Logan S

I'll be really mad at myself when I inevitably lose a Zoom/WEC crankbait...But they were made to catch fish and they do a good job of it so I can't let them sit. I probably won't be replacing them though since the ones I really like are $80+ now.

On HB you can adjust scroll/chart speed, on Lowrance you can't...So you do have adjust boat speed to get the best picture. 5mph is faster than I've ever scanned though, but everyone's rig is different so who knows. 2.5 to 3mph is the sweet spot for my boat. Lowrance does change chart speed based on your range setting, but you can't adjust the chart speed yourself.

My primary usage on the Potomac and Bay for side imaging is finding grass that hasn't reached the surface. Keep the range at 60 to 100 feet and set the contrast/sensitivity to a point where the areas right under and near the boat are a little washed out - That will give you a good picture of grass further out when you come across it. Idle the areas you're searching, drop waypoints on the edges of grass you see on SI. You'll probably also find submerged laydowns, rocks, and other cover that's worth a waypoint. I'm also a Lowrance user (HDS 9's) and this is what works for me...Lowrance unfortunately is not as good at shallow water scanning as HB (I ran HB previously), but with some practice you can dial it in to show you essentially the same thing. One thing though, you'll want the SI unit mounted on the console...You can use it up front but it will be way more effective and efficient when mounted at the console. It's not overkill because it's definitely useful, you fish the Potomac and Bay so I'm sure you know how valuable it is to know where grass is - especially when you can't see it on the surface . FYI, when you go to a lake and look for 'real' structure/cover, you'll need to change the settings a little bit...Setting it up to find shallow grass will give you poor results in deeper water and harder bottoms.

Supposedly the Yamaha SHO 200 thru 300 HP outboards are all actually the same motor mechanically - But with different tuning to achieve the desired HP. Assuming it's the same with the 115 thru 175 HP SHO models too. Might be something like that going on with the Mercury's you're talking about? Would be my guess anyway.

You've got it right. Spinning reels typically have a lower gear ratio, but the 'real world' speed is actually faster than baitcast reels of the same ratio. Example: Stradic Ci4+ 2500 - 6.0 gear ratio - 35 inches per turn (IPT) Curado 200K - 6.2 gear ratio - 26 inches per turn (IPT) The Stradic spinning reel is actually on par with the Curado XG that has an 8.5 ratio (36 IPT). The 4000 size Stradic has 39 IPT with 6.2 ratio....On a casting reel it would take a 9+ ratio in most reels to get that IPT . There are plenty of examples where casting reels are a better option than spinning, but gear ratio isn't one. I wouldn't put much stock in 'Karl'.

Our area presents us with a tough choice...Do we outfit a rig that will be great on the HP-limited and/or electric-only lakes but less than ideal on the Potomac/Bay? Or go for a rig that's better suited to the bigger water but will be less than ideal on the more numerous HP-limited and electric-only lakes? When it comes to the Potomac and Bay a small boat, to include everything you listed, will always pose a certain level of risk. Even if you're smart about it, those freak storms or fronts can blow through and it gets ugly FAST. Even in a 21' bassboat it has scared me unexpectedly. Plenty of people fish both places in small boats just fine, but it is something that should be in the back of your mind. If the Potomac is going to be a regular stop for you, I'd say go on the bigger side...If not, I'd optimize your choice for Occoquan and the other lakes around.

A top line new bassboat has always been roughly similar in price as a new Corvette. Quick Google search on current Vette prices shows that to be between $60k and $80k depending on model...What do ya know, about the same price as a new 20 or 21 foot Skeeter, Ranger, Phoenix, Basscat, Triton, etc...And actually most of the bassboats are probably coming in on the low end of that range (or maybe even under). As bass fisherman we are also a bit nutty with the amount and types of gear we use when compared to other fisherman or any other hobby/sport out there....So I wouldn't argue about bass fishing being expensive because we make it that way. It's self inflicted though, any bass angler could absolutely be budget minded and still have quality gear and be very successful if they wanted to - Most of us just don't seem to want to ?.

I always think line type is an important consideration, so by default yes.

Lake Anna in VA has a pretty bad rep...To the point where it has nicknames like One Fish Anna, The Dead Sea, Lack Anna, etc.... It takes some time to learn but it's not a 'bad' lake in reality, and it has giants in it. A big reason people hate it is that around here (Northern VA and MD) tidal rivers are the dominant waters for bass fishing and especially tournaments, so many guys are really keyed in to that type of fishing which is about as opposite from Lake Anna as you can get. The other reason is that even for a clearwater lake, it's not typical since it has sort of an odd nuclear power plant configuration (not a typical warm discharge)...It's unique and you sort of the throw the book out the window when you fish it. I personally like it, but I've spent a lot more time there than many who don't like it

Gator Grip - It's what our club provides to boats for weigh in so we have like 30 of them, don't think we've had an issue with a single one yet...Going on 5 years or so with the current set.

You can probably fix the holeshot problem with a lower pitch prop if that's the primary concern. Might try this first before spending thousands on a repower. Most AL bass boats are not performance hulls so throwing more horsepower on it might not get the performance gains you expect. It would obviously be better, but it's possible that the improvement might not seem worth the thousands spent once you've done it. Add in the insurance angle - both to insure it yourself AND what could happen if you were ever involved in an accident with an overpowered boat - and I'd be shopping for props right now not motors . Just my 2c though.

Not sure what length Veritas you had, but the shorter heavy-power rods (like 7') can definitely have that pool cue feel to them. Bump up the length a bit and most of the time you get a little more tip even in a heavy power rod...To me, a 7'4" H (what I use for frogging) feels much better all around than 7' H. Having said that, if you like what you've got now you might consider just keeping it as is...Unless/until you find it underperforming or underpowered first hand (like not being able to get fish out of the cover).

It's one of my most productive baits all summer long. One of the best baits for fishing through grass and that's what we do all summer in the tidal water around here. I have three bladed jigs tied on in the boat right now . Probably a regional thing...We don't do much deep cranking around here in the summer and guys in other places would probably think that's crazy (just one example).

You could try some tidal water fishing...It generally stays decent thru the summertime and it's all shallow water and generally "power" fishing which sounds like what you're looking for. If you went to MD you could fish the Upper Chesapeake and the Potomac, or you could do central VA and have the Potomac and the James/Chick rivers as options. If you like fishing heavy grass and other visible cover in shallow water, tidal fishing in the mid-Atlantic is for you . Having said that, if I were you and had a week to take a fishing trip in the summer, I'd be heading north to Erie or Cayuga or St Lawrence, etc...Assuming the COVID restrictions didn't prevent it.

I have a Tatula 100HS that I got back in 2015, which was pretty close to when the platform was first released. It's been flawless. It's lived it's life on my flipping/punching rod and I don't see myself changing it out anytime soon. I am a pretty hardcore Shimano guy too...But I have 2 Tatula's, this one and an HLC model on my frog rod as my only non-Shimano's. They are excellent reels IMO. I could see myself migrating from Shimano to a Tatula lineup one day (not today though ). To me, the Tatula 100 platform is the modern version of what the Curado B-series was for so many years - The solid, affordable workhorse reel that can do it all.

Everything public has been hammered this year because of COVID, but prior to that in general I'd say public waters are sort of the same as they've always been...I don't bank fish much so I can't comment on C&O Canal and other stuff like that, but I only fish public waters and up until COVID everything was the same as it's always been mostly. Little Seneca / Black Hill is one place that's definitely more crowded in the past couple years. More kayaks than anything else. The fishing is down a bit compared to a few years ago when it was off the charts, but it's still fishing pretty good...It had to come back to earth eventually.

I've fished lakes that have been sprayed or treated and the fishing has always been poor for a period of time after. Our DNR has said the herbicides don't effect fish and while that might literally be true (as in it doesn't kill them outright) it definitely has adverse effects on the fish. I generally avoid areas that have been sprayed if I can. The fish I have caught in those areas are frequently skinny and rough looking. Everyone I know has similar observations...I've never heard anything positive about treating SAV with chemicals in regards to fishing quality.

I've caught a lot of fish on spinnerbaits with white painted blades over the years. I started using them after getting my butt kicked in a tournament nearly 20 years ago and they were considered 'old school' then....So I don't think it's a new thing?

Got to fish the Potomac for fathers day...Fished most of the day with this giant accidental catfish as my only catch. Finally got some fish to bite and caught a bunch of bass one after the other for about 30 minutes...Gotta love tidal fishing sometimes ?. Ended up with 15 or so fish up to about 3lbs in the little flurry before it tapered off.

Y'all need to keep quiet on the Met MG's!!!! ? That frame style is hands down my favorite...Core, Met MG, Chronarch D, and the 1st gen Exsence DC. The '13 Metaniums are starting to get affordable too, can find them under $200 most of the time.

For me, the exact duplicates are.... MB XX Diablo Spec-R w/ Core MG7 (x2) MB XX Spinnerbait Special w/ Scorpion DC7 (x2) MB XX Jerkbait Special w/ Scorpion 1000XT (x2) They are versatile rods and I liked them so much I wanted another .

Smallwood State Park and Marshall Hall are in MD...Leesylvania State Park, Pohick Regional Park, Occoquan Regional Park, and Hope Springs Marina are in VA. There's several other ramps in MD and VA also, these are some of the most popular. No need to go on a road trip looking, it's 2020....Get on Google Maps and check em out . Gaston has a few waterfront hotels/lodges plus countless rental houses and plenty of ramps. It's a 4 hour drive there, so it's a place that you'll want to get at least 2 or 3 days on for a trip.

Not sure what kind of boat you have, but the Upper Potomac is really only suited to jet boats unless you go to Dam 4 / Slackwater. Seneca is borderline, people do it with props but not me....But the ramps and areas on the Upper Potomac that are actually worth fishing (IMO) are all in jet boat territory. The tidal Potomac has a ton of ramps, some of the big ones are Smallwood, Leesylvania, Pohick, Occoquan, Marshall Hall and Aquia (Hope Springs)....There are several others in addition to these. National is a good ramp but gets really crowded with sight-seers anytime the weather is nice, it's a great launch for winter fishing. There's probably a dozen ramps to launch a bassboat on the tidal Potomac and most are in parks that have nice facilities.

1) Avoid the FICHT, speaking from personal experience. I had one and it was great motor right up until the point it wasn't and I had to decide whether to spend a lot money rebuilding it OR a lot more money on re-powering (I re-powered)...And that experience has been duplicated by countless people that you can find online or otherwise. In addition, even if it performs flawlessly you may one day want to sell or trade in the boat and it's very hard to sell a boat with a FICHT on it....And this specific one apparently already has some issues. 2) I'd never consider a dual console personally, the space you lose is not worth it unless you have a family member or other co-angler that will ride with you the majority of the time AND the wind bothers them to the point of them being uncomfortable. Plenty of people have that situation obviously and it's good they have that option...But I've seen several guys get a dual console and end up hating it because most of the time they fish alone or with a co-angler that could care less about it (or hates it also, I know several Co's that hate dual-consoles). So obviously my recommendation would be the Basscat. Both Ranger and Basscat are well-made boats - But between these 2 specific ones, the Basscat wins.

Shortening the wires like I did to this one makes it flex a bit less and only having 2 actual jigheads on mine makes it worse (less weight at the ends of wires to pull on them)...But for my application the flex isn't critical for triggering strikes. I throw this specific one when smallies are aggressively chasing baitfish, they either go all the way or they don't. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't really pay attention to the flex on it...But it does flex though. 16lb FC should be fine and should still flex the wires.