WIGuide

I cast about 75% to 80% of the time. I pitch 20% to 25% and pretty much never flip.

If you got a 17 footer with a 50 on it and put a low pitch prop on and a fin you'd most likely get it up on plane. It probably wouldn't be ideal, but you could do it.

Congrats on the new ride!

Try taking the rear pedestal out of the back of your boat and and replace it with a PVC pipe that has a cap on it and a 20tpi nut that is run through a hole you drill in the cap and then epoxied in place. It should stay in well and after you have the cap sealed on the pipe you can paint it to make it pleasing to the eye.

If they aren't sharp out of the pack, I'll switch them. If they are I'll fish with it for a bit and see if they need to be upgraded. You should know pretty quick if they do or not.

Probably not as often as I should. Up until this last year, if I wasn't in a tournament it'd be rare for me to even have my vest on. I bought an inflatable in the spring of 2014 and since then, I wear it just about every time out. Now I just have to get better about hooking up the kill switch.

Welcome to the forums! You're off to a heck of a start!

I was super pumped to trya few more Livetarget offerings only to find out TW canceled them off my order due to availability. :/ Still am getting a few of them but kinda bummed.

I really like Trilene 100% Flouro. I have had zero issues with it. I also like the XL version for spinning reels.

I got an Xtreme last year that had been re-tipped for $50. It is missing a few inches and is a lot stiffer than it was originally so it isn't perfect for what it was intended, but it works pretty well for other techniques. I'm betting those pockets will be pretty close to empty when you leave haha!

Their store is a dangerous place to be, the bait monkey waits for you in the parking lot and then attacks as you walk in the door. They've got some great deals on seconds depending on when you go. One year they had LTB's @ $120 if you bought one $99 each if you bought 2 and $79 a piece if you bought 3 or more.

Length would be up to you, but I'd be looking to throw it on a M/F or ML/XF. The extra fast tip on the medium light will still let you get the action out of the bait without acting like a limp noodle.

For musky's the Toro NACL isn't overkill, it's pretty much what it was designed for as well as the Toro. They're low profile reels made to have the same benefits as the round reels. With the heavy weight of musky baits you need a huge rod to throw that all day, plus muskies pull like battle tanks, don't under estimate them. You don't want to show up with a knife at a gun fight.

this x2 you can think of it sort of like a foundation, If you don't spool the bottom part of your spool tight enough the line will almost collapse down farther making the line dig deeper into the spool. If you do spool it tighter it won't deform when the line hits it and allows it to lay on top. You don't have to have it ridiculously tight but don't just free spool it on there otherwise you're asking for trouble.

From what I hear there are some pretty nice programs out there to edit videos that can be purchased fairly cheap. I have yet to buy these yet, and I use both the GoPro software and also Microsoft Movie Maker. Both are free and seem to take care of my needs for now. It would be nicer to only need to use one but there are certain things you can do in one and not the other and vise versa.

BPS and TW don't have the new ones in stock yet. Yum redesigned pretty much their whole line and it's just starting to come out now. I do believe they discontinued the 7" Dingers as they didn't sell nearly as many as the other sizes.

It shouldn't happen although I'm sure it does. They should take them home and eat them.

I try to put the hook behind the gill plate.

Most of my t-rigging is weightless and my 6'6" M/F St. Croix Legend Xtreme is by far the best I've ever used.

I read something not that long ago where John Crews was talking about using 8lb flouro around docks and not trying to horse them out but rather just slowly work them out and back to the boat. I can't remember where I read that though or I'd post a link to it.

I'd go with the SC even in a small boat. More comfortable to drive for sure.

mono except on frogs

Something worth trying would be a Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper rigged on a 4/0 keel weighted hook. It's one of those baits that'll work all year all over the place. Yum Dingers would be another great option. A good selection of Eco Pro Tungsten weights would be high on my list as well as Xcalibur square bills.

Honestly, I think you're in the market for more than one rod. A rod that will cater more towards the bluegill, crappie, and walleye fishing will be on the lighter side in the bass world and will definitely limit the techniques you will be able to use effectively. A heavier powered bass rod is going to most likely be a little over powered for those other three yet will be under powered for musky fishing. A straight up musky rod is going to be way over powered for all three other species you're targeting. I would say look for Medium power fast action bass rod and then pick up a cheap 6' or 6'6" Light action rod for the panfish. Spend most of your budget on the medium action bass rod and reel and just pick up a cheaper combo for the panfish.

I think you can manage doing it yourself. Aside from the power source, there really isn't that much wiring involved other than running the ones from the transducer and SS transducer up through the hull. Looking at a few pics quick, it looks like it shouldn't be to hard to install the SS transducer on which seems to be the trickiest part.