Kevin22

By the time you buy a 10 year old $10 rod and strip it down, rebuild it, and get it to where you want it you are going to have just as much in it as you would just buying a cheap rod at walmart. You aren't going to find any <10 year old good rods for $10. If you do, just sell them and make a few bucks to put towards a great rod. I've got a garage full of rods I will sell you for $10 each, all less than 10 years old, all junk. I'd rather have a good blank with cheap guides than great guides on a worthless blank.

Yeah they are all under the Lew's Speed Spool line-up.. just different models. A speed spool for $69 was probably the laser mg.

Save your money and get a st. croix premier, avid, or fenwick elite tech smallmouth.

I have the spinnerbait (7'MHF). decent rod, but it is tip heavy unless you put a 9oz reel on it.

Any condition other than muddy water. Sexy Sunfish is my favorite color, by far!

Overpowered is better than underpowered. I wouldn't put a 30# on anything over a 12' jon.

You might want to check out the prop selector too. I put in your motor and 1400# bass boat and it gave me 62mph with a 29P Not saying real world results would be even close, but I think you should be able to get well over 50. Like I said, I can 42 with an alum boat and the same motor.. and I'm pitched for acceleration and not speed.

I used the prop selector tool to throw in some #'s and it came back with stainless 15p 13.25 for a 22ft 'toon and 2011 merc 115 4stroke. Didn't know your year model, just tossed in a newer motor. you can do it yourself here http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers/prop-selector/#

Unless you are using a moderate action rod, chances are the fish has already tore a hole in its lip. You have two choices once you turn his head and get him coming towards the boat. 1. keep right on cranking and boat flip him. 2. have a net ready and scoop him up as soon as he gets in range. If you let him get his head down he'll probably rip the hooks out, if he gets his head up he'll use the bad angle to toss that lipless right over your head.

Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC, Mustad for me, in that order. I like worm hooks for senkos and flukes, then EWG for about everything else.

You can make your own bobber stops. I use 80# braid, but anything 30#+ will work. Tie them on coffee stirrer straws. It will save you a ton of money vs buying them. Lots of videos on youtube. Absolutely use the strings, they are so much better than the rubber or plastic stops that it isn't even a comparison.

I would go no less than a 24V 70# for an electric only lake.

Maybe. I only get 35mph with a 115 merc on a 17' ranger bass with 2 people. A heck of a lot less weight than a 22' 'toon. Alone, with the tanks almost empty, livewells empty, and no gear I can get up to 40-42 GPS speed.

I'm late to the party but I'll throw in my experience anyways. I have caught tons of fish on green pumpkin. Either green pumpkin black flake or green pumpkin with purple and green. I have tried black, black neon, and black/blue numerous times and I can only recall one fish being caught. Almost every time I have then switched to GP and started catching fish. I don't know what it is, maybe the fish are bigots. This is clear water with 8-10' visibility down to muddy water with 3" visibility.

I have no idea. They are on sale everywhere. $69.99 at cabelas. TW has had them for 79.99 all year.

Fluke

Don't use that red label around any wood or rocks. It will get frayed just looking at a rock. I like it in 8# for finesse fishing, but it is just absolutely terrible around any sort of cover. Love that stuff, the very poor abrasion resistance is my only negative.

Always someone ready to show how smart they are. Quite obvious what "mono" means in the bass fishing industry.. really do not need this confusing the newbies. Dacron vs braid? Seriously? When is the last time you heard of someone using dacron in bass fishing? 1962?

For your set-up, I would use 20# braid with a fluorocarbon leader if you deem necessary.

Its going to be heavier than the tin which will be good and bad. Good, it wont be blown around all over the place. Bad, you are going to need a bigger electric to keep it powered all day.

You should use what is called for by your motor mfg. If in doubt, call them and ask what other plugs will work in your motor. Sometimes, especially with older motors, there is a new plug that will run better in the old motor and they will advise you to use it.

7' M Fast for spinning. Unless you want to throw big spinnerbaits and deep diving cranks, then you might need some more power.

You should ask the guy in charge of the tourney and see what he says.

Lews. There are 3 models in your range at MSRP prices, plus others that can be found in that range if you want to buy used. All are good, just depends what you are looking for.

Because every lake I have seen that looks like that has very clear water. With clear water the fish will go deep in the summer. Might be able to run the edges of that with a spook early in the morning and pick up a few roamers if you can get past the pike that love reeds.