Flippin & Pitchin

$699 on BPS site.

Thanks! Defiantly worth the look, might do a 5 for the console and 7 for the deck.

Any idea what price point this will be at? I'm holding off with upgrades until this winter, since I only have 2 tourneys left.

That I could handle. I guess my biggest concern would be getting interferance with mounting the transducer incorrectly.

Do you guys take your electronics to a shop to get installed, or is it a DIY project? I'm wanting to pull the trigger on a couple Helix 5 SI's for my '03 Ranger 175 for next season, and unless something comes out better this winter it'll be 2 Helix for next season. The current electronics on it are basically just depth finders. I'm new the whole side image/high tech fish finder game, so I'm leaning towards finding a shop to do it for me, so it's done right. I know the shop where I bought my Minn Kota did install for free after the purchase.

I honestly don't get out as much around home as I would like. I used to fish Newton and Coffeen a bunch when I had a smaller boat. Jacksonville is probably my best lake close to home, and can still produce some good days despite heavy tournament pressure. Egypt down south is another one that has treated me pretty well. I almost got to spend this weekend on Bull Shoals as I was going to buy a truck I found down there, but it sold yesterday! Would of been too convenient to haul the boat down too. I would say we will probably end up on Kentucky or Oz next year. We don't have much experience fishing deep cranks and jigs off shore, so Kentucky may be challenging for us if that's where the bite is.

Each year, me and my fishing partner take our boat on a fishing trip. We've done Lake Fork twice, and Falcon Lake once. Fun trips, caught a few nice fish, but in our eyes, wasn't worth the money and drive to go to them. After fishing a small club the past 2 years, and having 4 tournaments on Lake of the Ozarks we decided to head there for 4 days and stay a little closer to home. We are from Illinois. We always ended up with 13# to18# during our tournaments here, so we figured what the heck. We knew the lake a little, and had a decent deal on a place to stay so we went after it. Well we just got back, and we caught a bunch of bass, just not many big bites. We would have struggled to fill out 15# the entire 3 1/2 days we were there with keepers. Not discouraged with the lake by any means, just an odd week with the weather. Anyways onto my original point.... We are not against returning to the Lake of Oz next spring, but have also kicked around going to a few other ones in the area. Kentucky, Bull Shoals, and Table Rock are all fairly similar in distance to the Oz for us. We fish a BUNCH of senkos around docks at Oz, as well as the bluff ledges and have never had an issue getting quality bites, until this year. This week I fell in love with a jerkbait bite and it was hard for me to put it down the rest of the trip. The familiarity with this lake makes it a little harder for us to abandon this trip, as well as how it plays to our strengths, but is the fishing at the other 3 lakes THAT much better that we need to give them a try? After all, our first hour ever spent on the Oz in a tournament we filled a limit of 16 pounds with a 5# kicker!! Sorry if that was too long winded!

It is a Humminbird 570 DI.

It is a Minn Kota trolling motor. The model escapes me right now, as I'm stuck at my office.

While at Falcon last year, the transducer cable on the trolling motor for my Humminbird fish finder got cut. It worked for a bit, but it finally quit all together, giving false readings and such. This was installed for free from the shop where we bought the new trolling motor, but to save some $$$ on paying for a new transducer to be installed, I was wondering what all it took to do this on my own? The boat is an '03 Ranger 175VS, if that helps aid in any advice. Thanks!

I'll be fishing Falcon for the first February 17-22. What type of lures or tactics should I prepare for? We have a guide hired that Tuesday to try to enhance our odds. From what I've read and seen, to catch the big ones you need to be cranking and bouncing a jig out a little deeper when you find some large boulders. Anyone have luck flipping the stumps shallow? Anything certain I should prepare for?

I'm going to buy a nrw spinning rod with the sale at TW going on. I'm wanting to stay in the $150-$160 range, and have the rod be a 7' Med. I've had my eye on the Duckett Micro rod, and the Dobyns Micro Savvy. Any suggestions on these 2, or others?

I own both, and have to say I like the PQ a little more. Both are great reels though. Either one would be an excellent choice.

Thanks for the input. I've heard nothing but great things about both rods. I already own 1 Veritas, but I haven't hit the water with it yet. I do like the feel of it though. I'm about 50/50 on it right now.

Has anyone used both? I was wanting to add another 7' MH rod, and was wondering if the Duckett was really worth the extra cash.

I am tossing around the idea of purchasing a new rod for fishing lipless cranks on. Currently I am using a Revo S and an older model 7' M Bass Pro Bionic Blade rod. The setup is ok, but I find myself wanting more out of the rod. I have an Abu Garcia Vendetta paired up with a Revo SX, and really like the feel of it, so I was thinking about maybe upgrading to a Veritas to replace the Bionic Blade. I've never tried throwing a lipless lure on a true crank rod, so I am open to going that route as well. Maybe even moving up to a MH instead of a M??? Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. My main use for Rat L Traps is burning them over shallow grass beds if that gives you guys a better idea on what I am looking for. Thanks!

Any suggestion on colors? I'm thinking maybe a clear/shad, red, and yellow for each crank.

What kind of things are we talking about being on sale? I was planning on going over there in a few days to pick some stuff up, but maybe I'll wait until the Classic.

Title pretty much says it all. I'm going to try to master the art of crankbaiting this year. I've taken a stab in years past, but just didn't have much confidence in it. About 3 years ago I bought the KVD Sexy Shad crankbait kit from BPS, and those are pretty much the only cranks I own right now (other than lipless). Most of them other than the Red Eye Shad have seen very little use. I've got several Red Eye Shads and Rat L Traps, but I need to expand from there. I'd like to stay with some of the lower priced lures, as I don't believe I can afford taking the plunge with a bunch of $15 cranks. I'm interested in some of the Strike King models, 5XD and 6XD to mention a few, as deep cranking is my main objective. If anyone has any adivce as to brands, depths, and colors to get this collection started I would greatly appreciate it.

Anyone have anything negative or positive to say about the Daiwa Exceler baitcasters. I found one for $64 (usually $80), and I was thinking about picking up the 4.9:1 model for a deep cranking reel.

I've also thought about the Daiwa Exceler Crankbait reel, as it has a 4:9:1 and TW has it priced at $80.

For the Crankin Stick, I want to get the 7' 6", but would you go with the M or MH?

Next time I'm at BPS, I'll definantly check out the Pro-Qualifier Thanks

I still consider myself new to the bass fishing game, and crankbaits is something that I really want to learn how to use. I'd like to keep the price down, as I learn the basics before I fully take the plunge on a high dollar rod and reel. Anyone care to throw out some qaulity rods and baitcasters? I'm wanting something over 7' to get the deep cranks down there. I've looked over the BPS Crankin Stick, All Star Crankin Rods, and the W&M Skeet Reese rods. I'm not sure if any of these are worth the money, or if there are some better options in this price range. As far as reels, I was thinking about getting another Citica or Revo S, or maybe saving some cash on a Caenan.

I stumbled across a deal this morning while working on a 2003 Ranger 175VS. I stopped and checked the boat out. It has the original Minn Kota trolling motor on it, a garmin fish finder, a 125 hp Mercury, and has been garage kept while not being used. He is asking $9500 for it, but I think he will come down. The boat looks very clean, with only normal wear signs on it. I know the guy selling it, and a few people he has fished with, so I trust them when they say it runs just fine and he hasn't had any problems with it. I'm not much of a boat expert, but this seems like a good buy to me.