K_Mac

BTW I believe every man should have a hat or two that embarrasses his wife and children. Well done!

I'm going with B. It is impossible to tell from a photo, but while A appears to be a little longer, B appears to have more of a gut. I could be wrong. :

I've lost two decent spinning outfits. One river smallmouth fishing from a canoe. I lack the skills and coordination needed to do this. : The other was lost in the local perched cooling lake. In the excitement of landing a very nice hybrid striper, I unhooked the lure and set the rod aside. Actually over the side. It took the fun out of catching an 8# fish.

What Burley is saying in own way is that on the size reels most of us use for bass fishing, line heavier that 8 or 10# is too heavy to manage easily. You can go with a larger reel, e.g. a 4000 size Shimano with no problem, but the trade-off is more weight. Good luck.

I keep mine forever. I have not seen any degrading of performance of rods that I've had for 15+ years.

While I've been using baitcasters for a long time, I had something happen recently that was new to me. I will admit that a smarter, more observant man would have resolved the problem sooner, but I am what I am. : This is simply a cautionary tale. I haven't made my spring pilgrimage to BPS yet, so Thursday I spooled a few rigs with 14# XL I have had for a couple of years, that's been stored properly. I have an old Berkley Titanium Guide System rod and a BPS Extreme reel, that I use for C-rigs. It is not the lightest, most sensitive rig, but it works well. I took the rig out in the yard and made a few casts. I was getting a little overrun, but wrote it off to being a little rusty not having fished for a couple of months. I considered the line might be showing signs of age, but the other reels worked fine with it. I went fishing Friday and every time I picked it up, it just drove me crazy. I finally it put it back in the box. > I didn't have time to mess with it before going again Sat. Same thing; back in the box. :-/ When I got home, I re-spooled with a newer 12# mono. Went fishing yesterday afternoon; same thing. By this time I am ready to throw rod, reel, and C-rig into the stained, turbulent waters of Baldwin lake. Having made every adjustment possible to the reel it occured to me to check the rod. :-[ The third guide from the tip was bent enough that it was impeding the flow of line. It would work fine with a gentle pitch, but a full cast with a 1 oz C-rig... I straightened the guide, and all was right with the world. I'm not sure how I put line through this guide TWICE without seeing this. All I can say is don't let this happen to you.

Yes, you can use an egg weight. I prefer a bullet weight, but have used egg weights many times. Good luck.

This knot is easier for me to tie than a double uni, and is used by many. Roadwarrior has recommended it a number of times. It works well. http://www.stripersonline.com/Pages/Articles/article_arby_albertos_knot.shtml

I have a couple PQs that I really like. They are solid, smooth reels. The dual braking is a thing of joy when the wind is blowing. 8-)

Try to find someone to talk to at the IRS. It will make the Social Security Admn. seem much friendlier.

My first outboard was an 18hp Johnson. It hadn't been used for several years. It ran great for a few minutes and then would bog down and die. After a few minutes it would run fine... I replaced the filter, fuel pump diaphragm, and cleaned the carb; same thing. Finally someone suggested the bulb in the fuel hose. When I replaced the hose and bulb I cut open the bulb, and it was full of granulated rubber from sitting with gas in it. It ran great with a new hose assembly. If there is any doubt replace it. As has been suggested, replacing the metal tanks will save you grief. Good luck. BTW everyone that's ever used a small boat much has forgotten to open the tank vent a time or two.

I have two 6' light power Browning Stalker combos that I bought on sale for less than $50 each (reg. $59) that I use for pan fish. I have used them for drop shot a couple of times and they have plenty of power for bass in open water. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_98339_100003002_100000000_100003000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL The above Pflueger Trion combo would be worth checking out. The reel gets good reviews. I have a couple of Presidents that I really like.

This thread is from the "Best of board." It will help answer your question I think. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141187546 My favorite rod is 7' medium power, extra fast action. I use it for T-rigged plastics and jigs to 1/2 oz unless there is heavy cover that requires heavier line and more power.

Here you go. These are great chargers for the money, and are on sale now. I have the ProSportII20+. It does a fine job. Just plug it in and forget it. It keeps a maintenance charge till you're ready the next time. 8-) http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21276-cat600056_TGP&id=0043939018868a&navCount=2&podId=0043939&parentId=cat600056&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=9IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600056&hasJS=true

I used the S-Glass crankbait rod for a few minutes today with a Bandit 100. It was much lighter than I expected. FWIW I liked it. Is it worth $90? Depends on the budget. Good luck.

Good electronics and an on-board charger are two items I dearly love, but the thing that makes me the happiest every time I fish is my trolling motor. I spent an obscene amount of money on a MK 80# Fortrex with the transducer built in. Having used under-powered, inferior units, I really appreciate the difference. 8-)

Just returned from the local power plant cooling lake (caught 4 between 17" and 18 1/4" 8-)) The regular seat worked great. In the lower position I could sit comfortably and still be high enough to easily operate the TM. Adjust the post up a bit and I could sit/lean on the front of the seat much like the butt seat. It is not the sportiest looking, but my back doesn't mind.

30

Well said. I hope you both have a long and happy retirement.

I have 2 of the 30's that I use for wacky rigs and shakey heads. The President is a fine reel IMHO.

I've been wondering the same thing. I am going fishing in the morning and as I was getting the boat ready today, I decided to try one of the regular folding seats in place of the "butt" seat I normally use. I just replaced the seat, not the adjustable post. It works OK in the driveway. :-? I will report back tomorrow. As I get older the Pro seat doesn't work as good as it once did. :

The 5X is the same sonar unit as the 5. The adjustments are the same. It just doesn't have the GPS mapping , tracking , speed, etc. I have a 5X on the bow and the 5 on the console of my boat. I have been very happy with both.

I have an 80# Fortrex-same thing. Two is all you need.

I am right handed and use lefty reels. I no longer have any right handed reels since I talked my wife into using lefties. ::)More choices are available in left now days, but using left does sometimes limit your options. I think it would be a good thing to be able to use both, though I seem to be unable to do so. I don't know really if I am unwilling or unable, but the bottom line is I am completely uncomfortable using RH reels. After several days of hard fishing it would be nice to change up...

1/8, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 oz. I may try 11/2 oz this year. I agree with Catt. I was taught lighter is better, but my experience has shown that is not always the case.