J Francho

Anything from Bleach gets an auto 8.

Exactly. ANY WATER is bad for untreated aluminum. All Aluminum boats are treated. Why do I doubt that this is the boat? The point is, one can't make a statement that riveted boats being weaker than welded, and then claim leakage at the rivets helps with strength. It doesn't add up. And you, as a riveted Lund owner know the rivet deal is false. Can rivets leak? Yes. Can a welded boat bust a seam? Yes. Ask me how I and two other welded boat owners know this. There's no better, just different, and varying quality.

It's a case by case deal. If you can get a tongue height when the trailer is perfect level, the you can get the proper hitch. There adjustable ones, but they are VERY pricey.

With rank comes privilege.

Get a VisiPole, and be done with it.

Why not get a simple tin boat with a tiller, and fish tournaments as a non-boater?

There isn't one right solution, but there might be a few wrong ones. You can usually narrow it down.

Interesting point. I've come across a few threads where several good solutions are offered, and the person asking will make excuses for why that solution won't work. It's like they only wanted to hear one thing, and that is the wrong answer.

Technically, ANY single filament - nylon, fluorocarbon, copolymer, fluorocarbon coated, etc - line can be called monofilament. However, the abbreviation "mono" has come to mean nylon line. When we're looking at lines, I don't really care if YZ or a copoly is not a true mono, modern nylon "mono" is a blend of polymers anyway. They're just all marketed differently. I do not try to lump fluorocarbon in there, though.

I also admit to having a bit of extra info: location. I can get a location by clicking a link, and a map pops up. It's part of our admin tools. I often use to get a little more insight about the member. Location can really help.

I recommend practicing on a slow weekday.

I'm just going to stop right there.

I generally try to think about WHY a person is asking. The whole desert island bring only 3 lures just screams "what should my favorite bait be." A picture and a "How would you fish this?" I wouldn't, unless I have a map. Show me the map, or at least describe it with a little detail, and I'll answer. "Best" rod for $150? Pretty much any of them. $25 for a lure is ridiculous. Is it? Those are the same people that blow through $8 bags of senkos like they're candy. Speaking of, "What's your favorite color ______?" "I don't catch fish on jigs. I don't fish them hardly at all, because they don't work for me. Any tips?" Yeah, fish it more. These are all questions that point to not enough time on the water, and not realizing, while there are certainly some good shortcuts to getting started catching bass, nothing can replace time on the water. So, many of my answers will be targeted at trying to get that person on the water to answer the question his/herself.

Tropical heat wave here 14°.

Magic Bullet Syndrome.

I've only used it 17# size. It was manageable, using KVD L&L, but not my favorite. Id you can afford it, go with Invisx. Much better all purpose line.

I think the Premiers are like a buck more, and come with a trailer hook installed. They last 10x as long as the $7 KVD spinnerbaits I tried.

Almost always, what's missed is the problem solving part tying a particular bait on achieves. I'm fishing eel grass, so am I gonna tie on a squarebill? No, a bullet head spinnerbait will come through better. Do I care what the wind is doing, water clarity, or barometric pressure? None of those is gonna help my crank bait get through the eel grass.

I like Ledge Busters, but the Strike King Premier Pro from Dick's is my favorite for this. Tandem Colorado. Any color.

I have a whole string of photos from a cold, clear, early May day, of big largemouth, all chin hooked by the trailer hook on a spinnerbait. 17-20' water, near a channel and rip rap. Let the bait hit bottom, and reel in so it's hitting bottom occasionally. They were chin hooked, because they were crashing the blades. I've duplicated this success many times over.

I know I've caught the same fish several times. A pretty big one at that. It's been 6-2, 5-11, and 6-3 on the three times I weighed her. Clipping the fin is really dumb. It grows back rather quickly, and all he's doing is introducing the risk of a fin rot infection. I don't want to perpetuate this practice at all.

You're doing it wrong. Get a 3/4 ouncer, and dredge the depths. Seriously.

I use the same taper in the Avid line for drop shot. In fact, I have two. Love them for that.

The hardest thing to do is deciding to leave biting bass because you think there are bigger fish biting. Knowing previous results from your club's tournaments and other clubs can paint a picture of what you should be fishing for. For example, in the club I fished, Oneida might produce an 18# day from a northern open. Keep in mind, those are the best sticks from all over. 15# might win it my club. In fact, I won on a tough day with 14#, and came in second another time with 12.5#. Alternately, some lakes just churn them out. A place like Conesus gets hammered with a tournaments every day of the week, and multiples on the weekends. In any case, regardless of skill, you need 20# to even consider yourself in contention. I've bags approaching 30# from really good anglers. So, aside from all the very good advice above, it really helps that decision process if you know about what you need to have.