BigAngus752

I always use a fluoro leader on braid when fishing anything on the bottom. I don't have enough fishing expertise to tell you if the bass can see the braid. The primary reason I use the leader is because both of my home lakes are flooded timber and I break off a lot of texas rigs and so forth. I use a swivel and a leader for that purpose and I use flouro because it's just darn tough line. Maybe the fish can see braid so that would be a bonus.

My mistake. I didn’t see the second paragraph. I apologize. I just hate threads like this one. Too much negativity on the internet. I’m guilty of it sometime too, though.

@1simplemann has it right. The "He" you are referring to is " Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission waterways conservation officer Mike Walsh estimated, from a photo, at 9 pounds." Not the guys that caught the fish. They never claimed anything, at least not in this article. This is what they are about, “It was a great father son moment, and truly was the smallmouth of a lifetime,” Onufer said.". There's honor in catching a great fish, releasing it, and relishing the moment with your dad or your son. The DNR guy is a dufus and the reporter is trying to find something interesting to report. I suspect the two fishermen are really regretting talking to either of those people right now since there are fellow bass fisherman trashing them all over the internet and all they were doing was trying to celebrate a once in a lifetime fish.

I'm with @tander and @Goldstar225 on this one. You are right that the shipping company caused the damage and the dealer has apparently corrected the problem in the manner required by the manufacturer....HOWEVER....you are buying a brand new boat and it should be PERFECT if you are paying new boat price. I would demand it be perfect. If you are satisfied with the repairs as dictated by Tracker then you should negotiate a significant reduction in price because it's not perfect. That is only fair and appropriate. If you pay full price for this "repaired" boat you are being taken advantage of. I wish I was closer to you so I could help in person. I enjoy this kind of negotiation. "I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills"...

I went out two days in a row last week. Thurs was sunny and I fished a cooling plant lake. Half the lake was 61 degrees and the other was 73 degrees. Got skunked on both for four hours. Friday I went to a smaller lake. Cloudy and rainy. Water temp 58 degrees. I caught 3 bass on a lipless crankbait and missed 3 with a Toadrunner (see my other post for that rant) in 3hrs time. I was shocked that the 58 degree bass were all over the moving stuff and I couldn’t get the 73 degree bass to touch any cranks, spinners, chatterbaits, or frogs.

I’ve been on the road for 3 days straight so it’s been tough to keep up with this post. This all makes perfect sense to me now. I greatly appreciate the help.

AND I’m a Daiwa guy! All my baitcasters are Daiwa except for my two heavy rods which have the Revos to take advantage of the massive drag. Mixing brands doesn’t bother me with fishing stuff. I’ll use whatever works best for me. But anyone that puts a Chevy LS engine in a Ford should be kicked out of the country...

Darn it. I'm seeing a pattern here.

I have lots of tackle but if I'm going to be honest with myself I catch 90% of my fish with lipless crankbaits, Trick Worms, and frogs. That's the whole water column and two of them I can fish from one foot to the bottom. I love my Zara Spooks and spinnerbaits and the Shad Raps are good producers but for sheer volume it's the first three.

I thought about that with one of the fish that tried to take it but the other two were good fish. In fact (I'm not going to say "It was a ten pounder!") the one that I missed right next to the boat was probably 4lbs. I'm disappointed also but clearly it draws the fish in. These were three catchable fish in 30 minutes of fishing. I'm thinking I'm going to bend the hooks out a little.

I've spent nearly every outing this summer fishing a hollow-body frog for at least part of each fishing trip and I feel I've gotten very good with my hooksets. My perfect wife bought me a new frog rod and a couple Toadrunners for my birthday a few weeks ago and I was very disappointed today when I missed three fish. One of them was a really good LM that blew the frog up within seven feet of the boat. Do the paddletail frogs require a different hookset? Or do the Toadrunners need a modification? I know everyone likes complete details so I'll try to cover them: Fishing a heavy Daiwa Aird with a Gen4 Revo SX and 50lb Sufix 832. I was fishing long casts over a huge, dying lily pad field in 6 to 10ft of water. Water temp 58 degrees, 100% cloudy with on and off rain, 10-15mph wind. All three fish made solid hits on the frog, rolled it under, I did my usual "1-2" count while reeling down and swung hard up and in the opposite direction that the fish rolled (I'm positive I did that on two fish, not certain I had the direction right on the last fish). I also did what I do with all my frogs and slathered a healthy dose of MegaStrike over the frog before I started. I felt like my hookups went from 80% to 95% when I started doing that this summer. Could just be superstition for me now. Wondered if I need to wait longer before pulling the trigger with the colder water? Bend the hooks out on the Toadrunner? Any suggestions appreciated.

Wish I could help you. I went out today and had the same trouble. Fished the best bass lake in the area and talked to two other boats that got skunked also. Our problem was bluebird skies and not even a breeze. I hooked one on an underspin jighead with a paddle tail but my knot broke and the fish left with a jighead in it's mouth. That makes me feel terrible. Had two bass charge my frog from thick hydrilla but they both turned away right before the strike. Too bright out I think. I have the same problem as you, though. I'm going out again tomorrow!

So far I've owned (not in this order) 1949 CJ3A, 1985 CJ, 1989 MJ, 1991 YJ, 1999 TJ, 2000 TJ, 2013 JK, 2014 JKU, 2014 WK2. We currently have the 13 JK and the 14 WK2. Pictured is the 2013 JK. In this pic we drove it from Illinois to Estes Park, CO where we spent a week hiking and off-roading. Jeep is life. You've made a wise choice. It's a great vehicle and a great hobby.

Same here. Last Thurs the high was 89. Today the high was 49 and the low tonight is 32.

You can find them at places other than the online stores at great deals also from time to time. I bought a Gen 4 SX for $99 and got a 7ft M/H Vendetta for free. It was an "in the store only" sale going on at Field and Stream. Unadvertised. I just stumbled onto it while looking for some wacky hooks.

Not only is that a big fish, it's a really, really beautiful fish! That is just perfect for a replica trophy. You got yourself a perfect one there. Congrats.

If someone makes fun of you then you'll just have to win!

Aannnnnd....now we are all shaking our WPs trying to figure out if we have rattles...

Rolls Royce? Rolls Battery Engineering has been making batteries for over 60 years. Every battery including marine and industrial. I'm glad you've had good luck with your batteries and the way you maintained them. I'm sure many here will benefit from your experience. I'm going to stick with science and the advice from the experts. But I also use the Professional Series Dual Pro. I agree that the wrong type of charger will severely shorten battery life if left on 24/7 because I've made that mistake also. I trashed a two year old marine deep cycle over the course of one winter by using the wrong charger the wrong way.

I don't want to hijack, but a quick question. Looking at the Lakemaster list it shows that my two favorite lakes are NOT High Definition Survey. So are they going to be any better than a free Navionics chart? There are some lakes in my area that are High Definition Survey and Lakemaster High Definition Survey but the #1 bass lake in a 100 mile radius isn't. Thanks

If you want the easiest route to getting the longest life out of your batteries get a microprocessor-controlled on-board charger that has "float" and/or "anti-sulfation" modes and leave it plugged in 24/7 when not in use (check your water levels once a month). I learned years ago that the proper charger on a Harley or rarely-driven classic car will add 5+ years to the life of a battery. Plugging and unplugging will not. In fact plugging and unplugging can drastically reduce lifespan. Here is some info from Rolls Battery Engineering technical support (specifically addressing flooded lead acid batteries): Causes of battery sulfation: Batteries sit too long between charges. As little as 24 hours in hot weather and several days in cooler weather. Battery is stored without some type of energy input. Undercharging of a battery to only 90% of capacity will allow sulfation of the battery using the 10% of battery chemistry not reactivated by not completing the charging cycle. Low electrolyte level - battery plates exposed to air will immediately sulfate. Incorrect charging levels and settings. Rolls recommends a 3-phase charge cycle (Bulk, Absorption & Float) and a charge rate equal to 10% of the C20 (20 hr AH rating) of the battery bank. See State of Charge & charging information. A battery sitting for extended periods in a partial or discharged state is more likely to retain a build up of sulfation, which hardens and is more difficult to remove through equalizations.

Tatula SV. Then you can throw anything you want.

I had this happen on my Lowrance a couple weeks ago in 10 feet of water and discovered I had accidentally turned off the auto-range and had locked the depth at 30ft. It was trying to show me the bottom and another bottom below that.

^^^this^^^ As usual @Scott F and @A-Jay are handing out great advice. It's not bluegill where I'm at though. I am a truly spectacular crappie fisherman...unfortunately I'm always fishing for bass...heck, last Saturday I caught a 15in walleye on a lipless crankbait in a forest preserve pond where they swear THERE IS NO WALLEYE. Uh, so this bass is dressed up like a walleye for Halloween then?

You've already gotten some spectacular advice in this thread but considering you've been at it so long with what sounds like NO bites from ANY fish at all I have to ask two things: 1. Are you certain that there are fish in the body of water you are fishing? 2. How long at a time are you fishing? I ask these things because there are some retention ponds in subdivisions around our city that are completely lifeless. Also, if you are spending only 30 minutes at a time fishing then I'm not surprised you are having difficulty catching. In the hot summer months I may only catch one or two fish in 5 or 6 hours and I'm in a boat. If you are spending a considerable amount of time fishing water that you KNOW holds fish then all I can add to what these guys have suggested is SLOW down. And then slow down some more. Slow down until you are bored to tears. When you catch something you won't be bored anymore.