Scott F

Caught my first smallmouth 51 years ago.

Bass will eat anything they think might be food. Even if it doesn't closely resemble anything that swims where they live, Including stuff like plastic worms, and spinnerbaits. If the cichlids are aren't bigger than the bass, and swim in the same waters, they will be eaten.

You asked if you needed to buy the transducer separately. No, it comes with the depth finder.

Not too long ago, 6 foot rods were very common. I wanted something longer and I had to have 7 footers custom made. If it feels right to you, that's all that matters. Bank fishermen might prefer shorter rods to make it easier to cast when there are trees directly overhead. There are sizes between 2500 and 1000. I like the 2000 size reels for most of my spinning gear, Quantum spinning reels are all that I use.

Do you know why the current captain's chair is not mounted in the middle of the boat? It is much easier to operate an outboard or even a transom mounted trolling motor if the seat is off center. You might reconsider moving it. If the boat in the picture below is your boat now, I'd keep it just the way it is. It may not be the perfect boat for you now, but in a few years, you'll be able to buy the boat that is your goal. The amount of work and money needed to upgrade this the way you have laid out will be nicer, but won't put more fish over the side.

You'd better brush up on your Blues Brothers references. SCMODS was a state police system. Joliet was where Jake was in prison.

1/2 inch will flex quite a bit. I'd go with 3/4.

If, you can easily see your phone in direct sunlight and your phone is waterproof, you might consider this. I wouldn't use my phone as my depth finder on a kayak. If a small unit and mapping are important to you, the Garmin 4 inch Echomap unit has excellent built in maps. You don't have to buy any map chips and you can create your own high def maps. Pretty good for an inexpensive unit.

There's a bunch of original Fat Raps for sale on EBay.

Welcome, You must be a neighbor, I'm in Joliet too. Next spring, you'll have to explore the rivers near Joliet for good smallmouth fishing.

I seldom fly. Back in the 80's and 90's, I used to do a lot of fly-in fishing trips and always enjoyed the float plane parts of the trips. As far as commercial jet liners, I'm a tall guy and don't fit very well in the cramped seats. So I avoid taking trips where I have to fly as much as possible.

The trucks are pretty good but the 2004-2008 V8 models had spark plug issues. They'd break off when you tried to get them out. A $50 job could run $500. Mechanics know about the problems and usually get them out but it takes a lot longer than it should. If a piece breaks off and falls into the cylinder, it becomes a major repair. I have a 2003 that has been nothing but good for me. It pulls my boat like there is nothing back there.

Guides understand that they will be giving out spots, it's one of the things you are paying for. Don't be obvious and pull out your phone to mark the coordinates while you are in his boat, and don't tell everyone you know. If you plan on returning the next day, or will be fishing the lake the rest of the week, tell the guide and he'll give you more spots to check out. If he doesn't, he isn't a guy I'd hire again.

What kind of place are you looking for? Fly-In, Drive -in, boat -in? American plan with a daily guide, housekeeping cabin hiring a guide every day? Was you budget for the both of you or each?

I know you are trying to save money, but be careful! Don't use wire that is not heavy enough and make sure any splices in the wire are extremely tight. There is a lot of current going through your trolling motor wires. Any loose connections will get very hot. The insulation on the wires can melt and start a fire. Saving a couple of dollars on your wiring could cost you your boat or even your life. For safety sake, do it right!

You wouldn't have said that if you'd seen it yesterday.

Back in the 70's we went to concerts almost every weekend. It was a lot more affordable then. I've got a ticket stub from a Led Zeppelin concert in April, 1977, a ticket to that show was $9. Most shows were $5 to $7.50. Due to some of the herbal cigarettes that were common at the time, most of my memories of those shows is a bit foggy. Hard to say which were the best. I saw Queen a few times, they were pretty good shows.

If you are taking the wife on vacation, in addition to good fishing, nice accommodations, good restaurants, and nearby shopping are 3 things needed to keep most women happy. Northern Wisconsin may not give up truly huge bass, but if you are there the last week in May, you will have unbelievable numbers of large and smallmouth bass in your choice of hundreds of lakes with almost no fishing pressure from other bass fishermen. The Minocqua/ Eagle River area has dozens of nice "supper club" restaurants, and lots of gift shops and other shopping opportunities. You can stay in cabins right on the water with your boat parked at a dock just a few feet from your front door. There are also several hotels if you'd prefer to jump around from lake to lake and have maid service. My wife and I have been vacationing there for almost 30 years. The fishing for me, has been so much better and easier up there than anywhere else I've ever been. Fish during the week, and you may not see another bass fisherman all day. The lack of pressure is probably a big reason why the bass fishing is so good. It may be a longer drive than you were thinking about, but it's worth it especially if you go at the end of May.

Fireline softens up pretty quickly after using it. Even then, I've never noticed any difference in casting distance between new "stiffer" line and line that has been broken in. Thinner line will always cast farther than thicker lines, which is one reason l have braid on all my reels. Capacity should be no problem.

I'm curious. Why does the diameter comparable to mono matter so much to you?

If you want to know how deep the water is, what the water temp is, what the bottom looks like or if there are any fish underneath the boat (or even off to the side) a depth finder is a must, no matter how small the boat is. Even the least expensive depth finders work pretty well. Just buy the best you can afford.

I cleaned up my fishing room. I use a spare bedroom for my hobbies. My work desk, a gun cabinet I converted to hold my reels, and a couple of rod racks. My grandfather made the cabinet almost 70 years ago. The other side of the room with my "Wall of Fame" This is the walk-in closet where I store my tackle boxes and lures.

That and there is such a variety of fish to choose from, you need an entire room to store all the gear.

I hire guides on occasion. You have to determine what you want from the trip. If you are a novice and need help with presentation, you may need the guide to fish to show you how to work the lure. If you know how to fish and need the guide to put you on fish, I'd ask the guide not to fish. Just make sure he knows that up front so there is no misunderstanding.

When you push the fish toward the camera for a photo, the forced perspective makes the fish look bigger than it is, but you probably knew that already. Once you do that, it makes it difficult to make an accurate guess as to it's size.