fishnkamp

Help me a little. I know you said you bank fish on the east coast. I live in MD and fish everything from big tidal rivers, to small creeks and small rivers, to ponds, and lakes- all the way up to 60 mile long, very deep lakes out west in TN, and KY. So, what type of water do you fish? Is it local clear water ponds and lakes, slow moving streams, small rivers or big lakes and rivers? They all have banks, but you attack each of them with different techniques. You mentioned something about a frog rod. Fishing frogs is fun but until 3 years ago I never needed a dedicated frog rod or even a Punching rod and I have been fishing since 1970. Help me identify what your body of water is like. Do you have a lot of heavy vegetation? If so maybe a dedicated frog rod is needed., It sounds to me that you really could use a high quality all purpose rod that could throw some bottom contact baits like jigs and texas rigs, while you could also throw the occasional top water plug as well as a buzzbait or chatterbaits. Here are two rods I know would do well for you. First look at a Dobyns Fury FR 734C baitcasting rod. This is a good quality, sensitive 7'3" Heavy ( they rate a little heavier than they are) baitcasting rod. They regularly sell for $110. They are available on sale from Tackle Warehouse for around $95 during their 4th of July sale ( good till 7/7/17) You will be amazed at what you can feel with that rod. It will throw jigs, texas rigged plastics, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, even some small swimbaits. I know you will get a lot of use out of that rod. Next I would look at a Powell Max 3D model 683 CEF. This is another rod I really like. I own the original version of it. It was called a Max 683 CEF. I use this rod for all kinds of fishing, it is one of my most versatile rods in my arsenal. By the way I fish with 12 baitcasters in my arsenal, along with 3 spinning rods too. For more info on this rod go read this Tackletour review on my original version 683 CEF. The Max 3D is nearly identical, the taper and action are the same, the graphite blank was improved some. This rod costs $110 on sale. Go here http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html Now for a reel. I would recommend a Daiwa Fuego or Daiwa Tatula CT. Both of these could be purchased during this sale and are extremely easy to cast with. I think your Silver Max combo could handle some crankbait and rattle trap fishing so between the three rods you should have most techniques covered. In the future you could upgrade to a better dedicated crankbait/ rattle trap / jerkbait rod. I would consider a Dobyns Fury 705CB and move your Silver Max over to it.

Here is what i would do. Tackle Warehouse does have its 4th of July sale on till 7/7/17. I would order a Diawa Fuego CT reel or a Daiwa Tatula Ct reel in 7,3-1 Match this with a very sensitive and versatile rod. I would order a Dobyns Fury FR 734C. Tackle Warehouse refers to it as "7'3 Heavy Fast" This rod will fish any jig, texas rig, spinnerbait, spook type top water, chatterbaits, etc. It rates for baits ranging from 1/4 to 1 ounce. This rod regularly costs $110 and the reel costs either $99 or $129, so total with the 15% sale means it would cost either $178 and $203. That price buys you an amazing versatile combo. I would hurry to take advantage of the 15% sale. They are offering either free shipping on orders above $50 or two day shipping for $5. To me that is a no brainier, I would spend $5 to get if expedited. Next I would go to Walmart and see if you can find a Berkley Lightning Rod Shock in a 6'6" medium model. It will probably be marked as $49. Recently many of the members have taken them to the checkout line for a price check. They have found them on an unmarked clearance for around $15. I would match that with an Abu Garcia Black Max3 reel. This will be a 6.4-1 reel. Total for that combo may be less than $70 bucks. This will fish crankbaits, rattle traps, spinnerbaits and more . If you do that you would have two combos to handle a lot of the usual bass techniques and your total outlay would be around $280. Not too far from your preferred budget, which even you thought might not be possible. Now if it were me, I would buy two of the Daiwa reels and yes I do fish Tatula CTs and another reel Daiwa called a Daiwa Exceler. The Fuego CT replaced the Exceler and is a good upgrade. I would happily fish any of the reels Daiwa makes. So far I fish with 7 of them. I also own 3 Berkley Lightning Shock rods. Two are the 6'6" medium baitcasters and one is a 6'6" medium spinning rod. I regularly use them to catch bass and stripers with 1/2 to 3/4 ounce Rattle Traps, Red Eye Shads and XCalibur traps. So I do fish with all of these rods except the Dobyns Furys. My Dobyns are Sierras and Champion XPs, but my friend Ed fishes 4 Dobyns Fury rods and loves them. I have thrown the FR 734C and that is a great rod. Good Luck! I think I laid out a good plan for you.

I used to fish 3 St Croix baitcasting rods. Since I started fishing Powell, Irod and Dobyns I sold off all of my St Croix rods. I just prefer the others much better. I have fished one of the newer St Criox Avid Xs and still preferred my rods more. It is all personal preference of course.

Oh boy could we spend your money!!! LOL Seriously, if you want a very good crankbait setup there are tons of options. Here are some good ones. Lets start by picking a reel. I have fished a lot of baitcasters and have come to prefer the Daiwa Tatula series reels because of their build quality, ease of casting, total reliability and a very good dual breaking system to eliminate backlashes. I started with the original size Tatula reels and still fish 4 Tatula Type R models. I also own 2 of the newer Tatula CT series which is a bit smaller than the original and some anglers really prefer the smaller reel,. I have some of these reels in right hand and some in left hand retrieve and in 6.3, 7.3 and 8-1 ratios. I love fishing all of them. These reels are available from $100 to around $190 depending on the model and source. If I was going to purchase a new crankbait setup, I would either buy a Tatula CT in 6.3-1 ratio for around $10 to $130, or I would consider the newest version called a Daiwa Tatula SV TWS. It runs $200 roughly. Obviously your pocket book will make that decision. My crankbait rods have Tatula Type R and Tatula CTs on them. Lets look at a few great rods per price range. These are rods designed to throw shallow to mid depth crankbaits not super big deep divers. This will include shallow and mid depth cranks, traps, and bigger spinnerbaits ( up to around 3/4 or 7/8 ounce not 1 or 2 ounces). For a rod in the $150 and below price range look at the following rods: A Dobyns Fury FR 705CB for $110 and Falcon Bucoo Micro 7" MH Trap Caster rod for $130. For a rod in the $200 and below range look at the following" A Powell Max 3D 6104 CB G/C Mod Fast Medium or an Irod Genesis II 703CC Gabe's Rip Rap Special. Both of these will run you around $160. Now for options above those already mentioned, I would recommend a Dobyns XP Champion glass rod. Look at a rod like the DC 705CB Glass, DC 705CBMF Glass or perhaps a DC735 CB Glass. These run around $240. Any of these rods will provide you with a great comb. I personally fish with many of these rods and know how well they fish. Good luck in your search. I am certain there will be plenty of other members to come along and make suggestions as well.

I would go for a Dobyns Fury FR 703 SF. On Tackle Warehouse it is referred to as a 7 foot medium. It normally sells for $110. That would make it around $85. That rod fishes more like a $200 rod in other brands. Match that up with a nice Pflueger President reel and you will have an awesome combo.

Yea spooling it yourself is best. However you purchased a reels worth of line. Fix it the easy way. Go to your local baseball field. Tie the end of the line to a pole, backstop or a seat. Now loosen your drag so the line will come off the reel without hitting the spool release button ( this will make sure the line does not backlash all at once). Now walk backwards and lay the line on the grass. Once you get to the knot reset the drag and walk forward and let the reel lay the line onto the spool correctly. This will give you a chance to add line conditioner on your line if you want to. I really like my old Berkley line station because I can spool my reels by letting the reel put the line in place correctly.

Take a good look around you and see who might rent kayaks. That way you could try out a couple and find out what you like before spending any bucks. You might even find a kayak fishing club around. He in MD we even have a fishing guide that takes you out in one of his and teaches you how to fish out of one. Of course he also owns a store that rents and sells new ones. Sorta a one stop shop. I see lots of nice yaks on craigslist, some are sold for a good bit less than new.

You are welcome to meet up and strap a couple of my reels on your new rod to test it out. The first would have the Fire Line on it. The other would have 8 pound P Line Halo fluoro on it.

My wife and I have tried all kinds of mono, fluoro and braid on our spinning combos. We fish off color tidal rivers and big deep lakes like Dale Hollow Lake and Center Hill Lake, both in TN. The tidal water is here where we live, they include rivers like the Potomac and the Upper bay Susquehanna Flats. Our favorite line is Berkley Original Fused FireLine in 14 pound test. That line is equal to most 6 pound test mono. The line feels course when you first touch it, but once it gets wet it becomes very smooth, has no memory, and casts really well. I spool all of our reels up half way with Stren mono in 12 or 14 pound test. This lowers the cost of spooling a reel, as well as making sure the braid can not slip on the reel. It also provides a smooth surface to lay the braid on if the mono is put on nice and tight. My eyes are not so good, so I use the flame green and I add a 5 foot leader, usually made of 8 pound moss green P Line CXX. That line breaks at close to 18 pounds. This combo I assemble using very carefully tied uni to uni knots. In a decade I have have never had one of these knots break, even under tough conditions. We have caught numerous bass up to 7 pounds on DH, as well as stripers up to 30 inches, blue cats to 18 pounds and other good fish. This works for me and I am confident it would work for you. BY the way, my wife and I both fish with some Dobyns rods. Gary makes a great product. That combo is going to be nice. If you would like cast one of my rigs and see if you like the line before you go to the expense and trouble of purchasing it, I would be happy to meet you at a pond, lake, or over here at say Wilson Point. Loch Raven or Pretty Boy could work too. Just let me know.

Those were great boats. Having to do repairs and upgrades on a boat that old should be expected. You listed a pretty good list of things in great condition. To sell or fix is a personal one, however I have owned 11 jon boats, canoes and bass boats in 40 years. None of your "problems" are anything more than normal replacement items considered to be normal wear and tear. I helped a friend with this decision recently. He owned a 1999 Ranger 300 series dual console. He kept complaining about the boat and suffered a lot of breakdowns. He is a very good auto mechanic, but if he had a bad battery he would replace only the bad one. Not long after he would have to replace another one. Finally he started having rough running engine issues. He kept talking about how he loved the hull and upon inspection his hull, seats and carpet were fine. Here is what I did. I made him decide what boat would he buy if he had all the cash to purchase one and make a list of the options he would put on it. Then I had him go to the bank and see what his monthly payment was going to be and for how long. We then made a list like this. No more partial repairs. Update the trailer with new tires, new bearings, new winch, new jack and new led lighting. 3 new batteries and a new trolling motor. I had him go to our local Merc dealer and get an estimate to completely service the fuel system on the engine including a full rebuild of the carbs, replace fuel filters, install new thermostats and poppet valves, zincs, and all brand new fuel lines, as these have begun to be a problem since we must run ethanol blended fuel. In his case he added two new HDS 10s also. After all of the things he would change and update were included it added up to a pretty substantial final cost. He figured it out it would only cost 2 years worth of payments at the same rate as a new boat would cost, but for 8 years more . I explained my thought process. If you are going to make say a $350 ( for example only, I never saw his actual payment number) for 10 years would you be satisfied making the same kind of payment and instantly upgrade your current boat and trailer for a much shorter time. By upgrading all the components in a system at one time that system starts off new again. You gain dependability and get to enjoy your boat again. I grew up as a mechanic in a family of 6 drivers, 5 were my parents, me, two sisters and a grandpa. I maintained all the vehicles. It took a lot to convince my father to foot the bill two maintain those cars using my "systems" approach. If a car needed a front brake job it meant I would loose part of my weekend. I would argue to fix both front and back breaks. Gradually my dad realized using my method we had far fewer emergency repairs to do. All 4 wheels were brought back to "new standards" The next time I would do just a front break job as needed, no damaged rotors or drums. Give this idea a fair try. Sit on your boat and honestly evaluate what would be best to redo all at once. Get a total price together. It most likely will include some work by your local dealer too. Then see what makes more sense to you.

Aaron does things very differently than most of the other Pros. Just watch some of his other videos.

If you need to stick to your $100 budget then do this. Walk into your local Dicks Sporting Goods store. Purchase a jig, a pack of gum, anything cheap. i usually buy a Jawbone brand skirted jig for $2.99. Believe it or not they are pretty decent jigs, they are the Dicks brand. Now you have a receipt. Go home and go online . Find the address on the back of your receipt and fill out their online "customer satisfaction survey". Print out your $10 off coupon when you are done. Now return to the store and pick up a Lews Mach 1 baitcasting combo. It runs $129.99 regularly, but now use your $10 off coupon. That makes the combo $119.99. Add some line and you have a good combo for as close to your targeted budget. That is about as close as I can suggest with quality equipment. By the way always use that "survey" trick anytime Dicks is selling something you are interested. There is no maximum times you can do it. It just takes a fresh receipt. So the receipt for the rod and reel combo can get you your next $10 off coupon. They do have an expiration date though.

I own several Dobyns rods. Balance is one of their best attributes. My frog rod is a Champion XP DC 705C. I love love love fishing with that rod. It is perfect for throwing hollow bodied frogs, fishing heavier jigs and carolina rigs. It can do much more but that is what I purchased it for. I have it equipped with an original Daiwa Tatula Type R 8-1 reel on it. It balances perfectly, right where the front of the reel seat stops and the blank continues ( in front of the winding check) Gary suggests the DC735C as his better choice for a frog rod but I can not fit a rod longer than 7 foot in my rod locker. The rod works great. My wife's frog rod is a Sierra SA 735 SF ( heavy action spinning rod) to throw her hollow bodied frogs and big jigs. It will also fish a carolina rig just as well. It is matched up with a Pflueger Supreme 35 series reel. The rod balances perfectly again in the same position- just in front of the front winding check I would not hesitate to go with either a Champion XP or Extreme. They are both nice. If you like the the 703C then I would look at the 704C, 734C and 744C. There is a lot of difference in tapers ( not just 1 inch in length) between a 734C and a 744C. A quick call to Gary or Richard, his son, will be able to explain the difference.

Ah Wisconsin is deep V country. It is hard to even find a good fiberglass boat out here. Check here https://madison.craigslist.org/boa/6184181382.html https://greenbay.craigslist.org/bod/6175028290.html That looks like a nice rig there. Yes some are nicer than others. For a jon I would try to stick to all welded boats, just my preference. Lowe, Alumacraft, Polar Kraft, and G3 make some nice ones. Anything with the Lund name on it will be high quality and higher priced.

Most aluminum boats today have two 2x4 by 8 foot long carpeted bunks. I have had carpeted bunks under 11 boats in 40 years. The last two I changed to the poly or Teflon type material. One was my electric only reservoir crappie style boat and the other was my 18 foot Lowe bass boat. That material makes it so slick when launching and retrieving the boat.

Well maybe I can find you a fictitious deal in a fictitious town in NC, LOL Anyway try looking at this one. It is a 16 footer but I think it is a good deal. It already has a trolling motor and a gas engine. https://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/6200434037.html https://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/6194321874.html https://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/6182257508.html https://fayetteville.craigslist.org/boa/6101861421.html I found these with just a little looking on craigslist. Take some time and look there yourself. When it comes to jon boats new is not always nnecessary

Personally here is how i rig all of my reels using braid. Braid and Fluorocarbon line is not cheap. To help avoid having the braid slip on the reel and to save money I start by spooling my reels half way with good quality mono. My choice is Stren Clear Blue 12 or 14 pound test. After that I use a uni-uni knot with the mono and braid. I finish spooling the reel the rest of the way with braid. Most of the time I use a double uni knot and attach a 5 or 6 foot leader made of P Line CXX moss green copolymer line. I like 8 and 10 pound test. That line is tough, 8 pound test breaks close to 18 pounds, and the 10 usually test out around 22 pounds. That is all I need to use and it works in deep clear lakes like Dale Hollow Lake in TN & KY, and here on the tidal rivers like the Upper Bay stretch of the Susquehanna Flats as well as the Potomac River.

Hey if you are in Upstate NY you are not too far from Delaware Valley Tackle. He is located in Fort Plain NY. That would be where I would send my reel if I was living up there. He is a board sponsor and offers members a discount on rod and reel work. Lots of members use him for their repairs.

Consider this, not all braid works as well on both spinning and baitcasters. I have tried a bunch of them and have found my wife and I like Berkley FireLine in 14 pound test ( 6 pound mono diameter) best. It is on all of our spinning reels except one. That one reel has Halo Fluorocarbon on it. I really like the way the FireLine plays. It lays nice on the reel and has basically no memory. That helps us get great long casts without issues. I start by spooling all of my reels half way with a good quality mono as Backing. My choice is good old Stren Original Clear Blue mono. It is cheap $8 a spool for 12 or 14 pound test and that works out to less than 3 cents a yard. Then I finish spooling the reel up with the FireLine braid. I prefer to add a 5 or 6 foot foot long leader made up of either Halo fluorocarbon, but most often I use a 6 foot piece of P Line CXX 8 or 10 pound test in green. The 8 pound copoly line breaks closer to 18 pounds and the 10 pound line breaks around 22 pounds. Way more than I ever need to worry about. For a baitcaster, I use both 30 and 65 pound Power Pro Spectra for most techniques I go to braid on. I also like the Suffix 832 as well. Here too I use the Stren as backing and a P Line CXX for a leader if I use one. The only knot I use to tie the backing to braid and braid to leader is a properly tied 5 turn uni to uni knot. I have caught bass to 7 pounds, 30 inch stripers and my biggest cast was a 18 pound blue cat that took over half the spool of line out twice till I could work him onto the deck. He hit a trap intended for a striper and I was fishing with a 7 foot medium moderate crankbait rod. He had the upper hand LOL Anyway,I trust that knot completely.

It is pretty simple 5x-1 reels are best for fishing DEEP diving crankbaits. Were are talking baits that are large with big bills. These baits dive down 20 feet or more. They match up with special rods that are 7'6 to over 8 foot long. 6.1 to 6.5 -1 reels are general purpose reels used for fishing shallow to mid depth crankbaits ( say down to 15 feet) rattle trap type baits, jigs, texas rigs and plenty other techniques. 7.1 to 7.5-1 reels are great for burning a spinnerbait just under the surface, fishing some top water baits like buzzbaits and chatterbaits ( personal preference here) and I like this speed if I am fishing a big jig really deep on a ledge. I am not working the jig with the reel, only taking up slack with it. 8-1 reels I use on my frog, punching, flipping and pitching rods. I am using it to retrieve line fast so I can make a repeat cast fast, especially when a bass may miss it. All 3 of my 8-1 Tatula Rs have 65 pound Power Pro on them because that is what matches their purpose. So I would say your feelings are correct, swap that reel out for 6.3-1 or something close and you can use that reel on a flipping stick, or frog rod. You will be much more comfortable all around.

Forget the Kast Kings and Piscifun. Stick with the Daiwa Tatula you will be better off and the cost is not that much more.

Hey Crop9 I did some checking and found your Black Max seems to only come in a 6.4-1 ratio. So now we know what that reel is. The Berkley Lightning Shock rod you listed is a 6'6 MH fast action rod. I would keep the Black Max on it and use it for jigs, texas rigs, and spinnerbaits. The 6.4 gear ratio is fine for that. I prefer the 6'6" medium moderate Lightning Shock rod for crankbaits, rattle traps etc. It has more bend down the blank. That helps keep the fish buttoned on a treble hook bait. That being said, you already own thes rod, so lets play a game. The Shock rods are built a little softer tipped by design since they are composite material. This means all of them have a bit softer tip material so they can work properly with braid. Try catching a few bass on a shallow to mid depth diving crankbait, a 1/2 ounce rattle trap or Red Eye Shad, or a Pop R type top water chigger. If you do not have any trouble keeping the fish hooked then fish that rod as your crankbait, squarebill, rattle trap rod. I would then consider matching the "lonely" rod with an Abu Garcia Pro Max reel since they are 7-1. This would be good to throw your jigs, texas rigs as well as burn a spinnerbait, chatterbait, or buzzbait. Lots of guys like the Pro Max reel. It should run you around $70 online. If you can afford afford to spend a little more then forget the Pro Max. I really would love to see you put a Daiwa Tatula CT 100HS on that rod instead. On Amazon you can get a Tatula CT for around $100. I know it sounds funny to put a top quality reel on a "cheap" rod but you are not putting it on a $7 rod, you are putting it on a $50. I fish two of the 6'6" medium moderate Shocks with those reels on them, and I love them. I have caught bass up to 5 pounds, stripers up to 16 pounds and blue cats up to 20 pounds using that combo. The Daiwa will amaze you with its buttery smooth operation and castability.

Here is where I really dislike suggesting "beginner" gear because "good enough to get started with" means you will most likely end up wasting money and hurting your learning curve. Let me compare it to a spinning reel since you are most familiar with them. When asked for a starter reel I always suggest the most affordable but most reliable reel on the market and that means a Pflueger President. It costs $50 to $60 and will last decades. There are many reels that cost more and certainly are worth their cost, but that reel will always be a great value and not need to be upgraded. A Black Max is not a bad reel, but you will want to upgrade from it if you ever put a better reel in your hands. Just help yourself out upfront. Go get a Daiwa Tatula CT. That will run you around $99 from ABCD sales on Amazon. I can assure you that they are awesome reels, durable, very easy to cast a good distance and learn to adjust properly. The braking system is terrific. Presently out of my 12 baitcasting rigs there are 7 Daiwa Tatula, Tatula Type Rs, and Tatula CTs. As for dealing with ABCD on Amazon I have purchased 3 reels separately from them and had no issues. They are good to deal with.

I prefer the bunks and I have replaced some on my trailers over the years. Places like Eastern Marine carry all the pieces and parts you will want to assemble them at the lowest cost. They are located in Delaware but ship anywhere. You could turn it into a fun trip, go gamble a little at the casino nearby then go shop, or maybe you better reverse that order. Seriously forget the standard cheap carpet. There are much better options. Gatorback is one of the best bands of coverings. It is really durable, and makes getting on and off the trailer easily. I used a different covering made by Tie Down Engineering. Look here. https://www.firstchoicemarine.com/p-43777-tie-down-modular-bunk-glide-ons-86296.aspx

Boy I fished those conditions on both the Upper Potomac and The Susquehanna River. Those bass will feed just outside the faster current going though the rock ledges and they will stack up in front just before the water races through those openings. If you are not fishing weedless rigged tubes and grubs like Kalin 5 inch Lunker grubs you are missing out for sure. If you are going to Bass Pro have the guys there help you find the Bass Pro Perfect Finesse worm Jigheads. it is similar to a slider head, picture a worm weight already attached to a worm hook. Match up the hook size to a Kalin 5 inch lunker grub body and get them in 1/8 and 1/4 ounce weights. That setup along with the tubes should be in your arsenal. For really clear water I like the bluegill color, the green watermelon/red seed and the pumpkin/salt and pepper green flake but other colors work also. Here is what I am talking about. Another important lure I used was a Tiny Torpeedo. I would get below a rock ledge, cast up into the fast water and twitch it. Hold on tight the bass would tear out of the slack water and annihilate it.