moloch16

I heartily disagree. I fish with so-called 'cheap' reals and they work perfectly fine. Sure they may wear you're a pro and fish on an daily basis but for the weekend angler they are perfect. Now, if you are blessed and have the money the more expensive reels are terrific, but by no means will buying a 'cheap' reel make your fishing experience horrible! I highly recommend the Abu Garcia Silver Max - I have one of these and have been extremely pleased. I also own two BPS Extremes and they are nice, however I think the Silver Max has them beat. I find the drag system on the Silver Max is superior to the BPS extreme, and IMHO the Silver Max casts easier and further.

I saw Dean Rojas (i.e. bass pro) at a fishing show in Raleigh NC. He uses a double palomar knot with braid, so that's what I plan to use from now on. He showed everyone how to tie it properly. Very nice guy!

You know it's funny this must be thread number 150,333 wondering if Bill can catch a bass in public water. I think Bill should do Day on the Lake. It would be d**n entertaining.

http://www.wareaglelures.com/frontrunner.htm I've been thinking about getting one. Anyone have any experience with the Front Runner?

I too have replaced Rat-L-Traps with Red Eyes. I have one very old Rat-L-Trap that looks like it was hit by a truck and then drug behind it for 30 miles. Yet it will catch fish like crazy. New Rat-L-Traps are a joke. The company really must take a hard look at the quality of their baits or they will disappear.

I'm a bit confused about the "type 1" vs "type 2" circuit breaker. In the link above under the category "standard breaker" there are "type 1" breakers listed as "auto reset". So it seems type 1 doesn't always mean manual reset? (Edit: It seems type 3 are manual reset so maybe you meant type 3 instead of type 1) Also it's hard to tell from the link what breaker NitroMan is recommending. Is it the "standard breaker" or the "High Amp Waterproof Circuit Breaker"? Finally, what amp do I need for a 55lb thrust TM? Thanks for any help!

Ah well my transom is aluminum, so no worries about rot.

Awesome, thanks for the tip!

I have a 9.9 I use on my 14's Jon. I do use bolts when mounting the motor for a fishing trip because I found the clamps didn't provide that sturdy of a mount on my particular boat, but on other boats the clamps may be perfectly fine. I recommend you mount the motor with just the clamps and see what you think before reverting to bolts. Like others said, small motors tend to disappear so you won't want to leave your motor on your boat unattended for any length of time. Even though I use bolts my motor is not permanently bolted on and sealed with silicone. When I go fishing I put the motor on the boat, run the bolts through the hull and motor, tighten the bolts and tighten the motor clamps. I use wing nuts which can be tightened by hand. When I get home I undo the bolts and clamps and off comes the motor. Why do people suggest silicone sealant over the bolts? I guess if the bolts are below the waterline - this isn't the case with my boat and motor. No silicone required.

I like the idea of fishing with the right line for the current condition and chosen lure. However I tend to not have enough time/money/reels to do this optimization. Oh well :

I'm still looking for my first jig bass. I've caught them on pretty much everything else...

The wire is long enough you can put the transducer in one spot and then move the fish finder anywhere in the boat.

Wow I never knew, just ordered a few cases thanks for the heads up.

Might try a Gambler Ugly Otter too. http://www.gambler-lures.com/uglyotter.html

There is only one transducer. Keep in mind that a portable unit can be easily moved around the boat. I move mine to the back when using the "big" engine and then back to the front again when using the trolling motor. I also take my portable unit to rent-only lakes where I have to rent the boat at the lake and can't put my own boat in the water.

It sounds like you may want a more permanent installation? If so you can install a permanent fish finder mount and permanent transducer mount. When you park the boat just take the fish finder and transducer with you and leave the mounts on the boat. Both the finder and transducer are simple to attach/detach from the mounts - should take less than a minute.

I agree with SinDale - putting a hitch on the car and towing the boat would be a lot easier. If you bought a 10' you could still tow it to the lake and then carry/drag it to the launch point (if there is no ramp).

I bought a portable FishMark 320 and it has been fantastic. It comes with a suction cup mounted transducer which has never come off under normal conditions (dragging it across an underwater log doesn't count as normal conditions ). I put batteries in two years ago and they have yet to be replaced. I'll replace them next season just to get that warm fuzzy feeling. It comes with water temp sensor built-in but not speed. Also, Eagle provides emulators so you can play with the fish finder in the comfort of your house: http://www.eaglenav.com/en/Downloads/Product-Emulators/ Overall I highly recommend the FishMark 320 (or 480 if you have the extra cash). It seems Eagle/Lowrance is a class-act company too. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_52530

Yay for free stuff. Read this: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/merch.htm

I could catch bass on a dry cat turd on the lakes Bill fishes ;D

I'm a member. The magazine is great. Everyone posts about "what you get" but don't forget you're getting a lot more than you might think. B.A.S.S has done more for this sport than any other organization. Things like: Promoting catch-and-release. Lobbying the government to maintain and improve lakes specifically for anglers. Protecting angler rights. Tournaments that in the end drive innovating fishing baits and techniques. Without your membership money none of this is possible.

I bought the Guardian Series Tournament Auto/Manual and wore it on Sunday. I've never worn an inflatable PFD before so I don't have much in the way of comparison. I can say I was happy with the way it fit and it did not interfere with fishing. It's heavier than I imagined it would be (from looking at the picture lol) but again I've never even tried one on before so I have no basis for comparison. I'm 6'2" and 215 pounds.

I'm not 100% sure but I think turning on Fish ID increases the filtering provided by the unit such that only the things the unit really thinks may possibly be a fish are displayed as fish symbols. I turned it on one time just to see what happened and all the crud usually displayed (bubbles, leaves, sticks, weeds, etc) went away and only the really strong returns turned into fish symbols. But the other crud is usually more important than the fish arches so yeah...don't use Fish ID

Now that's making do with what you got

Hi folks, I'm starting to look at trucks to replace my aging sedan. Right now I'm pulling a 14' Jon but with a truck I know I can do better How much truck do you need to pull your typical fiberglass bass boat? I'm looking at the Dodge Dakota would this do the trick? Or do I need to go with a Dodge 1500 (i.e. Ford F150). For my first bass boat I won't be buying a 20 foot monster, 16 to 18 feet would be plenty. Thanks for all your help!