FryDog62

Interesting points, how well does an XF keep the fish pinned as they get near the boat? What line do you use? Thx

Curious if anyone has used this rod - graphite, regular taper for chatterbaits: Daiwa Tatula Elite Casting Rod 7'2" Med Hvy Howell Taper Line Wt. Lure Wt. Guides Handle Type Handle Length Stock Price Qty Regular 12-25lb 1/4-1 3/8oz 8+Tip Elite Cast F 14-3/4" In Stock: 3 $179.99 Or this iRod: Genesis II Casting Rod 7'2 Stone Cold Swim/Vibrating 723c - Stone Cold Swim Jig & Vibrating Jig Rod Hide Information Taper Line Wt. Lure Wt. Guides Handle Type Handle Length Stock Price Qty Moderate Fast 10-20lb 3/8-1oz 9+Tip Genesis II Cast A ***/2" In Stock: 5+ $149.99

Looks like an interesting rod too, has it been discontinued though?

It does load nice, and I agree a bit counter-intuitive that a 6-9 Heavy would have enough forgiveness in the tip. Are you using a higher stretch line? That could make some of the difference too --

I know most people like composite/glass bladed jig rods, but I actually prefer the sensitivity of graphite. I have a harder time feeling the weeds, cover, bottom as well with glass. But I get it that graphite needs to have the right parabolic action to work well. What graphite rods do people prefer for this in the $150-250 range?

That’s great news, not only lighter but palmable as well...

Imo great reel but needed to get lighter/smaller. I see the new model is down to 6.7 oz, will be interesting if it’s more palmable too. If it achieves all that and will still throw/skip light lures well - you wonder if it will cannabalize Zillion sales. Of course, the Zillion will go thru the same evolution over time. Great reels heading the right direction...

I had a Zodias not an Expride but they both have a 15 inch handle, which I found to be too cumbersome for jerkbaiting. That’s why I prefer the 13 inch Dobyns 685 or 705. The Orochi is in between at 14 and a good stick too..

A lot of people find spinning rods easier to “work” a jerkbait but again it’s personal preference. I use a baitcaster, and think a very important thing to consider is handle length. Longer handles bang against your side or forearm when jerking and make it much more difficult to work the lure. Standard handle lengths for most baitcast rods are 14-15 inches. The better true jerkbait rods IMO have a 13 inch handle. More freedom of movement. That’s why I like the Dobyns 685/705. I’m not a big fan of Lew’s but they have some jerkbait rods with handles between 10-13 inches. Less than 12 inches is too short to me - yes the short size makes it easier to work the lure, but it leaves you with much less ability to firmly hang onto the rod and/or muscle a big fish. You lose your leverage point, and are basically only fighting the fish with your wrist.

Very tough loss, prayers sent - -

I think the Ranger is a good boat, but when I looked at that model 3 years ago - I really liked the layout but concerns were how it would handle rougher water/waves, and how it would track in the wind/current. For similar price I ended up with a Lund Pro-V Bass 1875. Deep-V handles the bigger waves well and the IPS Chine/strakes help it track very well. If you fish calm waters, the Ranger might be a good option too.

4/0 fits the bill perfectly on the 5 inch Shad..

One lure for both species: 5 inch Strike King Caffeine Shad on an Owner Twistlock Light 3/32 weighted hook. Unbelievable action with this set up. This specific weighted hook keeps the Shad horizontal while moving forward. Unlike other plastics of this style, the Shad has a bubble in the tail. Once cast out, the Shad slowly swims forward, then slows and with a kick of the bubble tail, changes directions and descends further while swimming/dying in a different direction. If there are smallmouth or largemouth present it gets engulfed. This is the only lure I need whether throwing in open water, along weed edges, skipped under docks, or twitched like a jerkbait. Also works great swimming with the current along river banks and is mostly resistant to branches/rocks/weeds. Most any color works, but if I had to pick one color, white would be it for both species.

That’s what it means in the case of the MMH Daiwa Ehrler baitcasting rod... in between. However in the case of the MH+ ALX Toadface it means the tip is MH and the butt is Heavy. So it can mean difference things or action. Might be worth calling the manufacturer for a detailed explanation.

Are you thinking of buying an 1875 or 2075 PVB?

Excellent point... Yes, if I wasn’t able to leave room for my wife’s Jeep I would be single!!

Yes that is the length with the tongue swung to the side... you’ll also have to factor in that adding a jack plate sets the motor back a few inches farther too. My garage is 21’-3” and I have to angle my boat EXACTLY to fit in. I invested in a Trailer Valet ($400) to be able to be able to position the boat just where it needs to be. Lastly, I’m going to add to the review if you are buying the boat new to consider having the cockpit done in vinyl (the rest of boat in carpet is fine). The cockpit seems to track 80% of the stains in my boat and vinyl is easier to clean. I believe A-jay had his done this way. I added a mat/carpet to the cockpit floor. If you go that route I can show you what I did. But vinyl would be easier?

Most underrated/best value rods are: •Abu Garcia Vengeance and Daiwa AirdX. $50 rods that are a great stick and value for the price point. Most overrated rod: •Any Medium/Heavy or Heavy action St. Croix rod. I fished them with absolute loyalty for 25 years and accepted them as the best. And they are a good quality rod, with a good warranty. But when I finally/reluctantly picked up other manufacturers rods I learned how heavy, thick, cumbersome, tip-heavy and poorly balanced the heavier SC rods are. I still have a few mediums, but I totally bought into the heavy stuff for years. Had a cabin in Wisconsin (not far from SC factory) for 27 years and every bait shop carried them, and I bought them (A LOT of them). However, once I ate the forbidden fruit and picked up a similarly priced Tatula, Loomis, Megabass, Kistler, ALX, Phenix, etc... it was a whole different league of equally powerful rods that were also light and balanced. •Most underrated reel: On the spinning side, a Pflueger President is well-regarded already, but is best value I’ve found. •Most overrated reel is the Daiwa Zillion SV TW. It’s a good reel, but the Tatula SV TW is $100 less and almost every bit as good.

Sorry to hear about cancer, that’s more of a priority to beat that. Now that the boat has been out 3 years I’m sure there will be more used for sale..?

Spinning is probably easiest for really light stuff, but many prefer baitcasting. Here are my baitcasting set-ups for under 1/4 ounce: •Daiwa Steez SV TW/Loomis NRX 852 for weightless wacky worm fishing and skipping. (Phenix 7-1 ML would work well too) •Daiwa Alpha SV with either Phenix Feather 7-1 MLF or 7-1 MHXF for 1/16 or 1/8 oz Neko rigging or tubes depending on depth and how heavy surrounding cover is •Daiwa Alpha SV on Phenix 7-1 MLF for drop-shot •Daiwa Alpha SV on 6’10” MajorCraft Don Iovino MXF for 1/8 oz Ned Rigs. Great when a shorter rod is desired, closer to a Medium-Light rod and well-priced. •Daiwa Tatula SV TW on a Tatula Elite Ehrler 7’0” M-MH XF for Caffeine Shads (very heavy plastic) on Owner Twistlock Light 3/32 oz weighted hooks SV spools are the key for the really light stuff.

Agreed, that’s why I waited awhile before reviewing. To be honest, I think 150 hp and 50 mph is plenty of power for that boat. Never felt underpowered, but then the FLW isn’t calling me to join either

Someone on this site asked me a couple years ago to provide a review on my Lund Pro-V Bass 1875 XS. I said give me some time on the water and I will, but never got around to writing it. Another person on a different site just asked and I provided so I thought I would post here as well. It was -12 degrees this morning in Minnesota so if nothing else it keeps me thinking about Spring (98 days until open water season begins ------------------------------------------------------- I've had an 1875 PVB for 3 seasons and overall I'm very happy with it... Actually coming from the fiberglass world, I'm surprised I like it as much as I do. I have the XS seating with the pedestals and rear flip up seats. Not often I have 4 people in the boat but the set up is a lot better and more versatile than a traditional bass boat. You can pull tubes/skiers if you want. It is like a traditional bass boat in that the seating is farther to the rear of the boat, so you will get more side spray when quartering than you would with a high sided Deep-V boat with seats that sit further forward and a full windshield. But as far as going straight into bigger waves, its Deep-V hull is better than my Ranger was. The first year I would hold my breath and brace myself just before I'd hit a big wave. But I didn't need to, the Deep V does well in rougher seas, straight on the same as a Pro-V would. That's a definite plus in this boat. The layout is great for fishing - I'm primarily bass/muskie, but I have used it some for trolling/jigging for walleyes. If I were mostly a walleye fisherman I'd be in a different boat, but unless your fishing in waves over 2 feet it does fine. It seems to track better than a typical bass boat too, and doesn't get pushed around in the wind like other high-sided walleye boats can. The front deck does sit a little higher up than most bass boats. But the floor comes up almost to the gunwale so its a slight advantage and gives you a little more room/clearance if you fish jerk baits, flip, roll cast, etc. You may have to adjust if you skip lures a lot since you are a little higher above the water, but just modify your trajectory a bit and you're fine. I skip a lot of plastics and the angle is second nature now... The storage is phenomenal. Honestly, I would have a real hard time going back to a traditional bass boat storage system. I can organize gear/tackle so much better in the PVB. The hazard can be that you store too much stuff and weigh the boat down, so I'm careful not to over do it. I've always been a big proponent of maxing out the hp rating. This was a holdover 2016 boat and already rigged with a 150 when I bought it. I don't fish many tournaments or travel great distances very often so I don't feel the need to go 60 mph. I top out at about 50 mph and don't have a problem getting up on plane at all. I usually cruise relatively effortlessly at about 35-40 mph. If you fish a lot of tournaments, travel great distances regularly, or usually have 3-4 people in the boat then I'm sure the 200 hp would be a better option. I did max out the trolling motor with a 36 volt Ultrex 112. I wouldn't consider anything less. I use the TM 90% of the time I'm on the water and it lasts all day even in stiff river current. Wide open I go approx 3 mph which is plenty fast IMO. The Spot-lock on the Ultrex was improved over the Ulterra I had on my Ranger, it works well. The cable drive is so much better too. The one modification I did make was the length of the shaft on the Ultrex. At the time I bought the only shaft length sizes available were a 45 inch and a 60 inch. Since I do fish big water occasionally, and the bow sits up slightly higher, I went with the 60 inch. The problem was when fishing shallow the head of the motor really sticks up high. I ended up glancing my rod/lure off it a few too many times when skipping or roll casting. It became a real pain and limited my casting angles just a little too often. I took the motor to a certified MinnKota dealer and had the shaft cut to 52 inches (a size they offer on the new ones now!). It seems to be a very good compromise. In true 3 footers the prop will sputter above the water at times, but I don't fish in those conditions very often. I do fish calm shallow areas regularly. I added a jack plate and it has been a huge plus. I wanted this boat for big water but also for shallow rivers and no wake zones. With the jack plate up, the hull stays level and I only draft approx 12-14 inches of water depending on speed. Only misgivings I have are: *The cover it came with is custom made for the boat, fits great but the pole system to hold the cover up in the bow simply doesn't work. It flops over every time and will also pool water if it sits outside in the rain. At first I used a traffic cone as a prop up front but once the sun gets hot that would wilt over too. I ended up using a Christmas tree stand to prop the bow pole up and it actually works great believe it or not, but kinda silly I had to resort to that! *The cooler is a joke. I don't know what Lund was thinking when they made an otherwise very good quality and somewhat expensive boat but designed it with a $9 cooler. Its a hollow-sided, non-insulated, cheap Igloo that holds ice a couple hours at best. I get it they wanted the cooler to fit inside of the step to the bow, but they could have done this better or reconfigured the step slightly to accommodate a different/better brand of cooler. I don't need a Yeti, but I would have gladly paid the extra $50-100 bucks for a better quality cooler that holds ice at least a day. I now use the bow step for line storage and bought an Rtic cooler I slide under the driver's console. Not ideal but its pretty much out of the way and holds ice for a couple days. *It seems 80% of the stains I get in the boat are in the cockpit area. If anyone is ordering this boat new I would recommend vinyl covering for the cockpit but not necessary for the rest of the boat. (I believe this is what A-Jay did). I did put a “semi-custom” Lund carpet/mat in the cockpit to reduce staining if anyone is interested in an after market option PM me. Vinyl would be best however IMO. *Last nit is a plus/minus - its an aluminum hull. Its superior in terms of occasionally scraping the bottom in rivers, where fiberglass would chip. I've pulled it up on a rocky shore on Rainy Lake for shore lunch and wasn't paranoid like I was with my previous fiberglass boats. But the freeboard on an aluminum boat scratches easier than fiberglass. It just does. Even if you're careful you'll scratch the freeboard or peel up the decals over time when you nudge a dock or tree/brush. But if it looks a little beat up in a few years, I can always take it in for a cosmetic re-fresh. Heck I'll be 60 then and no doubt will need one too, if not already ~ Overall, I would give it a 9 on 10 scale. I've had buyer's remorse with other boats I've bought and have traded them off after a couple years. No thoughts of that at all with this boat. I can think of only one other possible boat I would consider buying and it is twice the cost. Not worth it in my opinion. And there would be that issue of having to adjust to the lack of useable storage again, or lack of comfortable seating for 4 passengers occasionally, etc. A very versatile boat which is what I wanted...

It may be mostly marketing, but I sure see a lot more bright colors in the lures/plastics designed for smallmouth fishing. You wonder if its for semi-scientific reasons or just to catch fishermen and sell more product...

Came across this older thread and wanted to ask the question - if there are differences in color perception between largemouth and smallmouth? Smallmouth tend to be more active sight feeders, which poses the question if their eyesight is better and/or they see more color variations?

Yes, we’re in smallmouth territory up North and have thought about using them for that. Given the salt content I assume they sink, how would you rig them?