Team9nine

The fact that there are so many testimonials for a wide variety of knots only shows how little pressure most anglers ever really apply to their line under normal situations, as controlled testing shows a wide disparity in strength. Knot strength really only comes into play on the margins. Otherwise, as has been stated, the knot you tie best is the best knot to tie

Sorry guys, but I'm not buying this hook line damage bit. I throw straight fluoro (8, 10 and 12) for all my jerkbaits as well as all my crankbait trolling. If this was a real issue, I should have lost a ton of fish and gear over the years to break offs. Simply hasn't happened. I'm still going with a bad spool of line or improper setup on the OP's situation. -T9

The basics are pretty affordable - carpet, glue, 2x4's and treated plywood - maybe a few hundred. From there it just depends on what you add in or have to buy. I carried a lot of stuff over from the boat before upgrading as well as from a previous bass boat. Things like wiring, batteries, switch panels, lights, depth finders, troll motor, seats, etc. The accessories/amenities could easily add up quickly. That stuff is all personal preference though.

You can do it yourself if you are even just somewhat handy - I did, and my wife can vouch for my lack of "handyman-ness." That said, I know my limits and aluminum framing and riveting exceeded them (I used treated lumber). Lots of options though and you'll feel a lot of pride fishing out of that boat when done. Below was my project Jon boat I converted.

Personally, I'd ditch the braid. That said, if you insist on keeping it, you need to make sure your fluoro isn't bad, and then get more forgiveness in your setup (drag, rod, etc.)...or simply try and overpower the whole thing and tie direct to your braid.

Not sure if anyone from the board here is in the area, but there is an active Spoonplugging Club in the Chicago area (Illinois Spoonpluggers). I saw you registered on another Splgr forum, so be sure to post the question over there. Guessing they'd be glad to have you attend one of their meetings.

I've spent a decent amount of time researching them, and about the best I can find are hints of correlation that can not be statistically validated as "significant." Personally, I would look at the long term weather forecast and lean more toward the best local conditions on the days in question over the lunar calendar. If all is equal in that regard, then perhaps it would be worth making the work switch to the "best" day, but I'd caution against letting the calendars drive your decisions about which days to go or not too much. @Paul Robertsalluded to having some thoughts in this regard on his spawn video, so perhaps he'll chime in.

Top 51 on the water today, with Saturday being a day off for all. Sunday is final 12 for the win. Slightly different than in the past.

Braid handles line twist much better than other line types, but I still like to untwist my braided spinning line every so often. Seems to cut back on the occasional tip wrapping that happens. Most braid twist seems to occur at the end of the line, so I simply prop the rod up and peel off between 10-30' (where it ends is usually very obvious), and then simply untwist by hand. You can physically see it straightening out. Takes just a couple minutes per reel...and you might need to clip off the last couple feet as heavy twist seems to take a set on that last section.

Using perch as the basis for a guideline, Ralph Manns has stated 1 hr per each foot of depth. It does vary based on temperature though, and on their own, bass rarely make large scale depth changes for any length of time. They can make short feeding sorties without issue though. It is also easier for a bass to move shallower than it is to move deeper.

Personal preference, but I always bolted (not screwed) mine down. Last thing I want is a foot pedal bouncing and banging around running rough seas, plus it made things easy because it's always in the same spot when you go to step on it, or need to avoid it.

I'm not a mechanic, so I can't say for sure. What I can tell you is that every time I have any kind of engine problems that might be related to gas, carbs, throttle, etc. I always start with a full can of SeaFoam ran through the fuel and engine, and sometimes a second can. Stuff cleans up and fixes much of the small stuff that affects engines

Looks like you're only bent and not broken, though you might end up at the latter trying to straighten it. I had a much worse scenario, but can happily report that the Skeggard works fine, just as advertised.

^^ In the beginning, this ^^ Remember, bass don't have hands

Fatheadz Eyewear - made specifically for large noggins ...they were an early sponsor of Jacob Wheeler when first starting out.

Another vote for Big Game or Defier as an all-around line. Ignore the song of the (braid) Sirens

When my knot connecting my braid to my backing starts showing up on a long cast, it's about time to change. I've got some reels that have had line on for 4 or 5 years or more. Can't say I've ever had a spool of braid go bad on me. -T9

1.85X +/- .02 depending upon brand specifics, but who's counting

To keep it fair, we should also include the statements... Why use nylon line? all brands of nylon lines have issues... and Why use braided line? All brands of braided lines have issues... in any applicable posts. Edit: I think I get your context here though after reading your post a couple more times

You know you're not getting off the hook on this one without providing a link to the study/report or some type data and source for those comments

Some interesting history there. The Zoom Original was the reintroduction of the 'Original Zoom Worm,' a finesse worm they first made over 40 years ago, but in some of the newer Z-3 color patterns, only in the original shape/mold - hence "original." "Better than salt" is just a phrase they put on their packaging. It stems from a lawsuit that Gene Larew won claiming patent rights on the addition of salt to soft plastics. After winning the lawsuit (1997), they filed infringement notices to all soft plastic manufacturers notifying them to either pay for a license to continue to use salt, or cease adding it to their baits. Zoom chose to initially stop adding salt and came up with the slogan for their packaging instead. They later reverted many of their non laminate color options to the salt formula under a licensing agreement. However, the original Larew patent has since expired, and companies are free to use at will again.

You already answered the question Any other argument for or against is unconvincing. -T9

As already stated, the red PP seems to bleed/stain worse than the other colors, and you quickly end up with a much faded color line. My experience has also been that red is the hardest color PP line for me to see. Don't know about the fish, but I catch plenty of them on that exact color line, so there are at least some slow learners in the bunch

Fluorocarbon or fluorocarbon coated won't become invisible, but theoretically it could become less visible. Of course, there's the argument about what we see vs. what a bass sees. Regardless, here's the an example of the theory in a nutshell:

Honestly, and don't take this wrong, but it sounds like you shouldn't be using fluorocarbon just yet until you get a better grasp of casting with a baitcaster. This will be an expensive learning curve, especially trying to begin with lighter lures. That said, just use mono backing to allow more refills per spool. Braid as backing is to decrease spool mass and startup inertia, something you don't need to worry about as a beginning baitcaster - it would likely make your current backlashing worse. -T9