WIGuide

There's a few different companies making them now. Rayjus, G2 Gemini, Atomic, E3 sports apparel, The Winning Team, etc, etc. G2 Gemini exclusively makes the BASS Jerseys and I believe The Winning Team still exclusively make the ones for FLW. The sublimated jerseys are definitely comfortable. They're more breathable, they fit better, and don't inhibit movement in any way. Before those they had used patches and embroidery which although looked nice, made a heavily decorated shirt far less comfortable to wear. As others said above, many brands have them made for them and you can get those pretty reasonable. If you're looking to get a custom made one though be prepared to lay down some money and time. Most places require to get written permission to use anyone's logo and some companies are honestly a pain to deal with that way. Others are great, and absolutely a pleasure to work with. When all is said and done with a stock background with custom placements you're probably looking at 65-100 for the shirt.A generic one from your favorite company will probably run 40-60.

Jerkbaits are definitely a go-to presentation for cooler water. They can also be great smallmouth catchers year round. I use a few different brands of jerkbait depending on what I'm looking for that day. Some brands I use regularly include Rapala, Luck-E-Strike, Smithwick, and Xcalibur. I really like the suspending variety. Jerk them down, twitch them and then give them slack right away. If you experiment with them boat side, you want them to dart erratically from side to side followed up by a pause.

Contact cement would probably do the trick too.

It says right in his post that he's using the paddle tail versions. I haven't tried the SK versions, but I've tried the swimin' super flukes. I wasn't thrilled with the action. I opted for the Big Bite Bait Cane Thumper instead. It's got more tail kicking action, and a little more side to side roll on a weight EWG. Very similar action on a jig head as well as a swimbait hook. Although they do roll side to side, they shouldn't completely roll over though. Something I really like about the Cane Thumper is when you kill it the tail kicks as it falls and kind of spirals.

To me it depends on what you consider "fairly clear". My blade type would be determined more by that than anything. My choice would probably be a 3/8oz Terminator T-1 in something like a pb&j but I'd swap out the back blade to an Oklahoma blade if it was overcast and windy, or back to the willow if it wasn't as overcast or if the water color is more on the clear side.

After reading how some do it, I begin to wonder how much time some of you actually spend fishing vs tinkering around to get everything set perfectly. Are y'all fishing or conducting a science experiment? If that's what you want to do you're more then welcome to just not my cup of tea to over complicate things. My k.i.s.s strategy is for single hook baits tighten it down enough it won't slip on a hook set, treble hooked baits looser (possible a little slip on the set even), and heavy cover to crank it down pretty tight. It's worked for me for a long time with a pretty good track record.

If I'm flippin'/pitchin I use one style of creature bait about 90% of the time. There are times though when I need to switch it up. Usually those are times when I'm fishing clearer water I'll go to something with a few less appendages to help speed up the rate of fall. There are other times I just want a different profile. If I'm punching I'll either modify my bait by pulling some appendages off, or just switch styles to give me a more streamline profile to get through the canopy easier.

Because being a competitor is in his blood. He is driven to win and if he doesn't it burns him up inside. He does have an impressive legacy and I'm sure he still has goals of his own. I find all this KVD hate quite funny. He's not done. You need to remember that this is the Bassmaster Classic. You don't fish to get a check because everyone gets one, or fish to try to make the super 6, you fish TO WIN! They aren't basing their decisions on the safe choice and instead are going for broke. When they do that they either knock it out of the park (like Evers did the final day) or they fall flat on their face. Evers did plant brush but like Meldawg said, he couldn't use any of it because conditions changed. Anyone is free to do it before cutoff so I really don't see any harm in it. If everyone is free to do it, and it does nothing but help the fishery. Also, if you've planted any brush piles before, you know that the percentage of return on them isn't very high. You can drop 10 piles on spots that "should be great" and probably 1 of every 10 or so will end up holding fish if that.

I pretty much buy what I want if I can afford it. I don't baby my equipment, but I don't abuse it either. Getting in good habits of keeping things organized. Don't put your rods in positions where a hatch can shut on them, don't slam them against the boat after you miss a fish, don't leave them where you can step on them. Not saying accidents can't still happen, but they are a lot fewer and further between. Learn how to handle a rod and not boat flip every fish you catch, take some steps to keep them from getting beat up like using rod gloves when you put them into the rod locker to prevent them from beating on one another or getting guides caught on other rods when you pull them out. As far as things I consider when buying a new rod is is it something I'm going to use; will it fit in my rod box (limited on length), and I also try to stick with one company. Since I found one that I really like, when I buy a new rod I don't have to have hands on it because I know what to expect. Being that I live in the middle of nowhere, that's actually quite helpful.

Glad to hear the good news. Sorry about the bad. What kind of diet are you on?

Why not just use a normal battery box?

They make a 12 foot 2 man boat that already has a deck and a small livewell. You could also deck out a jon boat. Your other option would also be to buy a small 14 v hull. Brands like Sylvan, Alumacraft, Fisher, Northwoods, and Lowe all had boats like that. They're small but for 1 person they can get the job done.

No I don't think it is. It's got a newer motor, probably mid to late 90's and newer seats (early 2000's) but that's about where it ends on the positives side. The gel coat is straight up shot, it looks like someone tried to bring it back but found out just how hard that is. You can tell it sat out. Even just by looking at how faded the tm is it just wasn't cared for. Also, it's older than an 87. I believe it's an 84 or older and I can't quite tell for sure on the HIN number, but it looks like it's an 82. It's too far gone to be worth that much.

I would advise against the walmart ones. Last I've checked I think they were like $12-15 for 2 1 foot strips. If you're looking to light your boat up on the cheap go for the ones on ebay. Yeah they aren't as high quality as something like a Bluewater, but for the price they can't be beat. When I bought them for my last boat, I didn't pay more than $3 per 1 meter strip and that was including shipping. I did the trailer for that boat as well, and that ran me under $40 with 2 16' sections. $10 of that price was for the waterproof switch I mounted on my trailer to turn them off for over the road. Best advice I can give you is just put some silicone over the cut ends and over the end the wire comes out to make sure they are sealed. This is what my other ride looked like when done:

I'm sure those will work. It's probably cheaper than the current option I use of the Zer-rust tabs. Those have worked well for me though.

The high speed could be useful in generating reaction strikes though.

Maybe you could do a little modification. I'm not sure which model you have, but the piece the seats are mounted to should be it's own piece. If it is, maybe look at adding some hinges to it and hollowing out the foam under it. It might not look as great as factory install, but you could make it pretty decent and gain a lot of space.

Can't wait to add one this year

Any newer more powerful cable steer is going to be a huge upgrade. In the early to mid 90's a 55-60 lb thrust was thought of as being a pretty powerful tm where these days top of the line tm's are in the triple digits. The extra power comes in handy more often than not. Times when there's high winds, current, or even heavy boat traffic can cause you to not be able to stay on a spot, or continue to make headway in the direction you want to. Today's high LB thrust trolling motors will help you be able to do that and they do it at a better efficiency.

Well engine to engine comparison the Yamaha isn't a lot heavier for a 4 stroke. It's about 50 lbs which is noticeable, but even though it's only a 4 cylinder, it's got a bigger displacement which usually means more low end grunt. Both engines have almost identical gear ratios but the SHO RPM range is 300 or so RPMS higher. I would think when all is said and done the performance end of things should be pretty similar. 4 strokes will burn less gas and are quieter to operate, but 2 strokes are tried and true. I'm not sure there is a wrong choice for you though especially after what you've had.

I'd say I'd be a fan of using both. GPS is great, but when staring out into the openness of open water it's easy at times to lose a point of reference. It's good to be able to just toss out a buoy when needed. GPS can be almost as good though. If you have a gps with a heading sensor, it'll keep your waypoints in the same relation to the boat so it's easier to know for sure where they are. It's also great for shallow water targets that are submerged. It might not be something that you stop and fish for a half an hour but knowing it's there will at times help you pick up an extra fish or two.

Sounds like you'll be good as new when it's all done. Thoughts and prayers go out for a quick recovery so you can start wrecking them asap!

Glad to hear the update! Keep on keepin on and kick that cancer's butt! Thoughts and prayers are with you.

I still prefer the Yum Dinger for weightless applications. I fish them on a M/F baitcasting rod and don't have problems casting them even when they're cut down a bit. If you're looking to fish them wacky and want to add weight though both for casting ad ROF, the best I've come across is the Eco Pro Tungsten Pro Wacky Weight. Great design, adds weight to help make your rig more versatile, and actually makes the baits last longer as well.

Honestly I prefer an Oklahoma blade to a Colorado blade as it's a little more versatile, and comes through grass better. Either will work though and can be used all year. The Colorado will provide a nice amount of vibration which makes it an excellent bait for low light periods as well as stained to muddy water. I also feel they are a better option for cold water. The reason being is both the Colorado and Oklahoma blades generate more lift than a willow leaf blade letting you retrieve the bait slower without just straight up sinking. That doesn't mean you can't slow roll them, but rather you can slow roll them slower. You can also run them at a slower speed up top too. If you up size the blade you can do it slower yet. I fish them that way a lot in the spring, keeping the bait just in sight. You can see that big ol' blade thumping away but still barely moving at you and it puts the fish in attack mode.