RichF

That would be my choice. I use 40 for a lot of things.

That's quite the "starter" outfit. It will undoubtedly work perfect for both frogging and flipping.

Unless I have a major malfuntion and need to replace some line, it may not get used this summer. I can tell you that it looks and feels great in hand. Very deep dark green which I like. Diameter is about equivalent to 12lb Trilene 100% fluoro. It's also very smooth without feeling like it's heavily coated with whatever some braids are coated with. I'll be sure to share my thoughts if I get some time on the water with it.

Christmas in July part 3 and hopefully the last for awhile... Btw, those Shock Blade pros are pretty sweet! Start up is as fast as a Jackhammer.

Are there pike or pickeral where you're fishing? I fish frogs a ton and do quite well. I rarely miss bass. Pike and pickeral on the other hand...They usually strike pretty violently but rarely actually eat the bait. A lot of anglers think they're always getting bass blowups when they're actually getting the gators. That could be part of it.

I'm a big fan of 8's for pitching a jig. I fish fast and cover a lot of water. The 8's help get my bait back to the boat faster so I can hit more targets. I also like them for open water frogging for the same reason.

Tried the SE Sport 400 this evening and it's a MAJOR improvement. Thanks for the replies BR dudes!

I came close to getting this rod. Don't see too many heavy sticks under 7'. I didn't realize it was labeled as a dock skipper but that's exactly what I wanted it for. I'm sure it would work great for general jig fishing and a little frog action too.

I definitely want to try a 4 blade prop at some point. Didn't want to throw down $600 - $700 right now though. Hoping the foil helps her out a bit until I win some more $$ at the next couple tournies I fish;)

It was always a touch slow imo but it has definitely gotten worse over the last 2-3 yrs. It's not that big of a deal since we're still among the slow crowd in our tourney trails (most guys are running 200hp+). I just getva little impatient. The new foil is on. Gonna test it tonight before a tourney tomorrow. Surprisingly, it doesn't look horrible haha.

I drop shot them. They seem to work better than other worms texas rigged on a straight shank finesse hook. Problem is their durability is nonexistent. Had to stock up when they're almost half off.

Christmas in July part 2...The MidwayUSA sale got me good.

I think one of the responses said the Z-7 is 19'6" but it's not. It's 18'6. I got a 150 4-stroke merc on it with a 22 or 23 pitch stainless steel prop. The prop does have a couple small dings but nothing I think would rob performance that much. We do have one power pole blade on the back which I'm sure doesn't help. I ended up getting the SE Sport 400 (didn't want to drill into the motor just in case it doesn't fix the problem). Eventually, I'd like to see how a 4 blade prop does.

I don't think he's saying that the hydrofoil will help prevent him from hitting rocks. He's saying that he uses one because his home water has a lot of shoals and he'd rather replace an aluminum prop than a stainless steel one, which makes sense.

Christmas in July part 1. Also got an SE 400 hydrofoil and new cover for my dad's boat.

I've owned several Quantums back in the day. The sweet blue and crazy colored Tour and Energy pts, then the next gen Energies, and a 1st gen Smoke. I've also had several high end Quantum rods (tours and superlites). Most of that stuff was fine. Had a few problems with a couple reels but nothing major. Ended up getting rid of all of them and switching to Daiwa and Shimano. The last reel I bought, however, was the Tour S3. I just got it this spring so I haven't beat it to death but I gotta say, it's pretty sweet. Super easy to tune, solid feel, great ergonomics, awesome handle, smooth, and casts so easy. I wouldn't hesitate to get more.

Northern NY is where it's at. I grew up near the St. Lawrence and Eastern Basin of Ontario. I'm like you..I'd rather fish for the green ones with a flippin stick and 50lb braid. All the NY suggestions are great but if you're going to want to fish on the same lake for 8 days, go to Champlain. You can spend a couple days down at Ticonderoga power fishing tons of grass then head up north and fish the Carry Bay area all the way up to Mississquoi. Champlain kinda has it all. You can catch them pretty much anyway you want to. The Finger Lakes are great too but they're fairly one dimensional. They all have the same layout. In August, you're going to be cranking deep grass lines, flipping deep grass, or drop shotting deep grass. There are always some on the docks but the owners are pretty notorious for being unfriendly. If you wanna get real crazy, go try some of the Adirondack lakes like Cranberry, Tupper, or Saranac. Those are COMPLETELY different from all the other mentioned bodies of water. The fishing isn't easy but those are some of the most beautiful lakes in the country. Just be careful because they're full of structure that can mess you rig up. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm going to give it a shot.

Anybody have any experience with these? My dad's Z-7 has been struggling to get on plane and I'm wondering if one of these ugly suckers would help.

Just dropped another hundo last night haha.

The Air has me intrigued...I'm back at it again...

Well...after adding $400 worth of crap to my cart, then spending the last hour cutting it down to the "essentials," my wallet took a minor $165 hit. Some incredible deals on there!

Who's excited for the one battery to rule them all?? $3000........I gotta get a new hobby. Seriously though, we spend way too much money to catch bass.

Where abouts in NY? I'm actually up there now and man, the fishing is night and day different. I've gone out 3 times and none were what I consider really good days for home. About 60 bass but only 2 over 4 (one 5). Why did I ever leave!?

They make it tough don't they? Mine just broke the TX state record, haha. Just gotta keep reminding yourself..."it's only temporary." Congrats!