Goose52

I get the taps all the time. As mentioned above, it's usually always a small brim, perch, or juvenile bass. Like D4u2s0t said, I usually reel in the slack and wait to feel the weight of the fish before I set the hook. In my experience, a sizable bass will usually make up their mind pretty quick about whether they want the offering and grab it...and won't peck at it like the small fry (hopefully I don't miss any lunkers with this theory!). Having said all this, as Catt and others just said - when in doubt - SET THE HOOK - swings are free !

Zero times on a hookset. I do use mostly mono which is pretty stretchy. Now, folks that use mostly braid might have more problems .... I did break a section of a 5-piece pack rod (with metal ferrules) back in the 1960s while taking it apart...only time I recall breaking a rod.

Another shot of the transducer arm:

I use the Slidetrax Transducer Deployment Arm - mid-$20 range. It's available at a number of vendors but I got it at Austin Kayak (free shipping if your order is over $39). http://www.austinkayak.com/products/1682/Wilderness-Systems-Tarpon-Slide-Trax-Transducer-Deployment-Arm.html You'll want to measure from the top of your gunwale down to the waterline to make sure the arm is long enough for your canoe. The arm extends down 12" from the mounting surface and then the transducer hangs down a bit below that. In my case - the arm was the perfect length - the transducer is completely submerged, but doesn't extend below the bottom of the hull. The photo shows the transducer arm mounted on my "dashboard" (that also holds the sonar and a rod holder). You would need to have a horizontal mounting surface for the arm. BTW - the rigging of my canoe was covered in this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1262097737/15#15

I was a Shakespeare fan starting in the 1960s when I first bought a Shakespeare Wonderod fly rod, through the mid-1980s, when I bought a battery of Shakespeare Sigma 2200 spinning reels. During this time, Shakespeare was a mainstream, mid-range brand with some good products. Since then, they've gone "down-market" and I haven't bought a Shakespeare product (new) in 25 years. I think there's better options out there nowadays. I still use my Sigma 2200 spinning reels as my primary spinning reels and they give good service, and I still have my Wonderod, but I am not a fan of the current product line. FWIW - a nice 3 pounder that I caught just a few hours ago - on a Shakespeare Sigma 2200ck size 035 !

Nice boat... You probably want the most thrust you can afford. A bow-mounted, foot-controlled TM is the way to go. You have a lot better control of the boat by pulling it, than pushing it. Also, consider the digital TMs - these give much better run-time than the 5-speed designs, and give more speed options than just having 5-speeds.

I did have a PQ on the Loomis rod while I was waiting for the Carbonlite to finally go on sale ...

Yikes - I've broken that rule for sure. My Loomis GLX MBR842C is wearing ................................................... a BPS Carbonlite reel!

I only have a canoe but I still carry a multi-tool/plier, knife, flashlight, spare mini-paddle, bailer, sponge, plastic bags, small first aid kit, some other stuff. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably carry some "duct" type tape - I could probably patch a gash/hole in my aluminum hull if I had to with that ...

My nicest and favorite combo is a G.Loomis GLX MBR842C with a BPS Carbonlite reel and 10lb mono. For my fishing, a 7' medium-power rod is a great "all-around" tool...

x2. I have 5 PQs with one more planned.

Thanks. It came together pretty well. As of today, I've had it out fully-rigged 13 times and have caught 136 fish out of it. So, I've had a lot of time on the water to "prove" the systems. Rod storage is the big issue but the aft carriage looks like what I will stick with. I can have as many as 5 rods pointed aft, plus the "ready" rod in the Scotty rod holder next to the seat. I DO indeed have to be careful of the rod tips. I'm not usually near any brush except when I follow creek channels ALL the way to the back until I'm literally in just inches of water. In those cases, I can't turn around, and I have to back out of the channels. Noteworthy things that work well are: The Scotty rod holder next to the seat - this is primarily for when you bring a fish into the boat - you leave enough line out for the fish to be on the deck in front of you and you have a place to put the rod (instead of just laying it against the gunwale). The anchor lock - another Scotty product - works great. The transducer arm - the length ended up being just right to have the transducer fully submerged - but not lower than the bottom of the hull. So, you're not likely to bang the transducer off a rock or whatever. The transducer arm is hinged and swings inboard when launching or beaching the canoe. The "dashboard" - homemade out of oak - carries the sonar, transducer and transducer arm, and another Scotty rod holder. This "plugs" into the oarlocks. It's basically a self-contained mounting for the sonar. I can run with the dashboard or leave it home if I don't think I need the sonar. The electrical conduit - this carries the 6 ga wires from the trolling motor up to the battery - keeps the cables off the deck and out of the way. The motor mount that attaches to the outrigger crossbar. A discontinued product from the makers of the outriggers - I called them and got their last one (their prototype). Works great and now the outrigger crossbar multi-tasks by carrying the outriggers, trolling motor, rod rack, and anchor system. The aft-mounted outriggers - this keeps the 180 degree arc in front of me clear of obstructions and makes landing fish much easier. There's still a couple of things that I may still improve. I'd like to have a crank system for the anchor line instead of just coiling it up and stowing it in a metal coffee can next to the seat. I could use more storage forward of where I sit and I may remove the other canoe seat and move the battery farther forward. Otherwise, things are working well ! Another photo taken today:

I learned the through-the-gills method on this board and now use it all the time. I fish soft plastics often and my technique is usually to wait to set the hook until I think the fish has the entire bait and I feel the weight of the fish - which often means a deep-set hook. Since learning this technique, I haven't left a hook in a fish yet. I've used this technique on bass as small as 10-11" or so, mostly with 1/0 or 2/0 hooks.

Thanks! Another photo...

Never had that I knew of ... until today. Yesterday I caught an 11" bass with an unusual diagonal abrasion of missing scales on one side. Today - I caught him again and from the same place. Now, I'm trying to remember if I caught him several days ago as well...

x2 on in-line spinners. My PB LMB (7-12) was caught on a Roostertail. Also, 3- to 5-inch single-tail grubs. Will catch almost anything and since they're mostly weedless (when t-rigged) you can fish them in places where you can't use the spinners.

Following Wayne P's link - I did another search on "Weldbilt" - they make a 1248 ! http://www.s222056501.onlinehome.us/specifications.html

Sure. Surface water temp here in my part of Tennessee is now approaching the mid-80s. Spawn is over, fish are going deep. I've had good luck recently fishing cranks from 6 to 10 feet deep. I've got my DD14s, DD22s, heavy spinnerbaits, etc., ready for when they go deeper...

Never for me ... and I do a lot of crankin'. BUT, I won't mind at all if it happens some day

Everyday. 8-)

Wow ! Of course, what would have made this a better story is if he said he really liked the reel ..................................... and it turned out to be a BPS Pro Qualifier

About six weeks ago, I was bass fishing with a 7'mf BC rod, 10 lb test, and tossing an SK Red Eye Shad lipless crank and ended up foul-hooking a 37.1 lb grass carp. Took me 35 minutes to land it ... had to, I wanted my lure back : A week later, at a different lake, I hooked-up with another, probably larger than this one. After 13 minutes, he wrapped the line around a rock and I lost my RES :-/ Last September, I was fishing with a 5.5' light-power spinning rod with 6 pound test, tossing a 1/4 oz roostertail for brim or small bass. A 33 in. catfish hit it and I landed that in about 30 minutes. It's great not knowing for sure what that next bite will be !

You might want to start a new thread if you need assistence in selecting a sonar. Before you do that though, do a search in this forum - there have been LOTS of threads on sonars. In general, you might want to consider a portable sonar if you don't plan on running a trolling motor all the time and may not have the TM battery on board. My sonar is an HB 570 portable. It came with a suction-cup transducer and an 8AH battery. I normally run it off the TM battery but have the option of running it off the small battery if I'm not running the TM. On price ranges, if all you need is something that will give you depth and bottom contour, the lower-priced units will do. If you want more resolution, you'll need to go up a bit in price... Also, you will need to give some thought to how & where you plan to mount your sonar transducer. Due to the contour of the outer hull of some canoes, sometimes the suction cup mounts may not work well. In my case, I bought a transducer arm that I mounted to my dashboard - this arm pivots and I can rotate the arm/transducer out of the water when I'm getting ready to beach the canoe.

Thanks! "Lardbass" on this board had a nicely rigged Radisson canoe that was the inspiration for mine...

I just finished setting up my 12' canoe - it was covered in this thread: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1262097737/16#16 Some of the gear on my canoe: Trolling motor - MK Traxxis digital 45lb thrust Outriggers HB 570 sonar and transducer bracket mounted on a "dashboard" 3-rod rack 2 Scotty rod holders Scotty anchor lock/mount Folding seat-back Forward mounted battery with a hard conduit for the 6ga power extension cables Even with a 17' canoe, I would think any TM 30lb thrust or more would do in a pinch ... but more is probably better if you can afford it - maybe 45lb or larger - since you will have it loaded down a bit. My canoe (which only weighs 34lbs empty, probably about 275-300 lbs fully-rigged and with me in it) really moves out with the 45lb motor. Digital TMs are a bit spendy but will provide considerably more run-time than the 5-speeds. To keep the weight that I have to "manhandle" down - I went with a Group 24 battery instead of the larger Group 27. I've had more than 8 hours of run-time with the G24 and not come close to draining the battery. With your load however, you might want to consider the G27. Let me know of you have any questions about how I rigged my canoe ...