J Francho

And there isn't a better feeling than having a fish strike a trolled bait, almost ripping the rod from your hands.

Outside of warranty issues, and the deal with the friction ring, any binding I've seen in any brand has been user inflicted. I will say that for every 50 reels or so, one would have a binding issue. The key is "what you read." I think that running a reel repair, and seeing tons of reels would be enough to see a trend. So far, it's been don't dunk your reel. I don't mean to say, don't get them wet. Don't let them fill up with water, and then fish them. There are ways to prevent water from seeping in, even in an unsealed reel, but requires a complete tear down by a pro. I even had my own Daiwa Sol that would bind after a good dunking. I have a few OG Stradic CI4, and have never seen an issue with that reel. I have a buddy that runs a kayak fishing guide service, and he actually does dunk tests to see what reels will survive his clients. Pretty sure President XT has passed the test. We was dunking some Lew's this past week.

I see guys trolling with way too much line out. Anything more then a long cast, and you get a bow in the line. That bow in the line is why you lose feel.

I could be wrong, but I suspect you will not like a baitcaster either. It might be one of those "stick with what works" things.

Aside from putting the bigger graph up front, it's tournament ready. Whether it's a competitor or a donator is really up to you.

Glenn has a good video: https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/spinnerbaits-bass-fishing.html

You'd probably have to get one made, unless you find a universal fit one at Bass Pro or something that works. Aurora covers make the absolute BEST covers that you can leave on while trailering at highway speeds. They aren't cheap.

Yep, you can sub in Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Excalibur, and a few other tough "mixed formula" lines. I like CXX. P-line invented the idea of mixing two nylons into one line. Just like Seaguar invented Fluorocarbon line. These companies have been doing their thing the longest. I have a lot of trust in their products. I'm not as picky about braid. The sizes we use in bass fishing have break strengths so high, it makes up for any variance.

I'll take a stab at this. There's no single answer for me. For wood, and docks with pilings, I like to use a leader with a reasonable break strength and braid as a mainline. 50# braid, 10# leader is pretty usual. This was I can break off, without too much disturbance to the spot, retie, and keep fishing. You have a small benefit if feeling the connection knot rub a branch, and know that you your 3' leader to go before your bait will hit the branch. Makes it easier to guide your bait through the thick stuff, and once you're trained to the feeling, anything that is weird feeling, or bump/tick before, it's probably a fish. For dragging through rocks and rip-rap, I like a strong, straight line, usually a co-polymer, like P-Line CXX. 12# or 15# is plenty thick enough to hold up after slight abrasion. You could simplify and use the same setup listed above as well, using co-poly leader. Heavy, 20# + fluorocarbon is oft recommended. I just don't like the way heavy fluoro handles. For straight up pads, weeds, water willow, and other assorted slop, straight braid. I actually prefer the less smooth 4-carrier braids for this. I feel like it cuts through the weeds better. There's no leader connection to pick up weeds, and a couple of swift, short snaps of the rod tip usually clears the weeds. In all cases, remember, you are not dragging or ripping your bait through the cover or rip-rip, you're guiding it. Prey items don't rip through cover, they navigate it. Keep that in mind for your retrieve.

The issue was resolved over a decade ago. If you had a problem reel, they fixed it by adding a new friction ring. I haven't heard of any issues that were design related since, and if I recall correctly it was for the Stradic.

Those are semi-V hulls. Deep - V hulls do not have a flat bottom at the transom. Whether it's Deep or Semi - V, or mod-jon, a flat bottom skiff, etc., has nothing to do with decking. That's got to do with width and stability. I had a 17' deep - V tiller that I would not have put a raised deck on. In fact, the sweet spot, as far as fishing goes is the stern.

You got it!

I use a shorter rod if the bait requires some sort of twitch, stroke, or popping action that requires snapping the tip down. For what you listed, a longer rod should work fine.

Cool!

I see! I imagined the heads were much larger. So, explain it to me if I have this wrong... these allow you to put a plstic whatever bait on a "jig" that floats - correct?

I don't like it, you hang a crank, and you might not realize it, if it's in a rod holder. The trout and salmon guys up here are big on it, though. There's plenty that like throwing cranks on braid. I think it affects the deflection negatively, but that's debatable. I don't buy into this whole, "set the bait too fast, or rip out hooks" argument. I'll bet most fish poorly hooked on the outside were hooked when the fish was spitting the bait, and the angler never detected the bit.

Why not throw them? I'm not sponsored, pay full shot for mine, and they're all I throw. There's a discount code for BassResource members. (BR15).

That's a semi-v hull. Design has been around for years. I would not put a raised deck up front. I would put a flat floor in, carpeted, and possibly a trolling motor up front. I had a similar boat as a teenager.

When I roll back over spots I was fishing, I'm amazed at what I see on the graph. Sometimes the micro structural elements aren't there, though that's gotten a million times better with DI/SI. I still feel like the graph and the contour map gives me basic structure layout, and the jig tells me the fine details. If it's a really good day, the jig tells me nothing. Those are the days it never hits the bottom before getting eaten.

I can see that, through the smaller guides, and overall less mass on the blank. Micros and I don't always see eye to eye. Might have been to the 80 mph runs from spot to spot, and not the rods' fault.

What ever you decide on, get wire tied. The skirts last forever. I like the Arky, Brush, and Dredge jigs.

I wouldn't bother fishing anymore.

I love pike. Don't like to take them over 30". It's tough for a population to replace that big fish. Little known fact about pike: big pike eat a lot of little pike, keeping their population in check. Take a big one, and tons of hammer handles fill their spot. Never had muskie. I know some Asian friends that run a restaurant love it when I bring them a limit of pickerel. I trade them for dinner.

Their ML/XF taper spinning rods really are a special mix of perfection for most light, finesse applications.

And a pic, at the very least. As I've had couple trolling motors fall victim to the "Great Lakes Shuffle," it would be interesting to see. I wish I had pics of me contorted in the front storage of my Xpress, hold the nut and fenders while my son tightened the bolts from the outside on my TM. Of course, it was like 100 degrees that day. Everybody loves a DIY job....