Goose52

My boat came with webbing seats. The folding seat is from Cabela's - it has straps and adjustable buckles to secure it to the webbing seat (see photo). Sounds like your boat came without seats. Canoes with the name "Sportspal" are made by two different companies - one in the US, the other in Canada. If you know which brand of Sportspal that you have, you might want to contact the manufacturer to see about ordering at least one seat & related parts for your boat.

I have a couple JDM equivalents (50XT) and use them mostly for chatterbaits. They're also handy when cranking in REALLY cold water - sorta MAKES you slow down the presentation...

Spro Little John Bomber Fat Free Shad BD8F ...and the "sleeper baits" for that depth range, and my "go tos" - the Luhr Jensen Hot Lips Express in 1/2oz and 3/4oz:

WTG Dwight ! A big win for an experienced, keen eye....

Sure - lots of ways to make outriggers. I guess you could even get under $30 with a piece of 2x4 and a couple netting bags full of empty 2-liter plastic bottles... The Spring Creek rig IS expensive but it's a good system. The floats are quickly adjustable in the vertical plane and I run them so that neither float touches the water when the boat is trimmed. The aluminum universal receiver (cross bar/bracket) of the Spring Creek system clamps quickly to the boat and then provides "one-stop shopping" for: the outriggers trolling motor mount anchor system mounting point rod rack Quality, convenience, and speed of rigging/de-rigging were what I was looking for. Minimal cost was not a criterion for selecting the components of the boat.

I got those weight ranges from the product description that Jun had on his Japan Tackle page, and verified Jun's numbers by going to the Shimano Japan page for the Met DC

Nope - store-bought

I have LOTS of photos of emaciated fish as they are pretty common in my water, some of which look even skinnier than this fish....but this is one of the longest. I was fishing a 5" grub and was at the end of the retrieve right next to the boat when I saw this mouth open up, grab the grub, and dive for deep water. HOOK-SET. Zrrrrr, zrrrrr, zrrrrr goes the drag on the spinning reel. I'm pretty pumped as I thought I had just hooked a 7 1/2 pounder that I had caught twice before in that lake. The MOUTH certainly looked familiar... Got the fish back to the boat, in the net, and in the boat. I can tell it's a long fish but sorta felt a bit disappointed when I got it on the bump board. 24 inches (the same length as the 7 1/2 pounder I had caught)...but only 4.58 pounds. Normally, I'm jazzed any time I catch a 4-pounder...but this poor thing was just a mess - the photo tells the tale...

Yep - thicker aluminum on the Sportspal, but then that gives it about a 14 pound increase in hull weight compared to the Radisson (for a 12 foot length). That 14 pound delta might be important, or not, depending on how one uses and transports the boat. If the weight is not important, it's a better boat than my Radisson - not only for the thicker gauge aluminum, but also for hull construction compared to my boat with caulked seams on each side of the hull (light weight has a price). As far as the Sportspal in the video being "The BEST fishing canoe" ..... I guess that would be debatable. TM wires draped over the thwarts and seats, no rod racks/holders, stuff scattered everywhere in the boat, can't see an anchor system, etc. Not a very tidy craft overall... My humble fishing machine - called by others the "war canoe," "attack canoe," and most recently it was called a "bass assault craft," is not the best fishing canoe either...but it gets me on the water...

1) Lightweight 2) Stable 3) Affordable. That could be a tough search to find something that meets all three criteria. Ten-foot canoes aren't that common...and even when found may not have the stability you're looking for. Cheaper canoes tend to be heavier. Very lightweight canoes that are stable tend to be longer in length and often made of expensive materials like kevlar. The Old Town solo Pack Canoe is listed by the manufacturer as weighing 33 pounds, with a length of 12 feet and a beam of 32 inches. This might be a candidate. My canoe is a Radisson - listed as 34 pounds, with a length of 11' 6" and a beam of 38 inches. This is a fairly stable boat but is made of VERY thin aluminum and is more of a still-water boat that would not be very happy around rocks and such. A hybrid might be a candidate - offering stability but will usually be 12 feet or longer, a bit heavy, and may be out of your price range. It will be an interesting search...

X5 !

Bass Tracker 16 Pro W/ 20 HP

Yeah, I noticed that...you get partial credit for the Stella but the Mets need some work...

All right - out of the box and looking good. Next steps: Add line, add rods, add fish slime... (and I know - you still have hard water so there's still time to execute the next steps )

Nice! Don't forget to put line on the reel and take the wrapping off the rod grip...

Nice box collection............................................were there any reels inside ?

The OP requested deletion of that thread but did not specify a reason...

Cabelas XML Travel can get you to 2 1/4oz - and, it's a 4-piece rod so it would pack very short.

Good report - thanks & enjoy the rod !

Regarding spinnerbaits, I posted this about 4 years ago - actual weights of some spinnerbaits that I had on had, with the weights rounded off to the nearest 1/8th.

Thanks! I'll check it out after I fish the reel a bit. Still have hard water here so it will be a while...

Congrats - a review of the rod is expected !

Looks like it's ready for Warp 9 !

Thanks! The photos come out well, I use a camera...not a smartphone.

Hopefully we'll get this last ice storm past us tonight and the rain tomorrow and tomorrow night will melt the remaining ice and snow. After that, the 10-day forecast looks pretty good ! I don't expect an ice-out on my lakes for a while though...