VolFan

I will actually be switching my starting battery to lithium when this one goes. I already use lithium for my 55lb Terrova. Cost is almost a wash at this point and performance is far and away in lithium’s favor. When have trouble with balance (14 foot Lowe) based on who comes with me or what I take with me, I have a couple sand bags that I put in/move around, mostly in the bow.

It’s the earth’s rotation today - left the gravity on ‘High.’ Springing forward may enhance the affect for a few days but I’m sure you will power through…

Piling on - I have never seen keeping a jerkbait level matter to the fish. If it gets too un-level it will affect the action but I don’t know that I’ve ever had that problem much and when I did it was tail-down because of a leak in a plastic one.

We used to shoot MP5s as a long gun option and boy were those things a great little weapons system. So accurate and easy to shoot.

FINS 40G or whatever of their lines suits your need is what I have been using for several years. It is fantastic.

But i mean…It. Looks. Sweeeeeeeeet.

I would agree with Kev - are you doing it to be neighborly or do you want to make some extra money? And how long are you committed to it? I grew up in the south and we would just do things like that for our neighbors for free; my wife is from Chicago and thinks I’m crazy.

Who won?

For 150 acre lakes only by yourself I would do the kayak. For anything bigger or with anyone I would do the boat. I have a 14 ft Lowe v-hull with a 20 hp Mercury in it that I got for $4500. I built a deck on it but then took it out. It’s more comfortable and easier to organize without it. My family (wife/teenage son) go with me maybe 10% of the time, and I cherish those times like no other, but mostly it’s just me. The takedown/setup of the boat actually takes less time than my yak, and I can get that boat into 98% of what I can get my kayak into. And if you’re going to trailer a kayak, the boat trailer I have doesn’t take up any more space than a kayak trailer I previously had.

For you swimbait/big wake guys - Cl8 Baits is having a 40% off sale on their Possum and Baby Possum. The Baby Possum is the best rat wake bait of all time. Mind you, even the Baby is not small, and the Possum is like throwing a house cat. But holy moly do they catch fish. And Clayton the owner is fantastic to deal with, absolutely fantastic.

Did the break happen while line was unspooling mid-outgoing-cast (did your line get tight in the air mid cast?)? Or was it on the initial load and release of the cast? The former is something catching during the cast, the latter is immediate failure of the knot.

Lighter and longer leaders let it level. I am a huge fan of this technique on a Carolina rig.

Armor All on the shaft is what has been my best friend in this. It works pretty well. Apply as needed.

So it’s not the same as straight fluoro. With braid to leader all of the stress is put on that length of fluoro (however long your leader is). The braid doesn’t stretch so if there’s a little malfunction there’s only the length of your leader for cushion. With all fluoro or mono it is spread more equally.

@A-Jay ’s problem is clearly too many nice reels. You almost certainly kinked/burned the line tying the knot. Braid + anything wrong in the leader leaves no cushion and the leader loses. I would also ditch the leader and either go straight bright or straight fluoro.

@Harold H People use white perch, not white bass that I am aware of. The white bass runs are way down but white perch are very prolific and easy to catch for everyone…except me for some reason. I have an almost comical inability to catch them. Spots make better baits to my palate…

I use spotted bass for catfish bait on the Catawba chain in NC. It works better than anything and futility works to control their population.

Hey I am not aware of anything similar - that’s why the advice is so easy. Right now is definitely a bad time to buy. You may want to keep your ear to the internet, contact a few dealers and see if you can get someone’s trade-in on a bigger boat. There’s a place here in south Charlotte that is a SeaArk dealer and they always have a few discounted at end of season each year.

Oh I’m not kidding! I’ve climbed around on them! It’s a perfect big TN lake boat!

Having looked at boats, you want a SeaArk Easy 200 or Big Easy if you want to go big. Great aluminum boat for fishing but many of the amenities of a pontoon boat. It can be heavily kitted for fishing and/or have sweet couches for lounging reading whatever. The SeaArks are built heavy so if you like to back and swim or camp you won’t have a problem with gel coat or fiberglass. If you have it for a few years and want to sell it just give me a call.😀

Yeah on a warming trend you’d be surprised how many big fish will eat a big wake worked slow shallow around dawn.

Habitat is more important than everything else combined but we’re way off the original topic. Lmb are basically bluegill with way better PR and advertising, and taste deliciously similar.

Physics is generally undefeated in the long run - use a heavier buzz bait and a plastic trailer instead of a skirt, OR use a heavier bait with a smaller wing and smaller skirt and stop overthinking the reel. Although collaborating with the Reel Monkey is part of the fun…

GREAT reels!!! Lmk when you get tired of them!

Is it polite? No. But they may not realize it, and with kids or dogs involved all bets are off. Absent some kind of private property they have the same privilege of using the same spaces you do. My wife and I like to go skip rocks on trips, it’s a weird thing we do. There’s some core memories there. But we don’t do it near people fishing. But throwing rocks in water IS fun.