BassinB

Spinning reels- handle on the left Casting reels- handle on the right

if the trolling motor is under constant power to provide action to a bait it is considered trolling. If the trolling motor is used to position a boat during cast and retrieve it is not considered trolling.

I see, Thanks.

Hey thats awesome. Doug, the Upper Hand Scents owner is the president of my bass club up here in Wisconsin. Do you mind if I ask how you heard of them?

x2 weight to power ratio is something to take into account for anyone, not just the guy trying to squeeze .5mph more outta his rig. The trolling motor mounts as far forward as possible on a boat and that weight has a lot of hold on how the boat handles and rides, as well as its speed. When taking this power to weight ratio into account always include the 100lbs+ of batteries your gonna have on board. 56lbs of thrust wouldn't quite cut it for me either

Wow.. watch out for that "Revo Premier" with the picture of snoopy on it

My process seems to start every year in January. I disassemble all my reels and thoroughly clean and relube them, and inevitably decide they all need different line for this next season. So after respooling with an assortment of braid, flourocarbon, and copolymer they are mated to their respectful rods and set onto the rack. I then take stock of all of my baits and terminal tackle, resupplying with an order that is seemingly impossible to get below $500 from TW.-Wait impatiently for a week- Receive order...then organize and relabel all of my tackle as well as clean the hard baits and replace their hooks if needed. 2 weeks pass and repeat. Usually 2 or 3 times until the season opens.

Along with my original goals i just pulled the trigger on the new Lowrance elite 7hdi, so im gonna focus a lot on using it to its full potential this year as well.

Orra SX. thing was junk....and I'm a die hard Abu guy.

I use punch skirts often in situations where I want a bulkier presentation. It kind of replicates the look of a jig but it comes through the cover more easily. If it is really stained water or I'm pitching up under lily pads or docks in the shade a larger bulkier lure will sometimes trigger a strike. Plus fish that see a lot of T-rigged power worms or craw baits often haven't seen something with the strands and movement of a punch skirt.

I have a Calcutta TE 400 on my 8' XH magnum bulldog musky rod and love it. Cranks big bucktails and jerkbaits well plus it has strong drag and is built like a tank.

Between $75-$95. In that class you cant beat em at least in my opinion. At $170 its a different story. Just my .02

I have 2 bachelor degrees in Fisheries and Biology, i am pursuing a career on the scientific side of fishing. Haha catching them on the weekend and studying them during the week.

I have a steep discount with St.. Croix through a sponsorship and i have fished 3 of the rage rods for a year or so. I will say that they are good rods at MY price point. I probably wouldnt't be fishing them without the discount however. Its a team sponsorship so I don't feel too bad giving my honest opinion. When i buy rods at full price they are Dobyns...

Before every season while I'm restocking my tackle collection, I set some goals for myself. One being the techniques I am going to improve on this season. Last year I really focused on pitching jigs and punching heavy cover, as well as shakey heads. This year I am focusing on crankbaits and drop shotting. Anybody else take this approach to their fishing?

I've hooked pelicans, gulls, bats, a loon one time, 2 beavers, and a gosling whose parents were very unhappy with me, but none of them were as angry while I unhooked them as my fishin partner

lived and fished Wisconsin all my life. Are you targeting Smallmouth or Largemouth?

I've caught river fish on beds at around 52 degrees before here in WI

A dark Northern Wisconsin bronzeback. This one weighed a little over 3lbs.

Anybody have any confidence in UV reflective plastics or hard baits? Does it make a difference?

Anybody use Garmin electronics on their boat? How do they compare to Lowrance and Humminbird?

I've heard that the Terrova is a more heavy duty unit (shaft, motor housing etc.) than the V2. That could be just hear say though...

im kind of a reel guy too.. usually i go with a 200-250 reel and a 100-130 rod. I don't know why, maybe because I don't have that super specialized delicate feeling ability but I have a harder time noticing the difference in quality between a $125 rod and a $250 rod compared to noticing the difference in quality between a $125 reel and a $250 reel. Just my .02 though.

The rod selection is what I would have said as well. But just a little tip: Dont use braid as backing. it swells and dries and has a tendency to slip on the spool. good cheap mono is perfect backing.

with those lures you are trying to imitate forage fish. So i always have a shad color, perch/bluegill color, and a gold shiner color. besides those I like black, chartruese, and white in different combinations. Any crazy patterns or color combos in my opinion are not needed. with a few different combinations of the colors I listed your good in 99% of situations.