ikefan

carmen, i have the 9' uncle buck pond prowler and love it. it's as stable as can be..i fish standing all the time. i had a 10' jon that i just sold last weekend. i had great plans for the jon, but the 1032 was just too narrow and unstable. i'm so much happier with the prowler. i throw it in the back of my pickup with little problem. i picked mine up on craigslist for $500..came with 30lb trolling motor, oars, battery and charger. it's well worth the money and i'm sure you could find a similar deal. the guy who sold it purchased it from bps this year and just found he had no time to use it. i think this is exactly what you're looking for.

i just got a bps pond prowler and love it! i got mine on craigslist with a 30lb trolling motor, battery and charger for $600. it's very stable, dry and portable. just my .02

i love every type of strike for what it is...the explosion out of nowhere on the topwater, when a crankbait, rattletrap or spinner just stops dead, the mushy feeling that comes on a jig sometimes...but my favorite at the moment is the "tick, tick" and boom..set the hook...on the senko. absolutely love it.

i agree 100% that it depends on your setup. good graphite is so sensitive. that being said..i use dark colored brass weights and love them...especially with a bead. black seems to make a difference for me over the natural lead color.

thanks for the replies fellas. at some point i realized i was carrying my bag with 5 or 6 boxes in it and only throwing a handful on any given trip...stuff that would get me to the bottom, suspend, and get on top. besides the fact that i had to leave the bag on shore while i went in the water...so i'm into the streamlined tackle. get to the lake, check the conditions...make my selections and go with it. anyway, all great ideas..the old man hat would be the stuff..especially with big ol' cranks hanging from it! but those little boxes are what i'm looking for. thanks for the help.

space monkeys have become my confidence bait year. i've caught more fish with them than year than anything else. their versatility is what i like best..i feel like i can cover the entire water column in one way or another. since i'm wading in and bringing one rod, this is a huge plus...cuts down a little bit on retying. black/blue has been my go too!!!

hey guys, when i fish my local lakes i usually wear my chest waders and work my spots all around the lake without get out of the water until i'm done. i wear a vest with the tackle i need because i don't want to be tied to the shoreline. unfortunately, this sometimes means i can't bring everything i want to...particularly treble hooked crankbaits...i put some in the plastic boxes rat l traps come in..but don't have enough. anyone make a small enough tackle box, or have another idea to carry crankbaits in a vest?

the tail of the male bass gets bloodied from making the spawning bed.

i have a small 10' jon w troller that i hardly ever take out...most of my fishing is in chest waders. this has forced me to streamline my tackle and my strategy because i do not want to be tied to extra setups and a tackle bag on shore. i leave my boxes and bags in the truck and load essentials in a fishing vest. i bring what i'll need to cover the entire water column. i'll use what info i have before getting to the lake and have an idea what i will primarily throw that day. (weather, temp, baro, time of year, time of day..the fact that i know my home lake). but i will wait until i get to the lake to see the water, wind, etc...to tie on. i've had so much fun and success fishing this way... since it's a little bit of a pain to cut and tie something different on, i tend to stick with my original plan longer than i would when i bring 5 setups on the boat. (tight fit on a 10 footer!) i feel like it has helped me become a much better angler, because i generally stick with two or three techniques per outing and i've gotten really confident in what i'm doing. alot of times on the boat, i'm thinking about what to use next, instead of focusing on what i'm doing in the moment..or changing how i'm working the lure. it's worked for me.... that being said, that darn bait monkey knows where i live!

flappin' hogs

i go to a trap or other lipless crank that makes noise and rip it through the grass.

cabelas online is way better than bps. (there isn't either close to me yet, so it's always online for me) cabelas bargain cave has more and better items and there are reviews on all products that i find helpful. but i've had very good customer service at both.

i think frogg toggs would be perfect for that application...an extra set for the people you guide. they have a cheap set and an even cheaper set..something like 30 and 15 bucks that both work. i wear the cheaper set all the time. they are super light and packable.

hank parker is my man, but my screen name says it all. mike iaconelli from right down the road...runnemede, nj. local boy done good.

i've been ripping a 1/2 oz red eye shad gizzard shad pattern for the last month. a month ago, it was all dinks and the occasional yellow perch and one big (13 inch) shad. but, i've been on some good size for the last few weeks. i wade in and they're pretty consistently staging off the nearest dropoff close to the flats. at my main lake, there is growing vegetation at the bottom of two of these dropoffs..i've been casting past it and ripping the shad through it, or burning right over top barely touching. everything i've caught has been on a steady retrieve on these spots.

let us know how it goes when you get it on the water. i have a 1032 jon and let me tell you..it is not stable at all. i'm 200 lbs and really have to be careful. but, two inches across the bottom is alot and 34 will be noticeably better. good luck.

hey guys, great site! my name is tim and i live and fish in south jersey. i get in and on the water as much as i possibly can...usually three or four times a week. i'm lucky that my job allows me the time to do that. i love crankbait fishing and throw them all year long. my "go to" has been the red eye shad this year and it's produced big time. great to be here...