James Krack

The Case pocket knives are more miss than the hit they used to be. The fillet knife has been virtually unchanged since the late 1980's as far as I know till this recent sheath change. The handle and blade on my new knife is still the same as my old knife from that era. I think I will end up keeping this new knife although I favored the old tan color on the handle and leather sheath. The handle is the same and the blade is the same and that is more important to me. I think the #1 thing that turns people off on this knife is the looks. Till you see one up close you really have no idea the detail that goes into it. I won't name brands here but I prefer it to some knives that cost many times as much.

So I got my knife today and it is a black handle with a nylon sheath. Looks like I bought one too late. Something tells me there may be vendors that have pics of the old tan handle leather sheath knife but that's not what your going to get. Oh well, hopefully some on ebay.

For $30 I will give it a shot. Thanks

I was always allot faster with an electric knife but always felt I was leaving meat on the bone. That and my fillets were not as clean cut. Do you mind me asking which electric knife you prefer?

Just bought one these again cause my old one is who knows where. Looks like they cheapened the sheath recently. I did find quite a few for sale with the old leather sheath but I think it will not be long before you can only find them with the new nylon sheath. Still my favorite fillet knife but kind of sad to see. I think the Rapala/Marttiini has really taken over as the budget level fillet knife. I def. thought about getting one when I saw it for sale for $15 at Wal-Mart with a leather sheath and sharpener included. I think Case XX had to do something to remain competitive. I know it is hard to spend twice as much ($30) on something as proven as the Rapala/Marttiini fillet knife and then spend another $20 on a marbles sharpener. But if you plan on filleting quite a few fish I think it's worth the $50. Is anyone else a fan of this fillet knife? I'm going to miss the leather sheath.

Grey/Smoke all around. Amber/Green for low light and sight fishing.

That and sadly something as easy as driving a stick seems to be a lost art anymore. Amongst my late 30 year old friends I'd say I'm 1 in 10 at best. My dad and his friends practically all drove sticks.

The border? The border will make you quit bass fishing. It was like something out of a dream. Five pounders busting on shad as far as your eyes can see. Could not fool them at all. It was so bad we had more bass jump into our boat than we had bite out lines. Jigging spoons of all things worked the best but your talkin 3 dinks instead of one. Not much of an improvement.

To those who think bass are "easy" to catch I invite you to fish bull shoals lake on the Missouri/Arkansas border at 6am. It is the most spectacular bass event I have ever seen and I hardly caught a fish. That was back in the mid 90's but I doubt it is any different today. Those bass are smart. Even live shiners could not fool them, and that is what they were eating.

I can think of one change that def. made it harder. The doing away with smaller 2 stroke motors. I'm fine with 2 strokes and I'm fine with 4 strokes but I'm not fine with 4 stroke carb. I see efi is on the way but very expensive. For me it was an absolute no brainer to go with a used 2 stroke for my first boat, a brand new 1248LW with bear trailer. A new top of the line 9.9 efi cost more than my boat and trailer with tax and registration. My 1996 Merc. 9.9 is lighter and faster than any 9.9 made today. Looks brand new and cost me 25% of what a new motor cost. That's a massive advantage for the old schoolers who fish smaller boats. I do think I will buy a new 9.9 4 stroke. Japan makes great stuff. But not until the weight and price goes down and the thrust goes up as well as efi. The old 2 stroke motors had what 80-90 years of know how behind them. Japan has technology on their side but there is only so much you can do to catch up to that sort of know how. Which is how I feel about Mobasser's question. There's just no substitute for know how. No matter how much technology you have at your finger tips.

I have a legend tournament walleye that I adore. To me St.Croix addressed the 3 main issues I had with their rods. Comfort, looks and weight. To me they always had the best build but lacked in those areas enough that I passed on them. Not the legend tournament.

Hey thanks. It's my first boat and clean is exactly what I was going for. I wanted all the bass boat amenities without the cluster of cables and switches that I usually see in most jon boats. I also wanted something that could fit 2 people and still plane easy with a unmodified 9.9 2 stroke if its just me. The biggest draw back is that while you can fit 2 people, it is probably best if you both fish 6' rods or shorter. I have always been a ultralight-medium guy myself so no biggie for me. That is not a yuppie wrangler either. Stick with a V6 and 2" lift. Sorry if that offends somebody but I'm incredibly offended by the fact I can't hardly find a wrangler in that configuration anymore.

I just recently put together a little fishin ride. 2019 Weldbilt 1248LW, 2019 Bear trailer, 1996 mercury 9.9, 55lb minn kota C2, Navisafe nav. lights, Wise 6" fixed seat pedestal with commander seats x2, Minnkota trolling motor power station, Tripplite power inverter, Eheim 400 air pump, Toughbox Radio.

I think a jon boat would be a much better option. Easy to tow. Not much at all needed motor wise, especially a flat bottom. I recently bought one and went with Weldbilt. They can build you a 80 gauge boat for what Lowe and Alumacraft will charge you for a 60 gauge boat. I got a little 1248LW which is just big enough for 2 people and can still plane easy with a unmodified 9.9hp 2 stroke if it's just me. You would probably want something bigger for a family or lakes bigger than 2,000 acres. A 1448LW runs $1750 and a 1648LW $2k plus $900 for a bear trailer.

Berkley power worms are by far and away my #1 go to for bass. 4" worm with a charlie brewer slider hook 1/8-1/4oz. Been fishing them since they were introduced in the 90's. Probably wont catch many giants but I have a 6-7lb smallmouth on my wall that says it can happen. Caught her out of the Meramec back in 1999. You wont be able to keep great eating 1-2 pounders off your line. Camo, Pumpkin Seed, Motor Oil, and Junebug in that order