J Francho

Mine is under the console, but the trolling motor has inline fuses on the positive leads. I suspect this is due to the trolling motor being optional in size, and amps.

I'd be persistent, though the dealer might be able to help, too.

Yes, it's normal, though Sufix 832 is one of the quieter braids out there.

Mitch, I know you saw my post on the local report forum, but I'll repost it here, in case it helps anyone else. Nice fish. Just a quick tip. I use InvisX 6# line on my drop shot rigs. It's three years old now, without respooling. The oldest spool was recently replaced with 6# Tatsu. Yes, both lines are pricey, but givent the longevity, it's more than worth it. Tatsu is only incrememntally better than Invisx, so that's what I recommend, since it's 1/2 the price of Tatsu. As with all lines, I pretreat with a squirt of KVD L&L the night before any trip. To remedy line twist, troll out the first 30 yards or so of line, on your way back to the launch site. Then reel back in under pressure of your thumb and for finger. And forget the swivel - too many knots, and it's a pain.

How about $18 line? I have three year old InvisX holding up just fine on two spinning reels.

Never hit the south end of Hemlock, but the south end of Canadice is pretty awesome for slopping largies. I imagine Hemlock is the same - similar to the rest of the Finger Lakes.

I caught a car engine playing Bass Professor's Fishing Paradise last week. That thing fought harder than a snook, lol.

In summer time, I'd say yes, though I used to encounter packs of smallies roaming the featureless south shore Lake Ontario in 15-25 FOW, and they definitely schooled up by size class. On places like Erie or Oneida where structure plays a big part in fish location, the bigger bass are on prime areas. For instance, on Seneca Shaol, you can catch all the two pounders you want fishing the top of the shoal, in the relatively shallow 6-10 FOW. But to catch the big ones, you will want to find ledges near rock piles along the first and second lips where the shoal rises, somewhere around 20-40 FOW. In spring and fall, they do seem to stack up, size wise, and I bet Dwight can confirm this too. Remember too, that different waters have different habitats, and smallies, being a little less territorial than largemouth, can behave differently, given the prevailing species.

If the high price point of Tatsu is a deal breaker, then I highly recommend Invisx. Tatsu is only incrementally better than Invisx, though those benefits are completely across the board, so they add up to line that is worth it. One huge benefit I notice with lighter diameter Tatsu is "measured stretch." Lesser lines stretch, and while Tatsu may initially feel "stretchier" then them, it stretches to a point, and then locks down, up until it's breaking point. It does not deform, or kink up. I initially noticed this as a "feel" type of thing, catching bigger fish on a deep drop shot. it was when breaking off hang ups that I noticed the line simply breaks cleanly, without the two or three feet of deformed, kinked line you typically see with other fluoros. One thing to note, it is a smaller diameter per listed line size, so you may want to go up a size from what you normally throw. For instance, I'm using 20# on my spinnerbait setup, where I'd normally use 17#. For the lighter sizes, this isn't a problem. Another plus I've noticed, improved clinch knots work fine with lines above 8#. This is huge if you need to tie up spinners or cranks in a hurry. that's a knot I can tie blind folded in about 5 seconds. Obviously, a uni or Palomar is most appropriate, but I felt it worth mentioning since many complain about knots slipping with fluoro.

I can't see you going wrong trying P-Line CXX in 12 or 15 lb. size. You aren't going to break it easily, and it work fine with the applications you mentioned.

I was just going to post this.

Candice and Hemlock are outstanding for kayak fishing. A view from Hemlock: A nice Canadice bass:

Yes, you have to look at IPT. A 6:1 reel with a small arbor spool may not take up more line per turn than a 5:1 reel with a larger arbor spool.

I use an Avid AVC62MXF. I recently switched to a high speed Zillion, though used an Alphas in the past. For line, 10# CXX treated with KVD L&L works fine. This setup can handle big 115 size Sammies down to Rico poppers and small jitterbugs. The short handle, and short length work well for down strokes for walking and suspending baits. The x-fast tip recovers quickly from twitches, and the medium power flexes enough to protect the trebles from tearing, but has plenty of strength for big fish. I've caught mid teens northern pike with this setup, so I have no issue with black bass.

If it works, why fix it?

Call Xpress. Have your hull ID ready. 501-262-5300

Mitchell has some cool stuff coming out soon. They have always offered decent reels at decent prices. I have buddies that use them. They are similar to other Pure Fishing products out there. the new stuff looks very unique, though: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewicast2013mitchell.html

There are a few different types of flipping switches out there. My Daiwa TD-X103HSDL is simply a spool release button on the top of the reel, next to the spool, and lacks a thumb bar altogether. After your cast, you can simply re-engage the spool by flipping the button back up. It's a great pitching tool for right handed casters, that can use a left handed reel. Pitch, feather the spool, engage the reel, set the hook. The Pinnacle system is similar, except it still has a traditional thumb bar, and adds a button to the top that engages the spool without turning the handle. Shimano uses a large rocker style, extended thumbar on their pitching/flipping models that allows you release and engage the spool with your thumb. Quantums have a switch on the side, and the spool automatically engages when you let off the thumb bar. Daiwa used to have a similar set up, as did some older Abus. You want to stop the spool before letting go of the thumb bar. In all cases, these were originally designed for actual "Flipping," allowing you to strip off 4-5' of line between the reel and the first guide. Without a flipping reel, you have to let go of the line, turn the reel, and go back to pulling the line to make a flip. What happened down the line, many found that left handed flipping reels made for great pitching reels, since you can immediately set the hook without fussing with the handle. It helps whan a fish catches you off guard, biting as soon as the bait hit the water.

I saw a nice one at DSG yesterday, think it was their F&S brand, around $40. Looked like it would hold four 3700 boxes and a bunch plastics. Sorry, I should snapped a pic, but its worth a look.

Generally speaking, it applies to the type of water typically encountered when bass fishing. Bass boats run fast and shallow. Some are okay in rough water, but anything more than three foot chop gets uncomfortable in a so called bass boat. They also have large front decks, and sit low to the water. Last thing, live wells are typically smaller than a multi species boat. My old 16' deep v had a 60" live well, plenty big for salmon, trout, or muskie. My current 22' bass boat (Bullet 21XDC) has a divided 30 gal. live well, each compartment is about 15x15". Fine for bass and panfish, but not larger species.

7-1 LMB Saint Croix Eyecon 6'3" ML/XF Old Stradic 1000 wood knob reel 20# Power Pro w/ 8# Seaguar leader

Uh huh. Bass are pretty tough up here, unless through the ice, but the ditches up here provide some great hand to hand combat with big fish on light line...

You mean like golf or baseball? LOL. My guess is you fish from shore most of the time. If you are in shape, you at an advantage. If you are taking PEDs, you are at an advantage. I've heard rumors about doping in the pros, but can't comment, because they are just rumors.

You obviously never had to fish competitively 8 hours in 4' chop with 25 mph winds and rain.

I've had mixed results. Sometimes topwater is stellar after a passing t-shower. Other times, it seems like the fish shut down, and slow finesse is the way to go.