MSPbass

I'm not sure. It looks well used. It's definitely an older engine, but nothing jumps out as a red flag. Lunds are legendary, especially here in MN. It's sort of why I'm questioning the price tag. It seems low for a Lund, with a motor and trailer.

I've been driving past a Lund Mr. Pike with a for sale sign on it for a month now. It looks old and dirty, but nothing some cleaner and new carpet wouldn't spruce up. I'm wondering if anyone here has anything to say about this boat. I tried to do some internet research, but didn't find much. It's a Mr. Pike 18 with 3 seats and a 100hp Honda for 4K. I'm guessing early 80's, but it could be older.

It's shiny silver with a dark grey inside, around the spool.

Sounds about right. I saw that Intensity; it's red. I think all 3 are about the same. I plan to chuck Rat-L-Traps with it for a while and see how it holds up. Now that I got a refund, it's a little easier to play around with.

Interesting. That was right from Fenwick? The actual question I posed to them was just about: "Is this just a HMG with different guides?" The lady I emailed with was pretty firm in her response. She said "Cabela's loves the action of our HMG", but "It is a World Class series just as stated, not an HMG." I had mine out again this morning. 7' M for topwaters. I think it's a great rod, even at $150. The sale they have on them now is definitely a good deal.

I see. Thanks JF. One of those "exclusive" deals. I thought it was really strange that I couldn't find anything about it on-line. And grimlin, believe me, I didn't expect to get this reel. I thought I was buying a President. The good thing though, is that I put up a big stink and the guy gave me my money back! He fought it for a while though. In the end, he didn't even want to bother getting the junk reel back. So all it cost me was shipping. But the guy maintained, to the end, that he didn't do anything wrong. He felt that because somewhere at the bottom of the page he had the words: "model is element", he was in the right. I, like bilgerat64, said: "I have never ever heard of a Pflueger 'Element'". I thought that was some weird adjective for the President. Plus, the description, stats and picture were all for the Pres! What a butt-hole. The moral: Make sure you read the fine print when buying off Amazon and eBay! Lucky for me, this scammer had a conscience. Others do not.

I just got a 7' M World-Class myself. It's not an HMG. The blank is different, the guides are Alconite and the reel seat is like the Techna. I was actually a little surprised at the difference. I've only taken it out once, but I'm really liking the thing. Its definitely lighter than an HMG. I asked Fenwick about them, in fact. "Same actions, different materials" is what they said. "Cabela's loves the actions that we have in our HMG lineup, which is why you will notice many of the blanks having similar ratings, deflections, etc. As for the construction, we did use a high modulus material similar to that of the HMG, but added a higher ton graphite similar to the old World Class rods."

All I hear is crickets chirping. OK, how about the Pflueger Purist then? It's as close to this Element as I can get. The Purist looks to have a little more aluminum in its construction than the Element, but it's got the be the same reel. It just has one less BB and everything's graphite but the handle and spool. The line guide looks to be titanium. I took it out last night. It's light as heck, but doesn't feel as solid as an aluminum reel. The line whizzes through the line guide, which is annoying, but the retrieve is otherwise smooth. It casts Rat-L-Traps like a champ to. Anyone have anything to say about the Purist?

Can anyone tell me anything about the Pflueger Element? I got taken on amazon. The too good to be true deal I thought I was getting on a President WLP was, of course, just that. (At least I know a new Patriarch will be arriving in the mail this week.) Anyhow, I was ticked when this piece of plastic came out of the box. But now that my anger, and embarrassment, have subsided, I'm thinking it might not be a total loss. However, I can't find a thing about it on the Internet.

Pfluegers are solid. From the Trion to the Patriarch, its all I use, spinning and casting, and have had very little problems. Check out the President.

I only use Pflueger now too, but both are quality reels. I actually considered a Revo the last time I was upgrading some old gear. Went with the Patriarch though. Couldn't be happier. Cabela's has the President LP on sale for $109 right now. Personally, I'd go with that one over the Asaro. In fact, I'd make both reels Presidents.

Anyone here try the new Fenwick World-Class Cabela's is selling? Is it just a purple HMG with different guides, or is there more to it?

I'm in MN. where its all natural lakes. There is a lot of emergent vegitation, but plenty of weedlines too.

Good info. Thanks

Great topic. I learned baitcasting a few years ago on a round Pflueger. I got a LP later and thought it was sooo much easier to cast. I think it was, but I also think it helped me learn how a baitcaster works. Just this summer I put some 40lb. Power Pro on the Trion and decided to try it froggin'. I ended up with a buzzbait on the thing instead and couldn't believe what happened. I was casting it like a rocket. I tried a crank after that and couldn't do crap with it. Then I tried a frog and it felt great again. It was perfect for those heavier topwater baits. It was like finding a whole new reel. I've been using it for the past month. It didn't take the place of my Patriarch, but it has certainly found its "place" in my line up.

If I'm fishing crankbaits primarily in shallow, and sometimes medium, water, do you guys still recommend a softer rod, like the whippy fiberglass rod like the Fenwick Crankshaft? Or would an all around Medium graphite rod work better? I'm wondering about using a "crankbait rod" around weeds.

Nope. Ha! You can fish a soft plastic any way you want: Weightless, Texas, Carolina, Wacky; and each one would be fished a little different. Although Senkos are often called "jerkbaits", I don't fish them like I would a fluke, unless I was deadsticking. That's just leaving the bait alone (and a killer technique, by the way). Senkos I fish like a worm and rarely "jerk". Soft Swimbaits are usually fished on a steady retrieve like a spinnerbait. I know this doesn't help much, but yours is a really big question. Maybe someone else can assist better than I, but I also suggest you do an Internet search on each bait you're interested in. e.g.: "How to rig a Senko", "Texas Rig a soft plastic" or "How to rig a Soft Swimbait" or "Paddletail". You'll find hours of reading on those topics alone.

$150 for an Elite Tech Riggin' Stik is a nice deal. You'll like it. I say go for it!

Deadsticking means leaving the bait alone. Cast it out and let it sink, that's it. The water is all that's needed to make the bait move on the fall. But once it settles, you leave it alone. It's a tactic that requires patience. It also takes a little bit of skill, because it's hard to feel the end of your line if there's not a little tension there. Personally, I like it. I cast out, let it fall and...wait. Then I try to twitch my rod, slowly, for as long as I can until there's just not enough tension to do it anymore. Then I reel in a few feet, and do the same thing again. You can really deadstick any soft plastic, but I think it's mostly used on Flukes and Senkos. I've been experimenting with flukes this summer myself. I think I'm going to stick with the Zoom. But the Tiki Shadick, with a straight tail end, has produced a few too. But only in the basic colors. The wild ones have done nothing for me.

Are you guys throwing the Baby -1 on baitcasters or are they small and worked best on spinning gear?

I just saw this post today and went straight to Amazon. The lowest price, right now, is a 6'6" MH triggerstick at $136. The 6'6" M spinning is $147. Better than any price I've seen, but wow, $66 for a Techna has to be the steal of the year. I'm so bummed I missed it.

Yeah, the wind can blow you around pretty easily. But then again, I don't even use fins; just the oars. It's frustrating at first, but I think everyone learns how to compensate and/or deal. But you really can't be more quiet in one of these things. I can litterally float right above a bass I'm stalking. But I've been freaked out several times now after a huge carp swam right between my legs. The draft is amazing too. I can literally float right up onto shore. It rides on inches of water. Man, we just had a new baby this summer and I've only been out in my Cougar once this year! I got the itch bad now.

Sweet ride.

Creek Co. makes good boats. You should definitely look into that one. But, like I said, you get what you pay for. At the least, go with one of the bigger companies like Creek, Outcast, or Water Skeeter. I can't imagine what I would have to do to puncture one of my pontoons. Once inflated, they are very puncture resistant. And I carry mine, assembled, from the top of the car to the water all the time. I never worry about anything on the frame breaking. My pins are thick. So think about how much you are going to be hauling this around. If you assemble it at the water and break it down before you go home, you have less to worry about. But, you're already talking about mods, so it sounds like whatever you get, it will be well used. You don't want a day of fishing spoiled by a broken cotter pin, do you? I also suggest checking out bigfishtackle.com and their float tube forums. They have one forum that's just pictures of people's mods. Lots of rod holders, motor mounts, etc. Those dude trick out their tubes and toons pretty hard.

A little more might be worth it dude. I use an Outcast Fish Cat Cougar and love it. It's the quad pontoon design. I think they expected better handling with the quad, but didn't get it. The trend seems to be back to the standard single pontoon. However, I love the quad. I'm on pretty small ponds and lakes though. I really appreciate the extra space it provides for storage. http://www.outcastboats.com/outcastboats/pacmain.shtml You can get float boats anywhere from Cabelas to Wall-Mart. You can certainly get a little one for $300 at those places, but the frame won't be as sturdy. The pontoons might not be either. I did a lot of Internet research. When I narrowed my choices down to 2 or 3, I did specific searches for those boats. I ended up getting mine from a little guide company in Colorado that sold boats on the web too. It was, at least, $100 cheaper than anywhere else and they added a swivel for the seat and shipped it for free. Sorry, but that was years ago and I don't recall the name. But there are a lot of little companies like that in the South West and NW. They tend to be sold at fly fishing sites, but they're great little bass fishing boats! http://www.thefloattubestore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4