Onvacation

for the price you can get it on many auction sites, I wouldnt ignore the BB1 Pro either. A lot of similiarities to the G. I have two of each and about the only thing that really gives an edge on the G to me is the hook holder. You can nitpick specs to death, but in the real world, with a blindfold on, you would have a tough time telling the two apart.

Thanks for posting this. I really thought I was missing something but was too ashamed to ask. I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I no longer have to accept the false fact that I would never reach angling nirvana unless I owned every color in both regular and silent.

Hello. Every time I head out on a local lake or pond, which to this point, have not been charged, I record my day to upload it to Navionics. I would say that I have about an 80% success rate which for obvious reasons, I would like to improve. I am using a Helix 5 DI which is set up using a Fishfindermounts.com mounting system to keep it portable. This means that the transducer is mounted temporarily using one of their magnetic mounting brackets. I always mount it in the same location and pay extra attention to mounting it well below the water line and parallel with the bottom. However, as I stated, about 20% of the time, my upload fails due to either, too short of a file (meaning it is not recording my whole trip), or failure to read the depth properly. My Humminbird works perfectly during the day and I get "record" blinking as well. Yet I don't always get the record file and I sometimes get the corrupt file message. Any ideas on how I can resolve this issue? My first thought is the transducer which is mounted about 8" below the water line..Is it too shallow? I started mounting it deeper after my inexperience showed me how small waves and movement of the boatimpact the readings

I broke one BPS Carbonlite. Walked into the store, picked out a new one and walked out. Not my overall favorite rod, but it is hard to beat the convience for me.

I use a MHF 7'3" most of the time for jigs from 1/4 to 3/4. I might be casting or pitching my jigs depending on my mood and position and this rod gives me a good overall platform. My reel is a 7.1:1. If I am in slop, the frog rod comes out and I've used it for jigs too. Again, tons of opinions on this, but this setup works well for me.

Check out Siebert Outdoors. They are a sponsor and Mike makes excellent jigs. They have all the hook you need and can be customized. I seem to have the most overall success with black/blue. Today was my day to hone my jig skills and I caught four on black/blue. Two in clear water and two in stained water. I then went to a small pond and caught two more throwing the jig at the edges of the lily pads like I described above. I used a Jr. Paca craw as a trailer until it lost a pincer and I tossed on some other similar trailer. I almost always use a black/dark blue trailer even when I am using more natural color jigs unless the water is really gin clear. Works for me but I am sure you will see different opinions on this. I just purchase one of Sieberts Dredge jig packs. 1/4 oz, brush head, rattle band and rattles. $17.60 for five jigs although you could bypass the rattles if you want to keep that quiet approach. There are tons of other options too but this is an easy way to make a jump into jigs. I store mine in a spinner bait box which works great although I now need more boxes. Jigs get addictive because they catch fish. As I lose jigs through attrition, they are replaced by Siebert jigs. Can you tell I like them and their customer service? Lol.

It is getting to the time of year when the big boys and girls start heading shallow too, which makes it easier for pond fishermen as long as you keep a bit of stealth in mind. Throw a 1/4 ounce jig parallel to the bank and at the edges of all of the lily pads. Jigs catch big fish. The light weight will help bump you up from weightless without going crazy. If you can, toss it onto the bank and drag it into the water. I think you will be surprised at the hits you get. Also, look for any vertical vegetation along the bank. This always is a go to for me in ponds. I like to throw a 3/8 oz jig onto the big pads and then nudge it off into the openings. A bit risky from the bank, especially if you go deep into the pads, but you can't win if you don't play. I just spent the afternoon doing exactly what I am suggesting in a very weedy lake. Pulled weeds off every cast and a decent size fish on a couple of them.

My wife gave up on me spending money on gear. But she did make me move the rod rack out of the dining room.

I have two Type Rs. They are very nice reels. Sounds like you are doing quite well feeding the sickness.

My uncle wanted to build a pond on some acreage that he had and the conservation department helped him a ton at no charge. They told him where, how and why. He didn't listen and his pond failed miserably when he put it in a different location, but that's a different story. Point is, it is obviously an advantage to the conservation department to have properly managed ponds for wildlife to use so they were a great resource.

No. You will be just fine. Weight difference is minimal. Ratio is the same but the 35 has a bigger spool so it has a higher IPT which you wouldn't even notice if you didn't have anything to compare it to. Not that it would necessarily be a disadvantage and it could even be an advantage to you.

My wife's MLXF Mojo Bass is my favorite spinning rod. I have rods that are more than double the price but I still prefer hers.

I have a 5.1:1 BB1 as my cranking reel and I love it. I was in a tournament last weekend and had my first opportunity to throw a 6xd with it. Let's just say there was a lot of line to reel back in. That reel will cast a mile. Of course my Tatulas do a great job too but the BB1 feels a bit more solid to me.

With the exception of pouring my own heads and using 15 pound braid with an 8 pound leader, Bluebasser86 and I use essentially the same outfit. MLXF practically sets the hook for you. I never do a hard hook set with a Ned rig. I do agree on the ZMan hooks. They are a bit fragile.

You are using a thin, small hook that will penetrate the fishes mouth easily. It can also come out as you are finding, in particular if you drop the rod tip, or let off tension while bringing the fish in. I had a real problem with my wife losing fish because she was dropping the rod tip, so keep an eye on that part of the equation. It is rare that they take the bait and don't hook themselves. A much more common problem is that they will engulf the bait and hook themselves deep. I almost always naturally get a top of the lip/mouth hook set, so if you don't keep that tip up, you will lose them.

How long is your $500 good for? Can you wait until their spring fishing classic? You will get much better prices. I also have a couple of Carbonlites and can't say anything bad about them especially if you get them on sale. If you are looking at a Tourney G, don't leave out the BB1 Pro. I prefer it to my Tourney and have three of them. They all seem to cast longer and just feel more comfortable to me for some reason I can't put my finger on. I have a Mustang PFD and really like it. I fished a tournament last weekend and pretty much just left it on the whole time since we were bouncing around the lake a bit. It is lightweight and out of the way. I also do the Jon boat rental thing and will be bringing it with me especially as the water cools. Cold water survival swimming is not a hobby of mine. Also, as you stated, I spend a fair amount of time with guides. I have a 50" chest so it was just easier for me to bring my own PFD when I can.

The part in the picture that has the company name on it is the magnet. The exceptionally strong set of magnets actually. It is inside the boat. The arm the holds the transducer is on the outside of the boat. It is such a good grip that you have to slide the magnet away to remove it. Not sure you could just pull it apart. I took some pictures for you of the magnets apart, the interior magnet mounted at a 90 degree angle, and the clamp that mounts the battery and Helix to the boat. Hope that helps.

J Francho thanks for pointing that out because it is really the most important thing in this thread in my eyes. We all have favorite baits and there are tons of options available. To know that Strike King is willing to take the time to post an offer of support to us weekend guys (who admittedly are the ones who allow any company to cash a payroll check) is outstanding to me.

I know this guy is planning to leave the Midwest and go back to Lake Toho for a couple of days. By the end of next week, I'll be able to tell you how Lake Fork is in late September.

I have a Helix 5 GPS/DI that I use on rental Jon boats as well as a Jon boat on a lake at my parents house. I check out the DI from time to time and it is a nice feature, but to be honest, I use the sonar most of the time. I've even gotten away from splitting the screen lately and just keep sonar up. The 5 is a good size for portability and the price is right. I looked at the 7 for the bigger screen but then decided if I was doing the 7, might as well do the 9 which had several upgrades. Then I told myself I was being ridiculous and got the 5 like a normal, non-obsessed human being. To make it easy to use on different boats, I have a fishfindermounts.com mount, battery, and magnetic transducer mount. It takes me roughly a minute or two to mount everything up. The battery is the base of the mount and last for several days without a charge. The transducer mount is simply a very strong magnet. Works very well, however 1. It is not the cheapest option, and 2. There are other ways to make you own DIY mount. With that said, to me, it's worth the money and very well made. I map my day and upload everything to Naviconics so that I can help out other folks by building charts for some of the lakes and ponds I fish which until this point, were blue blobs on a map. A nice reason to spend a few extra dollars on GPS.

I don't think you will catch any slack. In the 70's, at least where I lived, we called it the, "my uncle gave me these small jig heads he doesn't use and all of his ripped up worms" rig. ZMan has done a good job of marketing the rig, but their Elaztech plastic is the real jewel to me, whether it's a TRD, hula stickz or whatever. Chatter baits are pretty nice as well. ZMan is probably the reason I get irritated by Senkos so much. I catch a lot of fish on Elaztech baits and they last forever. Senkos fall apart when you look at them. My Yum Dingers last well, my Zoom brush hogs last, even my Biospawn worms outlast Senkos. And all of them are cheaper.

strike King all the way for me. But I would pick ZMan over SK if you asked.

I always have a Seibert jig and use GYBC DT grubs for trailers. I've played with trailers a lot and actually have a giant dislike for Senkos, but the DT grubs have been so reliable for me. And I always have a Ned rig available.

I look at it as a moderate action that compared to their other rods, seems to fall right in between M and MH....maybe more towards the M. It isn't great with deep divers, but I like it with anything from the occasional square bill to an XD5. I have not fished the Mojo crank, but based on my wife's Mojo spinning rod, I'm pretty sure you could flip a coin between those two and find yourself happy.

I think the way to become successful is to determine where you are going to go after the logical choice doesn't work and how soon you are going to go there. I've seen a lot of people burn a ton of time working the logical bait while I'm catching fish with something that in theory is way off the mark. Doesn't make me smart, it's just a positive side effect of impatience. If I toss something logical ten-twenty times and it's not working, it's time to move to something else before I move spots. I will usually go with a subtle bait change, but before I leave, I always throw something off the charts just to make sure.