RoLo

Expride rod with a Stradic reel? That should result in a happy camper ? Roger

I’ve used a lot of ‘Upton’s 8” Straight-Tail Worms’, which are true handpours. “Roboworms” are robot-poured worms, which are cheaper than Uptons with similar buoyancy & action. Roger

It was only a matter of time, because Evinrude painted themselves into a corner. It's not possible for '2-stroke' motors (save their 4-cycle kickers) to compete in a market dominated by 4-stroke engines. I have owned an E-tec, and I liked it a lot. Roger

Nice bronzebacks. Pretty sure I seen you on Lake Kissimmee, that St Croix hat is a dead giveaway ? Roger

Great hearing from you Bocabasser, I would have bet you were still whacking em Roger

That is true, but most never get the opportunity to taste wahoo, yellowtail snapper or tripletail. Roger

I'm hoping they weren't bell-bottom jeans ?

Though well-suited for parachuting, pro anglers discovered they were ill-suited for bathroom use. Roger

Now that's funny, right there

Oddly enough Tom, I have the exact same mindset. The only fish (fresh or saltwater) I've ever tasted that was mushier or more muddy-tasting than catfish, was winter flounder from the Shrewsbury River (about 50 years ago). Roger

Trust me, I know the drill My wife often gives me a taste test, where I'm confronted with two fillets of unbeknownst species. Perhaps my taste is all in my mouth, but largemouth bass boast a high score among freshwater fish. The only freshwater fish I'd put ahead of bigmouth bass is yellow perch (not walleye) & bluegills. In saltwater: Blackfish, red hake (Nickname 'garbage belly'), dolphin & seabass (fresh-caught of course, not restaurant-bought). Roger

Great day, great fish Roger

Batteries located midship is a good choice. In the stern, batteries undergo the least abuse, but don't help getting on plane. In the bow, batteries help getting out of the hole, but take a beating. Lots of talk about voltage loss due to cable length, but the accessories are your main concern. Roger

Your're Go-to Fluorocarbon Ain't got any

It all boils down to personal taste, BUT, there are 2 big flies in the ointment: 1) Some people do not like the taste of fish (these folks pursue fish that taste like chicken & use condiments liberally) 2) As per cliche: Some people's taste, is all in their mouth ? Roger

Not sure why you feel that 20-lb braid is dangerous. That might better describe 10-lb braid, or 50-lb braid with an 8-lb mono leader. Remember 'Sirsnookalot', he never used any braid heavier than 20-lb test, and he landed grouper and crevalle jacks, which are larger & stronger than freshwater bass. Roger

Love them aluminum utility hulls, they're the fish-catchingest boats on the planet I ran a 14 ft Starcraft Seafarer up & down the Atlantic Ocean (6-pak Charter boats cued off the mosquito fleet) Roger

I've fished a great deal from south Florida to the upper provinces (MB - ON - QC) At any latitude you can find murky water & clear water, shallow & deep lakes, natural lakes & reservoirs. In and of itself, whether a waterbody lies in Florida or upper Ontario, has no direct bearing on my choice of lures, line or techniques. Roger

I'm not familiar with your sonar unit, but you might begin by confirming that it's loaded with the latest software version. It's not uncommon to buy a new accessory with outdated coding (Been there more than once). Roger

I hope you 'never' run out of animated gifs...I for one would miss the girls ?

My jig experience has been somewhat similar to yours. In the past, I used spinning outfits almost exclusively, which I used for jigs, swimbaits, hollow frogs~ That's really not as brave or as crazy as it might sound. The spine on my spinning blanks were more powerful than the average casting blank. Roger

Yes, I well remember when the pros wore jumpsuits, for awhile it seemed like most of them. As for myself, I wouldn't get into a jumpsuit unless I were participating in the SpaceX launch. Roger

Four bolts thru the transom; I wouldn't anticipate any problem. I have a 15-foot Talon mounted on my 16-ft Alumacraft. Roger

That's for sure ? But it does beg the question, who decided that color made a difference, me or the bass? Roger

"Color’ is something that's blatantly visible to the fisherman (little skill required). Meanwhile, the most critical variables are invisible, nebulous or sensual. That makes it way to easy to blame success or failure on color, instead of nailing down the responsible variable (Boat location, lure placement, lure type, depth, speed ~) To put it differently, unless the horde of presentation variables can be guaranteed constant, comparing different colors in isolation might be an exercise in futility. Roger