T-Billy

Just a light, durable, sensitive blank material. I'm about to sell two lightly used Dobyns for half the cost of new to fund another ARK. A Kaden and a Sierra. I like the ARK blanks much better. OMMV

It's the only leader knot I tie. Easy to tie on the water, passes through the guides well, and I've never had one fail. No reason to use any other for me.

Yep. Bullfrogs will eat pretty much anything they can fit in their mouth.

This little 34" or so muskie absolutely SMOKED my A rig with about 6' of line out, then proceded to go ballistic at boat side. It went into, then mostly back out of the net, but the A rig was hung in the netting so I just used the net to boat flip it. LOL. What a catastrophe!!! I tried my Tharp Guntersville Special out as an A rig rod for the first time yesterday. It's a 7'11" Heavy. Listed as fast but it's definitely on the slower side of that. It does a great job with the rig. The long handle takes alot of the work out of throwing it, vs a shorter rod, and it has a nice parabolic bend with plenty of power. It made short work of this joker. Nice to have a second use for it. Previously it was just for jerking fish out of matted grass.

Congrats!!!

Beaver or a UV Speed Craw.

@Fishin Dad I spent some time throwing a 1/2oz CB on the B Hittay today. Unfortunately no fish on it, but I at least got a chance to get a feel for the rod. It gets good distance, and is sensitive for a big composite. Nice soft tip, and plenty of backbone. I'd rate it as a Mag MH. Exactly what I was looking for in a CB rod. It'll work well for lipless cranks and toads too. Glad I bought two.

6# XT

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/boa/d/perry-1996-smokercraft-aluminum-boat/7466396142.html They're on craigslist all the time.

In every relationship there's one person who's always right. The other one's the man. ?

I'm probably gonna pick one of those up, but I might oughta wait awhile. Just spent 7K on a boat, and another 37K on a downpayment and closing costs. Still need a stove and fridge. If a rod tube shows up on the porch right now, I might get put in timeout. Then again...

I think your MH is the better choice for the jigs and swimbaits. For jerks and topwaters I prefer a mod fast but it's purely personal preference. No right or wrong there, just a matter of what YOU like best. That said, if you're gonna throw all the above on one rod, fast is the way to go.

Those little deer ticks are out and about anytime it's above freezing. When I get home from doing anything in tick habitat, the clothes go straight into a hot wash, and I check myself and take a shower. I find them on me before they attach the vast majority of the time.

Forgot to mention mine is electric start. That's a couple hundred dollar option. You're right Dogface, dealers can't get'em. Bob told me he could have sold 30 last year but could only get 6 of them all year. Even back in 19 when I bought mine, he couldn't find one east of the big river. Had to order it from a distributer on the west coast, and they only had three. It's crazy.

Been leaning them against the wall my whole life. $20 rods - $200 rods, never had an issue with any of them. OMMV

Pretty easy to tell reputable sellers from, well... you know. Just look at their feedback, and their stores.

Just a loose fit. All parts have tolerances. Hopefully swapping them fixes it for ya. If not, a wrap of Teflon tape might.

I haven't, but I'm gonna throw one for awhile tomorrow. I'll report back.

No, it's not cheaper. The motors cost the same, at least in my case. It was an extra $400 for the 20hp computer, but if I get inspected by the lake patrol at a 10hp lake, it'll pass. Some of the digits in the serial # indicate HP rating. They checked my Johnson once. ? Should I rephrase that last sentence? I've been dealing with the same shop since the 90's and he treated me right. Sold me the motor for $3400 and gave me $500 for my old 93 johnson with a junk power head, so I'm all in on it at $3300 + tax and my old motor. Dunno about a rock guard. I imagine somebody makes one to fit it. They're popular little motors. EFI and 4 stroke is nice. Starts instantly and idles smooth no matter how cold it is, sips fuel, nice and quiet, no mixing oil, can troll downwind without choking on the exhaust...

Where there's a will, there's a way!!!

Several 10hp lakes in my area. As our old Johnson/Evinrude 9.9's with 15 carbs wear out, the vast majority are going Suzuki 9.9 EFI and installing the 20HP computers. I bought mine in 2019. Pushes my 1648 along at about 23mph with just me, and 21mph with a second person. Great little motors.

Sounds like a whole bunch of hassle to me. I'd much rather just back my boat in and go fishing. You can buy a used fully rigged small jon and trailer for that kinda $$$.

Watching it now. I like the format. I hope they do more, with more teams.

I don't have the 6'10" M, but I have the 7'2" M XF. It's more F than XF and is stouter than a couple MH rods I have. Not all SLX's run heavy for their ratings but this one does. The 6'10" may too. Dunno, but thought it worth mentioning.