WIGuide

I say get what feels good in your hand. Personally I like the shorter rods, but I know some feel the opposite way. Go to the store and handle both, get whichever one feels better to you.

I haven't used it, but it should be a great rod for top waters and jerkbaits.

Looks like you put some time into that bracket. Just curious, but is there a reason you chose to go with that over the standard Talon motor mount?

I like throwing a 5" Big Bite Bait Cane Thumper on them, or a grub. Haven't had a hard time catching them on either.

There will definitely be days like that. Usually if the bucks are up the females aren't far away but they're usually out by the first sharp drop. Being that there was that cold front come through the bight might have slowed way down for them. All in all did you have a fun experience?

It'd be great for any tight cover situation. People tend to forget that you can be more accurate with a shorter rod. You don't lose a lot of distance either. It'd make a good spinnerbait/swim jig/square bill rod. You could also use it for the smaller paddle tail swimbaits or lipless crankbaits. Bigger isn't always better when it comes to rods.

I'd try throwing some 14 lb Berkley Trilene XT on there first. If that doesn't work, do as Choporaz says and display it on a shelf.

Usually a little, but if they're on beds it's not really going to change anything. Remember when they spawn, they don't all do it at the exact same time. There will usually be fish in the prespawn, spawn, and post spawn stages so you should be able to something working despite the cold front. If you think they're going to be spawning, then keep that as plan A and work it for a while. If it doesn't work move to plan B and maybe recheck A later in the day. If you can get to the lake on Friday afternoon, you can be on the water until 5 PM (double check just to be sure) you could always just go out to the nearest pocket and see where the fish are at and then adjust your plan accordingly.

It really depends on how you fish, and your own individual personality. If you have a hard time slowing yourself down, I'd suggest getting a the 6.2 for moving baits. Otherwise I use a 7.1:1 for pretty much everything. I find it easier to slow down than to speed up. I tend to go against the grain though.

Things have definitely come a long way even in my lifetime. What's crazy is to think about where it'll be in another 30 years. I'm sure if he's around in another 30 years 0119 will be out in a field still kissing cows...

Probably not super common even though there are a few center console bass boats out there. When it comes to things like what kind of boat you're fishing out of, don't even give it a second thought. It's not the boat that catches the fish it's the fisherman inside it that does. As long as it keeps you afloat, get's you to where you're going and back, and keeps your fish alive it's good enough to fish out of.

Like emerson said, the big bass style tournaments are great starter tournaments. You just need to keep yourself relaxed and go out and fish to have a good time. Don't get caught up that there's a bunch of boats in it. There's that many boats out there on a normal day anyway, and you don't get worried to go fishing. Don't let your nerves get the best of you just stay calm and relaxed and do your best. Know that the day will go fairly quickly, but at the same time don't rush because that's the time you'll miss something. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

I haven't been able to use them yet, but they seem pretty much identical other than you get less per pack than you used to be able to. They seem to feel just like the old ones and don't feel any softer, so I would guess the durability will be the same. Fingers crossed that they will be. I might have to go take a closer look tonight when I get home. They don't have a fork tail model, but they do have a Thumpin' Dinger that has a u tail on the end.

The dual breaking systems are nice because they allow you to fine-tune the braking to your own personal cast. The centrifugal brakes work best and apply the most braking pressure at the beginning of the cast. The mag brakes tend to do a better job feathering the end of your cast. If you notice where the backlash is happening during the cast you can adjust accordingly. Once you have the brakes set, you won't have to move them a whole lot. Most of the time a few clicks of the tension knob will adjust for changes in bait weight and wind. If you're getting by just fine without any centrifugal brakes there's no need to change it.

The less blades the more efficient the forward thrust. A 2 blade prop will push the boat the fastest in open water, but the longer blades get wound in grass quicker and also lose some torque to break free due to the mechanical advantage the weeds hold on the TM because of the leverage they gain on the longer blades. A 4 blade TM prop is pretty darn close to unstoppable in the grass, however it struggles to push a boat in open water with much speed at all because they have short stubby little blades. A 3 blade TM prop is a compromise between the two. You don't lose a lot of speed/pushing power, but they're better in the grass than a 2 blade.

I'm not sure how using a bait that's been around for ages makes him a "noob". Fishing is about doing whatever works. If he thinks he can catch one with what he's using who am I to question him?

I've got the BPS 100 MPH parka and it has kept me as dry as a bone. I purchased it last year and really lucked out. Turned out to be one of the wettest seasons of fishing for me. Had to fish in downpours mulitple times and I never got wet.

The self adhesive LED's should be able to mount to pretty much any surface. In my old boat, I used them to light the compartments, under the console, and also to do underglow lighting on the trailer. The cheapest ones I found were on Ebay. You could get them directly from china with free shipping for right about $3 for a 1 meter strip. Unfortunately I ordered the IP65 lights which are not as waterproof as the IP67's that I plan on using on my new boat. Therefore the ones on the trailer over the years slowly dropped LED's from the back to the front. Even so they lasted roughly 3 years. I'm sure if you spent more on higher quality ones they'll last longer, but for everything I did I spent roughly $55 in parts.

I've been running Lowrance for quite a few years now, and I'm not quite sure what wedge you're talking about. All my transducers have only come with a metal bracket for installation. Pictures could be beneficial in this situation.

They're an awesome idea, but the practicality of them is where most of the hangup is. You have to have really good visibility to see much of anything. My dad bought one second hand since someone was getting rid of it cheap, and he tried to use it in the tanic colored water. Even off the dock he was having a hard time seeing the wheels of the roll in and the camera was only a few inches at the time. He did manage to see one perch swim past it once but that was it. We never got the chance to take it to a clear lake to try it before he sold it. Even with the limited use we got out of it I thought it was somewhat sad that we could see further into the water than the camera could under water. I know there's some guys that use them up here for ice fishing though. There you don't need to see as far, but for what they cost, i'm still not sure they're worth it.

These used to be a Cabelas brand rod. I don't remember what they were called, but it was an interesting design. My uncle had one. I remember there were times he had a hard time threading the line through with something like braid, but I think you could do it with mono first and tie it to the braid to pull it through. Unfortunately I never got to fish with it to see how well it worked.

X2 Had this happen on one of my reels a while ago. If it gets some grease or gunk in there it can really mess it up. If that's all it is, it's an easy fix.

I routinely go down to 6 lb fluoro. If i felt it would help me, I'd go down to 4.

Bluebasser would be correct. You only buy it where you register it.

You'll be happy with your JM signature series. I've got 4 of them from over the years. The oldest is 9 years old and still functions perfectly and I fish them pretty hard. They only negative I can think to say about them is that they aren't the lightest thing on the market, but they aren't like a lead weight either. They have a very solid feeling in the hand. They've treated me well and I'm sure they'll do the same for you!