J Francho

@LrgmouthShad not exactly a c-rig crankbait, but I have pegged a bullet weight to get a crank to go deeper than its normal running depth. Look up "jacking a crankbait" as it's pretty similar to what I was doing.

Honestly, and I"M A SPEED FREAK, I can't really see needing more than 150 hp for my purposes. My guess is that the loss of thrust using a jet drive and the need for immediate torque when running extreme shallows is where that comes from. If I didn't have to satisfy anyone else's needs, an 18' mod-v with a center console and a 75-90 hp would be perfect. This would work

Fast forward a couple years, and somehow ended up with a pontoon boat. It's a 40 year old Bass Buggy from Tracker, and hey - it's a center console. I actually like this thing for the family, but still looking for the retirement boat. This just gives me more time to look at more bass boats. It's interesting how my tastes changed. I still really like the previous gen Dauntless. I'm really digging the Sportsman Masters 267. In fact, I'm leaning toward a bigger boat than 25', but under 30'. Blue Wave looked pretty nice too, but it looks like they closed their doors. That's a deal breaker. Still want a little tin boat, so I look for craft that are interesting in that segment too. Rockfish R130 is a sweet little ride that looks like it can go anywhere. Larry Dahlberg just had one built for him. The truck is sold, so what ever I end up with will dictate tow vehicle. Likely a tradesman model HD pickup. I don't need anything fancy. Currently using the Suburban to tow, and while it's great to pack the fam and go, it's slow, heavy, and sucks gas. something a little less giant station wagon would suit me. Anyone else looking at boats?

I'm like a bull in a china shop in my kayaks, lol. Some of my best fish were sight fished from a kayak though. Might be there's a bigger margin of error there.

This is how I do it. ESPECIALLY FOR SPOTS THAT AREN'T ON MY MAP CARD!!!! I think I learned this notion from @Catt more than a decade and half ago. There's stuff you can only find being there, watching the graph and paying attention. It can also be a patch of weeds out in the desert of deep, featureless rocky bottom that is the Great Lakes. There's some reason weeds are growing in a spot - bottom composition, light penetration, nutrient make up - and while their growth can ebb and flow, they'll almost always be there, unlike other softer bottom areas in a more nutrient rich lake. They always hold bait, and always hold fish. I want to know all the boundaries of that patch, even if it's just a couple hundred square feet in the middle of nowhere. Same might go for some sunken wood, a boat or even better barge wreck.

I know of at least one former pro that was on here like that, from the horses mouth.

At least there's some transparency to the shenanigans. 👀

^^^^100%

I think the one I have is an old Berkley. Haven't used it in years though, since I don't use backer anymore.

This is for Lake Ontario, fishing 15-40 FOW. Most of my waypoints are over deep water where there aren't three points to triangulate. In the past, I used two points on shore and depth to get a general sense of the spot. Once there, I typically trolled, with the big motor. Those fish didn't seem to care since I caught when I started marking them. If I caught three in a single pass, I anchored up and fished vertically. This was developed back in the 90s. I still use it, sans the trolling on other lakes fishing deep structure. The motors, electric or gas never made much difference. Pulling into a shallow, quiet, still cove is a different story. I like to cruise in at a decent clip, with no power. Moving around, keep the trolling motor on low speed and use steady, controlled bursts. If it's shallow or I know the bottom layout, there's little sense to have the sonar pinging so that's off, but I still run the GPS, since I mark any notable catches to develop a long term record of spots. I think it's important to know the water your fishing, but I'm not so sure the negative cues are the same everywhere. Places where pleasure boats and jet skis are zooming by all day don't seem to be as critical. It reminds me of people that live near a freeway. They don't even notice the traffic noise. But someone that lives out in the country can hear a twig snap a half mile away

Honest answer: line counter. They're handy.

Actually, mostly ultra light spinning was his deal. Dude caught sturgeons on UL gear.

The old Dobyns Champion Extreme full rear grip was the best ever. For spinning, I love the OG Avid grip.

Glad to hear it!

Choosey moms choose Jif. Anything else is the wrong answer. Crunchy gets caught in the smaller guides.

I first came across Kent back on NYBass and eventually made it over to here. I can think of all the phone calls, PMs, and posts up here, and remember what a kind person he is. If it weren't for him, I'd have never ended up here. So, my question now is for Glenn: Who is going to ban the site sponsors now? LOLOLOL, I will never let him live that down. In all actuality, this was one of Kent's innate skills. Most members will never know just how much spam crapola they were NOT subjected to because Kent already nailed them. HE was a sharpshooter in that department. It used to irritate me when I'd see some spam, and go to get rid of it, only to find out he got to it first.

Unless the guide is made from peanut butter, the differences are hardly detectable. The main gains in sensitivity have always been the in the blank construction.

Sounds more like a vocation **This doesn't make much sense since the post was above removed, lol**

Collecting vinyl and CDs Drums Lego Photography Skateboarding

The recent catches in Cayuga (both LMB and SMB records) tell me that it is possible one is swimming around in Michigan waters. We've had some fairly warm winters for a decade or more and there's plenty of forage as well as ideal water conditions. I hope @A-Jay catches it.

That's a great price for a Al prop repair. Might be worth it at that rate. I've always run SS for anything over 50 hp. I'm running a Al prop on my merc Big Foot 50, but it's on a toon, and I'm fine with the 20 mph I'm getting at WOT. If I dinged my prop, I'd be looking into the shop above for sure.

They're pretty much the same.

Does bug spray or SSS keep them away?

If your cousin doesn't get you, the sea herpes will!