Scott F

Heavier line will keep your baits from diving to their maximum depth. You may lose as much as 2 feet of depth going from 10 to 17. As far as the muskies go, they'll bite through 17lb as easily as 10. 20lb braid will run your baits a lot deeper than they would with fluoro, plus you'll be able to cast them farther.

First of all, if the channel is 18 feet deep and the average depth is 4 feet, compared to the rivers I fish, that is pretty deep. In the shallow rivers I fish, 4 feet is a deep pool. When the water is that cold, smallmouth will still be in their winter holding spots. They will stack up in deeper slow moving water where they are very inactive. If you find that spot, you can drop baits all day long right on their heads and still not get bit. On a warm sunny day, some of the fish might get active and you'll need to be close to the winter spot as they may not travel very far. Be patient and wait till the water hits the mid to upper 40's and the action will pick up.

So instead of posting a silly question, next time, just ask what your favorite finesse technique is.

Why would you only pick one finesse technique? Your premise makes no sense. One technique would never work all the time. A good fisherman has to be able to adapt and use many techniques to be successful.

The Herman Brothers out of Peoria IL are experts in building and managing ponds for fishing and recreation. According to their web page they'll go coast to coast. It's worth a call.

If you think a pike or a zebra mussel won't cut FC line, you are kidding yourself. I have fished nothing but braid with no leader for many years and have never had a break off from line abrasion and I'm using mostly 8-10lb line. To the original poster, your unintended experiment with no leader gave the same results that I have found. Even if you could prove that I'd get 10% less fish without a leader, I still wouldn't use one just to save me the trouble of having to buy extra line, tie extra knots, and have that knot reduce the length of my casts as it catches on the eyelets.

I just purchased a jet motor. My dealer told me about the adapter that was needed. Apparently they are not common. See your Mercury dealer/parts department to see if you can get one from him.

If the depth finder you are looking for will include mapping, make sure you consider the extra cost of map chips that you may have to purchase in addition to the unit itself. Some units come with high definition maps pre-installed and some do not. Things change quickly so you have to do some research to be sure what models have maps built in and which don't.

That's not blasphemy, that just shows what an intelligent, experienced, dedicated and outstanding fisherman you must be!

So Timmy Horton spoke at The Illinois Smallmouth Alliance event in Elmhurst, IL last night. He was at Bass Pro Shops event in the morning, got on a plane and was at our event by the afternoon. He could not have been a nicer guy. He talked and took pictures with everyone, spoke about his winning the tournament, and bass fishing in general, and answered questions from the audience. After he gave his talk to the crowd, he literally gave us the shirt off his back. The jersey he was wearing was the same one he wore when he won the event at Lake Okeechobee last weekend. He signed and gave it to us and I auctioned it off to the highest bidder which brought in $300! Timmy Horton Tim speaking to our guests Timmy with the high bidder for his jersey Timmy Horton and myself

They are high definition lake maps that you can view on your computer, pad or smartphone.

If you don't have any help, drop the trolling motor while the boat is on the trailer like in a parking lot, and walk around with the remote.

Paint them on. You can use a stencil and spray paint.

Before I'd take the word of anyone, including Minn Kota, I'd do an experiment. Have one person stay in the boat while you operate the trolling motor from the shore. Once the motor is out of range, you'll know and then the person in the boat can bring it back to you. One other question. Would your trolling motor be in the operating position while you are launching? Unless you have an Ulterra, how do you deploy the motor with no one in the boat?

The easiest way to tell if it has CHIRP or not is the price. The 73sv that was on sale for $449 is the older version without CHIRP. The current models with, are $850. Trust me, there is not $400 worth of difference between the versions.

Not sure where you get your information but flourocarbon line stetches as much (sometimes more, sometimes less) than mono. There are some differences between brands but the differences are not great.

Know why Gander, Cabela's and Bass Pro carry so much clothing? It's because there is a lot more profit in clothing than fishing tackle. Without clothing, they would all still be small shops nobody heard of.

Anytime ANY fish has a fishy smell or taste, it is because the fish is not fresh. Fresh fish, including pike, never have a fishy smell.

#4, plain, no squirrel tail, silver blade, Mepps.

Actually, it's a bison.

If the strength of 8lb mono is enough for you, I'd go with 8-10lb braid. One of the good things about braid is how thin it is for it's break strength. I always go with the thinnest line I can for increased casting distance and the fact it allows my baits to run deeper than thicker lines will.

If you are in the Chicago area and would like to meet Timmy Horton, he will be speaking at our event next Saturday in Elmhurst, IL. Tickets are still available. I posted the event previously. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/183420-elite-angler-timmy-horton-to-speak-at-banquet/ PM me if you have questions or you'd like to get a ticket.

I hope Timmy wins. He's going to be the featured speaker at my clubs banquet next weekend.

Didn't your depth finder come with a power cord? Crimp 2 connectors available at any hardware store to the black (negative) and red (positive) wires on the power cord and push them on the terminals of the battery. You won't be using the blue or brown wires. The manual has a diagram with the wiring instructions and a graphic showing the power cord. If you don't have one, you can download the installation manual from the Garmin web site.

Why do you feel you won't get many hits on braid? I fish in Wisconsin a lot in mostly clear water and use nothing but braid without any leaders. I don't seem to have any problems catching large and smallmouth. If you are worried about fish being line shy, that is mostly in your head. Of course if you believe fish won't hit lures with braid, you probably wouldn't stick with it long enough to convince yourself they do. Confidence plays a big role in your ability to catch fish consistently.