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I'm sure the locks work, but I'd rather just take mine off. Both my units are on ram mounts so removal easy. I'll leave the ram and brackets on and I put both units in a tool case that came with the pluck-able foam inserts. Not only does it prevent them from getting swiped, they don't get bounced around as much as if I left them on the boat. People who have them flush mounted don't have a choice, they stay in the boat. I know at least with Lowrance units, the face plate comes off and it's screwed into the mounting surface. It'd take far too long to remove them every time.

My favorite is a Big Bite Bait Cane Thumper. I'll also use a Swimin' Dinger if I'm going for a little more subtle action.

Here's the cheaper alternative. I know Cabela's isn't the only place that has something like this either. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Transducer-Mounting-Plates/701430.uts?productVariantId=1212857&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=02684721&rid=20&gclid=Cj0KEQjw3Le4BRDxx5bk4aDn9t4BEiQAfmxQGayaDfURcpyzh2F962fNeZZSwwGpyGKtZ6nLOKo517MaAowR8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Congrats on the new ride!

Welcome to BR!

Yep definite scam. There's a lot of scammers out there. Best way to deal is in person. If they start making excuses not to, or a lot of times if they don't even have a number listed with their add just move on.

Awesome story and awesome post!

Sheesh, congrats on the rod purchase and for being loaded haha.

You can get buy with all casting reels or all spinning. I feel that having a mix of both is necessary though as one excels at things the other can do, but isn't as good at. I had a phase growing up where I went all anti-spinning and I got along just fine. After a while though, I came to appreciate those spinning rods and although I don't have a boatload of them there's at least two in my boat at all times and usually both are on my deck any given day I'm on the water. My only gripe with them now is that they take up more room in my rod locker. I've learned it's something I can deal with though.

You're a lucky man! I wanted to do that with mine too, but unfortunately I couldn't find a new or used LWX receiver. I also couldn't imagine paying $700 for the new one they have. Most lakes around me I can get ok cell reception so I can just use my phone, but there's several that I don't have coverage and it'd be great to have that.

I'd probably go to a ML. I love my ML/XF drop shot rod and think it'd be a killer rod for river smallies!

Not sure what the water temp is where you're at, but given the time of year that plays a critical role in where the bass will be located. If they're starting to move up to spawn and you're beating the bank, you're most likely catching the little males. They move up first to prepare the beds while the bigger females usually are hanging out near the first drop still feeding up. After the spawn the males stay to guard the eggs as the females slip back out to recover. Knowing the seasonal habits of the fish you're trying to catch plays a very large part in what fish you're putting in the boat.

Welcome to the forums! It's a great place to get your questions answered.

Yep you got a good deal even though it's the older model! Enjoy your new purchase!

It sounds like it was damaged somewhere along the line. Mojo's do have a warranty. If you didn't register it or still have the receipt, it goes by the date of manufacture, which they can tell from the serial number on the blank. St. Croix is known for their great customer service. Give them a call and see what they can do.

Rod size is more of a personal preference. There are certain techniques it's advantageous to have either longer or shorter. For instance for flippin' a longer rod is nice because it allows you to get more distance and allows you to move more line when you're trying to pull the fish out of something. It doesn't mean you can't do it with a shorter one, either but there's an advantage. One thing that seems to be true though is you'll be more accurate when casting to a target with a shorter rod vs longer. Either way though if you feel 7' is comfortable go for it.

I don't know that there's one brand that's the overall worst, but rather models within a brand. My dad's second hobby aside from fishing is buying and selling boats. I've seen a lot of them and have fished out of a ton of them too. I've seen weird things from layouts that just don't work, to storages that you have to move seats to open because there's inadequate clearances, livewells with drains inches above the bottom of the livewell, wasted space, and just poor design in general.

Do you know what model the locators are and what lb thrust the tm is? There's so much variation out there 2 original locators won't add much value at all. Same with the tm, if it's a 12V and the original you can probably expect If I were in your position, I'd be asking for a boatload of pictures of it first since it's so far away. With so much of a boats value coming from condition and the motor I'd want to know as much as I could about those.

Tracker makes a decent entry level boat. Over the last 15 years or so they have made them a lot better than they used to. They still lack a few options that would make them a lot nicer, but you get what you pay for.They aren't the best that's out there, but they aren't the worst either. They're capable of being a nice boat for someone.

I've heard you can stick them in the microwave for a few minutes too.

I use the Plano 3701 for all my hooks. I buy Flambeau Zera Rust tabs (same thing their blue divider are made from) and spread them throughout the box. I'm also going to add some silica packets this year as well just for assurance.

When I was young I'd always use a snap swivel. For the past decade or so I've been tying direct on everything until last year I started using a snap swivel on my medium to deeper diving crankbaits. I think this next year I'll do the same, but tie direct on the squarebills still and it forces me to retie more often.

In the spring, I'll be using a Terminator with an Oklahoma blade, or a different brand spinnerbait with an extra Oklahoma blade or Colorado blade. It allows for a slower retrieve while throwing off a lot of vibration. The combo seems to do wonders!

Just use backing and that spool will go a lot farther. I usually respool 3 reels with one filler spool and use that for the whole year. You can use what's left as a leader material on another setup.

You should be fine as long as you don't tie some huge knot.