EmersonFish

I get it man. I was in the same position as you and went with a brand new aluminum boat. It was significantly less money back then, but still the same dilemma. I decided it was more convenient, and safer, to buy new, rather than potentially buy someone else's problems. But I'm saying now, I'd definitely do it different. It may be that I am older and ready for something a little more comfortable and easy on my bones, like the old guy that sells his 5 speed and buys a Grand Marquis. Having said that, my aluminum boat has served me well. I've been shopping around quite a bit, but my budget is nowhere near the 20-25 range. I see Skeeters and Tritons in the 05'-08' range w/ 200-250hp Mercs on them in the low to mid twenties. Really nice boats, but you're right, they are not sitting on every corner. I did see an 06' Gambler 2200 with an 05' 300X Merc on it for $27,000.00 on another board. Completely impractical, and I'm sure I would kill myself with it, but I drooled a little bit none the less. I will have one of those before I die.

I live in Mid-Missouri, although my boat lives down at Table Rock. Anyway, my boat is a Tracker Pro Team 185. It gets a good deal of work in at Table Rock and Lake of the Ozarks. If I was in the market now and could afford one of those new aluminum rigs you were mentioning, I would buy a beautiful, well taken care of, used, GLASS boat every time. I usually stick up for the old aluminum boat, and they have their place, but to me, if you are willing throw down over $20,000.00, and you are going to be out on LOZ very often, you'll appreciate the glass rig for the very reasons you alluded to in your post. But that's just me. Those aluminum boats are capable of anything you are looking to do in Missouri, and I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you get if you invest that much money in it.

I'm a sucker for any show based on fishing, even when they are painfully repetitive like 'Wicked Tuna.' The 'Hard Merchandise' guys are definitely the easiest to root for.

You should go to college if a degree is required to work in the field you plan to work in, and you should plan on working in a field other than fishing. I was listening to JT Kenney speak on a podcast, and he stated that out of all of the guys on the Elite Series and FLW tours, these being the top guys, maybe 20 make their livings solely from income related to fishing. I'm not saying that he is accurate in that assessment, but he's accurate enough to point out that "fishing" is not a way to make a living. So figure out what you want to do to make a living and bankroll your dream. It might be a career that doesn't require a college degree. I worked in aircraft for 7 years. Then I went back to school, and now have a Master's Degree. I still make less money than I made in aircraft. Ultimately, your most valuable resource, and the one that keeps 99.9% of the people on this forum from being able to compete with the big boys, is TIME. If you can find a way to make a real living and have the kind of schedule that allows you to be on the water, A LOT, then that might be your best bet.

You could try them all, but I'd focus on #2 and #3 see which one feels better to you. The 765 is too much stick, and the Carbonlite is too short for my taste. So maybe you should try it too. You might not mind the length. Of course, we also don't have the luxury of knowing what reel with what kind of line is connected to the rods you listed. If I had to guess which rod I would prefer, it would be the 723.

Welcome, from another Missouri angler.

I think people get caught up on the idea that a "drop shot rig" has to be fished on a rod that has certain qualities that have come to be expected of a "drop shot rod." But these qualities are usually related to fishing the smaller, light wire hooks vertically. Using a slightly heavier wire hook with a larger bait, there is no need to confine yourself to your usual "drop shot rod". If you have a M spinning rod that you usually use for "shaky head" fishing, for instance, it will drive those slightly larger hooks home without being too much stick for the situation. And the 8 lb fluoro works perfectly either way.

To me, when using a reel for fishing worms/soft plastics/jigs and casting bottom contact baits, it's particularly nice to be able to pick up line as fast as possible as often I find myself working an area and reeling through a lot of dead water to get to the next cast. With cranks that run as shallow as you are suggesting, you won't really need a lower geared reel to help with fatigue, and you won't have that hard of a time slowing down enough with a 7.4 to present moving baits the way you like. So I guess if I had to have one, it would be the faster speed.

If I had my dream combo I'd just come up with a new dream combo. Lord knows "content" is not a state of being I'm familiar with.

My first tournament was 'The Grand Challenge' down in Oklahoma, probably about 15 years ago. Caught one fish. Don't remember the weight, although I still have the slip somewhere. Needless to say, it was humbling. Never have done worth a darn at Grand Lake for some reason.

I bought one. A 7.1:1 lefty. Pretty slick for $69. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to save some cash.

I only use spinning gear for finesse fishing and all of my fingers are in front of the reel, typically with my index finger extended on the blank and thumb kind of straight down the top. Almost like how I hold a golf club in my right hand, which might not be a coincidence. Never really thought a ton about it, but it seems from a leverage/feel/balance standpoint with my gear and with the presentations I'm fishing, it is the most comfortable.

I've got: A - Hackney, B - Swindle, C - Combs, D - Ehrler, E - Kennedy

I wish I was young, and single, and could afford to be stupid. I have four kids in private school, and a wife, and on and on. Enjoy it while you can. I wish I had a time machine so I could back and buy a slick, late-model, Ranger before I tied the knot. Now I'm pretty well stuck with my Tracker until the kids are out of the house.

I have both the 7' MF Avid and the 7' MHF Avid. They are both versatile rods, but if I could just take one with me, it would be the MF. It's better for lighter bottom contact baits, yet capable of handling large enough bottom contact baits for many of your needs; and can also be used for squarebills, jerkbaits, shallow to medium cranks, lighter spinnerbaits, etc... The 7' length should not be an issue either.

Welcome to the forum. As long as you guys never lose anything to those Tar Heels; you are alright with me.

I was out for a couple of hours the other day to make sure the boat was running well after some work and to see how well my new graph was working. When I got to the ramp some guy told me no one was catching anything, but I never get too concerned with boat-ramp fishing reports. The lake was really muddy due to all the rain they have gotten, and we didn't have time to run very far up the lake. We were up at Cape Fair in the James River arm and we were not going to outrun the mud and the floating timber. Only took a couple of rods, and actually didn't do too bad with a drop shot and then a Wiggle Wart. Nothing special, but they kept me busy.

I like the idea of using a big swimbait to draw them up when you can't see them on the beds, then watch where they return to. I usually fish pretty clear water, so I hadn't thought about it; but it's a tip to keep in mind if I need it.

Most people spend too much time bank fishing at areas that are easy to get to. These areas get hammered by fishermen, and often are not that good in the first place. Put in the effort to get to areas that don't get fished often. If you don't mind walking, getting dirty, getting a spider on you once in a while, and are not real terribly allergic to poison ivy, you can get to areas that boats, and 99% of bank fishermen never get to on a lot of bodies of water. You'll be surprised how shallow fish will be throughout most of the year if you go to those gnarly areas. Learn to make all kinds of casts, because you'll constantly be flipping, pitching, and roll casting under, over, around and between all kids of things. If you have one relatively short rod, with a nice tip, but plenty of backbone, that helps. I use a 6'4" Falcon Lowrider rod that is made for spinnerbait fishing, but is great for sneaking through the bushes. Other times you might need the heavy artillery like a flippin' stick for pads and weeds, depending on what you find out there. I never remember to use it, but some kind of spray to keep the ticks off od you is probably a good idea. Put everything you need in a fanny pack or small back pack. Travel light. Take note of anything you wish you had brought, so you are better prepared next time, but resist the temptation to bring the farm with you.

I think the cheapest combo in my starting lineup is a Lew's LFS on a Duckett Ghost for jerkbaits and topwaters. Not super cheap, but my most expensive rig isn't all that expensive either. Everything is in that $200-$300 range. I just wish it all matched. I have OCD.

I use fluorocarbon leaders quite a bit. I've used many different lines, although mostly Seaguar. Never had a particular line that I thought was an issue. Don't forget that the braid, although less likely to break, is part of the knot as well. Some of it ties a better knot, some of it is slicker, etc... But again, I have not had a certain braid that I thought just didn't work for line-to-line knots. I tie an Alberto knot. In my opinion, for tying leaders where the lines are both reasonably thin, like you are tying, there is no reason to use any other knot. It's easy to tie and works. As for your leaders breaking, it may just be your fluoro breaking for the same reasons it would break any other time. Remember that although your main line is stronger braid, your leader is relatively light line and you have to fish it as such. Your leader will get knicked up quite a bit. Spiderwire EZfluoro may not handle abrasion well, which is true of a lot of fluoros. You might just need to retie more often. I know some people don't retie leaders often enough because it takes time, but once you get well practiced with the knot, it's not a big deal. It might also be worth investing in some better fluoro. I know it's expensive, but if you are using a spool just for leaders, it will last a long time. The bottom line is, many people use the braid-to-fluoro leader system, and it works. There is a bit of a learning curve, but the advantages of it are worth it. I wouldn't fish spinning gear any other way.

They'll work. What you have to determine is, with the myriad of bait options out there, are they your best choice in the summer where you fish? I generally choose another type of hard bait, or a soft jerkbait over a hard jerkbait for most summertime situations. Having said that, I'm not nearly as big of a "jerkbait guy" as a lot of people in this region of the country, so I might be quicker to ditch it than others would be. There is personal preference involved as well, of course.

Their actual product available to promotion ratio is unlike anything I've seen in a while. Right now it's mostly shirts/polos. I'm sure they are trying to build brand recognition while they continue to add to their line and grow the business. I likely will not be contributing. I'm not a fan of paying a lot of money for the privilege of plastering a company's logo all over myself. If they want to send me some free stuff, I'll wear it all over the place, but I doubt that they are that generous.

I'm a Cardinals fan. I can tell you that if the Card's starting rotation isn't plagued by injuries, like it has been in recent years, they are going to be really good.

I think it's the live scoring that makes them sweat. It would make for some serious drama using live scoring but with the 5 best system. One big fish could change the game, and I'd rather see them target the big ones. It would be fascinating to see those guys fishing their normal format with the twist of getting to know where they stand. I also believe that with fewer numbers of fish they might cover it differently, focusing more on what the competitors are doing, instead of just showing them catch similar size fish after fish. They should at least do one the way they do it now, and one the other way. Better yet, add another one (I know, they have to squeeze two in the calendar as it is),