Christian M

If you're talking about an all purpose spinning setup, I think the rod and line takes precedence. However, If you're looking for an answer from a group of experienced fisherman who own dozens of rods and reels, each which were purchased with a specific technique or application in mind, the two go hand in hand. Its like asking if a good boat hull is more important than a good motor...the two work in harmony. You wouldnt take a $60k boat out with a beat up, underpowered engine, or vice versa. It really comes down to how serious you are about fishing.

Im in the opposite situation! I have a Tracker Tournament TX17 which I bought after selling my 14" John and my 14" Scanoe. don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Tracker, but I ususally fish solo, and there are a lot of small ponds around me. I keep thinking about how nice it would be to toss a Kayak on top of my truck and fish when I only have a few hours. I'm looking at a used 12' Native Slayer thats fully rigged and in great shape. Just gotta decide when I'm gonna finally pull the trigger.

Im really glad I ran into this post! I have an older (97) Tracker TX17 and it has that stupid 6'6" rod locker. I'm gonna get in there and take some of that foam out tomorrow

Thinking about hitting the water again after getting skunked Saturday, Luckily I've got 2 paid half days this week!!

X2, I always have a DT4 Perch or Pearl shiner Ready to go. I do especially well fishing them through submerged timber and grass in clear water.

If you just wanna hook into one and experience the fight, throw a rooster tail, or a weighted trebel hook at one in the shallows. Most likely you'll foul hook them on the dorsal or tail fin because their scales are like armor plating. For this you just need a spinning reel with a good drag system and Meduim to Medium Heavy action rod. Your line doesn't need to be anything too heavy. Maybe 10-20 lb braid, because no matter what, you're not going to horse one in. You just need to let it make runs until its tired out. As far as actually hooking them in the mouth, it takes some patience and practice. Carp are highly saught after game fish in many parts of the world, and when you hook into one, you'll know why. Good luck!

Strike King Premier Pro 3/8oz black spinnerbait with Gold #2 Colorado & Gold #6 Indiana W/Black Powerbait trailer 1/8oz VMC stand up shakey head hook with Berkley Havoc Juice Worm Jr. in California color Sammy 100 in Gold Shiner

This past Saturday I hit one of my favorite lakes for the first time this season. It holds big Largemouth, Crappy, Trout, Cats, Carp, Pike, & Musky. Every time I've fished this lake I've caught a limit of bass and hooked into a good number of other species. I arrived early and had a good game plan, but realized it might not pan out as I planned when I saw the water conditions. With all the rainfall last week, the lake was extremely cloudy with about 1' of visibility. The main body of water was a good 4' above its usual level and flooded all the way out to the dirt roads. The water was a good 5-8 degrees cooler than usual for this time of year. I didn't see one bed, let alone schools of bait fish. I threw the kitchen sink at this lake and literally didn't get a tick all day. I was marking big fish suspended in all their usual haunts, but couldn't buy a bite. I spoke to a few other anglers on their boats, and they've been experiencing the same thing. I'm thinking about hitting the Delaware next weekend, as river fish aren't affected by weather as dramatically as lake fish are. For those of you currently dealing with the same conditions, how are you adjusting?

There are some ponds around me that have some bruiser sized grass Carp up to 30+ lbs. They'll jump clear out of the water, and a 20 lb carp hitting the surface will definitely get your attention.

Whats the world record for a paddlefish??

Congrats!! I cant imagine how much adrenaline was pumping as you got the first glimpse of that monster!!

You should be fine, make sure to distrubute the weight as evenly as possible, then see how the boat behaves near the dock. My buddy has an 83 tracker & I have a 97, they both hold more weight than they're rated for. I wouldn't worry.

Is there a Serial Number anywhere on the motor head? Usually the two will correlate & If so you can call Minn Kota and they'll tell you whatever you need to know. If you can't find the serial number they might be able to help you find it. I went through this with my Powerdrive V2. They sent me all the parts I needed and even gave me a short term warranty because I brought it to a certified MK tech to get fixed.

Nice Fish!!

A lot of the time when I catch a big bass (with the exception of one protecting a bed) I try to release it away from the spot where I caught it. I'll either hit my trolling motor and move 10-20 yards, or hold it in my livewell until I move off the spot. I do this because there have been many times when I have caught a decent fish, released it on the spot, then had trouble catching another in that same area. I know a lot of guys do the same thing. My question is, do the bigger fish release a pheromone after being caught? Can the other bass feel its elevated heart rate in the water? I've seen all types of fish behavior, like when others will follow a hooked fish all the way up to the boat. Is this superstition or is there some science behind it?

I haven't gotten up to Hopatcong yet this season, but due to the weather this season, its been a tough bite all over Jersey, making it realy difficult to find a pattern. You definitely want to look for the warmer water, which is going to be near shallow, grassy areas. I've been fishing lakes in the Ocean/Monmouth/Mercer county areas searching for grass flats in 3'-6' of water, growing near shoreline gravel. When you find a grassy area, seeing as how you're going to be on a rowboat, you're gonna wanna cover as much water as possible with your lure. Start tossing jerkbaits, lipless cranks, shallow diving cranks with tight wobbles, and even topwater lures like spooks or sammys. Once you locate an area with active fish, start dissecting it with a dropshot, shakeyhead, or wacky rigged worm. Go with softer, natural patterns and colors on the hard plastics (pearl shad, baby bass, perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and gold shiner). As for the soft plastics, (baby bass, watermelon, red shad, junebug, black, white) basically nothing too wild. Thats just MHO, hope it helps, Good Luck!!

I foul hooked a 6lb and 9.5 lb carp 3 weeks ago. The next day I went to the same spot, where they were fanning their tails, and hooked into a couple between 4 and 6 lbs the right way (in the mouth). The pond I was fishing holds them up to 30+ lbs. I was using 8lb flouro w/a MF rod lol, It's definitely fun!!

Why lie about it now? Hey man, I didn't go on an irate rant when you made a generalization about my job did I? I'm happy with my life and I don't need to "troll" anyone about anything. Actually, I really do need to get back to pushing my pencil/pen (its really a keyboard), but if it makes you feel better...

My dear "Homie", you do a good enough job "race baiting" yourself. After studying a couple of your previous posts on other threads, sounds like you have a lot of misguided, pent up hate. As far as me being a pencil/pen pusher who is woefully ignorant of the trades, and me spending a day doing your job...no thanks. I'll stick with my career. I don't have any ill will towards anyone when I come home to my family. Maybe you should spend a day at my job, you might go home with a smile on your face after helping to change someones life. As for you friend, that's horrible and I'm sorry to hear that. Fortunately, there are programs like ours for people who get hurt on the job. You see, I would be the guy making every effort to find your friend a new way to put food on his plate if he was disabled after his accident. I'd try for your homie.

Definitely counts!!

I'll answer your question with a question. You've stated that your workplace doesn't allow non English speaking workers. You don't care to learn another language and it doesn't benefit you. Well then why make the comment about people around you not understanding English when you say get back, then you turn up the juice? Why even comment on this thread if you have nothing positive to contribute? Yes, I brought up Spanish speaking laborers. You said yourself that they are the most commonly hired workers on non-union jobs. Therefore, that would imply there are a lot of businesses that couldn't, or would have difficulty running without them. Also, If you read my last post, I specifically said "I'm not knocking what you do, I realize its a highly skilled trade". However, you said yourself you do things as simple as a light and switch. To me that sounds like manual labor. Now that you've clarified yourself by tooting your own horn in a very angry rant that came off rather ignorant, yes I comprende! Actually, I worked in construction for a while. My uncle is a general contractor, my best friend is a certified electrician whose family own one of the largest electrical service companies in the area. So I understand how screwing up on a job can cost millions, or even worse, someones life. However, it sounds like you think I might push a broom or a mop. I don't. I'm the program coordinator for a non-profit transitional work program. We help disabled high school students and adults find, and keep jobs. I communicate with people from all walks of life everyday, both in English and Spanish. Including state officials, board of ed members, case workers, counselors, teachers, transportation contractors, business owners (both public and private sector) parents, clients etc. Personally, if I didn't speak another language, I wouldn't be such an asset to the school that we operate under. Hence my interest in the ORIGINAL POST. Is that concept too hard for you to grasp? That being said...go wet a line man, preferably a live one! Entiendes lo que digo?

Again, the ORIGINAL POST said "HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?"...Its about the fact that knowing more than one language helps tremendously in life due to ever increasing social and economic globalization. I would think that as a "journeyman electrician" you would be able to at least appreciate this concept. I'm not knocking what you do, I realize its a highly skilled trade. However, by definition, and by your own description, what you're doing is manual labor. You're grasping at straws with the whole nuke thing. You're talking about a NUCLEAR POWER PLANT...AKA major terrorist target... I'm gonna go with Sirsnookalot and say you need to wet a line more often. It's all about knowledge my friend.

Welcome Justin! Good to see another Jersey guy on the boards!

True...Raider Nation...what's "the laborers language"??? Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're the one working on something, and you tell everyone else to stand back, doesn't that make you the laborer ...Also, what would you do without the guys working along side you? Probably not have a business right? It's not such a simple concept. What would you say to a Hawaiian, Native Alaskan, or Puerto Rican who doesn't speak English? All parts of the USA & all citizens. Also, I don't know what statistics you're looking at, but Latins/Hispanics are now the majority in the USA, more knowledge to carry on and enjoy. It's crazy how a simple question about speaking different languages turns into a heated forum with racial undertones where people to sound off about getting out of the country if you cant speak English. I'm a Latin American who was born on American soil along with my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. Every generation of my family has served in the US military. I love my country and wouldn't trade it for any other. However, I am realistic about the state of our nation and society. I could go on but I digress, this is supposed to be an intellectual discussion about speaking other languages. Keeper, kudos on the post.

If you read the paragraph, nowhere in his post did keeper mention the United States or Spanish. I don't think he is posing a question about what languages you should or shouldn't speak in order to live in the USA. From what I understood, he is posing a question about which BR members are able to communicate in more than one language. This site is on the World Wide Web, and there are BR members all over the world. Aside from that, I don't think anyone can argue that knowing more than one language, no matter where you are in the world, gives a you an advantage in virtually any situation. I'm fluent in English and Spanish, and can understand and speak a little Italian. Being bi-lingual helps me out all the time, and I have perfect example for this post. About two years ago I was trying to find the boat launch for a tournament in an area I had never visited before. I was totally lost in the middle of nowhere at 5:30am and hadn't seen another car for miles. I was stopped on the side of the road trying to call members of the club to get directions, but I was so far in the sticks that my phone had absolutely zero reception. A car came up the road and I waved them down. I asked the three guys if they knew where there was a lake with a boat launch in English, but they didn't understand me. I asked in Spanish and not only did they know where the lake was, they gave me directions to the boat ramp where they had seen a bunch of trucks and boats gathered which was in the opposite direction I was going. Had I not been able to communicate with them at that moment I would have missed the tournament, dropped a few spots from 3rd, and spent almost three hours driving for nothing.