Gatorbassman

That's great. Welcome to the team Ghoti.

Somebody gave me a word of advise once. "If you think you are going to slow, you need to slow down." It worked then for deer hunting and it works now for fishing.

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service to this country. You guys are the best there is. I was in the Army from 96 till 02. It was the best thing I have ever done. As for your question. I fish multiple lakes and rivers all over Georgia and I have the perfect boat for both. I own a Aluminum Triton 186Sport with a 90hp Merc on the back. Its top speed is around 40mph. This boat is wider than the Trackers and all welded. It is as solid as can be. The great thing about it is I don't spend a paycheck on gas every time I go fishing. On the average it cost me 20 bucks each time I go. My only recommendation on any aluminum boat be it a Tracker or a Triton, is you need to get the trolling motor upgraded to a 24v motor and install an onboard charger. The trolling motors that they put on at the factory are always under powered. If you look at Tritons DO NOT get any of the VT models. They are cheaper than my SP model but they are made by another company other than Triton and they have had some serious structural issues lately.

I thought this was a business trip. You guys are haveing way to much fun.

1/16oz mojo rig.

Yep and they can see you. That is why you didn't stand a chance to catch them. The best thing to do is leave and come back in a half hour and try to catch them before you can see them.

Does it have a factory Trolling motor? If so it is probably way under powered and needs to be upgraded to at least a 50lb thrust motor.

What's a Porta-Bote?

Which one of us isnt hashing things out? I guess I can't count. I need some sleep bad. lol

Crap!!!!! I'm in my 50's already.

I thought you were talking about the Titan's by American Tackle.

Sorry about that I didn't know what ones you were talking about. lol Let me pull my foot out of my mouth now.

OK here's my point. > I fish 225 days a year. If I didn't buy quality gear I would be replacing it every six months or so. When I say quality I don't mean GLoomis and Shimano. That is high end and out of my price range. I just need something that will hold up to how and how often I fish. I have Revo's and Daiwa's from $100 to $250 and I have upgraded my rods from $33 AllStars to $170 Dobyns Rods.

Sam nailed that one down. A 6'6" MH is by far as GP as they come. It is the best rod to start with. My personal preferance for most of the lures that you mentioned is a 6'8" Medium Xtra Fast.

The biggest problem with recoil guides is that the little ring that is inside the guide likes to pop out due to the flexablity of the frame.

I put one of mine on a Dobyns 703C and the other on a Dobyns 682C. They have been wonderfull and they balance those rods out perfectly.

NANA NANA BOO BOO!!!! We are still hashing it out. You should see what happens when the four of us work through difficult things like this. All I can say is be patient.

The truth of it is that the water has to be very cold for the bass to slow down. In the fall the bass will be feeding heavy. Check out these articles about fall fishing. http://bassresource.com/fishing/seasonal.html#fall As for lures I throw everything I got at them. My favorite ones are Lipless Crankbaits, Flukes, and trickworms.

Welcome. We are glad to have you here at the best bassfishing forums there are.

It's to heavy.

This is what I do in that situation. I rig a white fluke weightless on a 4/0 Wide Gap hook. I make long casts and reel it back in keeping it just under the surface of the water. I make very, very, very light twitches and try not to break the surface of the water. If you are having trouble keeping it under the water just tie a large swivel 12 to 18 inches above the knot.

I live an die by my etrex legend Cx. It is a little out of your price range but it is awesome. I got it brand new on ebay for 100 bucks off of retail. I have had the yellow etrex and it was good but from my experiance you should get one that had a map programed onto it. I have two different after market mapping prorgrams that I put on my GPS one has detailed road maps and the other has thousands of lakes and river maps and charts on it. I can go out in the evening on a new lake and get back to the ramp after dark. I use it every day on and off the water. It has been worth every penny.

That's great. Cangrats.

Avid, You and I share the same birthday. I am honored.

That looks great Fletch. I love the inlays. How do you make your labels?