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Casting or spinning? They make both. I assume its a casting rod, and I'd recommend using it for 3/8 - 1/2 oz spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and lipless crankbaits. If the action and taper is similar to the 7' MH/F that I own, it would also work well for light to mid sized jigs and plastics. At $75, it's a great deal even if it is a little short for my liking.

There are a ton of really nice used boats out there, if you're willing to go that route then look into these, the Stratos 275 Pro XL with 91" beam. I think going with used fiberglass would be your best bet with a budget of $10k. I bought this exact one directly from a dealership in MS after I spotted it on Ebay and the bidding didn't meet the reserve. The dealership lined up a guy to drive it right to my driveway for $500 extra. The 275/285 are great boats and are head and shoulders better than the Stratos 176/186. I paid a little over $8K for it. If you're budget is $10K, make sure you save a nice chunk for new tires, winch, and boating tools and accessories. http://www.classifiedads.com/boats-ad3391627.htm If you're looking for a used Ranger, keep an eye on Ebay and if you find the one you want, contact the seller or dealership and offer a fair price, they may take it and end the auction. Many, many boat auctions never reach their reserves. The dealer I bought my boat from said they would have gladly ended the auction if I had made a back door offer for $8K. They were just tired of the nickle and dimers who were offering $1115 for boats worth much more. There are a lot of nice glass boats that come and go on Ebay in the $8-9 range.

That sounds like a bargain. Put up some pics of the mod process eventually.

Disappointing answer, but good explanation. I may have to get a second unit if I'm happy with the first. Thanks a lot.

These really look like a great tool at a bargain price. I'm likely going to pick one up in the next month. I have an X510c that I would like to network with the Elite-5 DSI. I have a question first, can I link these to a fishfinder with no GPS and then be able to use GPS on both? Thanks

I don't own the Fortrex but I own the #80 Maxxum Pro with gas lift-assist that I bought on close-out just as the Fortrex were being released. My understanding is that this is the next closest thing to the Fortrex and I'm very happy with it. You'll love the motor, but I strongly suggest that everybody look into a recessed tray for their trolling motors. It's much more comfortable and a persons balance is much improved with their weight distributed on both feet instead of mainly one, and that improves casting accuracy and distance. It also might keep a person from falling out of the boat on a choppy day or if you hit something. My back and shoulders used to get sore after using the "Capt Morgan stance" as JDW mentioned, but thats not an issue anymore even on 8 hours trips with no butt seat. I think using the recessed pedal will make a person a better angler by making them a better caster, and allowing them to fish longer and more comfortably without the little aches and pains. I picked up a custom colored, fiberglass pedal well online for about $115 shipped. These look a lot better than the aluminum ones, and are well worth the extra $50 or so. All it took was an hour to cut the hole with a reciprocating saw and to mount it. The area on the front deck where the well would be installed is filled with hard foam on my Stratos, from the center compartment all the way to the bow. It was a little scary at first to start cutting into a bassboat but it turned out to be really easy. One warning though, MAKE SURE YOUR MEASUREMENT ARE CORRECT! You could really screw yourself over if you cut the hole too big.

I use fluoro and copoly leaders with spinning gear all the time, and I really like it because light braid(15-20#) handles really well on spinning reels. But with casting gear and larger diameter lines, I really don't like using leaders if I don't have to. I hate those big annoying knots running through my rod guides. I prefer straight 50# braid for fishing heavy, shady cover and pitching/flipping, and straight 15# fluoro for fishing deep or working edges and areas with less cover where a fish is more likely to spot my line. I figure since when pitching/flipping in grass almost all hits come on the fall for me, the lure is right in fishes face before any braided line would be spotted.

What was the problem?

I haven't tried it, but I have a feeling that a Rage Tail Shad might spin like crazy on a Carolina rig. Give it a shot.

Senkos and Paca Chunks.

Good to see that I'm not the only one that hasn't had any luck at all with the BBZ Shads. I think they look great in the water but they don't even get bit by northerns, even in the lake where I lost 4 Sebiles to snakes in the last two years. I thought at first that I was maybe doing something wrong, so I tried every retrieve I could think of, and I have yet to catch a single fish. Why is it that the BBZ Shad suck so badly? I mean, they look great, don't they? : I don't have many hard swimbaits to speak of, but the one that I do like is the Sebile 125 in slow sink. That one is a keeper. I generally prefer the soft paddletail swimmers like the Money Minnow.

It's a little frustrating that these mesh socks will do that, but using them will go a long way to prevent accidental bruises in the blank, broken guides and chipped inserts. Considering the cost of todays rods and their warranties, it's well worth the look of the scuffed, silver guides or the $10 it might cost you if you were sell the rods later in the flea market. I personally think that many of the rods that people complain about in internet reviews that "mysteriously" break are due to little mishaps that owners are unaware of, where they put a bruise on the graphite blank that's invisible to the naked eye, only to have the rod snap a week or a month or a year later. I personally had something I can relate to happen last year when I just barely caught a rod on a boat cleat when I was picking it up. I then used it without any issue for three more months. I was thinking I had dodged a bullet after I caught a few big pike on it, before it snapped like a twig on a soft cast with a buzzbait. Had I not known about the self-inflicted damage, I would have thought the rod was junk or defective and I would have likely stayed away from a rod brand that I like.

That's outstanding news for the company, like David said, now people can see what they've been missing. There isn't a more balanced, better feeling, better value rod in the market, IMO. Not that I've seen. I wonder, will Cabela's honor the $60 over-the-counter warranty, "No Hassle" warranty? Because that would be great. I'd much, much rather drive 40 miles than have to pay to ship it to California and wait for it to be processed and returned.

There are a lot of really nice and durable, high-end fanny packs that are available for hunting. They can be expensive, but not all of them are. I used to wade the local rivers for smallmouth bass and I used stuff like this. If I were wading deeper than waist level, then I would sling it over my shoulder. It held more tackle than I needed plus water and tools. They were cooler and more comfortable than a backpack, too, otherwise my back would get sweaty on hot, sunny days. The fact that you can slide a fanny pack to your front without being cumbersome really comes in handy, especially if you're standing in moving water or someplace where dropping something means losing it. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=hunting+fanny+pack&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5110911682807750633&ei=rB8pTZiwAtHnnQer0oSaAQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=hunting+fanny+pack&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&resnum=1&biw=1353&bih=748&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6152758538861473479&ei=OCEpTYLjF4HDnAfA_OmOAQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CGgQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers http://www.cabelas.com/backpacks-fanny-packs-cabelas-deluxe-whitetail-8482-fanny-pack-1.shtml?type=product&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=713338&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=C6D71BCD-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

Too many. Creatures are the easiest soft plastic to get carried away with because there's a huge selection of different styles.

Interesting bait, but wouldn't the tentacles dampen the side to side gliding action? It wont walk the dog like a super fluke does but it still has a nice glide and the skirt really draws some attention. It's almost like a tube. Ah I see, thx for the reply.

You don't need to fret over closely matching the color of the trailer with the jigs skirt. I would probably throw a black/blue fleck, pumpkinseed/green fleck, watermelon/purple, junebug, or green pumpkin candy trailer on that jig, but those are my confidence colors and I put them on any jig of any color.

Try ice fishing for panfish. You don't even need a house, in fact you'll catch more fish without one, instead drilling a bunch of holes and moving around. All you really need is a gas auger, a graph, and a couple rods.

Push. Two years ago I switched all of my baitcasting reels to STXs and E Series Curados. I feel they are pretty much equal as far as quality and value goes. Let it come down to which one feels better in your hand when it's mounted on a rod, which handle grip you prefer, etc. Because both will last a good long time and will perform admirably.

Handling the Tessera Rods made me seriously wonder how much influence Skeet really had on the design, because they don't seem very well suited for the application they're supposedly designed for. They're all like noodles, and you're supposed to fish jigs, frogs, and flip with these things? Do yourself a favor and spend that $100 on something else. You may like them now, but after fishing with a crisp, sensitive rod with backbone, you'll forget all about them. For a little while I used to be hung up on St. Croix Premiers the same way, because they were the best rod I had tried up until then, and they were leaps and bounds better than the Ugly Stiks and Lightning Rods I used as a kid. ***Serious question folks. Is there a more overrated, overpriced, and overhyped rod on the market today in the $200 and under class, than the Skeet Reese Tessera?

I'm right handed, and I use lefties for bottom-contact baits and righties for all other lures.

Interesting bait, but wouldn't the tentacles dampen the side to side gliding action? I may just have to try a pack of those. They look like an excellent Carolina rig bait.

I try not to use them for that reason, but painted olive green they're not so bad, especially if there's chop on the water.

They're excellent swim jigs. I especially like the Purple Ghost Living Image color with a White Trash Smallie Beaver as a trailer, and yes, they have the rubber band.

What's wrong with leaning your rods against a wall? IIRC, after extended periods of time It will retain that small bend in the rod where its leaning. I assumed that's what he was getting at, but I'll believe it when I see it.