jdw174

OK, I'll do that. I suppose I should have thought of that in the first place. Right now, I'm trying to schedule a date to get the unit installed. It's more than this kid is willing to tackle on his own.

Thanks for the advice guys. Some of my ball head types have clip-on springs...I'll take some of them off and give them a try. On the football heads with molded in springs, I'll snip most of them off and try that.

Rod - 6'10" MH spinning Line - 20lb Stealth Braid w/short 10lb leader Jighead - 1/8oz football head with spring molded in. Was fishing 14' of water this AM with the above setup. (Worm was a Hag's Tornado). Within a five minute period, I hooked and LOST one that was at least 5, and another that was almost that big (had them both to the boat when they came unglued). > I had popped a good hookset on both of them, yet the hook had barely came thru the worm and wasn't buried in the fish at all. It is my theory that the spring keeper in the head is perhaps TOO good and doesn't allow movement of the hook on the set. I had threaded the hook thru the worm to ensure that it didn't meet much resistance on the hookset. I'd like to know what kind of heads you guys use and what suggestions you might have. If this had been a tournament this morning I'd have just about broke the rod after losing the second one.

160 pages worth??? I say that for that kind of money I shouldn't have to print diddly.

UPS delivered my new unit yesterday. Opened the box to find................................the owner's manual contained on a disk . For the love of Mike, when you're spending that kind of money I'd say the least you could do is put a manual with it that you can take on the water. I don't normally carry a computer with me to read the manual in PDF format . Rant over.

I've been fishing a long time and have never bought a rod sight unseen until now. I did purchase a Powell that was everything it was touted to be. I'm going back to my LowRider for c-rigging. It's heavier in weight, but it's got the butt to get the job done.

MnGeorge, I agree about the action being "moderate". If I hold the rod and pull on the line, the tip bends clear down to around the 6th guide. I just might give it a try as a CB rod or even a SB rod. Might even do good work as a TW rod, but as a rod for heavier applications....don't think so.

Well, I got to try out both Excels this morning. While the fish didn't cooperate I got a chance to see how these rods work. The first one I tried out was rigged with a 1oz weight C-rig. While it's sensitive (a bit more so than the Falcon Lizard Dragger it was supposed to replace), that 1oz weight put a bit of a bow on the tip. IMO, it seems too light for a c-rig. I wish I'd have had the chance to do a hookset with it. The second one was rigged with a 1/2oz football jig, Castaic reel, and 25lb line. Casts a mile, but again, I can't help but think it's on the light side. I need to hook up on a fish to make a final decision though. I had bought a Powell 7' Heavy action Max for pitching duty. As it stands now, I wish I'd have bought a couple more. More to come.

I have two of the XL705C rods that I just received. One is set up for jigs, the other for c-rigs. Will be fishing with them for the first time this morning. On initial inspection, I will say that they appear to be more of a MH than a H. The blank says "heavy" and says it's for jigs, t-rigs...most of the heavy-duty stuff. I'll post again after I've had a chance to try them today.

XL703S ordered. Will be here Wed....

I want to get one of these. Question is....which one :-? It will be used mainly for dropshotting, but could be called on for smaller jerkbaits. Considering both the 6'6" or the 7' in medium action. ML sounds like a bit on the light side. What say you?

One of my all-time favorites was always the Zetabait Gillraker 8". They had phenominal tail action, even with weights as light as 1/16oz. I don't know if they're even being made these days. Haven't seen any in a tackle shop or online in ages.

You want rude? C'mon down to Kentucky Lake during the spring crappie run. I absolutely refuse to fish the Big Sandy area until it's over. If you're lucky enough to find a bank to run, I guarantee you won't have five minutes before a pontoon full will come banging right in in front of you, toss out several anchors and a half dozen lines right next to your boat. > I normally just boot the TM into high and go around them, but....... I give everyone else space and figure it would be nice if they did the same.

Roger Daltry - The Who Steve Perry - Journey Lou Gramm - Foreigner Roy Orbison Hall & Oates

Cabelas has a good selection in their marine catalog.

Just ordered two of them. They'll be here this afternoon 8-)

I finally got out yesterday and had the chance to use the new Caenan. I moved four of the brakes out, leaving the other two off. The reel is mounted on (no laughing, please) a Tessera spinnerbait/worm rod (it works great for lipless/shallow-med cranks, thank you). This rig casts a LONG ways with a 1/2oz lipless, and even longer with a deep diving bomber. The Caenan is super smooth, both on cast and retrieve. IMO, it's every bit as smooth as my green Curado 200's. Not a single backlash all day, and the drag worked nice and smooth. At $89 delivered to my door......it's a steal.

Currently on sale at *** for 78.88 and free shipping

x10 I always remove the factory split rings on everything that comes with them. Likewise. First thing I do with new hardbaits is yank the split rings. Never had a problem with snaps.

I'm not familiar with that particular model, but the guys at In-Fisherman seem to do rather well from a Lund...

If you're moving to southern WI, you'll most likely be fishing a lot of clear water. You might consider something like a LUND like In-Fisherman people fish out of. Look for used, as new LUNDS are kinda pricey. There's lots of good prices out there on used bass boats if that's what you're shooting for.

My profound apologies regarding my original posting in this thread. The mounting holes in the Fortrex do indeed match a MG Gatormounts holes. You have to remove the right side cover from the base mount on the MK and you'll find holes drilled there to accept the MG pattern. I was running on 2 cylinders yesterday and shot my mouth off before making sure my brain was loaded. Sorry guys......... :-[

Soon as I saw this thread I popped over there and ordered two of the 7'MH action. At that price....you betcha!

My best color in clear to slightly stained water has been Watermelon Candy so I always try to get soft plastics in that color if available. I also carry Watermelon/Red Flake, Black/Blue, and Junebug.

The mounting holes on a Fortrex do NOT...repeat NOT...match up with the holes from my Motorguide. My MG is 12 years old which may have something to do with it, but it's a Gatormount and the bolt pattern on the MK is narrower than the MG and the holes are spaced differently . At any rate, got the old motor off...tomorrow I'll get some silicone to plug the old holes and the right size drill bit (9/32) to mount the new one.