tunnelengineer

What does Kevin Van Dam or Rick Clunn use? These two guys are arguably the best fisherman for the last 15 years. Even though they are sponsored by BPS, what equipment do they use? I would love to find out.....

All falcon boxes. Plastics are stored in ziplog gallon size bags in the tackle bag front pocket, sorted by plastic type (worms, lizards, tubes, senkos, etc.). Here's the hook box from falcon. Hands down the best. I challenge anyone to mention anything else.....

If you really have this many problems with boats wakes, maybe you need to either get a bigger boat or quit fishing large water. I know better than to take my 16 foot jon boat on a lot of lakes due to waves. You just need to know your limitations, not ask everyone else to cater to yours.

Wow. Someone just got burned!

I have a Stradic as well as a Catalyst Pit and Kinetic Ptis. The stradic is the best of the bunch for smoothness. The catalyst is right up there on his heels. I bought a 10 series fora crappie rig and I absolutely love every minute with it. Will I buy more stradics, you bet. I really don't think you can go wrong with either reel. I think the finish on the energy calls out to thiefs a lot more than the white stradic. Maybe something to consider, maybe not.

I've been a BPS/Gander Mountain Rod kind of guy until last year. I stepped up to the St. Croix Premiers across the board and have been very happy. Currently I have a Loomis IMX spinning rod in the mail headed my way. I think the BPS/Gander Mountains will find the auction block soon. Personally, I like the $50 Loomis replacement guarantee. You break it anyway, it's 50 bucks to replace. One year down the road or 5 years. Easy to justify the funding then.

My large fron t pocket of my BPS 3700 bag has 4 large 1 gallon ziploc bags. Each of the four hold about 12-20 bags of the following types of lures: worms, lizards, craws, and beavers/misc. All of them are in original packaging as they stay better and I always know what brand, size, and color each one is. I have 2 3700 boxes with senkos and finesse type worms that hold about 10-14 packs each. All in original packages.

I second the falcon spinnerbait box. I just plain works. It helped me thin down my collection as I just have my 30 best spinnerbaits and the rest will be sold. There is no way a guy can need more than 30 spinnerbaits. Luckily about 20 of them are terminators and the others are titanium wire as well, with a few ledgebusters in for good measure.

I'm not 100% positive, but I think it is a law here in ohio that each boat must carry an anchor. I would do it anyway, it's cheap insurance if something were to come up. Worst case, it is a place to store an extra 50' of rope in case of emergency.

I second the Stratos. I've never had one but all I hear is about how they are the best boat without breaking the bank. Also you will find great deals on 1-2 year old boats as well. Look around, you may be able to find a used Ranger or Triton for less than a new Stratos in the same length.

I would not put a 75 on that. You must factor in the weight of the outboard as well. It may run fine, but it may also sit soo low in the rear that a small wave will sink you. I would stick to a 25 or 40 hp tops.

Put a fuse inline or use a breaker. I personally like the auto-resetting 40 amp breakers from cabelas. There is a sticker on the motor cable itself that will say how big of a breaker to use.

You may want to try McMaster-Carr (they have a website) or any kind of safety supply store on the net. I know that's where I found the stick on tread rolls much cheaper than Bass Pro. They were the sand kind though. Never really looked for the rubber.

I would return it for a bow mount. THe transom mount will not have any easy way of stowing the motor on the deck and will only be a hassle. I think what you say would work, but I know I would always wish for something different each time I used that motor. It would bug the hell out of me. It's kinda like using the wrong tool for the job.

I have always had good success with the special yellow batteries from Walmart. I can't remember what they were but have "Max" in the title. They are yellow. I also hear exceptional reviews of optima batteries but they are twice the price. I don't fish as much as you though either. Maybe once a weekend through the summer.

I have heard absolutely nothing but bad things about the Johnson Faststrike motors from the early/mid 90's. I haven't owned one, but most forums on line are scattered with bad stories about those motors.

Either Minn Kota or Motorguide. Probably something around 50# thrust should do fine on a 14' boat.

Doesn't look like too bad a deal. Check it out first though. I agree on the $10,500 price.

I would look used before buying. The fisher is an awesome boat, but you really can get into a full fledged bass boat with 150-175 HP outboard that is a few years old for that much scratch. On the other hand, if you are going to be beating this boat off stumps or rocks, buy aluminum. Also as far as the cost goes, I think the Triton aluminum boats are in that price range and are top notch boats. If you can find a used Triton aluminum boat (or even Xpress) you can probably save another $3-4,000 off that 18K.

I would think $400 is in line. That boat is a tough sell for much more.