Goose52

Thanks for the info - good stuff. Prices have gone up though - a good price on the canoe is now $799

Good deal - sounds like you just got in under the wire before the price went back up. Wish I would have ordered two instead of one. I'm glad I made that special trip to the lake yesterday to check the action of the bait... 'cause that lake completely froze over last night!

Thanks for the additional info on the rod racks and horizontal vs. vertical - rod storage is the one thing I haven't quite figured out yet. It's just a bit difficult with the short 12' canoe. On the dolly - I can park literally at the side of the lake at nearly every one of the 11 lakes I fish. When the canoe comes off the top of the car, I will be setting it down just a few feet from the water. I can rig it there and just push it in. Later this year (especially if my bum shoulder doesn't get better) I will get a lightweight canoe trailer and will be able to leave it rigged (except for the trolling motor) and will then just be able to drag it off the back of the trailer, clamp on the trolling motor, and push it in the water. I'd like to take the canoe out for a spin - but my lakes just froze-up solid again (for the 3rd time this winter). Plus, I don't think I want to be out in a canoe in 37 degree water and have some sort of incident. I think I'll wait for spring...

They call this coloration "bombay & lime."

OK - I drove over to my closest lake to swim this guy. Air temp was 31deg, surface water temp about 37deg. The bait swims well on a slow retrieve - good fluid swimming motion. You can add some rod tip twitches and get a pretty good side-to-side 'darting' action. From a slow retrieve speed, adding a fast crank of the reel handle about 1/2-3/4 turns gets you some good forward darting action. The bait is a slow sinker - at least 2 seconds per foot, perhaps even a bit slower. I was doing long casts, counting down to 15 or so, then using a very slow retrieve, and the bait was back up to 1-2 foot depth when I got it back to the bank. Now, the only line I am spooled up with right now that I felt comfortable throwing 7/8 oz was some 30lb braid, so that would have kept the bait shallower than, say, flouro. I made about 20 casts on a 7' MH casting rod, the bait throws well and casts long. I was having fun swimming the bait and thought about actually walking the bank and fishing it but was having to "de-ice" the rod guides every couple of casts and my fingers were freezing so I called it a day. All in all - I think it's a great value at $6.99. I wish I would have bought a few more at that price. And I wish they would offer a 'gill bait at that price ...

I added one to my last Cabela's order and got it two days ago. Looks pretty good but I have not fished it yet to see the action in the water. BTW - the weight is 7/8 oz.

I have 15 BPS rods - of those, 4 are Bionic Blades and 5 are Extremes. I think all are good tools at their price points BUT, they become much better values when on sale. At their regular retail prices, there are other, equally good or better values. However, they're hard to beat when they are on sale. I bought 4 of my Extremes when they were on clearance in December - $100 regular price - marked down to $57 Pretty hard to find a better rod for $57 IMO. In fact, I've bought every one of my BPS rods on sale... They all fish well, with the understanding that they're not $150-200 class rods. My two biggest fish last year were both caught on Bionic Blades - the bass in my avatar was caught on a 6'-6" MF casting rod, and I caught a 20lb channel cat on a 5'-6" L spinning rod (and the rod didn't even snap in half as some would say about BPS rods ;D) Another small point - the Bionic Blade and higher rods have a great hook keeper design!

I've been studying up, reading reviews, and am getting ready to order a $200 price range unit myself. My choice looks like it's going to be the Humminbird 570 - big screen, dual beam (20/60deg), and highest vertical resolution in it's class. Not a lot of reviews available on the 570 unit, but it's a follow-on to the Humminbird 565 and the 565 seemed to have good reviews and some recommendations by folks on this board.

I never felt the need to buy red hooks, especially at a premium price; but I have to admit that I've bought some red weighted swim-bait hooks recently since they were on clearance price at about 1/3 of the original price... :

The patience to fish plastics. That's what I have to work on this year.

Checked the fishing clearance section at my WalMart today. Saw a Bomber Model A that I liked - $4.56 marked down to $3.50 - not a big discount. Got to the register and it rang up at $1.50 - score! Next time you're in your WalMart, you might want to see what's left in clearance...

That 'gill swimbait looks pretty good. No Academy near me unfortunately...

I've seen people kiss their bass after they catch them...never saw someone manage the feat without catching them ;D Tooooo coooool !

Not too bad, but like others, the bait monkey has had some fun and I got my new canoe in last week and will start rigging that. My lakes have iced over and thawed out twice since New Years - in-between, I've gone out fishing even though I know the success rate would be near zero. In fact, I haven't caught a fish since mid-November but I've been out fishing at least a couple times a week since then. I guess my cure for cabin fever is to go fishing ! (I do hate it when you have to clear the ice from your guides every other cast though ;D).

I'm a "value" kinda guy and always try to find the least expensive solution but I have to give a second vote to upping the ante to the $150-$160 range. If it was me, I'd wait until February 26 and see what you can find at the BPS Spring Classic sale. The BPS Carbonlite rod may very well be marked back down to the $70-$80 range for the 6.5' and 7' lengths. Perhaps other brands will be on sale like the Vendetta and the other rods in the same class. The usual recommendation for an all-purpose rod is a 6.5 or 7ft medium or medium-heavy power. Go medium if you fish mostly open water and/or lighter baits, go medium-heavy if you fish more around heavier cover and/or use heavier baits. For a reel - I'm biased since I own 4 of them - the BPS Pro Qualifier. Many of us are hoping for it to be marked down from $100 to $80 for the sale. The PQ is offered in 4 ratios but the 6.4:1 (26ipt) is a good general purpose ratio. The PQ reel has a dual-braking system (both centrifugal and magnetic brakes), offering better cast management than single-brake system reels. The dual-brakes minimize backlashes and reduce the learning curve. There have been MANY threads on the Carbonlite rod and PQ reel if you want to hear other folks opinions... Good luck !

The bass in my avatar was 7-12, caught last October. If it made it through the winter, perhaps it will be just over 8 come the spring/summer and I can catch it again. So - the goal is 8 lbs.

I still have most of my gear from the early '60s but don't have a Weedless Witch. I just did a web search - does the bait you're talking about look like a rigged-Creme worm except with no prop? If so, it's still available it seems by DeLong...

Yep - it's pretty big. I have 4 different size fanny packs and this is the biggest one. My wife keeps finding these things in the thrift store for a buck each ;D

I started off carrying just one of the little Plano 3449 (6.5x4") 5-compartment boxes in my back pocket. Then, I kept thinking of additional gear to carry. Where I'm at right now is the fanny pack in the photo. Two Plano 3500s (9x5"), one of the 3449 boxes, digital camera, stringer, electronic scale, tape measure, flashlight, etc. A couple bags of soft plastics will fit in the outside pocket of the pack. Somewhere in-between is where I should probably be for bank-walking!

Starts February 26.

Still got a 1/8 oz model. Last time I fished this was probably 45 years ago...

There is a sail kit for the Radisson but I don't expect to get it. Also, no white water with this one, the aluminum is toooo thin! BUT, it's gonna do what I need it to do - get me around the 11 open water lakes that I fish - 4 acres to 200 acres. After looking at all the alternatives, not only for efficacy on the water, but for launching, transport, and storage at home, the canoe was the best compromise.

Another vote for the BPS Pro Qualifier - I have 4, with more planned. As mentioned by K_Mac, the dual braking feature offers superior cast management than single braking system reels, thus minimizing backlashes and shortening the learning curve. PQs are regularly priced at $99 - many of us are hoping that they will be marked-down to $80 during the BPS Spring Classic sale that starts in about 3 weeks (Feb. 26).

The sale on the Carbonlite rods is over. On thge BPS web site, for about a 24 hour period (probably due to a pricing error), ALL models of the Carbonlite rod were marked down to $69 - that was a $50 markdown on the most expensive models. After that error was discovered, the prices were adjusted to be just $20 off the regular price. Perhaps they will go back on sale during the Spring Classic...

Not that I'm an oldtimer, but sure - I saw them alot in the 60s. Sometimes the rings would slip and you'd put tape around them if necessary. I only have one rod left with the rings...