K1500

Park on top of them and vertical jig with a jigging spoon. A very underrated technique.

Nope, not from Iowa. I think the best thing to do is just make yourself (myself?) go and learn to fish alone.

I am about the same age/stage of life and I feel the same way. I have a 20’ bass boat and to be honest, it’s a fair bit of work to go alone. I do it sometime but would rather go with my kids. One is in college and the other is in high school and not interested fishing (plus school activities take up a lot of time). I guess I’m gonna have to learn to go alone if I want to go, as none of my friends fish.

They sure seem to be a boon to trout fishing.

I switched from the Trilene knot to the Uni and have had much better luck with it. The uni works better for me on heavier line without causing an issue with lighter line. Palomar for braid.

If you can’t hit redline when at WOT with your current prop, going up pitch won’t help. I have two props for my 20’ aluminum bay boat with a 115 pro XS ct, a 4 blade 17 pitch and the same prop in a 19 pitch. The 19 pitch is what I use in the spring and fall for fishing. It takes a bit longer to get on plane but has a higher top speed and (more importantly) a lower rpm at the speed I want to cruise. This is with 1-3 people on the boat. As I add people/weight it is a noticeable difference in getting on plane. I put the 17 pitch on in the summer, when I am pulling a tube and tend to have more passengers in the boat. I’ve never even tried to pull the tube with the 19 pitch. Aluminum props can help save your lower if you do something boneheaded like strike a submerged rock jetty on plane. I’ve seen it save a boat lower once.

I use only ethanol free and use stabilizer with every fill up, but it’s easily available at most gas stations and it’s all the marinas carry. I figure it’s pretty cheap insurance, especially after having the FI system in a motorcycle gum up over winter with E10 ethanol fuel. As long as you are treating it and running fuel through it on a regular basis, it probably doesn’t much matter what you use.

If it’s ‘very cheap’ then I wouldn’t worry about it. I mean, if you wear a groove in the guides in 3 or 4 years you’ve probably used the rod enough that it’s worth upgrading to something better. Are you going to use a closed face push button reel on it? I would more concerned about how that handles the braid than the rod.

I used the Trilene knot for years and started having issues with it when used with Yozuri Hybrid line. I switched to the uni and it fixed all the issues.

The spike it pens work and add scent to the plastics, but I don’t think they are available in black. The spike it that you dip the bait I. Works even better. I believe spike it uses acetone or something similar as the solvent, whereas a sharpie is alcohol based. Give the sharpie a try and see.

It appears they don’t make them in 13” sizes. I’ve used them on a camper and boat and had excellent service. In any event, I vote for balancing them. It is usually included in the price of mounting and I don’t see a reason to give your tires a chance to shake the boat to pieces while under tow.

Goodyear endurance and have them balanced.

Clear ATV type goggles are the way to go on a cold day for sure. Changes an eye watering run into something pleasant.

Another thing about hard baits. They are typically more expensive in absolute terms than soft baits like a Senko, but they are dirt cheap when compared to a soft bait for durability. I’ve caught 100’s of fish on a single crankbait before destroying or losing it. Try that with a worm and see how much you spend in plastic and hooks. Amortizing the cost of a hard bait over its life really brings the cost/fish down. At least that’s what I tell myself as I’m topping off the boat and putting another 30 gallons of gas in the tow rig…

All I know is I have cheap baits and expensive baits. I ALWAYS fish the more expensive ones in the box. The cheap ones don’t seem to run as true or work as well, but it may be all in my head. After I bought my boat I quit worrying about saving a few bucks on a hard bait.