McAlpine

Another reason to buy Humminbird over Lowrance. I had heard of the bad support from Lowrance and good support from HBird before I bought so to make sure, I just picked up the phone and called both to ask about their units. Humminbird - Easily got a person on the phone. Told them I was not an owner yet but had lots of questions. Very helpful technician with lots of answers and even emailed me documentation. Lowrance - Tried several times, only once was I able to even get a person after many tries and this "technician" didn't know much. More like a phone answering service if you ask me. Emailed them and got a form letter back after a week. These guys stink.

I have (3) 7' MH Carbonlite casting rods now. One with microguides and two without. These are absolutely the best bang for the buck rod out there. Combine them with the BPS JM Carbon Black reel and you can't beat the performance for the expenditure. If your a tournament fisherman on a budget and need several good rods on the deck without breaking the bank, this is definitely the way to go.

Cyclops, the units are removable for a reason. When you get your boat home, take them off and put them in the house. I keep mine inside year round, they travel in the back of my SUV to/from lake with plastic covers. They go on the boat when it goes in the water and come off when it comes out. Takes about 10 seconds. They are like new still today. Additionally; for the cost of electronics today I don't think one can be too careful. I keep my boat inside during the winter and a cover on it when it is outside the rest of the year. Before I had a boat with a cover, I would take a plastic grocery bag and tie these over empty posts when I took the units out if the boat was going to sit awhile to assist with corrosion. Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Good, glad bass banned it. This rig just doesn't feel very sportsmanlike to me. If you want to use it in your personal fishing fine, but it does not have a place in tournament fishing in my opinion.

a large part of why I am out there is to listen to nothing more than the world around me.

it's borderline on your price range but i feel there is no better rod for ~$100 than the BPS carbonlite.

more importantly than the brand is how you are getting moisture inside your screen? These are made to be on a boat, in the rain etc. If you are letting your electronics sit outside for 2-3 years, you cant expect anything to stay sealed as the seal will rot.

I will add one thing though, since in small patches the memory part is not really an issue I found that I am extremely happy with Vicous as leader material for my braid. I dont think I have a rod with braid on it that I dont have Vicous tied on between lure and braid.

Wont complain about line strength. It's some tough stuff. I caught several 4's, (2) 5's and a 6 this year on 10lb Vicous with no breaks. You have to watch it though depending upon where you are fishing, it will tend to fray if you rub something or a big fish gets his mouth on it. You have to keep an eye on it and retie. I am still debating if I will leave last years line on and try some line conditioner this year or if I will strip off half and keep what is left as backing and go with something else....maybe some tatsu. If I only have to put half as much on maybe I can afford it.

I'm confused at the issue anyone has with this pawl then. The only reel on JFrancho's list that I have is a Calcutta 200B however; it is smooth like butta. No reason to take anything out. I properly maintain my reels though.....

If there are catfish there, especially if there are big ones, it's because there are baitfish. Everything follows the baitfish. Sounds like a great spot.

No experience with the special stuff but used the basic version exclusively this last season on several rods. Too much memory. Probably wont buy it again.

Well, you certainly haven't talked me out of it. I have heard such good things about the castability and smoothness of the smoke PT I will probably be picking up the slower ratio casting reel to use for cranking come february. Thanks for the input.

Also, don't give up. The river can be tough to learn but once you fins some spots where fish hold it seems like they are almost always there.

Come up by Clarksville and we'll go to BPS and you can try the river upstream a bit. Bass in the Ohio will be either in creeks or tight to structure. It can be a fast river with a lot of volume. Hit the creek mouths with small spinnerbaits and small jigs where different current meet -- smallmouth. Also, any bank that gets current and has alot of rock like an outside bend--jig--smallmouth. Fish around parked barges and any shallow wood in slower sections of water....you will get tons of spotted bass this way. If you have any marinas near you, standard gear for largemouth. When the water is stained to muddy white/chartruse is a tough combo to beat. There is not a lot of grass on the main channel but if you see some there will be fish in there...it's just your job to get them out. Good luck, you may just find you have a great fishery in your backyard.

I find that filleting fish is a very efficient way to make them dead.

Brian you have to get what you will like. I am lucky that I have a bps locally so I went in and tried both units out side by side. I found that the processors in the loran were a bit slow and screen redraws and menus were sluggish. They are upgrading to a new process this year, which does not surprise me at all. I also found the bird to be easier to use and I didn't have to buy an external unit for side/down scanning. I went with an 898 on the back and a 788 on the front. They network natively and can then share waypoints, gps units and transducers. It's a slick setup. Good luck.

I have the same issue with my terrova and 788 on the bow.. There is a new software version out for the birds that is supposed to help with the noise issues, check their website. I have not upgraded the unit to this new version yet but plan to do so when I get some time this month.

Well, I have waited a year since the smoke PT has come out, having not been willing to pay the price originally. Yet, when I go into the local BPS to the reel counter it's still by far the smoothest reel there. I think I am going to go ahead and pop for one during the fishing classic when they have the reel trade in. However; I have heard such bad things about the longevity of Quantum's that I thought I would check with you guys first. anybody have or have had a PT and what are your thoughts on this reel? Thanks in advance!

I'm in southern Indiana by Louisville.

Old school black/clear/silver flake SlugGo.

1.) XCalibur XCS 200 Foxy Shad. I caught (5) 4+ lb's, (2) 5+ lb's and (1) 6+ lb (my PB ever) on this bait this year plus a ton of good fish in tournaments. This was really my go to this year. 2.) Terminator T1 Titanium in white skirt with silver flake, silver/black head, large silver willow, small brass willow. My favorite bait of all time probably. Caught two 4+'s in tournaments on these this year plus got big bass in an Ohio River tournament with a fat smallmouth on this bait. 3.) Football head Jig. Just started trying to fish jigs in earnest this year and did pleasantly well. This has to be my number 3 because for the first season in my life I finally have some confidince in these and caught a few good fish on them. Did best with Booyah in various sizes and really prefer the greenish pumpkinseed color with a dark green Berkley Chigger craw trailer. Boated a few keepers in night tournaments and caught a few nice pond bass.

The bps carbonlite rod paired with a carbon black JM reel is becoming my main rig anymore. Have 3 of these set ups now. Awesome bang for the buck quality. If you watch for sales this rig will run $170-200. Not bad at all for how light and sensitive the rod is and how smooth the reel is.

Clint, There are a ton of fish in the Ohio.....if you know how to fish it. It's going to be pretty tough to catch a trophy but you can catch largemouth, spots and smallmouth all day long. The best part is you can also catch sauger, walleye, white bass, stripers, wipers, drum and some of the biggest catfish in the country. There are plenty panfish in the creeks too. If you have fished lakes your whole life, then it's different and takes some trial and error but you will eventually be rewarded.

Ok dude, this is going to sound harsh but.... This chick isn't your wife, it's your girlfriend. Your not married, you don't owe her an explanation on squat. You have plenty of time to explain what you do to your wife later in life like the rest of us. Don't sweat it, there are a million of them out there. When you find the right one she won't give you guff about your hobby. Not till your married at least. ;-) Here is the best advice you will ever get. Your young, enjoy it and don't let one dame cramp your style. Good luck.