Fishes in trees

Buy a pair of rain pants. Make an effort to avoid thorns & stuff when you wear them. Should you happen to tear them up on thorns or whatnot, make a mental note to buy sturdier gear next time. Option B might be to purchase one of those cheap plastic rain suits at Walmart and refrain from caring if you tear it up or not. Option C might be to not get a pair of rain pants and keep a dry set of clothes in the car to change into when you're done fishing. A couple of sets of dry clothes might be better than one.

Nice rod & reel - a little long for my taste in jerk baits - hope it works for you. Throwing jerk baits for a while can make your wrists and forearms ache. That's one of the reasons that I only throw jerks in areas that look like high probability areas for me. I seldom use them as a search bait. While I am getting older and get some skeletal and muscular aches and pains, it used to be worse. My progression was from aspirin to ibuprofen and then when regular ibuprofen didn't work, I went to Alieve and those worked ok, but I was worried about long term effects. I was having some dexterity and inflammation issues at work and my doctor put me on an anti-inflammatory called Meloxicam. It works great and no side effects so far that I can tell. Who knows what is in the future, but it works for me right now.

My 2002WF 180 still floats. It is a welded hull. I'm not certain if Lowe boats in the early 90's had welded hulls or not.. Nothing wrong with riveted hulls, except I don't think that overall they are as strong as welded hulls. It really comes down to how well has it been maintained through the years.

Every tackle box ever made has the " right" amount of compartments. Every tackle bag ever made has the " right " amount of pockets. You get to figure out what is " right" for you. If it is a budget issue, you might have to compromise. Back in the day, I when I was a meat fishing bush hippie, I had " budget issues". I solved that problem by going to the good will store and finding the largest, most beat up, ugliest women's bag that I could find. I don't think I ever paid more than a dollar for one. Those carried all the stuff that I needed for close to a decade - and there was never any concern about getting it dirty or wearing it out. My favorite one was a green neon & black zebra stripe one that could hold 6 or 7 3600 size boxes. I never had to worry about theft with that bag.

I could stop purchasing soft plastics, however, I think that the soft plastic industry might suffer, and I don't want that on my shoulders. There is also the chance that the next innovative design could be "the one" and if I stopped buying soft plastics then I'd never know, so I don't think I will stop buying soft plastics any time soon.

I carry both types of lure retrievers in my boat - the "hound dog" type and an extendable pole. In different situations one will work better than the other. They have paid for themselves many times over in saved cranks and other baits.

The most invisible line for fluorocarbon leaders is fluorocarbon leader line. It is a specialty line, usually available in 30 yard ( or less) spools and it is strictly for leaders. It doesn't cast well - it is a lot stiffer than regular fluorocarbon - even in the 2 lb class. However it is much more abrasion resistant and nearly invisible under water. I use it quite a bit. For instance - for jerk baits, I will use 15 lb fluorocarbon leader connected to 14 or so lb braid. A short leader - never longer than a foot and a half. generally less. I don't line the sound of the knot going through the guides, so I reel up to just before the knot and cast like that. I use spinning gear for my tx rig senko/fluke rig. Same deal 15 or 20 fluorocarbon leader connected to the braid. This rig I'll use an even shorter leader, less than a foot. Reel up to the knot and cast where ever. I have some 8 and 10 lb fluorocarbon leader in the boat, but I seldom use it. 15 lb seems to work for what I want to do with it. As I mentioned previously, this is a specialized line for use in leaders only. A BPS I generally find it in the fly fishing section. At Cabelas, I never can find it and so I ask the help, "Where did you put the fluorocarbon leader stuff this time?" Then they find it for me. I've never been in any local tackle shop that carries it, but I haven't been in very many local fly fishing shops either. There is a learning curve to gaining competency in tying knots with this stuff. Use lots of slobber - take your time and be careful when snugging it up. Have very sharp scissors to trim tight after it is completely snug. There you go - all you need to know about the most invisible fluorocarbon leaders you can get.

In olden times, Shimano marketed a Curado in a 3.8 to 1 gear ratio. They weren't selling at the tackle store I go to and I noticed that they were getting discounted from time to time. When they got down to much less than half the original price, I bought one. I found out that 3.8 to one is too slow - word got out and now wonder that they didn't sell well. Then I found out during a conversation with an employee at the reel repair show next door to the primary BPS store in Springfield, that the Curado B's were all the same size inside and it was a simple matter of around $20 to switch out the gears from 3.8 to 5 to 1. The next time I was in KC I bought 4 of the lower gear ration Curados and got them all switch over to the slightly higher gear ratio. So I got a whole set of back up reels for less than $75 each. As I upgrade reels from time to time I find that the 5 to 1 ratio is harder and harder to find. The Curado E and Chronarch 50 size are 6.4 to 1 and I'm ok with that. I recently acquired a new Curado 70 which has a higher gear ratio, but I haven't had a chance to fish with it yet.

All rods are technique specific rods. All rods are multi purpose rods. You get to decide. Glad I could help

Don't most bulk spools come with a little piece of tape? That is what I generally use. Bulk spools of Abrazx come with a plastic sleeve that fits over the spool - that works good. For reel fill size spools - I'm just careful on how I open the package and I put the spool back in the pack after I'm finished spooling. I can often get 2 reel fills out of 1 filler spools - just depends. Keep some stick on labels in your shop and label the used boxes & spools. Info I record is date/ approximate yardage/ which reel . 2 stickers - on on the actual spool and 1 on the package. I am frequently stunned how often one gets separated from the other.

I you have to remind yourself to keep it simple, you're over thinking. My approach has been to buy a few different brands in colors that I like. I stopped buying hollow frogs when I had a box full. Same think with solid body frogs - I stopped buying them when I had a box full. Most likely I have variations of all the colors previously mentioned. My approach is to just pick one and throw it in places I think that it might work. If it don't work and I'm still thinking that fish might be hitting frogs, I'll change colors. I'm not buying any more frogs until I lose 5 or 6 of them, but generally I throw them on 65 lb braid, so how often does that happen? That is my version of keeping stuff simple.

I'm a big fan of the jika rig. I fish it quite a bit. I'm getting to where I throw it in most places where previously I'd throw a jig. For me it excels in deeper weed line edges.

Something to consider if you fish stumpy lakes like I frequently do. My Lowe will bounce off or run up on a stump that would put a hold in many different fiberglass boats. Even if you run up on a stump, it is easier to back off one than it is to deal with cracked fiberglass. If you are playing with fiberglass around stumps, be very careful and don't have an attention lapse. That can get costly.

I own several different brands of bait casters. Other than Shimano, the other brands are in the "retired" or semi-retired" pile. Currently, there are only Shimano's in the starting line up. In a nod to multi-species action, I have 2 Quantum IR4CW reels and 2 old BPS "David Fritts" bait casting reels. These reels handle 17 to 25 lb line very well and are great cat fishing reels. They can throw half ounce to upwards of 4 ounces of weight as far as I want, for the most part. If I have to go long distance (60 to 70 yards or more) I have a different rig for that. Some years those rigs don't get busted out at all, but it is better to have them and not need them than otherwise.

My issue with 10" worms is that they are heavy enough they can tear off the hook with an aggressive cast. I save the 10" worms for those occasions when I am pitching less than 40' or so. I don't know about pitching the Culprit Fat Max worms, but I know that they work on jika rigs with a 4/0 hook. Mann's makes a paddle tail worm in two different sizes and I've had the same issue with the larger size of that worm, i.e. it is heavy enough that it will tear off on the cast.

Granted, it was number of years ago, but I paid way less for my LOWE wf 180 new. Don't be afraid to go national in your search. A few years ago a buddy of mine had a mid-life crisis that could only be resolved by purchasing a new 20'Express. He found a dealer in Tenesse who was considerably less expensive than any dealer here in Missouri - including the road trip and motel stay. With your other obligations, you'll be in this boat for a while, so buy one you like. I don't hate trackers - I think they are ok boats - but I think that there are better boats out there for a similar amount. I am assuming that you have or have access to indoor storage. Storing any boat outside with a tarp over it isn't a good idea.

The first rule of thumb when purchasing rain gear is "don't be a cheap skate." Apparently you've already found out that skimping on good rain gear isn't a great idea. I have a Guide Wear suit from Cabela's that is at least a dozen years old, probably more. I don't wear it every trip, but It is in the fishing truck and available every trip I take. It still looks and works great. For chilly spring weather, it can't be beat. Another word on rain gear is that I think it is a bad idea to buy it on-line, Because good rain gear has to fit AND given the overall temps it has to function in you've got to allow for layering. Go to a store that has rain gear and try it on..

I have a 2002 Lowe WF 180. Plug goes in from the outside. I am getting older and bending over to stretch and insert the plug sometimes is a challenge. I've invested in a good pair of knee pads that stay in the fishing truck all the time. Wearing the knee pads hurts less than stretching out and trying to insert the plug by feel. Secondly I made myself a plug wrench out of plastic pipe. I use the T handle style plug. Fit the plug into the wrench - insert it into the hold and then I have much more leverage to tighten the plug than I can get with just using my fingers. I have run my boat up over a stump and caught the stump just right and had the plug tear out - years ago - when I was installing the plug "finger tight". Bilge pump came on instantly. Never any danger of sinking, but I took on quite a bit of water before I got back to the ramp (roughly a mile away) and got a new plug out of the truck. The real moral to this story is ALWAYS carry one of two spare boat plugs in your fishing truck.

Contrary to paabgker13's opinion, my tendency is to go with the smaller reels if possible. Smaller reels are lighter At the end of the day/season/whatever, your wrist and forearm will thank you.

I try to tell myself that I'm not one brand oriented and it is true that I have several different brands of rods that make my starting line up. Given that, the last 5 rods I've purchased were Fenwick Aetos or HMG. I have 3 Falcon rods that are in the starting line up. The Bucoo trap caster is one. This rod holds the distinction of being the only rod I've paid full retail for in a long time. I have a Falcon Eakins Jig Special and a Bucoo version of the Eakins Jig Special . I'd buy more Falcon rods if they were readily available near where I live - but they aren't.

I haven't texas rigged a finesse worm for more than a decade. Finesse worms/shakey worms are fished on some sort of jig head, almost always with the bait "skin hooked" - almost tex-posed - but not quite. As for the baits, I carry many different colors of Zoom Trick worms, I carry most of the colors of the Netbait version of the trick worm, in both the regular size and the bubba sizes. Berkley makes or used to make Powerbait shaky worms. which I use sometimes.

I like rod wraps on many of my rods. The different colors help me distinguish which rod is which when laid out on the deck. I like a little fatter grip than what comes in most of my off the shelf rods. Rod wraps serve a secondary purpose of protecting the cork, I guess.

Here is a pattern that worked for me back in the day when I was a bank fishing, meat hog, bush hippie. Early spring - kinda windy, but a warmish wind. 8 or 9 acre pond - decent sized, but not huge. All the ice wasn't off the lake yet, but there was a 35 to 40 foot band of open water all around the perimeter of the pond. Go to the NW corner. I had a 1/8 oz crappie jig with a smaller Uncle Josh pork frog on the back. Throw up on to the ice - as far as possible and methodically drag it back and let it drop off. The sound of it dragging on the ice attracted fish and nearly every time they hit it on the initial drop. I probably put 60 fish on a stringer in a couple of hours. Catching the right day and being out on that day was the key.

If your goal is to fish deep grass lines, right where the transition happens from vegetation to sand, gravel, whatever, and you fish a jika rig of around a half ounce or so, a jig will become your second choice. In a deep weed line situation, for the past 2 years, a jika rig has worked MUCH better than a jig for me. JMO

Go to Walmart. Go to an aisle that you probably never enter, i.e. the fingernail polish aisle. Don't think of it as fingernail polish. Think of it as lots of different colors of small bottles of lure or jig paint. Find a chartreuse color that you like ( there will be more than one, trust me ). The bottle of nail polish will have enough paint to cover a couple of baits, easy, and it is a tough, durable finish. Now, take a couple of lipless cranks that you already own and paint them up.