slonezp

I rarely use my Toro and still throw larger baits with a 20+ year old C3. The biggest difference from full size to the intermediate size is the price point. The Toro is at least $150 more than the C3. The C3 is a tank and will take a lot of abuse. I paid $50 or $60 for mine and it has seen more action and more fish than any of my other reels. I think it's been cleaned and repaired once in all the years I've had it. Right now I use it primarily for the a rig.

I go when I can

Don't smoke. A couple years ago a buddy of mines non boater was backing the trailer down the ramp to load the boat. He had put the tailgate down to see better. Cut a turn to tight and the boater and his wife were waving their hands and yelling stop. I guess he didn't see or hear them and crushed the tailgate.

Bought a new boat. Caught more "good" fish this year than years past, but no "great" fish. Spent a lot of time learning the functions and how to interpret the images on the HB 998. Tried a couple new lakes I have never fished before. Did a lot more multispecies fishing this year than years past. Looking forward to next years soft water season.

Check your PM's Pondlvr. I just sent you a search link from a local website that has 88 threads about 3 oaks going back to when they opened it. Let me know if it doesn't work and I'll try something different.

I will ask him when I see him on Thanksgiving. My son is mostly a jig fisherman, but I will confirm and get back to you. There is a guy who posts on another site who does a lot of dropshotting on that lake from the rental boats. He does real well for smallmouth.

At least their on top of things

My son fishes there a few times a year. What did you want to know? I can ask him. He has caught some good fish there, but not large quantities of them.

Gander and Dicks do in store discounts like this all the time. Why, I don't know, but I do not believe shelf life has anything to do with it. Might just be slow selling upc's Several years? You need to fish more.

Glad you're ok. I'm north of you and what I saw here was bad but not like you got..

I call mine the second livewell

I think this is sound advice. The only other thing I could add is don't take advantage of your customers lack of knowledge for your monetary gain. Be honest. I've traveled quite a lot to fish around the southeast.at different "premier" bass lakes. I have gotten honest advice from shops and advice I know was BS to try and push stuff. We had a local bait shop that was around for many many years. The owner had lost his legs from diabetes and was fishing vicariously thru his customers. Made everyone feel like they were his best fishing buddy. He gave honest advice and had real good minnow counts. He really catered to the ice fishermen, and guys would hang out and bs when hard water fishing was slow. His shop burned down and with some unsolicited assistance from his customers he was able to rebuild. Unfortunately he passed away last year from the diabetes. I don't know whether or not, his shop was profitable. I do know that all the seasoned fishermen in the area knew him.

I think this is key

A good minnow count. The only reason I hit the local shop is for bait. For emergency situations , I have a Cabelas 10 minutes away. Otherwise I make all my purchases online. My online purchases are made because of pricing, not specifics. If you were located on the water and had a ramp, offered bait, ice, and fuel, and free coffee then I would be more inclined to stop.

I would think an itchy eye is a health problem. When you have an itch you need to... http://youtu.be/innygMNyKOY

Pm'd you the link

Just googled and found your boat listed on another forum. The way it's listed, is kind of fishy. Looks like the guy recently bought the boat, and when asked why he's selling, his answer is "I just got an itch" Here's a brand new '08 for 14k http://www.midwaypowersports.com/Vehicle/46925/2008-Nitro-Z6-SC.aspx http://www.midwaypowersports.com/Vehicle/46925/2008-Nitro-Z6-SC.aspx

Double check that. It will be very difficult to insure if the hull has too much motor.

Don't worry about getting to the spot first.. When we talk about a boat being underpowered, it's not so much about speed. It's about hull performance and resale value. If you're plowing the hull thru the water, you're wasting fuel and losing performance. Make sure you have enough room for your gear, and a strong trolling motor. As you grow as a fisherman, your boat needs will grow as well. No need to jump in the fire just yet. I fished tourneys out of a 17ft with a 90hp for many years. Fish can't tell the difference.

A 17ft with a 135 is not underpowered

I think they're a little more than 13k They even have a crapper in some of their models

Or a plastic plate and have the whole dash hydro-dipped

Looks like you can put a RAM mount on the side of the console where the rod ramp ends for a bigger graph. Looks like plenty of room. Maybe put an aluminum plate over the dash hole, and mount a 700 series Bird to the plate. It's not too heavy, the base has a small footprint and a quick release.

For a couple more bucks, you can get a HB 788 ci On sale right now at some online stores for around $450. Can't beat that with a stick.

Sweet!!! Got to ditch the console graph from the 1930's lol. Is that an imaging unit on the bow?