fishnkamp

Paddle tail grubs are another good option.

Welcome to the site. There are a lot of members that are more than happy to share their knowledge here. Congrats on the new boat. Do you have a regular fishing partner or do you launch by yourself a lot?

I looked around your area of Troy. Most of your closest lakes like Mark Twain and few others do not say smallies exist. You may find some in smaller rivers near you. If you want to experience a monster then I would look into a guide trip on one of the rivers like this guide offers. http://www.fishinglakeoftheozarks.com/ He is probably using a jet boat it is definitely aluminum on his river trips. he also offers Lake of the Ozarks trips on his fiberglass boats. What you pay for on a guided trip can be as much about catching the fish that day, as an on water education. For years now I have enjoyed and learned from so many great guides.

They build rods with such specific tapers and actions today. They do it just because they can and the fishing public will buy them. Many of the soft bodied swimbaits like the Huddlestons have a single built in hook also. The old timers may have had 3 or 4 fishing rods on their boat. Today's competitive angler may have 30 rods under his deck. Personally I usually have 12 to 15 onboard. I have a terrible time when I go on a guides boat. Just to pair down to 3 or 4 rods is difficult. Many times i park my boat near enough that I can easily get to it just in case the day changes and I need to adapt. I always tell my guide it is a 17 1/2 foot long tackle box LOL

The power and action has to be very different. Probably how far the tip extends. I say that because if you read the lure weights they are very different. The purpose of the crankbait rod is to be softer in order to slow your reaction down to get the hook up and not react so fast the lure is pulled out of the fish's mouth initially. The rod has to be softer to absorb the fish's runs. This keeps you from tearing out the small treble hooks. Two out of the three crankbait rods rate for lures much lighter than the swimbait rod. The 7 foot Heavy crankbait rod rates for lures that weigh between 1/2 and ***/8 ounces. They only make one E6 Swimbait rod and it is 7'4" rated as a Heavy and calls for 4" to 7" plastic swimbaits weighing between 1/2 and 2 ounce lures. That rod should feel like a broom stick compared to the crankbait rods. It should be more like an A rig rod than a crankbait rod.

My personal favorite is Berkley Original FireLine in 14 pound test (6 pound diameter) and a 4 foot leader of either P Line CXX in 10 pound test(it breaks around 23 pounds) or 8 pound fluoro. That is my go to setup except for one I use for jerkbaits. Here I like P LIne Halo in 6 or 8 pound test. It is all you need for them. Again the Halo breaks higher than it rates as.

Powell makes a nice rod. I probably would choose an Inferno 6103 but a Powell Max 2D 713 is a fine stick too. For smaller rivers I would personally like the shorter rod. Another good choice would be a Dobyns Sierra 693. I like the 3 power rods because you said you want to throw the Tiny torpedos (which i love). Do not forget the pop rs and jitterbugs. They still work and most of the bass have not seen them lately.

What is your budget for a good spinning rod? The two rods you were looking at might have felt different to you but there are lots of good spinning rods on the market to choose from. Ratings for spinning rods do differ a lot from the same ratings on a casting rod. Even within casting rods from the same manufacturer. For example Gary Dobyns has explained that a mh casting rod vs a mh casting rod in his crankbait series is very different and even farther different in a frog series rod or pitching rod.

Try this, since you are now very aware of you two choices, go watch some of the shows like Bass Masters, FLW, abd Major League fishing. Watch closely at how they fish, how their boats handle. Then watch shows like Lindner's fishing edge, Babe Winkelman's Good Fishing, In Fisherman and others. These guys fish all types of waters, fish from all designs of V hulls and fish for all species of fish. Watch how they handle big waters, rivers, and small bodies of water. Then go look online and see what floor plans fit your style of fishing. Make sure you consider your body of water and the challenges it presents. In my case, I have owned 11 boats, everything from canoes and jons to big fiberglass rocket ships. I currently fish from an aluminum bass boat. Several years back I purchased this boat to fish a couple of decent size lakes. I outfitted it great and it met my needs. Now I fish tidal rivers and the Upper Chesapeake Bay. I am having difficulty sitting still to fish around docks due to current. The boat is big enough to get kicked around by current and wind but not heavy enough to stay put. Since I can not afford two power poles I am thinking about adding brackets and shallow water anchor poles. So no one boat excels everywhere. Sometimes it is just a compromise. If you fish for bass, cats, crappie and other species the V hull with no carpet may be an advantage. Even some of the newer style bass boats offered a spray in liner or removable carpet. That can be nice.

A nice rod to do what you ask for is the Falcon Bucoo Micro series 7 ft Trap Caster. It's rated for 1/4 to 3/4 and will handle most all of those duties fine. It is not all that expensive either. Falcon even suggests using it to throw a big spinnerbait on. It still has a pretty good moderate fast tip. I throw square bills, all of my 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4 ounce red eye shad, and xcalibur trap style baits for bass and stripers along with wake baits on this rod. The other rod I own and like for this duty is an Irod IRG703CC. They call it a Gabes Rip Rap Special. It is the same length and specs basically the same.

I know I often speak of these reels in glowing terms but if you are trying to throw stuff that light I never do that so I do not want to mislead you. The reels I hear people using for super light bait usually cost double the price of a Tatula. The lightest I throw using my baitcasters is a Reaction Innovation little dipper and a hook.That is probably a 3/16 or 1/4 total weight. I also throw a Skinny dipper and light belly weighted hook.Anything like a light grub, Ned rig drop shot I do all on my spinning rig.

That is perfectly normal go fish and enjoy it. My wife and I have had ours since 1989. That is how that reel plays. Now toss a grub on a light jig head and see how far that sucker goes!!!! That was one of the first long cast spool designs and it flat out worked. It also has that simple roller as a tool to flip the bail. Never a typical bail spring to wear out. Well designed. We both still use ours for smallies.

I use 14 pound FireLine (6 pound test mono equivalent in diameter) in that Flame Green color all the time on my spinning reels. I know it will feel sorta stiff when you first spool it up. Do not let that bother you, it softens up almost as soon as it hits the water. I love the stuff. I also tie on a 4 foot leader almost all of the time. I always use either P Line CXX in 10 pound test or 8 pound P Line Halo for my leaders. They are tied together with a double uni knot and I have yet to have a leader knot fail. I fish here on the off color tidal water of the Chesapeake Bay as well as in the deep gin clear lakes in Tennessee. That setup has flat out worked for me and my wife every time.

Sorry I am not familiar with that reel, I can say that all 4 of my Tatula Type Rs and my 2 tatula CTs are extremely smooth long casting reels. Some of the guys that get super crazy with reel mods are taking these reels apart, replacing several bearings with HedgeHog ZR bearings, removing the handles and replacing the one bearing and one bushing with a pair of better ones. They also replace a bushing or two inside the reel with bearings ( I believe it was on the shaft for the TWS line guide). Again they are using high end bearings from suppliers like Hedge Hog. I believe several of them have gone to super lite shallow spools even. Doing some of these mods they have reported results similar to some of the really high end Diawa and Shimano reels. Believe me, these guys are ANAL ANAL ANAL about their reels. I have seen them do upgrades to reels such as the Diawa SV series and Steez SV reels as well as a Aldebaran and Metanium reels. Most people buying these reels will find it will meet their needs very well just plain stock. I say all that because if you purchase one and you are not totally thrilled with it, you could contact a few guys I know on another board and they can point you in the direction of these mods. So you could take a great reel and make it into something much greater. Of course you know if they are that anal about how it works you can be certain they add all sorts of bling as well. These mods include color changes to some of the accent pieces, spools, handles and knobs, spool tension knobs, drag stars, and even thumb bars. Man I bet I left out some pieces. LOL I am not sure they do not spend as much money on add ons and mods as the reel cost to begin with. For the money the Tatula CT ( and that goes for the entire Tatula family of reels) reels offers a very good smooth reel built in an aluminum frame with a robust drag system and the T wing helps with casting distance as well. They are highly modifiable to tailor it to your personal preference. I recommend you give one a try

Then it was not to be! I have learned one thing for sure in my life. When I want something, maybe even REALLY want something and it does not work out, often there is a hidden reason why it does not work out. That reason has shown itself later and I am usually better off for it. Maybe there is a better deal coming your way, it just has not revealed itself yet. My wife and I had locked in on getting a brand new Champion boat many years ago. We even went to the factory, had a tour and sat down with the factory regional director. We custom laid out that boat, returned to our home state and sat down with our semi local dealer all he had to do was confirm the deal the factory rep had made with us, have us sign the order and wait for it to show up. The dealer refused the deal, we left heartbroken and mad!! We had traveled from PA to TN and back to have this jerk cut us off. Two days later my wife's transmission failed and we decided not to repair it. We had already been preapproved for a loan on the boat. The bank was happy to do a tiny bit of paperwork and change the type of loan and we had a new car in days. That could have been tough if the boat deal worked out. Keep your eyes peeled, maybe a nice used fiberglass is in your future.

Yes it was the rotor movement that I was referring to. If you have not seen a video on these check this one out. The guy demonstrates how some of the Daiwas have this moving rotor in the reel. Others have the 3d system and still others have a fixed rotor and no centrifugal component. Those reels rely solely on the magnetic braking only. The Tatula has a Mag Force Z, which works like the Zillion reel he details last in the video. He explained it much better than I could have since I had not torn any of my Daiwas apart.

They redid the spool on the CTs in order to hold the same amount of line also. I own 4 Tatulas Type Rs (same body as an original Tatula 100 except for more red accents, and they replaced one regular bearing with an extra corrosion resistant bearing, also includes a tiny bit lighter spool). I also own 2 CTs. If you get really wound up about palming a reel then a CT reel is the way to go. I have bigger hands and on some rods the weight of the original Tatula is my preference. You will like either one though I am sure. The best part about that reel is the centrifugal (non adjustable) braking as well as the magnetic brakes.

Enjoy the new rig. My first boat was a 12 foot jon that i used out on a drinking reservoir. Thankfully we could rooftop it easily using the foam blocks and straps that were designed for canoes. We had permits and could keep it chained up at the lake as well. I am still amazed we used to fish three teenagers out of that boat. We also caught a lot of fish out of that boat too.

I own 7 of the Presidents and they range from 10 years old to 1 1/2 years old. All of them have performed very well. So far, I have not looked at a brand new one, so I will do that soon. I have observed guys talking them down lately because they picked one up in a store, handled it, and decided to get another brand. Nothing wrong with choosing another brand. I have yet to see someone with a situation that they bought one, fished it and then changed to XXX brand instead because of a problem with the function of the President reel. I also own an Okuma RTX30 which I chose for its faster retrieve rate and a Shimano Symetre. Now I am reading that Shimano is having binding issues with the Symetre reels and it may not be just the Symetre line. Great! That is not what i was looking for on my wife's frog setup. I do really like the RTX . It is super light and seems solidly built. I have yet to handle a Daiwa Rg-AB but it would not surprise me if it was a nice reel. The way the Daiwa baitcasters perform for me I believe they would produce a good spinning reel.

That is a good deal on that combo. Just add some batteries and trolling motor and you are ready to fish. I truly believe the weight and bulkiness of a small jon is why so many anglers have turned to kayaks and that is why the kayaks have been so well developed for fishing. For one person it is easy to handle on land, they are very well thought out for fishing and are easy to maneuver in the water. If you need a boat for more than 1 person then a 14 to 16 foot jon and a trailer are the way to go.

I think I would leave it alone. If you can swing it take a look at this one instead http://newlondon.craigslist.org/boa/5920644375.html

Are you going to trailer that boat or are you looking for a boat that can be car topped or thrown in the back of a pickup? If you are going to trailer it would this boat be of interest http://www.lakesidemarinepa.com/index.php?view=inventory&viewid=717 This boat is being sold by a friend of mine's boat dealership She also has a 1448 jon in stock look here http://www.lakesidemarinepa.com/index.php?view=inventory&viewid=793 If you want a less expensive jon then the cheapest boat you can buy is a Tracker topper series.

are you looking new or used and what do you want to put on the back for power. What is your budget

Check with a retailer or local shop that carries them, I bet they will.

Yes they pretty much are the same. You can pitch baits with either of your rods, heck lightweight baits can be pitched on spinning gear. Both flipping and pitching are casting techniques used in close up accurate target fishing. Flippin is usually done to attack a target like a downed tree or heavy grass patch with an opening etc. Pitching allows a little more space between you and the fish holding structure. That could be a tree again or perhaps the pilings on a dock. Just be sure to match the total weight of your lure to the lure ratings on the rod you choose. So if your pitching a 1/2 ounce jig and have a big heavy plastic trailer on it that will cast fine on you rods. But if you are throwing a lighter bait and a lighter jig than you would want to pitch it on a lighter rod. Honestly there are wonderful rods out there that are designed just for these techniques, but I am not sure how much you would gain by spending your money on them. Instead you may want to look at your casting reels. Depending on your reel you may get much more benefit from a reel like a Daiwa Tatula series or higher end reel. These reels have the T wing system which help with those casting techniques. Personally I have a couple of Tatula Type Rs in an 8-1 gear ratio that I use on both my frog rod and on my Punching rod. That rod can pitch flip or punch baits, it is a Veritas 7 hvy rod.