TBendBassin

haha this is the truest statement you're going to find on this thread... I really don't believe the whole "rough water" boat thing... Why you ask? I live on Toledo Bend! At 70 miles long and 190,000 surface acres its an absolute monster.. and when you have to run boat lanes you are at the mercy of the lake! you can't choose the best angles to run the waves and when i say waves i mean WAVES. With just a 10-12mph north wind here EVERY brand of bass boat is taking them over the front. Now there are boats that will ride smoother in "chop" but if you are talking BIG rough water then they are all the same except for one thing.... How they land after coming out of the water. I've owned three different brand name boats and between that and all my buddies i've been in every brand several times. I did run rangers for a long time and yes they very nice boats and fish great but they land very hard as did my skeeter. Have you ever heard of the "skeeter slap"? Listen to a skeeter next time its going by you. its that modified V that most bass boats run meaning the the back half of the boat called the pad is basically flat which to me doesn't cut the waves as good and hits harder. I saw where you mentioned "ranger, ranger, ranger" well rangers are great boats like i said before i ran them for awhile but the real reason i ran them was not because i thought they were the best riding boat on the market... It was really because if you fish tournaments especially any FLW events it really pays to have one They have a great contingency and reward program! They also have the best resale value of any boat. In 2013 i made the switch to Phoenix boats and I am extremely pleased with it. Im not going to sit here and try and sell you on Phoenix boats but they do land very softly in the water! But really everything you hear take it with a grain of salt thats why im not going to sit here and talk up phoenix because the best opinion is YOUR own. So Don't listen to me or anyone else go out there and test them all

Kistler klx jig rod. It comes in 7ft, 7'3, and 7'6. Split grip or full handle. Only draw back is they don't sell them on TW. Give them a look they are built using Gary Loomis's North Fork Composite blanks which IMO are the best blanks on the market. Or if price isn't an issue get the kistler Z Bone they come in the same lengths but use the high modulus North Fork Composites blanks.

Ha I'm ordering my new boat now and I think I'm just gonna get 3 on this one lol

Lol yes I know seems a bit much but I really like having my chart/GPS on one screen and my sonar/side/down imaging on another

Everyone knows that shimano owns "G. Loomis" and about the lawsuits and falling out between Gary Loomis and shimano. If you don't just google it there are plenty of articles about it. Anyways i just wanted to point out something that I found to be pretty awesome. On the bottom of Gary's new Edge rods it shows the "G. Loomis" fish logo wrapped up in a spider web!! Hahahaha way to go Gary!!

There is two types of rain gear, Simms and then everything else. The honest truth is if you want the very best rain gear hands down its Simms. The problem is you're gonna have to drop over 1k for the bibs and jacket. Before I bought my Simms gear I used the bps 100mph gear which was great and worked great for the most part. But no way could you wear it in a summer rain at least not down hear In Texas. The only problems I had with bps suit was the the top layer of rubber on the cuff strap separated from the Velcro and in really really really monsoon like conditions it would start to absorb water it wouldn't leak through but you could start to feel the jacket getting heavy. But like I said those were EXTREME conditions and not your average rain storm. So if you want the absolute best and price isn't an issue then get Simms, below that I was really pleased with my BPS 100mph gear and if Simms went out of business tomorrow I wouldn't hesitate going back to the 100mph gear.

I have to agree with Catt pre spawn vs fall!! In east Texas it's hard to beat December January and February

I see T Bend as one of your favorite lakes.. You'll have to come take a ride in my Phoenix 920. I've ran rangers since '94 and this year I was ready for s change. After riding in all of them I narrowed it down to Phoenix, legend, and basscat. In the end Phoenix stole my heart lol the legend and the basscat were just to narrow for me

I agree that the sho has a little better holeshot but as far as top end I gotta give it to the Pro XS. My best friend runs a skeeter FX20/SHO 250 and I run a phoenix 920/Pro XS 250 and while he has a little better holeshot he can't catch me on the top end.

Cats are sweet! When I narrowed it down to the two I wanted it was between basscat and Phoenix. It took me months to decide!!! I went back and forth driving them both and probably logged over a million hours on the Internet researching them lol I eventually fell for the Phoenix

Sorry I cannot agree with that... Let me apologize if my last post came off as "forums don't help people" because that is not what I meant. Forums like this one help people out so much it's unreal!!! What I simply meant was they cannot teach the intricate details in bass behavior. The ONLY way that is learned is time on the water. I really push this because I know first hand how important it is. Since I was a kid I've wanted one thing and that was to make a living in the fishing industry. Now before you start thinking "here we go, another kid who thinks he is the next KVD" I am not a kid and I take this very seriously. I have made so many sacrifices in my life to stay focused on my goals that most people question my sanity. With that being said I fished every weekend in high school and when I went to college I had a Monday thru Thursday job so I could still fish every weekend. That is a lot of fishing growing up! But it wasn't until after college and moving to the lake to start guiding that I realized how big of a difference time on the water makes. Up until then I had pretty much fished every weekend and had pretty good knowledge. But when I started doing it 6-7 days a week... Wow!!! Time on the water gives you a sharper instinct and very keen decisions making skills. With that you will be able to adapt quicker, find the most productive patterns, and make better decisions. Those are just some of the things time on the water will teach you that reading books cannot.

There are absolutely no rules in bass fishing, just guidelines. Don't ever forget that!! When you limit yourself to those so called "rules" you will never progress into a better angler. There is one rule though that is absolutely 100% true... And that is time on the water is the only way to become a better angler.. I know I sound like a broken record when saying that but it's the truth. forums like this one are absolutely great for people to get ideas and get started on learning different techniques and such but there is a HUGE difference in reading about it and actually doing it and figuring out all the details involved. One of the biggest mistakes I see alot of novice anglers make is reading all they can about techniques and seasonal patterns and then try and force that information when they are on the water. That's just not how it works! The more time you spend on the water the more you will start to understand bass behavior and the little signs and details that will get you dialed in on the fish. Ok I guess I got a little of topic there lol but

Owner

Sweet ride dude!! Welcome to the phamily!!! I switched from ranger to phoenix this past year and got a 2013 phoenix 920 Pro XP and words can't explain how impressed I am with it!!!

Fishing has been great the last two weeks!! I've been smashing them!! Depending on conditions usually the new/full moon in September really starts to kick things off. The feeding activity has really began to pick up.