Marty

I'm really not qualified to give boat buying advice. However, the one thing in your post that stood out was that you'd buy a used fiberglass if you don't get the new Tracker. How badly do you want fiberglass? If you bought the new Tracker would you be always second-guessing yourself for not getting a fiberglass? If the answer is yes, then you've answered your own question. Good luck whatever you do.

Never heard of them. Is this the one? http://www.abelreels.com/

If he's guilty of what he's been charged with, he doesn't deserve to be in a position of leading young men.

Marty - do you take that Large-size bag in your canoe? Yes I do. It's not a particularly large bag even though it's called size Large. It's the only tackle storage I use. I remove the shoulder straps when fishing in the canoe or my partner's bass boat and put the straps back on for shore fishing.

I'm not sure what the difference is between hopes and goals. I'd love to get a personal best, but they don't come around that often. I do hope to catch more and bigger bass than last year. That should be pretty easy since 2010 was a horrible year for me. I just hope I'm not saying the same thing a year from now. ;D

I own a Large in that series of bags which I've been very pleased with. It's a well-built bag but I can't claim that it's unique in its quality. I bought it because of the number of pockets and pocket configuration, which suited my wants and needs better than anything else I saw, but I already knew that Cabela's products were good. As an aside, when it was was fairly new a zipper on one of the side pockets broke. I took the bag to a tailor and he told me he could replace the zipper for $12. I then called Cabela's and she asked me if it could be fixed locally. I told her about the estimate and they immediately sent me a check for $12 based on my word; no proof, no receipt, no nothing required. But then Cabela's has always had outstanding customer service . I'd have bought a lot more from them over the years except they never had the selection of BPS.

As to spinning, #2 and #3 would be very good all-around, general purpose rods which can handle most techniques pretty well. At least they do for me.

Thanks John, those nicknames are ones I haven't heard. Now the verb makes sense.

It's possible they weren't migrating. They could have been overwintering geese moving from one place to another.

It's a proven fact that holding a fish horizontally by the jaw can break its jaw, so be sure to cradle the fish with your other hand or else hold it vertically. It's also been said that the latter can harm a big fish.

Every color has worked well at one time or another. I think color is much more important to us than the fish. I generally carry no more than two colors and sometimes I think that's one more than I need. The two colors have typically been black and pumpkinseed. I'd pick a color or two that gives you confidence and concentrate on locating the fish. Good luck.

"Holiday Chroming" Please explain the new-to-me verb "chroming."

I couldn't answer without knowing when you're going to use them and how. There are a lot of good brands. However, just to look at two extremes, you'd want totally different boots for a sedentary activity as opposed to an activity where you're constantly on the move. For example, in my view, you'd want very different boots for ice fishing than you'd want for hiking.

From whom and why? You don't have to apologize for using inexpensive equipment. I use Daiwa spinning reels for which I've paid less than $50. They hold line, they cast it, they retrieve it and have a smooth drag. They do everything I want them to do and never felt a need to go more expensive.

Great fish John.

Have you checked with your local bike shops that carry Cannondale bikes?

I've never fished from a kayak but just finished up my 4th season with a canoe. My circumstances are different from yours and in my case it had to be an ultralight canoe or no boat period. I have no truck and trailering was not something I wanted to do. My partner owns a 12' john boat with trolling motor which he uses either solo or with someone else. He tosses it in the back of his capped pickup truck. There's not many places he can't go that a canoe or kayak can. How weedy are your waters? The john boat has difficulty with heavy mats and I can paddle over them, albeit with difficulty if they're thick and slimy. I can't help with your decision but the more information you pick up the easier your decision will be (maybe). Good luck.

Post it on You Tube?

A good way to get weight onto the hook shank is to crimp on a rubber core sinker with the rubber pulled out. I've never seen any smaller than 1/16 but maybe there's a way to cut them down to smaller sizes.

Any fish that will hit artificials with take various Rapalas. But I think the same statement can be made about a lot of lures.

Trial and error. What bass will hit at any given time can't be predicted. Start with what seems right to you and proceed from there. I think you might be making this into more of an exact science than it actually is. Finally, I think you should be thinking in terms of lure characteristics, such as depth, action, suspend vs. non-suspend, etc., rather than Brand A vs. Brand B.

I don't use leaders. See thread on braid and spinning for other opinions. "Is a flouro or mono leader attached to braid necessary?" In my opinion, it's only necessary if you think it's necessary.

I loosen my spinning drags when I remember, but when I forget there don't seem to be any consequences.

I'm another who never uses a leader. I use 15#, either Power Pro or Fireline braid.

What width canoe do you use a kayak paddle with? My understanding is it works best on narrow canoes, such as solo models, not 36" wide like his Wenonah.