BigAngus752

Are you going to put Power Poles, an Ultrex, and upgrade the electronics on the Triton if you buy it? If so, factor the cost of those in while doing your comparison and then decide what the best value is. It may be the Ranger after you see them side-by-side...or maybe not. If you don't care about any of those things then why not get the newer boat?

I fish when the water isn't hard. I am an expert at getting skunked in any season or weather!

I understand why you are asking all of this, but you are overcomplicating it just a bit. You keep mentioning Illinois so lets talk about an Illinois lake. Newton Lake is a cooling lake for a coal-fired power plant. I went there in October and caught my biggest bass of 2019. I went there in December and got skunked. The water temps were in the low 50's, but it was December and the bass were in "winter mode" just like all the bass everywhere in Illinois. I will go back to Newton in early February because they will be in pre-spawn to spawn mode depending upon where they are in the lake and what the weather has been like. The other lakes I fish won't get to pre-spawn/early spawners until the mid to late March. My point is that the bass are all acting the same. You have to adapt to the water you are fishing. As for you question about how long it takes water temps to change, I have a pond across the road from me that I have permission to fish. I've posted about it several times because most days if I make five casts with a Ned rig I'll catch four bass. I can catch bass on that pond anytime it's not frozen BUT the max depth is about five feet and even when the water is at it's coldest (not frozen) the bass will congregate in the only place where there is rock and cattails. So it's literally fish in a bucket. That pond is usually muddy and it's shallow so a single sunny day will raise the water temps. Conversely, a gin clear strip mind lake that is 40+ feet deep outside of Mahomet, IL will need a couple weeks of sun to see much temp movement.

You are my brother from another mother.

The new place has a 1932sq foot detached garage that has a 93% efficiency furnace, A/C, a bathroom, and 12ft ceilings so I can have an asymmetric car lift. I already have a bay set aside for the boat and all my fishing stuff. But I'm gonna need more fishing stuff!

I was planning on going to a cooling lake on Xmas Eve, which is one of the magazine's top 25 lakes, but it turns out we are closing on our new house on Monday so I'll be starting some remodeling on Xmas Eve instead.

I read the article the day it came out but, since this thread was resurrected, I read it again today. THIS time I noticed that he was fishing a Z-Man Ned rig (presumably a ShroomZ) and was using 14lb mono! I guess I can strip that 6lb off my two Ned rig spinning reels...

This is the best advice you have received so far.

90% of the lakes I fish are man-made and almost entirely weed/wood bottom. I'll sit in 6-10ft of water pitching at shade and laydowns on the bank and my wife will put a small plastic (or a live red worm) on a drop shot and fish off the back. She has caught bass, channel cats, bluegill, and warmouth. Don't be afraid to fish the drop shot anywhere there's structure that could hold fish and try whatever plastic you have laying around. You can catch all sorts of stuff. Some people find it boring but it's just as interesting as properly fishing a Ned rig. I'm not bored if I'm catching.

C'mon man...don't ever put the word "Power" or "Magnum" immediately before, immediately after, or in context with, the words "Ned rig".

One thing to keep in mind (and perhaps mention to them) is that the boat can never go away unless someone goes to this trouble. It's scrap if it's not straightened out. Good luck!

There is a title, you just have to do a little digging. That green sticker with the big "15" on it looks like a 2015 boat registration sticker. What state issued that sticker? That's where you start looking for the title information. And it doesn't appear that getting a new title will be that terribly difficult in PA based on this: https://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/otherforms/Documents/rev-336.pdf In my state "proof of ownership" can be a notarized letter in which the seller swears that he owns it legally and is selling it legally to you.

My Dobyns rods are Furys and Champions. My Fenwicks are a discontinued model, an HMG and an Elite Tech. Sorry, I can't speak to the specific rods you are looking at. Dobyns and Fenwick are excellent brands though. I realize we all want to save money but it didn't take me long to learn that there is usually a huge difference in rods with just a small change in price point.

In that price range I would choose this: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Okuma_Tournament_Concept_TCS_a_Casting_Rods/descpage-TCSA.html?from=basres I have the 6'9 MH and I'm thinking about buying another since they are discontinued.

Ok, California wins. But Illinois is a solid contender.

If is doesn't make a loud noise it won't work for very long. Toss a firecracker. Notice I didn't say "at them" because in your state it's illegal to harass geese, but if you happen to be enjoying some firecrackers (which are also illegal in your state) it's just too bad that the geese are nearby. Even the canister air horn from your boat should work. It's like protecting your house from burglars or outrunning a bear. Make your house less appealing than your neighbor's house. And do I have to outrun the bear or do I just have to outrun YOU? Annoy the geese until they would rather be somewhere else. The downside? There are plenty of OTHER geese that will probably show up once your current flock is gone. Ask me how I know. And we will all pretend we didn't see your comment about the dog being useful since you live in a state where it's an arrestable offense to allow your dog to harass geese. Just say "good boy" quietly and slip him a treat on the down low.

X2 on the hi-vis, 10lb braid and the uni-uni knot. If you don't like the glow-in-the-dark greens and yellows I have had excellent luck with "ghost" (white) braid. I'm not sure if the "fish can see the line" thing is true or not but I have had my best success with the ghost braid on slow presentations with a spinning set-up.

I agree with @Scott F (again). I have a digital kitchen scale and anytime I pick up a plastic that I haven't thrown before I'll put it on the scale just out of curiosity. Total everything up that you are tying on. That's your lure weight. But regardless of the rod rating you need to try it out for yourself. Every manufacturer rates their rods differently because every fisherman has a different opinion. I have a couple rods that don't work anywhere near their highest or lowest weight rating. At least not for me. Just don't go above the max weight. Lastly, if you have a rod that has the lowest weight painted on it of 1/4 oz and you want to throw something that is 1/8 oz and you are looking for an excuse to buy a new rod then please cut and paste the following for your wife: Under no circumstances should you attempt to throw a 1/8oz lure using your current rod. The resulting sonic vibrations could alter the Earth's atmosphere and cause cataclysmic environmental disasters that could end all life as we know it. You're welcome.

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If your line moves, something moved it! You're doing it right. You just have to swing and miss a million times to get it right. Unfortunately I fish all manmade reservoirs that are chock full of timber so I break off at least a couple times every trip just because I swing at something I think I felt or saw. @jimmyjoe is giving you good advice. I still have issues with swinging early before the fish has it all the way in their mouth. Bass fishing requires a lot of self-discipline. Learn to watch, feel, wait, and set the hook. It's hard to do, but if it was easy I wouldn't bother with it.

I would bet my boat that you have gotten bites. All those hours spent, I would bet you've gotten bit several times. Do some research on what a bite feels like and when you should set the hook. Sometimes a bite is the opposite of what common sense says it should be. If you are waiting for that "tug" you are missing a lot of fish. The hardest thing for me to swing on is the "weightless" feeling where the bass picks it up and sits with it. I have gotten to the point (just this year in fact) that I am paying close enough attention to the line that I'm hooking fish based solely on the movement of my line. These things are tough to learn but pay huge dividends.

Two things to prevent mice/rodents. First, if you have a cover on it or leave any rope, straps or similar on the boat make sure they are not dangling over the side. Mice and other rodents will climb up any strap you have hanging within a couple feet of the floor. This includes motor covers so if you drop your trim don't leave a cover on the lower unit. Second, buy a box of cheap dryer sheets and put about 30 of them all over the floors, the seats, and in the compartments. I thought this was b.s. but I once paid to store my boat in a barn with 20 other boats and I did the dryer sheet thing. Several boats were chewed to pieces. Mine didn't have a single mouse turd in it.

He's spending $200 on a single lure. He can afford heroin.

I would guess one of two things; either the previous owner intended to wire two 12V batteries in parallel to try to gain twice the trolling time or, more likely, the previous owner had a 24V trolling motor on the boat and switched back to his old 12V when he put it up for sale so he can use is 24V on his new boat. He likely left both TM batteries in the boat because he intends to set his new boat up correctly with two new TM batteries of the same size and age. The second example is most likely since we can see in your pics that he put a 50A fuse on the batteries. You could pull one of the TM batteries or you could wire the two of them in parallel for more trolling time. I would caution against the latter, however, because your batteries are different size and age and the weaker battery will draw off of the stronger battery and both will die much sooner than they should.

I've had spectacular success with Neds on windy days by just letting the wind work it. I toss it a little upwind of where I want it, let it sink, and leave a little slack in the line. The wind blows the slack and the little Ned twitches around. The fish seem to LOVE that. I literally do nothing but reel in the fish. And don't worry, if the bass are there you won't wait long.