VolFan

I feel like @TnRiver46 is going to have a good answer. Any pics of the trailer tongue? Can you tell where they come and go from? I’d control as much of that as you can with plastic wrap and tape and then spray through wherever else they’d come out. My alternate answer is a big trash bag and a fogger if you can do it.

Well hopefully taking it to the boat mechanic was the right fix!

I 100% understand- I did it two years ago in 98 degree temps. I thought I’d be done before the sun got too high and was sadly mistaken. Pressure washer and a good scrub brush do make it quicker and better though.

I will embark upon this soon as well, although I may wait for the fall…

FINS 40G. It is the best braid out there. I use it for everything spinning, from ultralight to swimbaits, fresh and salt. It is wildly fantastic.

This was the original question. I would look at your new motor’s manual. And go with that. Whomever told you that you can’t use aluminum could be right, could be trying to sell you a prop, or could be going off something they heard on the internet. Mercury puts out specs for their motors in writing for a reason. Go with that. Everything else is just interspeculation that gets all feelingsy. Yes I made those words up.

I’m with @Bluebasser86 - liver is a fiddler bait, messy, and just not better than some easier/cheaper options like chicken breast or cut shad and/or white perch.

My two best for small use are the French Broad near Asheville and the New up near Crumpler. But neither of those is tremendously close. There’s a ton of streams and creeks in/around Charlotte with spots and largemouth though if you’d stoop to that. Many of them have greenways running miles of their banks so access is pretty easy.

That *may work in calmer flat water but I don’t see how it would responsive enough quickly enough to function in much current. I guess we’ll see!

If you’ve ever seen a craw move when they’re not alarmed, they don’t have their claws up. They just kind of crawl or flip through the water and it does look more like a scat bait or a fat senko. A craw with its claws up is a defensive posture and a tougher meal for a bass. Does it still bother me when my baits lose appendages? Absolutely.

Do you have a pic? My Mag Touch rods had unlocking reel seats.

I wear my big boat shoes, but take less/smaller steps. Those are crocs for 10 months of the year, and bogs for two months. I take the bogs off after launching and wear a water resistant Salomon after launching.

I have a Bunn drip, an aeropress, a glass French press that I’ve had for 30 years and somehow haven’t broken, and I have Cometeer pods in the freezer. I just don’t have a pour over…yet. If I had to go to one I’d take the French press because I can control everything and still make a whole pot in a reasonable amount of time. If you’re just making a cup that aeropress is fantastic. I use Counter Culture beans of various types almost exclusively.

Buzz bait/spinnerbait target practice fishing brush/laydowns. It’s like rabbit hunting without dogs. Just trying to kick a bass out of their hidey-hole.

#1 - Wear your PFD. Don’t just bring it, wear it. Getting flipped or falling out is almost never a planned experience. #2 - If you are kayak fishing and end up not in your kayak anymore, you are no longer kayaking nor fishing, you are swimming. Please action your survival accordingly. #3 - Go complete #2 while executing #1. It’ll make you much more trusting of your boat and its (and your) abilities and reactions.

That’s a lot of tent! I will double down that REI really stands behind their stuff. Their return policy is second to none and leads to some great items when they have their garage sales.

I have always had great success with REI’s store brand if you have one nearby. They are well-designed and good quality, and REI stands behind their products. I have not used one larger than 4 person however.

It’s not quite ‘New Truck Day’ but that sure is a nice piece of machinery!

I’m in NC with you and this year has been weird. The only success we had Sunday was crankbaits on grass edges. Shade made it better. I tried a couple spinnerbaits and several normally productive areas. Current helps when they start moving water but there’s only so much water they can move. Just a wacky year with the reservoirs being a few feet low when they should be full. We also had a huge mayfly hatch going on so with everything and that maybe we should’ve been golfing…

New thread, who ‘dis?

Yes, bass fishermen are Prima Donna’s. As are trout, striper, and, increasingly, cat fisherman, and pretty much every non-commercial fisherman, but even some of those. The tug is always the drug, some people just like to get it in different ways or enjoy it more when paying more for it.

I have a few Shimano Sensilites. They are an economic gateway into light BC rods. You can’t expect these rods to punch a 4/0 hook through an unweighted beaver, but the do a great job with light wire hooks and trebles. My general rule is I’m using braid with any larger single hooks, and copoly with everything else. It works for me. Fishing Spook Jrs on these rods to schooling fish is one of my favorite applications.

You have it covered pretty well. I would add something pearl/white with silver or gold or purple flake (or all three) if there are shad any where near you. My favorite do-everything color is KVD Magic n Strike King Ochos.

Good luck! 70 on its way to 90 here right now…with + humidity. Already dreaming of our Fall which is like your summer…

Ah - I see what you’re referencing…Didn’t that used to be called a Rage Shad? That I have used with limited success; they seemed to like to roll and/or slowly spin on retrieve.