Obi_Wan

Go look at AJay's posts on his 1875 Pro V Bass. I have a 19' BassCat. For my fishing I could go down to a smaller boat and almost did with a Bobcat. I fish alone 99.9% of the time. I'm not looking for a boat to accommodate someone every now and then. I really want a boat that's easy to load and unload alone. But, My dream boat is a 2075 ProV Bass and I don't fish water as big as AJay. I think it comes down to what you have to tow it with, how much storage you have, will you have anyone else in the boat fishing with you, and then what lakes will you fish.

I've got two of these combos that I use for river fishing. ML rod. Highly recommend. Got it at Wal-Mart. Lew's Xfinity XJ Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo, 6-Foot Rod, Size 100 Reel, Green https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lew-s-Xfinity-XJ-Spinning-Reel-and-Fishing-Rod-Combo-6-Foot-Rod-Size-100-Reel-Green/155659016?athbdg=L1200&from=/search

Good info. I haven't fished a weightless wacky rig much, but makes sense. I'm going to start throwing one in the river here and I think weightless is the main way to go.

I'd like to hear whether or not you like to use a wacky rig weighted or not weighted. If you do both, what makes you pick one over the other?

When I was a kid my dad fished red plastic worms, almost exclusively. I don't know anyone still using them. I was looking at some Tomatoe colored Zoom Finesse worms. Anyone have an opinion on red plastics?

Tubes - I have some smaller tubes that i use in the rivers and I have some slightly larger. I've really been liking the smaller tubes lately. Bitsy tubes and the 2 1/4" BPS Crappie Maxx tubes Z-Man TRD - Can't store them with your other plastics, but they last forever. Really like the Bass Assassin Lit'l P&V and the small Stik-O from BPS Kalin curly tail grub - I'm sure there are other acceptable ones, but these are what I use. Zoom finesse worms and magnum finesse worms - like the magnum version Z-man craw Culprit 7.5" in Mocassin BPS hellgrammite Yamamoto Fat IKA 4" Arkie Stick, 4" Charlie Brewer slider worm, Fluke of some kind, paddle tail swim baits, and anything else you like.

I wouldn't use a $150 lure in my bathtub. If I need a $150 lure to catch fish, I'll pick another hobby.

I have a rubber tire chock tied to a line. I don't want my truck rolling down the ramp on me. I back up and put the chock under the driver front tire. The rope goes in the window. I follow the procedures above to launch and get in the truck to pull up. I ease up and lift the chock up with the rope. I know I'm paranoid, but I don't want to end up with my truck in the drink. Funny, I'm not likely to screw up when I'm alone and un distracted. the only time I've had a close call was when I was with my brother and dad and they were distracting the hell out of me. I went to pull up and realized the truck was in reverse. Nearly backed it right into the lake. Learned to tune them out and double check what I'm doing.

Academy Sports sells some good cheap reels. I really like the cheap Lew's combos from Wal-Mart. I use them in the river so I don't have to worry about losing one. (let my nephew borrow a combo and he ended up throwing it in the river because he doesn't pay attention and doesn't care about other people's stuff until its too late). Lew's wal mart combo has never let me down.

No. I use mono and copoly only. NEVER had an issue. We worry too much about line and color and not enough about size and presentation. YMMV,

Can't agree enough with the speed thing. I'm accustomed to fishing warm water here in the south. I try to go to Canada with my family and friends once a year for walleye and smallmouth. Fish jerkbaits mostly. We get there just after the thaw. A very common conversation around the campfire is, "I'm struggling to slow down enough." When the water is cold, jerkbaits are great, but you have to slow down. I watch the pros fish a jerkbait and its non-stop. When I'm up north and the water is cold, I twitch it 2-3 times (slow twitch) and let it sit for a second or two. Many times I find that when I twitch it again, there's a fish there. But when I go fast, no fish.

Denali Attax. I've used it extensively in Canada with jerkbaits. Impulse is my #2 and for cheap, I like the Berkley Fire rod. Hard to beat the Denali for the price.

I've had nothing but great performance with Bass Pro Shops reels. My favorite is one they don't make anymore, but they still make some good reels. I agree with all the Lew's recommendations and then some. I used to be an Abu Garcia fan and I have nothing against them, but Lew's and BPS has overtaken them.

Don Iovino - Smallmouth candy Zoom - junebug, green pumpkin Arkie, Z-man - Coppertruse, PB &J Z-Man - Green pump./orange; yoga pants, the deal, sprayed grass Culprit - Mocassin (recently found some Gene Larew that is basically this color. good stuff). May be because my dad and I caught a ton of bass one time on this color. I was just a little kid, but I'll never forget it. BPS Stick-0/hellgramite - Houdini Smoke/black flake, green pumpkin, california craw, purple w/chartruese, watermelon/red flake. Good in anything.

This has been my issue. I haven't fished out of my boat for 6 months or more. I've been once in my kayak this summer. My wife doesn't want to go to the lake and is not interested in fishing at all. My son is in college and isn't around much and doesn't really like fishing that much. If I want to spend time with family, it won't be fishing.

I've fished mono my whole life. I used to change it at least once per season. I use straight mono on my reels I use when I go to Canada every year. I haven't changed the line on it in 3 years and I've had no issues whatsoever. I do use the KVD Line and Lure conditioner on it before I go fishing and at the end of each day. I should change it more often, but I don't see the need unless you get lots of wind knots, or break off often. I cut line off if it gets frayed. I just don't find myself cutting off so much that I need to change my line. I know I'm definitely in the minority and I know that I should change it more often than I do, but I just haven't lost fish due to "old line". Some would say I'm crazy for not changing it more frequently. I do carry a new spool with me in the boat in case I need to change it. Just haven't needed to. I use McCoy Mean Green, Sunline, and Izorline mono and copoly now. I've used Trilene XL and P-line quite a bit as well.

I use nothing but spinning gear in Canada for Walleye and smallmouth. I have two 3000 spinning reels. Only one makes the trip and its a backup reel. I use a 1000 or 2000 for walleye and smallmouth. Never had one issue with those reels. If I had to use 10 lb line, then go with a 3000. I like the BPS carbonlite because its not like holding a lead anchor all day. YMMV.

I ned rig the Yum CrawBug. I rig it so the weight head is under the tail so it sits on the bottom with the claws up. It has worked well so far.

I am hoping to afford a ProV Bass one day. This is a good looking boat. If I was in the market this one or the Impact XS would be good "budget" options compared to the Pro V Bass.

Trout can be line shy. I don't know if I've ever seen bass be line shy. I guess they could be at times, but if you can catch them on an Alabama rig with all that wire, then some braid should be no big deal. I have used straight braid (faded pink) with no issues whatsoever.

I use mono on most of my spinning reels and don't get many knots. Things like flipping the bail by hand, keeping the line tight when you reel it in, adjusting your drag so it doesn't just peel off all help prevent knots. I used a leader on occasion but I never got good enough at a FG knot to use it and got tired of the knot running through the guides. I had pink braid on a reel with a leader and finally just cut the leader off and went with straight braid. Didn't bother the fish at all. Just kept catching them. When I go to Canada, I use straight mono and very rarely have any issues. The other thing it taught me is that we use line that is too big most of the time. I would have never used 6 or 8 lb mono for the size of fish we are catching up there and that's all we use. Don't overthink it. Use what you like and catch fish.

Basscat BobCat

Dislike: Spinnerbaits. Just never liked them much. Always hated it when dad made me tie one on. Can't stand: A-rig. I just flat refuse to throw something that makes fishing that much work. My brother says "You'll throw one when that's all they are biting." My answer to that is, no, I'll just stay home or hit the river instead. Can't catch: glide baits. Thought they were going to be all the rage. I've tried and never caught a fish on one.

I don't use a Hvy rod, so for me, I would get a ML spin rod and not use the heavy. I would use the MH wtih 40 lb braid for frogs and such.

Same here. I probably don't throw a tube as much as I should but just got some new ones so will probably throw them more. I like a shallow jerkbait and in some rivers I like the smallest chatterbait.