webertime

Talk to the boater, stress to them that you don't want to be a bummer for them. I do that because every guy is different. Some don't mind if you bring 10 rods and a ruck sack full of tackle, others aren't psyched if you bring a single rod and 3 senkos. In time you'll figure out what you need to bring and not bring. There's a guy in our club (AOY or 2nd each of the last 4 years) that uses 2 spinning rods both rigged with the same bait. He switches the weight on occasion and rarely the color, but that's all this guy brings and uses and he stomps us regularly. This is to say that you should bring what you know you can catch fish on and no more. You don't need all 12 colors of senkos that you have in your bag at home. I used to get all spazzed out looking at all I brought and just confused myself when it came time to change baits, wasting time and losing confidence (have confidence is the real deal!) Generally the non-boater gets one of the compartments in the back of the boat, I always plan on that compartment being the size of a Nitro Z6's (small). This way all my stuff isn't wedged in there and taking me a ton of time to get too and making a big mess on the boat. Likewise you will often be kneeling where the livewell hatch is and you'll not want to be in front/on that for too long if the guy wants to get in there. Again it's all about not being a neusense, if you're cool to them they will be cool with you and that makes the days much better. Keep thier boat clean, unhook bleeders over the side of the boat, don't let a pickrel in the boat (we're weird about that up here). Ask what they do about netting. Do they call out something and want you immediately? Do they never use a net? Only the big ones? Take care of thier fish first if you get doubles. MY Suggestions: (I live on Champlain big lake with lots of variety) "Big Rod" C-Rigs, flipping, frogs (766 Recon/CuradoE/50lb braid) "Common Rod" Swimbaits, spinnerbaits, footballs, some flipping, some flukes, rarely bigger cranks/jerks (715 Recon/CuradoE/16lb Fluoro) "Pixie Stick" Spinning rod for Fat Ika's/Drop Shot/Senkos/Shaky Heads/smaller cranks and jerkbaits (Lamiglas Excel 703/Pflueger Supreme XT/20lb braid) "Trebles" Jerkbaits/Cranks/Topwater (6' 6" M Daiwa Tierra/CiticaE/30lb braid w/leader) "Just in case" I use for spinnerbaits, swimbaits, spooks, buzzbaits, if I already have a bait I am using on the Recon or Tierra, I'll use this one for another I'd use them for (6'10" MHxf Compre/CiticaE/ 12lb Yo Zuri Hybrid). MAX 6 3600 sized boxes, occasionally a small worm wrap as well. Scale, Culling Clips, lunch. pliars, something for leaders (C-Rig/DS), glasses, rag. Offer to pay thier entry fee or gas (our club tourneys are $30 so they are cool with me paying for them and call it good.) I offer to share if I am on fire with a certain bait, but try not to be annoying/obnoxious about it.

Someone quick pick a fight and talk about Shimano and get this thread locked and deleted! Nobody need concern themselves with the Keitech.

I own a Diesel 765 and it's a fantastic flipping stick. I also just so happen to have a Diesel 6'10 Spinning rod sitting in front of me as part of some give away rods for my club's banquet. If my number is called I'm grabbing it! It's balances great with a 2500 sized Shimano and I can only assume that the sensitivity will be as good as my 765. All that being said the Mojo 6'8" mxf is a really special rod (any St. Croix 6'8"mxf is).

When Irene hit us last August there were 30-40 foot trees (root balls and everything) out floating in 300fow. My buddy flipped it anyway. Also saw 1000 gallon oil tanks floating, boats, more propane cylinders than you'd ever imagine. In your case (quarries) it's just going to be higher and probably muddier water for a bit, that's a fairly stable environment. Natural bodies or places with a lot of rivers feeding it will see a HUGE amount of sediment and should be aware of sandbars shifting or even popping up where they weren't before. Champlain now has 2 spots that used to me MAJOR boat traffic spots that are completely silted in and unusable. (Winooski River Delta and "The Sandbar"). Fishing on Champlain this year was by in large horrible up here with so much sediment dumped into the lake, many spots where there used to be huge weedbeds were scraggly and thin at best because the weeds were burried under so much silt/sand/clay. It'll come back, but be prepared for change. Good luck all!

I love it for both of those uses. You'll be using braid I would bet, and the slightly softer tip really prevents the hooks from tearing huge holes in the bass' mouth you sometimes get when you are using pool cue's. Plenty of power for flipping into or tossing frogs into gnarly stuff.

Yes 715. It's similar to a 706 Veritas or a Avid 7mhf, just a bit more parabolic tip than those two.

Preach It! (sick combo!!!)

The hook hanger is different and moved for Recon 2. (Happy dance) I took mine off and used one of the Fuji's with an O-ring. WAAAAY better.

My understanding of Recon 1 vs 2 is cosmetics and a different hook hanger. If 1's go on sale grab them! M1 vs Recon is like this (M1) Nicer resin, not as nice carbon/graphite vs. Recon "regular" resin and nice carbon/graphite. Recons have a more moderate action/more parabolic bend than M1's.

I have 2 and love them. I have the 715c and 766c. The 715c fishes small swimbaits (Keitechs) and jigs very well. The 766 is a GREAT frog rod as well as great for flipping and C-Rigs, I've even tossed 6" Hudd Swimbaits with it and it was fine for that as well. The 715 is my favorite rod (mount an E series Shimano and use 16lb sniper Fluoro and you can do nearly anything with this rod and it weighs just over 11oz!) The breakage thing with rods always gets me. (example) Read one review on TT then another on TW... Wow that's two saying it broke in the same spot! We'll it's the same guy writing two reviews. That's what people see when they read these reviews. I would buy another Recon in a heartbeat, especially with the Customer Service I've seen people get from them should an issue arise.

Thanks DVT!

I know both need to obviously be rated to throw the weight without failing. I am now seeing A-Rig rods marketed and wonder if you could to regular Swimbaits (6-8" hudds, BBZ's, Punkers) or is there a difference in the action, etc. that makes it "Possible" but not really ideal? I saw the Skeet Alabama Rig rods and got to thinking... Thanks all.

Rocky Champlain, less than 20 fow, Mojo 5/8oz Rockhoppers. More than 20fow or windy I go with 1oz Rockhoppers. I've lost one weight in 2 years with Rockhoppers.

Will you get a good workhorse reel? Yes. Lots of nitpicking about metal vs composite drag stars, 9000000000 bearings vs. 4 (which doesn't really matter for 99% of us). Are there very competitive reels from other manufacturers in that price range? Yes.

So I have spent a great deal of time fishing "Humps", "Reefs", "Points", "Ledges" and "Drops" up here. I like to think I have a pretty good handle on the where and when to fish these particular structures based on current/wind/temp/season. Over the last few days I have been pouring over charts/Navionics and finding a bunch of "holes" or "Anti Humps" all over the lake. I started as a Trout guy and know the fishing the leading and tail ends of pools in a river can be productive. These holes on the lake bottom look just like the pools in a river, minus 99% of the current. There are a lot that are 40-60 feet wide and drop 5-12 feet (at the deepest spot). Is it worth spending much time on these or have you found that they just don't hold enough fish/quality to be worth spending much time on? I don't recall ever seeing articles or shows on fishing this sort of cover, just curious if anyone actually does? Thanks all

Wait for a sale and get a Phenix Recon 715.

My understanding is that Spectrum WAS Blue Fin (out of Indiana) then Spectrum became Fisher. Know for well (over?) built boats. I am getting an 18.5' Blue Fin Walleye boat and it's could pass as a PT Boat!

Up on Champlain (often more Zebra Mussels than water), I use Orvis Mirage 0x leader material which is ~8-10lb diameter with 16.5lb rated strength. The stuff is really hard and wears very well. http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1Y28 I use it with 30-50lb braid main lines. From my understanding of "main line" and "leader" Fluorocarbon, main line has to be made softer (for managability and is not as abraision resistant) so leader material may buy you a few more fish/casts. Other oldtimers up here throw everything on 17-20lb mono (Siege/XT). They think enough material will be left after dragging over the Mussels that at least they'll get their lures back and that line is cheap. All that being said when we pull up to a spot with Zebras we bascially get ready to re-tie before the first cast.

Swimbaits

Use the 5500 for cranks and get a Crankin Stick from BPS. Revo S and 705/706 Veritas is a nice combo.

6'6" MH Abu Garcia Vendetta's are about $50 right now. 6'6" is nice on a kayak, my buddy has that rod and a Shimano Sonora 2500 and goes paddling all over NW Vermont and loves it. (his other combo is a medium 6'6" Shimano Sahara/Convergence).

I'd agree that it is easier to tilt the motor with a side mount, my previous canoe was set up that way.

Mine is some old glass boat not a coleman or pelican. Scanoe was a term I've heard a lot for this style. It is not too awkward to steer at all, at your size (I'm 6'5" 270 myself), extending the cables so you can put the battery in the bow is REALLY nice, otherwise you have an awfully out of balance boat (unless you like being spun around at the slightest gust of wind). The stabilizers will let you stand with no problems, I toss big hudds and flip pretty gnarly stuff with no issues. The boat you are looking at is a bit wider than mine and a bit heavier, so it will be a bit more stable.

I have a 14' scanoe (glass) with a 30 lb Minn kota and spring creek canoe stabilizers (allows me to stand) . I can do 5-6mph on the GPS with it. It's fantastic for small waters, preferably with light traffic.

I have the 715 (and 766) Recons The 715 is a nice rod, definitely on the lighter end of "Heavy" I throw 4.8" Keitech's on 3/8oz swimbait hooks, big spinnerbaits, some lighter flipping/footballs with it. I love the rod. It also uses the smaller than standard/bigger than micro guides. The hook hanger is terrible in position and in choice. Mine fell apart then the leftover stub would nick me up a bit being at the bottom of the handle/grip. I took it off and threw on one of those Fuji one's that use an O-Ring. NOW it's nearly perfect.