WIGuide

x2 Pretty much all I use these days. They're just as good as the other frogs on the market but at a fraction of the price. That's definitely a factor I look at fishing them up here with all the toothy critters. It doesn't matter how heavy of braid you use, if a Northern or Musky gets the whole thing in their mouth you'll only see braid flying back at you. If they somehow manage to only get the bait, it's usually shredded.

I've heard good things about the St. Croix Mojo Bass Crankbait rods if you're looking to go glass.

Fish are moving up and actively feeding this time of year so reaction baits rule.

I don't have one but from what I've heard about the Lew's that's what you should go with. I've heard mixed reviews about the Skeet Reese and the Academy one could be good but I haven't heard anything about them.

Yes, you can match pretty much any lines together without much issue.

Pros: Slightly less visible than mono and much less visible than braid; more abrasion resistant; more dense which helps in sink rate as well as getting crankbaits slightly deeper; another advantage from the density mentioned here is sensitivity is higher especially on a slack line. Cons: More expensive; slightly stiffer (depending on brand); loses strength quicker when nicked. Overall I think it's better, especially for certain situations. I use Berkley Professional Grade Fluorocarbon and I've had zero issues with knot strength, line memory, or knot problems. You'll want to make sure you check your line frequently because as stated, fluoro seems too lose it's strength a little quicker when beat up, but at the same time it's tougher to beat up so that kind of balances out. Since I started using it, I've switched almost exclusively to fluoro because I believe it's better. I think you should go ahead and give it a shot!

If you take it to a dealership, they could probably rebuild one for you using the internals that you already have and just put it in a new gear case.

That'll work!

I might have to do that. I absolutely love the Xr and Xcs lines. I've got a bunch and picked up some more when TW had them for half price, but that's almost too cheap to pass up!

if you post some pics it'd be easier to help you out

I'm really wishing I had a DSG close to me! At that price, it might be worth it to hit up the one closes to me that's 2 and a half hours away. That'd suck to drive there and find out they don't have the same deal.

Solid advice from aharris! A few other words of wisdom, respect his water. Draw a mental line sideways across the boat somewhere near the console and don't cast in front of that. It should be common sense to people who fish a lot, but as they say... common sense isn't always common. You'd be surprised how many times I've had a partner in the back of the boat launch one straight over my head, or right in front of the tm as we're turning. Also remember to drop the guy some cash at the end of the day. Gas and oil aren't cheap these days and they're forking over a lot of money to get there boat to the lake and then to keep it running once they get there plus the wear and tear on their equipment.

This article might be worth a read. http://basseast.com/advanced-swim-jigging/

Nice fish man! I'd say either a big male or a prespawn fish that hasn't fed up yet. You should be able to tell by the bottom jaw. A male's will be more pointed than that of a female.

There should be a power block up front that you can connect to. You'll have to take your front panel off and check it out.

Don't lipless cranks cast themselves? haha

A word of warning on those, make sure your rods fit before just going out and buying one. I've got a 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee that fits my rods just fine laying down over my folding 2nd row seating and tips came up between the seats a little. I was going to pull the trigger on one before even checking thinking I'd have plenty of room but decided to go out and just look quick. Found out because of the shape of the body, the roof space is significantly less and my rods wouldn't fit.

Haha that one was barely a keeper. The minimum is 40" and that was 41" it attacked a smallie that I was fighting! No problem man anytime!

Xcalibur XR50's and Cotton Cordell Super Spot

Nice work man, you started things off with a good one!

Haha yeah you've got to watch yourself with them. The best way to handle the smaller (up to about 30") is to grab them with your hand over your back like this If they get bigger than that, you can grab their jaw bone behind their gill plate like this Just don't stick your hand in too far because you'll get cut like no other!

I'd say just give it a shot and if you have interference then find out how to fix it.

If you've got the HDS 5 at the dash you could always upgrade your dash unit with a new HDS gen2 or gen2 Touch Lowrance unit and mount the 5 up front. That way you can link them with ethernet and have them share waypoints and even sonar data. You're going to want either side scan or spotlight scan (not capable with hds gen 1 systems I don't think). I'd suggest getting the side scan first.

Put them in the back and run the tips up in between the front seats.

I'd say a St. Croix Premier in either 6'6" or 7' M/F or the 6'10" M/XF.