Nice_Bass

check area craig lists and ebay for individual items you had on the boat, electronics, etc. and see if you can turn up something that way...most likely you could find those prior to finding the whole rig.

I keep netting(or landing...as no net would have worked) fish for this guy when we are bass fishing, and have lost two around the same size in as many years. I did bump up to 16# line recently though from 12# lol. Last time I had one on we got it on video and surface twice. 35 minutes later we also got it on video of the line breaking.

i have rods of all brands and some glx of loomis. I also have one gl2 crankbait rod and I find it an incredible graphite rod. not the same one you are looking at, but I am very happy with gl2 and most likely is my new price point on rods as I don't see much value higer than that.

3:16 no bull frog for me as well. Most fun lure I have ever fished.

I don't think they make it anymore apparently and I do have some at home...but could have also been a Berkely gulp crawfish.

Hogy matches a bit of what you described....but a bit bigger... http://shop.hogylures.com/prodpagelobster.htm

big game #12 will work just fine. I use other lines (not braid) but only because I really like a certain brand fluro now. anyway, my PB musky came in on #12 big game no leader. Stretch in my opinion is a bit of a stretch as well and while there is some- certainly more a factor depending on your terminal tackle, rod, amount of line out, wind, temperature, etc., etc.

"I am sure it was just a peckerwood" "I will just sit down and drink a beer I guess" I also hand my rod to whoever in the boat and let them know I don't need it anymore, and will just work the trolling motor if it was a good fish.

I fought using the rig as well- and only use a 2 leader rig with a willow leaf blade in middle and a blade each on each of the leaders. Even with this down sized rig, I use upsized berkely flatback shads though. The strikes on the rig are incredible, and caused me to put down my other rods last fall as it was a bit addicting- and on striper/wiper lakes an adrenalin rush.

Larry- may want to talk to Scott above lol!! Anyhow- a bit of that depends on your boat and the type of fishing you want to do- there are some lakes better for numbers or multi-species and some that are some of the best big bass fisheries in the state (in fact, most of the lakes you named included.) If you are coming for an entire weekend, then you actually could fish more than one of these lakes each day as they are close to each other- and could have entirely different experiences altogether (the difference between devils kitchen and little grassy is incredible, and yet they are a couple minutes away from each other). Some lakes such as Crab you do need a sticker- just call the field office and they can guide you very easy- cedar lake has hp restriction, but is also a good area lake closer to Kincaid than the others. I usually stay in a cabin now south of Carbondale, and try to fish a couple different lakes.

Very nice- have not been to grassy in years- but worked at Crab Orchard with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and would take my jon boat there about every day after work. Always a nice little lake. Great fish no matter where they came from!!

Read doug stange's recent article on uv baits...science is not exactly in quite yet... and there is also a difference in the way light is actually reflected vs. actual uv light, etc. I wont buy into them....

is that cedar or orchard... or where are you at?

well now I really question why I moved from southern Illinois...

Yeah...I use sniper fluro as well and it works just fine....sometimes fish can just be lost...or sometimes it is a bit more technique in hooksetting.

I have a 2010 with 2 stroke opti 75hp. Back end weighs a ton so factor that in as well. Run around 44gps though. With the 4 strokes may want to double check what hub assembly kits you have on there if you go to a SS prop as well. Pcakes- go with the extra hp if you can....unless you are fishing lakes that are restricted for the most part.

Open hook guy here as well. For color- I guess depends on your waters but for me silver/black in the spring and brown hitch in the summer/fall in more offshore areas(they look like young of the year drum)

Keep with what you already had planned- but if it were me I would not be using the structure bug over the biffle at all(really I would not use either, but what do I really know...)- especially at LOZ, at this time of year. You just don't really need a bait that is designed to be flipped into cover quite frankly. That being said, the water will not really be as clear there now as it was last year and is considered "slightly stained" so a bait making a bit more commotion could be useful. (I will be in the minority and state I don't think it is that much of a difference with rage baits/not to start a conversation as I still do like some rage baits over others) Stick with your decision as is- if you come out catching all the fish on that bait while everyone else struggles with a jig or jerkbait-you will feel like a million bucks!

Wind discouraged me yesterday, and work. Today- looks a bit wet right now. Going to a couple meetings but my try to see what this afternoon looks like. congrats. I think I am going to try to be out all weekend at least.

houses/condos/docks, bluffs, chunk rock, and bars.

There are plenty of horror stories out there- does not mean that they will or will not apply to your complex however. https://vip.vba.va.gov/portal/VBAH/VBAHome/condopudsearch is VA's website that you can find out if the place you are looking at would qualify for a VA loan.

As a loan officer I will only give the basics here as not really a great platform for communication in regards to this. If you are looking at condos a couple things to think about regarding financing: if you are going to go FHA/VA the condo must already be FHA approved or else you are pretty much out of luck. If you are going conventional financing, make sure the bank you are working with does a condo questionnaire early in the process- even in the prequalification stage. This way, you are not out there spending money on inspections, etc. only to find out that the condo would not qualify for sale on the secondary market, and you are out the money. Simple things disqualify such as any current litigation, an owner owning too many units, too high percentage rentals, etc. Also, in qualifying for a loan, as well as for your own personal expenditures, you will need to factor in the HOA/condo fees in to your total monthly payment along with the principle, interest, mortgage insurance (if any), taxes and home insurance. If all these are still lower than your typical single family residence than it is something to consider- sometimes it ends up being actually more or equal to a SFR of higher value with out the condo association fee. More than anything, talk to your bank/lender first prior to talking to a realtor, etc. as the most work you will be doing is with the bank, or at least it will feel that way in the end. Condo's have become a sort of four letter word in some areas, so make sure whoever you are talking to knows what they are talking about- and takes more than 5 minutes to tell you only what you want to hear. Good luck with it all.

May want to add livewell capacity as well unless I missed it here. I know when I bought my boat 5 or six years ago there were two most important things for me- price which is missing from here, and beam so it would fit in my garage. I should have left price lower as I should have compared more boats, and most likely would have ended up with something els.

did not really think of it like that- very well put. More like a hammer or forearm. Interesting..

Time to pay up the State if you have not already have or already have lifetime license!