Midnight Splash2

I have read that you will lose sensitivity with a tip heavy worm rod because of the energy it will take to keep the rod in the upright position. Now with a added butt weighted rod the actual rod will lose some sensitivity. But adding butt weight to a tip heavy rod will let you feel more sensitivity than not adding weight to a tip heavy rod right?

DVT In your experience, what are the disadvantages of adding weight to the butt of a bait casting rod other than most likely voiding the warranty?

I have a 7 MF Avid on the way to pair with a Pflueger Patriarch baitcaster. This rod will be used for light soft plastics. If it is tip heavy Im going to try to balance the rod out by adding weights to the butt. I was reading a how to on this yesterday and it seems easy enough. http://www.rod-crafting.com/resource/articles/balancing.html

Big Dog I never had a problem with my 55lb slipping off the back at any speed. When I take the kids out I even turn the motor to a 45 degree angle and spin in tight circles with no problem. Try it out. Did you get that trolling motor battery yet Big Dog?

I use a 55lb Minn Kota Endura with a Optima Blue top battery on my 8ft Raider. My trolling motor is on the back and I go full speed at all times. I would say if I were to do nothing but cruise around at full speed my battery would be dead after 2 hours. I usually go out every evening and fish for about one hour and I charge the battery every three to four days. When I put it on the charger its almost dead every time. Red & Eric Are your motors on the front or back of the boat? Mounting the motor on the front will give you a longer battery charge. It is more efficient for the motor to pull the boat rather then push it. I put my motor on the front when I first got mine. I started spinning around and had a hell of a time controlling it. When I got back to my dock I put in on the back and its worked perfectly ever since. I don't have a rudder so I cant speak as for what they do. I will say I would never recommend trying to put the motor on the front unless you have a rudder to experiment with though. I just cant see how or why anyone would put one on the front without a rudder. The difference from the front and the back without a rudder is like night and day.

Whether it be a replacement or warranty program, Im very happy. I talked to a rep today and sent the rod back. He said they could send me a new 7' MF Avid for $50 to replace my broken 6'6" Avid. What a great company to deal with.

I just found that information out today farmer. That is an awesome warranty. I bought it out of the flea market here and just figured there was nothing that could be done. I was on there website today and read there warranty information and was pleasantly surprised. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what my options are. Hopefully they cant repair it and I get a new one. I'm going to ask for a 7' MF Avid as a replacement. If you are the original owner I believe it said the replacement cost would only be $20. $50 is a hell of a deal since it was my fault.

Thanks

It seem like a killer deal for the Legend. It just seems like the St Croix rods are a little off too spec. The MH seems close to a H to me. Thats why I was thinking of getting a M for these particular plastics. I was hoping there M was closer to every one elses MH. There 3/8 oz - 1oz rating on a MH seems a little heavy too. I would of scooped up the Legend right away but the MH action made me hesitate. Is it just me or are the St Croix rod ratings a little lower then they should be?

Oh and the rod will be paired with a Pflueger Patriarch reel.

Well I snapped my 6'6" MHF Avid trigger rod last night. I wrapped the braid around the rod about a foot from the top after a hang up somehow. I jerked to get my lure lose and snapped the rod in two pieces. Now Ive got to get a replacement rod. I used this rod for my texas rigged soft plastics like Rage Crawls, Brush Hogs, & worms. I went to Gander today to possibly get a replacement rod. Would a 7' MF Avid rod be better for these type of baits or should I stick with a MHF? Also Gander had 1 of the St Croix Legend Tournament 6'6" MHF Trigger rods on sale for $179. Is there a noticeable difference in sensitivity between this rod and the avid series? The Legend was marked down from $240 and is only 10 dollars more then the Avid. If any of you guys have used both the avid and legend tournament rods Id be interested in hearing some comparisons. Thanks.

When it comes to working the shoreline at night I have 3 lures that just seem to outproduce anything else I've tried. The Arbogast Original Jitterbug, Heddon Crazy Crawler, and a black buzz bait. I was thinking since the first two of these have been out on the market for about 300 years, there has to be something else. What night time top water lures have you guys found that can hang with these 3 for working the shoreline?

I got mine off of Amazon for $30. Pick one up and report back when it needs to be recharged. I bet it wont be until July. Its an awesome purchase for this boat. I didn't know how small it was until I received it. It was an added bonus that it fit in the compartment. http://www.amazon.com/Humminbird-7700281-Portable-Gel-Cell-Battery/dp/B000N314J0

Hey BigDog Get yourself one of these batteries to run your fish finder separate. This battery is so small it fits in the compartments on the top rail of the boat. I promise you it will keep your fish finder charged for WEEKS before you have to recharge it. You will also be able to get more time off your trolling motor without having the fish finder hooked to the same battery. This was a great buy for my Bass Raider. http://store.humminbird.com/products/322329?product_id=1bc69a6425bfe786d569f9e9b9fef16e

If the owner stocks it with the Florida/Northern strain bass they will grow much faster and bigger then a pure northern strain. The reason this strain was made was to get the aggressive feeding of the northern mixed in with the size and growth rate of the F1. A common problem with stocking pure F1's in ponds is that after they get big they become uninterested in artificial lures, hence the aggressiveness of the northern. They will cost more then pure northern and Florida strains but it would probably be worth it in the long run. Do you know what strain was in this lake before it drained? Have the owner take a look at these. Here are a couple of links. American Sport Fish has copyright to the name Tiger Bass for these but other fish hatcheries have them and call them other names. Sorry to hear about your Honey Hole. Id be devastated. http://www.americans...h.com/index.php http://www.strikekin...nal/00022/1.php

I live in Houston Texas and we have a BPS in Katy Texas which is about 20 miles from where I live. I place online orders with them when I need to get something from them during the week. With the traffic here it would take me two hours on the road to get there and back after work. All of my orders I have placed online ship out of the headquarters in Missouri rather then the Katy store. I get charged sales tax on every order even though it ships from out of state. I wouldn't mind the tax if they shipped it out of Katy and I got it the next day but when I place a order on Monday I don't get it until Friday and I get charged shipping. I didn't know about Tackle Warehouse until I joined this site and I must say I'm impressed with them so far. You cant beat there prices and I don't get taxed from them. I can place an order with them on a Monday and get on Wednesday for only 5 bucks or wait a couple more days and the shipping is free.

I think $250 is about what they should be selling for considering you can now get a new one at Academy for $400.

I got mine for $175

I fish a small private lake in Houston, Texas. On March 16th I started catching females with empty stomachs(70 degree water temp). On March 18th I saw the first group of fry. I didn't catch a bass after March 23rd that still had eggs.

You robbed that guy. If you want to remove the paint and the camo is spray painted on you might want to try using Mötsenböcker’s Lift Off Spray Paint Graffiti Remover. I used this stuff last night on some red spray paint on my oil based painted garage floor that had been there for a year. I didn't want to use paint thinner because I didn't want to have to paint the floor again. I sprayed this stuff on and let it sit for 5 minutes and came back and wiped it right off with a towel. Amazing stuff and it only has a mild smell to it. You can get a gallon of it at Home Depot for $19. It will not damage your boat either.

Your going to love the Patriarch. Ive been using mine all week long and I'm really liking it. It has great casting distance and the retrieve is very smooth. Just be sure to remove the side plate and take 2 brakes off. It comes with 4 brakes on and 2 off. Remove the screw on the top of the reel to unlock the side plate and twist.

That looks like a great deal.

Jax I use my 8ft everyday in a small lake. I love it. If you are planning on fishing by yourself its perfect for ponds. If you are going to have another person with I would get the 10 footer. Its crowded and has a little wobbly feel to it with 2 people in the 8ft. I have friends come over and fish in it with me every once in a while and we manage but the 10 foot would be more accommodating for that. If you do buy one I highly recommend you buy an anchor. The 8ft will blow around like crazy with any winds over 10mph. I tie on a 8lb mushroom anchor to the seat bracket and drop it at every spot I fish. I'm usually fishing in 6ft of water and don't use more then 10ft of rope most of the time. The boat only weighs 87lbs so you wont need much anchor weight. I even anchor with no wind because if you hook a decent fish it can move the boat 10ft or so just from reeling it in. As for putting it on top of the car it can be done with one person. A truck would be ideal though. I would just wrap a moving blanket around the boat and tie something around the boat to hold the blanket on. You should have no trouble sliding it over the trunk and on top of the roof by yourself. If you got the 10 footer you can forget about trying to put that on top of your car. I think the 8ft could be done though.

Houston, Texas

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