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First. Never, ever pay full price for BPS rods. They're not worth it. If you wait you can get a Bionic blade for the $50 you want to spend. I fished one of those Tourney special rods before. They're a slug. Poor sensitivity. As for the power hump? I'd get yourself into a BPS store and hold one for awhile to see how it feels. Those power humps are either a love or hate kind of deal. I personally like the extra bit of grip up against the reel seat, others don't.

Must have gone the way of the "free" extra spool. and aluminum endplates. ooops

A Cobra, hand built and owned by Carrol Shelby himself, went for $5 million on Barrett - Jackson last year. Highest selling car at the auction ever.

Probably postal employee.

C-rigging finesse type worms or French Fries have worked best for me. If you're into that drop shotting, that also works. Depending on where you're at, the Smallmouth bite could be real good. I'd rather fish for them than the LM's.

I use Sea Foam. http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTech.htm Gas stabilizer and a de-carb built into one. Available at many auto parts stores.

All I can say is Da-yum. No way I can match what's been posted already.

That tourney isn't taking off out of KenLake is it? If so, I'll need to find another launch spot.

Yep. It's all about the kind enviroment along the banks of your lakes that will dictate your equipment selection. Buying some 7' long rods is great unless you're dealing with a lot of brush and overhanging trees along the shore. Then that rod becomes cumbersome and nearly worthless for proper lure presentation. Honestly, I've found that having shorter rods, 6' to 6'6" are your best bet, not only when facing all the conditions you'll experience when fishing along the bank but also moving around the lake which may involve moving through woods to get from one spot the the other.

Because as one of those knowledged members, I basically no longer reply anymore. Many others are the same way. I've suggested a board for each of the major reel manufacturers like the Shimano board with stickies at the top of each for reviews/likes and dislikes of specific models. Someone interested in a specific reel could go to the specific board and get some ideas about the reel he/she is interested in instead of posting a "What do you think about these 2 reels?" Inevitably it always turns into a popularity contest. You could have a general sticky at the top for most of the major rod brands as well where questions about a specific rod could be asked and then answered by those who actually own one of those rods. As it is, if someone posts a question about "Brand X rod" the thread might start off OK until fanboys of Brand Y rod show up and ruin the thread with "You don't want that rod, you want Brand Y rod for $$$. Then the thread gets thrown off track with bickering which is why I rarely bother to answer anymore.

The place your most concerned about is the transom. Look for cracks in the transom corners, motor mounting bolts that are sunk into the transom, rust coming from motor mounting bolt holes. Trim the motor down, have someone put their foot on the cavitation plate and really put their weight into it while you look at the transom. If you see flexing you've got a soft transom. It's repairable but labor intensive job. Lots of soft spots in the floors and/or decking will indicate rotted wood underneath. Unfortunately it can also be a indication of rotted stringers (wood structural members glassed into the hull) underneath as well.

Good idea. I don't know whether ABS pipe sinks or not but you might want to add weight to the bottom rung so the ladder sinks. If the water was cold enough, I'm not sure I'd want to be attempting to try and get my foot onto a rung of a ladder that was floating on the surface.

PM sent.

If the horn is sufficiently grounded and you're getting 12 volts up to the horn you've got a bad horn. If you don't have at least a circuit tester, you need to get one. They're not expensive, available at any auto parts store or Walmart and are easy to use. Most come with easy to follow directions on usage. As an electronic technician, you never have faith that a voltage is there. If you work from that assumption you'll wind up pulling your hair out trying to find the problem.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Don't wait, sign up now. If the non-boaters are worried about having a boating partner I'll be the first to say my dance card is completely open for the entire 5 days along with Sat and Sunday for those that come down early.

T-shirt and boxers in January? You suck. ;D Nice fish BTW.

That's how it starts. First the testimonial in the catalog. Then he has his calls screened by a service. Then the Cabela's pro team shirt and boxers. Then he dyes his hair blonde. Finally, when he has the time to talk to us lesser mooks, he starts every post with... "Well Son" ;D

We got 8-9" of snow out of that storm. I'm just glad it was snow and not the ice you guys got. Keep the faith CJ. It should all be melted by this weekend. Good luck to you and yours.

Bayliner has long been known as an entry level boat builder whether it's bassboats or ski type boats which they're more known for. Check the floors, decks and transom out thoroughly on this one. Any excessive soft spots and I'd shy away from it. One way the entry level boat manufacturers use to cut corners is skimping on how well wood structural members are sealed. If that checks out, pay to have the motor gone over by a pro. Good luck.

Between the SX and the STX, the STX was a little easier to cast but that's not saying much.

Depends. Trimming an engine up begins the process of bringing the bow up out of the water. Ultimately the process is complete when the entire boat hull is up out of the water with only a small portion of the back of the boat touching water. Now, to your boat. IF your engine has sufficient HP to lift the front of the boat out of the water you will see speed gains. OTOH, if your boat is underpowered and you have a heavier boat with decking and lots of load, the engine won't create sufficient hp to raise the front significantly and you may see a decrease in performance as the rear end of the boat is driven deeper into the water. Another problem you might experience is porpoising. This is the front to back pitching a boat does as it starts to raise itself out of the water and then falls back down.

Those are used in shallower bodies of water with mucky type bottoms to help oxygenate the water. Without them the amount of decomposing, organic matter on the bottom could lead to excessive CO2 problems and ultimately fish kills. In warmer months they're a great place to search out fish. Smaller baitfish will congregate around the oxygenated water and the bigger fish will follow.

mmmm... blackened kitty.

Warner is extremely well liked in the St Louis area and the Cardinals will have an extra million or so fans cheering for them here Sunday. He and Brenda still do an annual Coats for kids drive locally. Great people that's for sure.