fishnkamp

Yes that was a factory rod. For years I owned a GL-3 SJR-721 and a SJR-722 in IM6. Both had the full cork handles and a metal reel seat with a metal hood and rings. I broke the 722. It was totally my fault it got caught on something on my boat that I did not see until it was too late. I used the companies no questions warranty which means I went to my local dealer and turned in my rod and the replacement cost and would have walked out with the new rod. I paid another fee to upgrade to a IMX because of the uplocking reel seat on the newer style GL-3s. The IMX is a really nice rod visually and to fish with. Unfortunately the reel hood and locking reel are plastic and kept loosening up. I decided something needed to be done with it or it would break. So I gave it to my friend. The parts were not expensive at all. The reel seat cost roughly $16. The Winn Grips ran maybe $25 I do not remember. All I know is he removed all the old from the rear so no guides had to be redone. It came out fantastic. I went on vacation to Dale Hollow and by the time I returned home I had him alster the perfectly good rod. To check more of his work take a look at Tom'a Custom Rods. Take a look at the pics ion his repair and build galleries. He is a magician or artist for sure.

Yes my friend and amazing rod builder redid two G Loomis IMX and GL3 rods exactly the same. One was out of necessity as it came with a plastic locking hood and nut that tended on loosening up. We chose to replace it before it just broke. Tom showed me the Aero Comfort finish seat and we chose the Natural colored Winn Grips. We also changed from a complete one piece handle to a split grip setup. The rods feel lighter and better in my hand. Here is a picture of one. Your hand just sorta becomes one with the rod, Best of all it looks like it came that way from the factory.

Star Tron has been in use in my boat since I purchased it in 1020. Never been an issue. I did replace the factory fuel lines two years ago, for cheap insurance, and cut one open. It was fine inside so I was glad to see that.

Ethanol works the other way. The more fuel in the tank the more water it will absorb, so an empty tank is the best option. Most additives do say they will work that long. My problem is the additive company will not repair my motor if it does not work. I purchased a case with a special 12 volt pump and hoses to pump the old fuel out. You might consider doing the same.

Mike the Dobyns Colt, Fury, and both Champions will act more like you MOJO. It is only the Sierra series that fit your desire. The Dobyns does run a 1/2 step lighter in general compared to other brands. For example Abu Garcia rods run about 1 step heavier than other rod manufacturers. As for which model in the Dobyns Sierra series stick to that 703C for fishing baits that weigh between 1/4 to 5/8 plus a plastic trailer. This rod lists for baits weighing 1/4 to 3/4 but a 3/4 jig plus trailer would overpower it. Now a 1/2 jig and say a Strike King rage craw or a Yum Craw Papi would be fine. DSo not get hung up on the "medium heavy" vs "heavy" at this point. If you wanted to you could pick up another one of those reels and as you said keep the Mojo for throwing heavier jigs, carolina rigs or texas rigs. Here is an oversimplified way of looking at rod specs. The power of a rod ( medium light, medium, medium HVY etc) has to do with the rod blanks ability to handle a lures weight ie 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 etc. and to a degree the amount of backbone the rod has. The action has more to do with how far down the rod blank a rod bends before it hits the backbone. Here is an explanation from Falcon Rods about one of their rod series. Rod Listings | JASON CHRISTIE SIGNATURE XF - EXTRA FAST | Deflects in upper 1/4 of blank F - FAST | Deflects in upper 1/3 of blank M - MODERATE | Deflects in upper 1/2 of blank S - SLOW | Deflects from tip to butt

You are welcome for the article. Brian has a way of educating anglers without you feeling like you are being educated LOL. He is an incredible angler and I have always enjoyed being on a boat with him, mostly mine as he lived in Northern VA and we fished my local waters. Of course my local waters was his home for his entire childhood. Here are some ideas to consider before you jump into your kayaks. Go make a stop in some of your local tackle shops and see if there is a kayak bass fishing club. Contact them and see if you can learn a little from them as to what their members use, and how they outfit them. There is a TON of postings on this site about kayaking. Also do some internet research and see if you have any bass guides that specialize in kayak fishing. Watch places like craigslist and finally see if any of the stores that sell them have demo days. Often time they will. Another idea is to see if you have any rental places, usually they will sell off some of their rental boats in favor of new ones for next year. As always youtube has more info than you need. Good luck and good fishing.

You said you were looking at a budget of around $200. I was suggesting getting two outfits for that money. The spinning gear would allow you to fish lightweight baits such as light minnow baits like Rapalas, small crankbaits or topwaters like Pop R. It would also fish lightly weighted plastic baits like 5 inch ribbed worms, tubes and grubs as well as Senco style worms that may be either fished weightless or lightly weighted. You will hear plenty about fishing plastics rigged texas style, wacky style or weightless. These are all standard finesse baits. The Quantum Escalade spinning rod plus a Pflueger spinning reel would cost about $110 combined. There is a trick to purchasing things at Dicks too. You go in the store and purchase something cheap, lets say a pack of gum, a couple of jigs or a package of hooks. The receipt will have a website to do a survey on the store's customer service. Answer a few questions and they let you print a $10 off coupon. That is what I do everytime I want to purchase anything from Dicks that costs over $10. Theoretically, you could go in the store and by some hooks and weights. Go home and fill out the online survey. Go back and purchase the rod using the $10 off coupon. Take that receipt and do it again. Then go back and save $10 off the reel. My store is close enough, I just add each trip to a day i am running errands. Anyway, the Lightning Shock rod and the Daiwa Fuego are good pieces and would run you about $100 to $110 also. That setup would handle your more traditional crankbaits that run down to 10 or 15 foot deep, baits like Rattle Traps and Red Eye Shads, heavier texas rigged worms and jigs with a plastic trailer. Think of these combos as part of a mechanics tool set. A mechanic will have sockets, wrenches, hammers etc. Each does its own job. If I was going to buy just one to start than I would start with a 7 foot medium to medium heavy spinning combo. As for the gear ratio I would go with a 6.3-1 or 7.3 -1. Both are very useful

I use a lot of different brand rods. What you dislike about your Mojo Bass rod is that it has a faster taper compared to the Berkley. Not all manufacturers use the same designators for their rods. The action and power of the Mojo Bass rod is what most anglers look for when fishing bottom bouncing baits like jigs. That does not mean you have to like it, just that is the popular action for bottom bouncing baits for most anglers. The action of your Berkley Lightning rod is more popular with most anglers when they are fishing baits with treble hooks, like crankbaits, and also spinnerbaits. That action lets the fish inhale a moving bait better. You will pull it away far less often resulting in less missed strikes. In the case of the Dobyns rods (a brand which I happen to like) you have already been told to look at the Sierra series rods. Now Dobyns makes different series rods and in each series you would find different graphite used in the blanks. Each rod line has a different action. My wife and I have both Sierra series rods and Champion XP series rods. The Colt, Fury and Champion lines tend to be a faster graphite and the Sierra series was designed for people, like yourself, that prefer a slower action rod (not less powerful). These Sierra rods run between $160 and $180 new. Now Dobyns has a trade in program and they inspect each rod traded in and repair anything not up to their quality standards. Then then resell those rods at a discount. They come with the same warranty as well. So if you open up the Dobyns rods website you will find a row of tabs at the top colored in an orange. One of those says "store" Click open it and select "refurbished Dobyns rods" Then select Sierra Series rods. You will find one #455. It is a Sierra SA 703C. That rod was traded in and required no repairs and is listed in "good condition" You could call out to the factory and speak to the warehouse guys. They are more than willing to pull that rod and eyeball it for you. They are selling it for $120. That rod would probably what you are looking for. If you want new, I would consider the Sierra model SA 683C as well as the SA 703C. The 683 is a compromise between you shorter 6'6" and 7 foot rods. That too may account for your ability to put a bait in tighter quarters with the Lightning rod. I fish a Powell 683 CEF and love that rods' ability to function well both out in open water but give me good control around docks, and other shoreline structure.

I am going to share with you an article my friend Brian wrote on buying a used bass boat. Now first let me explain a little about my friend Brian. He is one of the best anglers I have ever shared a boat with. He also runs his own website about fishing MD, and VA. He does equipment reviews and if he reviews it favorably it is because he has purchased the product himself and fished with it for at least 30 hours. He fishes at least 3 or 4 times a week ( at least till he moved recently). So get yourself a nice cold drink and find a comfy chair and do some reading. His article was written from decades of bass boating experience as well as his experience while prepping one used Ranger to sell and chasing his next baby, a 20 foot 1990's Ranger. He prefers that brand so accept that up front, but he has owned other brands and explains what you need to know when considering purchasing an older used fiberglass bass boat. He will accelerate your learning curve by years. So enjoy the read. http://www.baybass.com/node/200 Please let me know if you have any questions after you are done reading it. To answer your initial question " if we could save up about $5k, would something like this be a good idea?" Like others have said, it depends on the condition of the hull and engine. You could call and ask to see something like these. https://dayton.craigslist.org/boa/d/sea-nymph-bass-attacker/6685886351.html https://limaohio.craigslist.org/boa/d/ft-lowe-bass-boat-with-70hp/6668172619.html If you decide to go with a bigger boat and spend a little more money I think personally you are going to be best off staying in an aluminum hull for your first boat.

My initial suggestion was a Berkley Lightning Shock rod in a 7 foot medium baitcasting model and this Daiwa baitcasting reel. I did make a mistake, as I left part of the model name off. I meant the Daiwa Fuego CT, which is a baitcaster. Sorry for the confusion. Look here: https://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Fuego-Baitcast-Fishing-Reels/dp/B074XHRQ1N My second suggestion was for a Quantum Escalade spinning rod and a Pflueger President in a Pressp30x or 25 depending on your preference. Look here: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/quantum-escalade-spinning-rods-15qutuscld66mspnnrod/15qutuscld66mspnnrod?camp=CSE:DSG_pg1052478231_ecom_PLA_452&gclid=CjwKCAjwrNjcBRA3EiwAIIOvq0ovNUem_gfuDpvBl_HdICMETFaXV2KMhU5INrWOVESZrMPyW-kq-xoC1h8QAvD_BwE Often these are available in the DSG stores. The online specs are lighter than what my rod can handle as mine was listed a little for 1/8 to 5/8 lures and it can handle that easily. I believe the online spec is just a misprint. This would provide you with a nice medium heavy baitcasting combo to fish heavier baits and a good spinning setup that can handle lighter more finesse baits. Keep in mind if you opened up my rod box you would see I carry at least a dozen baitcasters and 3 spinning outfits, but I have been addicted to this hobby for over 40 years.

You are at the end of the season Deals will come up now. Here is one to go look at https://zanesville.craigslist.org/boa/d/14ft-flat-bottom-jon/6692928307.html

I will give you my best advice. Combos are okay but not good in most cases. Lets give you two setups that can work for you. First is a Berkley Lightning Shock rod. It is a good rod and a great rod for the price. This rod is available from Dicks Sporting Goods and other locations. It will run you $50. I would recommend a 7 foot medium baitcasting model. Pair that with a Daiwa Fuego reel which can be found online for about $60. Add some 12 to 14 pound line, like Berkley Big Game and you will have a rig to catch some fish with. My next suggestion is to look at Dicks and find a house brand of rods called a Quantum Escalade. These are pretty good rods and normally sell for $100, but they are always on sale for $49. I fish with the 6'6 medium model. Match that up with a size 25 or 30 Pflueger President reel and you will have two decent setups to use for quite a while. Spool that with some 10 to 14 pound braid or 10 pound mono, like Stren or Trilene to begin with. My wife and I fish with many rods, some costing up to $350 each, but we both do fish with several Berkley Lightning Shocks and I fish with 1 of the Escalades. We use the Berkleys for both bass and big stripers. I even caught a few catfish weighing close to 20 pounds with them. There is nicer gear available and most cost more money, but those will allow you to catch fish and will not need to be replaced in the near future.

Go to Tackle Warehouse I know they have shipped some rods to a Canadian member on here before. I was helping him get a Powell rod back then. Take a look at the Irod Genesis II rods. I fish a IRG 703CC and love it for rattle traps, square bills, and shallow to mid depth cranks. Match it with a 6.3-1 Tatula CT and that will match my setup. I use it for bass and rockfish. I just checked with Tackle Warehouse and they regularly ship into Canada. just give them a call and they can help you.

Look, most guys that complain about the T wing do not fish them and may never cast one. I use total of 1 Exceler ( Fuego predecessor) 5 Tatula Type Rs and 2 Tatula CTs. I never have a knot hang in my T wing because I use a 6 foot leader max. That eliminates that possibility completely. I can not see a need to go longer than your rod length. I fish 65 pound Power Pro on my frog rod, so I tie direct on that one. All my others all have either braid and a 10 pound PLine CXX or a flouro leader. One is spooled completely with 12 pound mono, which I use for topwaters for stripers. I even fish VERY clear lakes like Dale Hollow Lake and Center Hill Lake. This setup works fine for me. Do not let others' opinions sway your mind. Go try one.

Go to any local tackle shop. I do not mean Bass Pro or Cabelas but ant independant tackle shop. They will either have a guy that does this kind of repair or they know a guy. I recently helped a member here find a shop near his home in TN and it cost him around $20 total.

Check into Toms Custom Rods. He is an artist and very fair. He is located up in Bel Air MD just a run up 95 from you. http://www.tomscustomrods.com/custom-rods-galley

Before replacing the carpet check out these covers instead. I have used them on several trailers and prefer them. Just one word of advice they are slick, so wait till you are at the water's edge to disconnect the front winch strap. You do not your boat to slide off. https://www.easternmarine.com/self-centering-bunk-glide-ons-86162 I believe they also have them in black. Just give them a call. Using these they attach with short screws from the sides and your bunks will not rot from water soaked carpet.

I had a Caravan trailer under my Lowe Stinger 170. That was the noisiest trailer I have ever owned. I recommend finding a friend with another boat trailer and ask to tow it a few miles. See if it is your trailer or your truck/hitch. My new Load Rite galvanised trailer has a different style axle and it tows almost silently. By the way yes the swing away tongues on those will have some play. There is directions in the trailer manual on how they should be tightened.

Hell yes it increases the overall weight! There is twice as much plastic and also foam. Reread Dirtyeggrol's response. His 10 foot boat weighs about 400 pounds and he says it is too heavy for him to lift in and out of his pickup by himself, even difficult with a second person. He has gone to trailering his. No way you would need to trailer an aluminum 12 foot jon boat. I used to move mine around on the roof of my old car using a foam block kit with straps.

Depending on your budget Lund makes the top of the line boats for your needs. They also cost more at the original purchase and hold their resale value too. Other companies like AlumaCraft, Polar Kraft,Chretliner, etc. make good deep Vee boats too. Basically you have to choose your preferred style of boat. You can go with a boat that has dual consoles, or a walk through window. Both of these have the typical drivers console with a typical raised front deck and either a raised rear deck or an open cockpit in the rear. The other option is a deep vee boat with a tiller control engine. In this configuration the operator has all the control of the boat sitting in the rear. I used to own a ProCraft 20 foot fish and ski bass boat. It had the walk through windshield. That boat was awesome on Lake Erie when we travelled up there to fish. It ran better in rough water than a typical bass boat and was much drier since it had higher sides on it too. It might be worth spending some time watching some reruns of Babe Winkelman's show, and also both In Fisherman and Al LIndner's Angling Edge shows. They all use these type of boats to fish from. Pay attention to how they control their boats too since they utilize lots of the best ways and teach the how to's. Many of their shows are available on their websites.

That will be a great combo.

The Dobyns Fury 704CB would be good for that price range. You could also look at a Powell Inferno 705CB MH Glass/composite rod, It runs $100. Take a good look at the write ups on their websites.

Go ahead and fish it. They were nice rods.

I can not help you with that particular rod but I do own an Ike 6'4" Delay series baitcasting rod designed for jerkbaits and top waters. I love the rod and mine is around 4 years old. The Ike series are nice rods and you can believe the rod will perform whatever Ike specs it to do. I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on another rod from the series. Just my two cents.

Boy that is good to know. I love my Ike Delay jerkbait/topwater rod.