J Francho

Initially, I threw it on my spinnerbait gear, and had issues with hooksets. Switched to 50# braid, and a heavy frog rod, and issue resolved. Nice bait - I like the smaller size. Have something rigged and ready to throw as a follow up, regardless of what frog bait you're throwing.

That's the one!

There would be no stress - the fish will be dead.

There are actually books with just about every crank made, and and the depths they can be trolled. I can't think of the title, but one comes in a 3-ring binder and is waterproof. I remember my uncle had a book plugs and depths way back.

Depending on the F/R balance, I'd think about locating the battery behind the seat. As for the display, just be sure you can easily access the buttons without losing you balance on the water. Not sure about other units, but on mine, its easy to "poke" the buttons with the butt end of the rod. Makes it nice to drop a way point after you land a fish

Because your bait will snapping off the tops of coontail every few cranks, and likely get bitten by a nice fish Seriously, if you're "pullin' water" on the entire retrieve, you aren't getting nearly enough attention from the fish.

I'm using 8 and 10# CXX. Since I use casting gear, memory and twist are non issues. By going to 8#, you can easily get a long cast off, and the diameter won't hold your bait up. My fishing partner used Yo-Zuri, in the same sizes, and we have similar results.

Mine is a through hull transducer, and it is mounted in one of the scupper holes. Its actually got a recess in the bottom to accommodate the puck. Take a look at kayakfishingstuff.com for installation tips.

Not sure I get what you mean? Are you referring to "fishing in the cone"? My unit has a dual beam transducer, wide and narrow. In deep water, where I am looking for the most detail, I use the narrow beam (200 MHz). When I'm scanning the area to get an idea of the structure, I use the wide (85 MHz) or hybrid mode. Makes no difference whether I'm in a boat or a yak. Rarely, if ever do I "target" a "fish" on screen. I fish an area that appears to be holding fish. Just because I don't see fish on screen doesn't mean I'll pass an area on by either.

I use a HB 383c GPS combo. Might be a little out of your range, but I really like being able to link depth with locations. Really helps when navigating confusing backwaters. For battery, you want a deep cycle battery, not a cranking battery for a motorcycle. They are typically used as backup power for home security systems. I got mine at Radio Shack for around $20. My yak has a battery shelf with a clip strap to hold it in place. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with something like siliconing in a Rubbermaid container. Put it somewhere convenient, otherwise you'll be bitchin' about it every time you need to charge it up

You crazy, man! 8-) I think I might go fishing tomorrow, LOL.

This time of year, we are actually insulated by Lake Ontario. That big body of water might only be 35°F, but it holds a lot of heat. The downside is when that cold air picks up moisture and then dumps it in the form of lake effect precipitation. Its cold here, but not unbearable. Hit the negatives last night. The weather station down the street is reporting 7.5°F.

My buddy Burnie is checking out the Triple Fish lineup. I've used their leaders, and they are as good as anything else. The only first hand experience with them is fishing for cold steel with Burnie. He uses a 9' casting rod, Daiwa Steez, and Redline in 8#: http://www.triplefishlines.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=93&zenid=hmvcdnrh1h6docsd7dffru0jc0. He says it holds up pretty well. Tough to tell just how strong it is, since cold steel will put forth max pressure on your gear, and breakoffs are common. Its been good enough for at least a few 12# class fish.

Get a set of these: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=D5Z1JPUGD0HHVLAQBBKCCOVMCAEFKIWE?id=0001629315386a&type=product&cmCat=froogle&cm_ven=data_feed&cm_cat=froogle&cm_pla=0310101&cm_ite=0001629315386a&_requestid=23743. The split rings on the Rapalas are very good, no need to change them unless you damage them.

I think its valid to tank test the fishes' response. I also agree with Catt and Russ that any somewhat intelligent fish can be acclimated and conditioned. The problem is when you test one small aspect in the lab, and then apply one huge grand concept as an explanation for the results. I like those tests Dr. Jones did with fishing line and counting the bumps. That was cool. They bumped into FC more than any other line. What does it all mean? LOL. After my experience in raising and breeding over 120 species of cichlids, depending on the species, it usually takes only a couple of weeks to domesticate a wild caught fish. There are exceptions, and some take months, but for the most part, in about two weeks they will be "begging" when you approach the tank - for farm raised or tank raised fish, this takes mere hours after being moved. But the more important question to me is, how long does that conditioning last? What I mean is, the fish had a negative experience with a bait, and probably won't bite it again for a while. How long is "a while"?

Nice job! Those FL bass are almost as big as our trout

Actually, if you dig through their plastics, they have some interesting stuff there, like a 14" ribbon tail worm, and a some cool pin tail worms. They have to work on the write ups, though: "especially when fishing around structure where it falls through structure" - LOL, how does it fall through structure?

I guess I'm not seeing what is so special about the skirts - nothing that new there. The Cyclone Slip-N-Jig worm weight thingy looks interesting, though I wouldn't call it a jig, per se. That might be worth checking out. Their other jigs look as good as any, though I'm not a huge fan of those Mustad hooks.

Nevermind, I see they've come out with a real braided line: http://www.berkley-fishing.com/prod.php?k=124927&sk=47013&u=FB300. Never used it. Not switching to this when Power Pro works so well.

Its fused line, not braid. I personally don't like it at all.

If you've seen snapping turtle feed, you would understand why people snag them. They sit in cover, typically wood or weed edges, with their head stuck way out, mouth open, dangling a bit of flesh that is part of their tongue hoping for a fish to swim by to take the bait. They set up in the same structure as bass for the same reason: food. As soon as something swims nearby, SNAP! - dinner. If you are ripping a trap, and deflecting off wood, its not far fetched. I've seen quite a few picture posts with snappers on the end of bass baits.

Just a few points that might make sense of it, though I bet some instances won't apply to your waters. Sometimes I use braid for its sensitivity or smaller diameter, but also need to have some serious abrasion resistance. Drop shot or dragging tubes in deep zebra or quagga mussel infested waters is one time. The fluorocarbon leader reduces breakoffs dramatically. I know quite a few guys that like to use braid and a fast action rod for cranking (not my preference) and use a mono leader as a shock absorber. Anytime I'm hitting docks with unweighted plastics, I like to use a high vis braid, but I also want the bait to sink, so fluoro works here as well. Often the docks around here are built on steel pylons, and they usually have some zebes growing on them, so the leader helps out there too. I also think some guys are just lazy, an like to use a mono leader to make it easier to retie. Not my preference either. Some others are afraid that the fish are line shy. I just use black marker. Tossing stuff into heavy grass type cover is a match made in heaven for braid, same with froggin'. No need for a leader at all there. Now tossing into heavy wooded cover where you might get hung up, its much easier to break off with a leader than risk breaking your rod. Personally, I carry a small piece of dowel with a cross post through the side, and make a few wraps of the braid and pull. no leader necessary there, either. Like I said, some of these might not be applicable to your fishing, and most of the time I tie direct, but there are a few applications where using a leader is superior. Oh - and braid on a C-rig would get destroyed on the first cast up here in most lakes.

I fish for steelhead through the winter, and the only rod I broke was when the leader snapped, and the rod tip hit a branch on the rebound. I wouldn't be too concerned with temps in the 20-30s. I fish in colder all the time.

Your best bet is to scour the flea market here, and other online classifieds. Ebay has been good to me, but you want to be careful. I always establish a dialog with the seller before bidding. Anyone that responds is probably on the up and up. You can tell who is just trying to move some unused stuff from the junk rats and ebay barons if you take some time to look at what they've bought and sold, and their feedback. I've picked up some pretty nice reels on the very cheap this way, and I've sold a few nice reels this way as well. Just last week I saw a couple of EC and NIB TD-X reels go for your price range. These were $200 when new.

I remove split rings and use a duo-lock snap.