their old Spit n' King. Dicks has the "Banchee" series for around $4. In my opinion, thats the best value popper.

I had a great year until July. I live in SEPA, but fish a few private lakes in the Poconos quite often. In July, the bass in the shallow weedy lakes got stubborn, so I spent more time fishing lakes down by me, whichnare bigger, deeper, and also full of grass. july was my best month in SEPA. Punching grass landed me a few 6's, 5's, and some 4's.

I've got a Superduty in 8:1. It's my punching reel and does a d**n fine job at it. My personal favorite model is the Tournament MB. IMO, best value in a reel: aluminum frame, dual cast control, variety of gear ratios. I own six or seven of them.

You don't need a Heavy or Extra heavy. I use a 7'3" MH Duckett White Ice for my frogging. I usually throw a frog under trees and docks or even open water. But it performs well even on mats. my point is, you can expand your search for a 6' or even 6'6" MH rod. Spoil it with 50lb braid and have at it, young man!

I uploaded the Lakevu HD maps last night and was playing around with my local lake, Lake Nockamixon in PA, and it worked. I saw the 1' contours and then discovered the depth shading. After setting up my shading, I went back out to Fishing Chart to look at my work and there were only 15' contours on that lake. Every 15' and zero shading. All the other lakes in the area have the 1' lines and shading except the ONE LAKE I wanted. What happened???

I still pitch the 4.5" Strike King Flippin' Tubes. My goto's are black/blue, watermelon red, green pumpkin, and most recently I found four original packs of the solid blue no flake. I like them around snaggy cover because there aren't any appendages to get tangled up in.

Gotcha. I wasn't referring to any one lake; more just anytime there's thick enough grass that you can't get a heavy bait through, that 2oz comes in handy.

Who?

I can't speak for the freshwater fishing there. But, my wife and I honeymooned at Hilton head April/May 2016. We hired Hilton Head Adventures to guide us for Redfish, Specks, and Triple Tail. We came across a few sharks and he tried to put us on them. If you could rent a boat of even being your own, it's easy fun to hunt reds. I'm a bass guy myself, but good Christ, I could fish for reds the rest of my life!