northern basser

As long as you have all of the plugs out and no standing or trapped water you should be alright. The bilge and livewell pumps don't hold water so theres no danger there. Even if some moisture(rain or snow) gets in the boat over the winter you'll be alright as long as it has somewhere to drain or expand. W/ the plugs out of the boat and livewell you should be alright. Obviously it would be best to have a good cover on the boat or have it tucked away in dry storage. Hope this helps.

I know where you are coming from because I experienced the exact same thing. I've become used to the shimano centrifugal braking. Having used a citica e, curado e, chr. 50mg and a core 50mg7 this year. Then I wanted to try something new and bought a revo sx(magnetic brakes). Wow, backlash city!!! Like earlier stated, I was trying to chuck it too hard at 1st and had to ease up w/ a more fluid cast. I did really like the reel, but chose to bring it back because I came to the conclusion that I liked centrifugal braking better. Still wanting to broaden my horizons I bought a patriarch xt. This reel has the exact same dual braking as the stx and premier(2010 versions). Very happy w/ this. Like the shimano's I put the centri. 2 brakes on and adj. the mag. accordingly( usually 0 or on a little bit). So for ME personally, The centri. braking works better. If you can't get used to mag. brakes I'd get something w/ out them. Whether it has to do w/ skill or not its a preference thing.

My dad lives in northern MN and I try to visit him as often as possible(the fishing up north is tremendous)!!! Even when he knows I'm coming his TM battery is rarely at full charge. We don't fish elec. only waters, but its still sucks trying to bass fish w/out a TM. He's on this site every now and then. Hope he doesn't read this or I'll catch h#*@!!

Also, its not a bad idea to put a little sea foam or stabil in on every fill up. Then when its time to store put the recommended amount in the tank and run the motor for a few minutes so the mixture has time to fully get into the carbs or injectors. I've also done a lot of late season duck hunting here in MN where we've drove boats through ice that causes the boat to ramp on to the ice at times. The temp. being below freezing. While we are hunting we'd make sure the lower unit stayed in the water so it wouldn't freeze. Then when you leave the lake the motor drains out as long as you don't have it tilted up.

Sadly, the Mexican drug cartel has gained a lot of power over the years. The Mexican government needs to wage war on these people or let someone else do it. Kind of like the way Columbia did against Escobar and his predecessor's. Like in the U.S. the war will never be completely won, but it can be tamed down a certain amount. At least down from thousands and thousands of murders per year that are linked to the Mexican cartel.

The citica e is a great reel. Besides being a little slower than the cur. e7 they are not much different. Frame is the same, color is different. The curado spool is a little lighter. When you open the side plate were the centrifugal brakes are, the citica has plastic parts there and the curados are metal (aluminum or whatever). As far as casting, they are equal untill you start going below 3/8 or a 1/4oz. I used my citica e all day today and have no complaints. I sold my curado a few weeks ago due to lack of $. I will definitely get another e7 soon or next spring. I also picked up a couple of cabelas xml rods when they were on sale for $69.99. Very happy w/ them. Noticably more sensitive than my Kistler mag. ts. Now they have they're xml ti's on sale for $99.99 ( retail is $189.99) IMO I would find a used citica e, then look at the posibility of a good used rod or the xml ti. If your carefull theres nothing wrong w/ buying used IMO.

I fish w/ my cousin often who has a 60hp E tec. its seems like a good motor to me (I don't get to drive ;D) He really likes the E tec though. In general I believe the 2 stroke will go faster in the top end and prob. get to the top end quicker. On the other hand, The 4 stroke will be much quieter, smoother and can be putted around(like already said) w/out worry. I used to own a new 90hp yamaha 4 str. a couple years ago and have rode in many boats w/ honda 4's in them. Either motor is going to be very nice, but I would personally go w/ a 4 stroke. Motor sports companies have come a long way in the development of the 4 stroke. As far as this gas we have these days, it stinks. I've been told and have also came to my own conclusion that marine stabil or seafoam should be in your tank always. I used to race 4-wheeler motocross and work on quads. If you let this new gas sit for any amount of time it will lose its octane rating and also gum up your carbs or injecters.

Personally, I've never been "wore out". My problem is keeping focused on reeling slower when its needed. That being said I would still take a faster reel over a slower one. The last 5 to 1 reel I owned drove me nuts because it seemed so slow to me. Its all about personal preference!

Me also. However, I use braid too. I have a 1,000 yrd. spool of 12# that I got for cheap. I know diameter is prob. a better way to size line, but that stuff has a crazy break strength.

That makes for a positive feeling going out the door instead of a guilty one! Not that anyone should feel guilty for buying fishing equipment, unless your me and have my wife. ;D ;D Enjoy your rod!!

I use copoly and braid. For jigs, worms and other soft plastics I like braid because of the "no stretch" and its strength. Its a more positive hook set. These same lures are used around heavy cover often also. With copoly I can make longer casts and it is more forgiving when fishing cranks, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits. IMO its easy rip the bait out of the fishes mouth w/ braid unless you are really used to it. I'm trigger happy and tend to react too quickly to strikes sometimes.

IMO, 6 something to 1. 5 is too slow for me. It's easier to slow down than speed up. For instance, recently here in MN my fishing partner and I have been fishing different sorts of cranks. Typically this is the time of year to slow down here. However, for some reason the fish have been wanting them burned. Reeling a 7 to 1 reel fast and a 6.2 to 1 super fast. Fast enough were a 5 som. to 1 reel wouldn't cut.

Not sure if its in your price range, but the old shimano chronarch 50mg works awesome for pitching.

Personally, I can cast mono, flouro, etc... lines farther than I can braid. I've read others say differently, but that is my experience. Also, smaller mono (10-12#) will cast farther than larger will. It just depends on how light your willing to go.

Another vote for the shimano symetre. I have 2 of them and really like them. They retail for $99, but can be found for less on ebay.

I've never used a revo premier or even handled one, but someone tried pointing out to me that it is almost the exact same thing as the xt. I know that they are made by the same company. The amount of drag is the same. Same dual braking set up. Weight is similar. Handle is different. I think the prem. has a larger cap. spool. Anyone else notice this?

Colors might not match, but this is a awesome rod! http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-Kistler-Helium-II-LTX-He2MH69S-Spinning-Rod-NEW-/110583925352?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bf50ca68 There are different heliums on that site also

Not sure how much gear you normally bring, but this is what I usually do. Depending on how limited the space is min. 2 rods, max. 4-5. Then 1 lrg tackle box and a small soft carrier. If I know that space is going to be very limited I stick to 2 rods and a tackle box/bag.

I would go w/ 40# braid at the lightest. Some people get away w/ 30, but the small line diameter can cause it to dig into the spool when under load. I started w/ 30# when I was new to braid and quickly changed to 50#. I'm using power pro so I'm not sure what the diameters of other braids are off the top of my head. Unless your in really clear water, a leader is not nec. IMO. p.s. your going to love that reel!

Thanks for the replies. I do realize it is kind of a broad question, but mostly I was wondering if using some of my stock of shimano oil was ok or if I could do better. 5 or 6 months is about the extent of our season up here then its ice fishing. I usually clean and grease my reels before the season starts and once during.

Wondering what everyone thinks about oil for BC reel. Whats the best?

I'm jealous. In MN a guys lucky to get 1 or more 6lb+ fish in a season.

IMO getting the lure back to the boat fast (when out of strike zone) and getting off another cast is HUGE. The next thing was already mentioned also, fish running at the boat. Personally the "power" difference in a slower reel is something I really don't notice. I do notice lack of speed though. It can be hard sometimes to be disciplined when doing a slower presentation. That being said, I don't mind having the 6 something to 1 reels either( I have a citica e, patriarch xt, and chr. 50mg). I wouldn't own any thing any slower. At the moment I have a couple of empty rods that will be filled w/ more e7's.

No problem. I wasn't trying to be a mr. know-it-all. We should have adopted the metric system a long time ago like the rest of the universe. It does actually work better all around, but would be hard to adjust to. Been using lbs., yrds, miles, oz. ect.... way too long!