Goose52

Thanks again to all. Hit another lake this morning but nothing over 13".................the Lake Gods figure I got my share yesterday I guess! I know where she lives...

Dang - I guess NRX rods really can catch fish while in the boat ........................................... Nice fish Hootie !

WOW - great fish - CONGRATS ! And what a nice score for your first boat fish...

Thanks guys - a nice day for me. This is what makes catching 10" dinks day after day worthwhile........eventually you get on the quality fish... Thanks A-Jay! Yeah - that 10lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra-Soft is working fairly well. Perhaps not the best line, but it works well enough. Good thing, since I have a THREE YEAR supply still left.... It's called a "Hawg Trough" (Google it). I bought it after catching this fish the first time. Back on June 29, the bump board I had in the boat only measured to 21 inches and the fish kept sliding off. This Hawg Trough works very well at cradling the fish and it measures to 30 inches. Yeah - that medium-moderate rod is almost too soft but I fish mostly open water so it works well......................except when you're trying to horse the fish out from the wrong side of the boat... V - hmmmm, I think I will call her Victoria... Indeed - she actually looked like a fat pre-spawn fish.

So, I'm in the boat today, cranking a Wiggle Wart parallel to a contour line on the bottom, where the depth drops from about 6 fow to 8 fow. I make another cast, crank down to depth, and start the retrieve. The rod mushes up like I've plowed into a bunch of grass, then the "grass" is moving sideways, then the "grass" starts a run and is peeling drag. I see the line coming up, and THEN, out of the water in a great tailwalk is a big honkin' largemouth bass! Mouth open, gills flared, head shaking, then back in the water. She makes another jump, then I finally get her close to the boat. THEN, she takes off again and makes a run under the boat to the opposite side. I stick the rod straight down into the water and watch the rod bend under the boat. I'm thinking real quick - am I anchored? No. Good - she can't wrap around the anchor line. All I have to do is keep her away from the trolling motor. Get her back to the left/port side of the boat - rod still sticking almost straight down. Get the net ready, and carefully bring the rod tip up and guide the (tired) fish into the net and into the boat. 24 inches / 7.65 pounds. A little Wiggle Wart for brunch? Her nickname must be "Chunk"... Time to say goodbye - see you again soon (I hope)... Tackle was a St. Croix Legend Extreme 7'2" Medium-Moderate rod, Calais 100A, 10lb YZ-US line. That rod is a true moderate action rod, almost a noodle rod. This was a FUN fish to catch on that rod... NOW, looking at the features on the left gill plate, and comparing to some other photos, I believe this is the SAME bass that I caught on June 29th. This catch was within 100 yards of the June 29 catch. She weighed 7.41 pounds back then. Yeah baby - catch-and-release in action!! The story of the first catch is here: Went For A Boatride - Powered By A Grub Eatin' 7.4 LMB

YEAH BABY! Congrats on the PB and I hope a bigger one is in your future... I haven't ordered my 6th Sense squarebill yet, but it's on my shopping list

Check out: http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/bci-battery-group-sizes.html

If you want to spend the bucks, you could re-arm as often as you like...but the manufacturer's recommendation is every three years. There is no practical way to "check out" the pressure in the cartridge or the condition of the bobbin other than the red/green color indicator on the inflator unit which you should look at each time you don the PFD. At the beginning of each season, it's also recomemended that you unpack the vest, manually inflate, and check that the unit will hold air. Edit - see Glen's linked video below - there IS a way to check out the bobbin. Guess I need to re-read my instruction manual !

Every three years: Auto-Inflate Pfd - Periodic Re-Arming Fired off the PFD to see it work: Installed the new kit:

Don't know how much range you would have using it as your primary battery, but check out Group U1 deep cycles - they're made for motorized wheel chairs. It might be OK if you're using a 30lb thrust TM, take short trips, and keep your paddle handy I have one lake that I fish where I get a bit of "range anxiety" and I was thinking of getting one of these as a backup/get home battery if my regular Group 24 died...

Hey Hootie - just a data point. I was fishing an NRX today (from the bank) and got caught in the front end of a thunderstorm. The NRX didn't melt - imagine that...

A 1000 sounds pretty good for what I expect you will be using the rod for...

This is the PQ 5-Year Challenge test reel on a St. Croix Premier rod - just another day in the office. BUT, for some reason, I haven't been able to convince myself that I NEED to fish NRX and Antares, Calais, Conquest, et al under these conditions...

Yep - that's where I got my 682.

I've got a bunch of expensive rigs now - I don't take them in the boat too often (afraid they'll end up at the bottom of the lake), I often leave them home if it's raining or in really cold weather, and I keep a death grip on them when fishing from the bank. Many of them get to live in the "Princess Rack" in my den, instead of the garage. So, I guess I'm apprehensive somewhat. OTOH, on good days, I take them out, use them quite a bit, lay them down on the bank while I weigh/measure fish, take care of them but not baby them, generally get the use out of them. Then, occasionally, they get to take a boat ride. After some time passes, they'll all end up in the boat I expect. I've already got two GLX rods that I only use in the boat, and a Calais 100A/St. Croix Extreme combo that is becoming a boat regular. I guess since I have so much gear now, I can be selective about when I use the expensive stuff. When it's pouring down rain, snowing, sleeting, etc., I've got cheaper tackle to use on those occasions...

If you want to go Phenix, sure, the 683 would be the more versatile rod. Don't have a 683, but here's the other players. They have a lot of overlap in capability...but each is a bit different, with the 682 being the real niche player.

I have the Phenix Recon 682 and the 6'9" ML Avid. Which to choose would be based on how light of bait you want to toss. The 682 is quite a bit lighter in power. I have a Daiwa PX Type R with 6lb line on the 682 and use it primarily for weightless 5inch grubs and other small weightless soft plastics. The Avid has a Conquest 50 with (usually) 8lb line and I use that for small weighted worms and craws, plus small lipless cranks and other light hardbaits. The Avid is the more verstile rod and might suit your needs better. The 682 IMO is more of a specialized tool. BTW - Which Aldebaran did you get - the Mg or the BFS ? If you got the BFS, perhaps the 682 is a better match. I don't have a file photo of the Avid, but here's a shot of the 682 with a 4.7 LMB - a very fun fish on that light-power rod.

Some good info on this earlier thread: Is Backing/tape Necessary With Braid If You Have A Wiffle Spool I wouldn't tie to the spool - I'd tape the line to the spool. Lots of reasons given in the earlier thread. Generally, you won't ever get down to tape while bass fishing...but depending on where you fish, you might end up hooking up with something much bigger than a bass. You don't want to be spooled by a big fish and then be tied directly to the spool with something like 50lb braid. I never gave this much thought since I only bass fish until I went through a spell of hooking up with 40-50-pound class grass carp and one time watched one of those guys take about 90 yards of line off the reel...

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: VERY cool !

Yikes! I hope the replacement gets to you soon. I have ordered more than 40 rods so far and haven't had a problem..............but I guess someday my time will come...

Thanks. NOW - I have to work on getting that Morrum...................................

OUTSTANDING brown fish ! That's some nice fishing for sure!

It's hard to get an idea of size from this image...but here are the players mentioned so far (except the Abu Morrum 3600!). Left to right: Ambassadeur 5000, Calais 200DC, 2012 Antares, 2014 Conquest 100, last-gen Conquest 100, Calcutta CTE-100GT, Calcutta CTE-200GT. Using the Ambassadeur 5000 as the reference point: The CTE-200GT is nearly as big in diameter but "palms" quite a bit smaller due to the recessed reel foot found on the Calcutta/Conquest reels. The CTE-100GT and older-gen Conquest 100 are next smaller in size. The 2014 Conquest 100 palms very small compared to an Ambassadeur, and is smaller than the old Conquest 100 and CTE-100GT. If you went with a 2014 Conquest, you would probably want the 200 (both for size and line capacity). The Calais 200DC and 2012 Antares are approximately the same size, and are considered to be "large" (and heavy) by todays low-profile standards. They palm much smaller than an Abu 5000. I don't have a Curado 300E so I can't compare them to that reel...but I have a feeling they are smaller than the CU300. There are other reels that might be candidates for you as well - larger low-profile reels, and round reels, intended for larger freshwater and inshore saltwater species. Good luck in your decision!

That Abu Morrum 3600 is on my "someday" list! John mentioned the current model Antares and to that you could add the Calais 200DC. Another round reel to consider would be the Conquest 200. DVT mentioned the Calcutta TE 100/200 size reels - another fine choice but they are out-of-production so you'd have to buy used. All of these reels have LOTS of bells and whistles. Of the five mentioned, the (2012) Antares and 2014 Conquest have the latest and greatest features from Shimano. Now that we've given all these spendy recommendations...did you have a price range in mind?

Sorry - I'm late to this party... Sounds like a great time! Now we know why you put up with the winters up there...beautiful fish and beautiful fisheries !