Fontana Finesse Man

All fish we caught saturday deep wound up swimming away after weigh in. Had a largemouth that swam on it's back in the livewell most of the day I didn't think was going to make it despite using please release me, and fizzing it. Got to weigh in and didn't want to come out of the livewell. Released fish and they swam around for a second and then swam as hard as they could straight down. Watched all the videos, but one thing that I don't think I heard addressed is do you use your recirculate pumps all day after you treat the water? Do you pump in any freshwater throughout the day? Do you follow the same routine year round or does it change based on the water temp of the lake?

Here is your scenario: Tournament tomm and the fish you are on are 60 ft deep. Lake averages about 180-220 right now. Surface temp is 52. Fish are mostly spots. You catch them, you fizz them if necessary, put additive in livewell. What else can you do to help keep fish caught deep alive and healthy for weigh-in?

I was just curious about rods and feel and action. How much do things like size of reel, weight of reel, line size, type of line (braid, flouro, mono), even different brands of baits affect how the same rod feels to different people? Case in point, I prefer small spinning reels over larger ones that accomodate larger lines and more capacity. To me more weight at the handle gives a spinning rod a different feel and I don't like it. I prefer mono line and jerkbait of choice is primarily a pointer 95. If someone asks me about a jerkbait rod and my choice is a loomis or duckett or st. croix if the person that I recommend it to is using a big spool spinning reel with flouro or braid and a rapala jerkbait will he get the same feel of the rod as I do? Do things like hand size, strength, height affect actions and feel of the same rod to different people? I just used jerkbait rods as an example, this applies to all rods.

Enjoy it! Hope you have many great days on the water! Looks like you got two quality fishing partners ready to go in it!

I used to fish them a bit a long time ago. Caught a few fish on them. Different kind of walking motion than you will get with a spook or a sammy, bait walks and leans on it's side. Personally, I prefer a sammy, simply due to cost and personal preference.

Might look into a 6'6 M action Fast tip rod with a 6.3-1 gear ratio reel. Can get away with throwing alot of different baits on this combo. Spinnerbaits, topwaters, jerkbaits, crankbaits. Might not be the best set up individually for each bait, but you can get by with that for any of these. Not advocating this brand, but an example would be a BPS extreme combo for $160 or look in flea market for a deal on good used ones.

1/2 oz double colorado chartreuse and white. Cup the back blade a little bit to add extra vibration and a fat grub trailer to add a little bit more vibration.

I always told my son if it feels different set the hook. Somedays it is a tick, a thump, pressure, heavy and sometimes you don't feel a thing and your line starts moving. As stated before you will develop a feel for your baits and when it is different, cross their eyes!

I love my smoke spinning combo and casting combo. They are light, cast very well, and have experienced no issues to this point. Fish in avatar pic was caught on my smoke spinning rod and reel, 8 lb test and it handled flawlessly.

Never used the Dobyns so I can't speak for it, but of the other two I like the Duckett better than the carrot stix. I have both and something about the way the tip feels on the carrot stix doesn't suit my feel for the applications you are talking about. One thing I will add. Even though you didn't mention, might look at a veritas 7' M action. I have found that for shakey head and light t rigs it is excellent and about $50 less than others. I use it for up to a 1/4 oz and out of all my spinning rods, the whole rod suits my feel better than any for those types of applications. Good Luck and no matter what you choose, ENJOY!

After taking off from fishing for about 8 years, everyday I got to fish in 2011 was wonderful! Got to spend a ton of days on the water with my son and daughter and wife. Caught some good fish and won a few pot tournaments, but mostly taught my son alot about fishing and tournament fishing. 2012: More of the same! And don't spend all my savings and retirement money on this dang fishing addiction!

Try it before you buy it! The flip and pitch reels are definitely different in my opinion than anything you have used. I bought one and couldn't get used to the feel and way it fished and wound up trading one of my buddies for a quantum reel he had. No problems with it, was just very hard for me to get used to.

7' MH Abu Garcia Veritas casting rod and a quantum Tour edition PT VI 7-1 for throwing Mogambos during the summer months. Mustang Survival auto inflate PFD Lowrance HDS 5 for the front of my boat Pair of Columbia Drainmakers for fishing during the summer. Mega-comfortable and Light!

What is your opinion on these spinning reels? Used to love TD rods, but only have 1 reel (cabelas 50th anniv casting reel) Saw where there looked to be an excellent sale and keep going back and forth telling myself I don't need it but just want it. Sale price is around $160. normally like $300. Worth it for the sale price? This will be paired up with my floating worm rod. Thank you for your opinions and recommendations.

Done

Got into this one kind of late, but heckuva lot of great ideas. I am kind of partial to the gift card as well, but one more thing that might get thrown into the equation that I don't believe anyone mentioned is a guided trip on one of those California Delta lakes or a lake he would love to fish. Ask him what his ultimate lake choice would be and get him a guided trip! Heck, you can make it a vacation! Good luck!

Thanks again guys! Ordered a vented canvas cover for it. And I am on my way to Lowes right now and will check on the wall box fan. Thanks a BUNCH! Hopefully it will stay nice for a week or two and can get the boat garage done earlier also.

thank you both! I will make sure it is dry before covering!

Keep my boat covered when it isn't on the lake, but am in the process of building a gargage to put it under also. Probably a month out from finishing. In the meantime, is there anyway to keep condensation from forming under the boat cover and making the boat wet? Nothing worse than uncovering and the cover is wet, seats wet, etc........ Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I have been using it for about 3 months now and as of yet, have no complaints. Memory is low, casting distance is excellent and haven't had any breakage issues. I use 15 lb test on my spinnerbait rods with up to 1/2 spinnerbaits and love it.

I took advantage of the offer and got one. The fabric is thick, warm and comfortable. The Abu Garcia logo is stitched on, not an iron on that comes off in the wash. I wound up giving it to my son and he is 6'1 and 190 lbs and it is a XXL and fits him well, not tight and not overly huge. He loves it and wears it anytime it is cold outside now. It is definitely worth the $12 for shipping and handling. I think they offer black or white now, we got the black one. I would compare it to a Russell Athletic sweatshirt in terms of fit, feel and quality.

My son asked for an "exo" for xmas so while I appreciate your great review Hooligan, it is awfully disappointing because I already had gotten him one. Maybe he will be lucky and won't have any problems, but will be prepared to send it back to quantum. Or I could just back end him in the boat so he won't catch anything and won't know the difference! LOL Thanks for your great review.

Thank you K_Mac! I just got off the phone with Minn Kota and they are sending me out 2 replacements at no cost. I appreciate the information and the help! Guess I will figure out more when I get these and put one on. They could see no reason why they keep breaking.

I have a fortrex that the pointer arrow quit working. Took it apart and a tooth was broken off the part that fits into the arrow. Put a new one in and dropped the trolling motor in the water the first time and hit the switch once and the new one broke. Any idea what might be causing this? Is there another part that may need replacing to fix the problem? Or is it just my dumb luck that I broke two on back to back days? Thank you for any help or ideas!

I bought a pair about a couple months ago and have only used them a couple times. They are thin and comfortable. Work well to keep hands fairly warm while running the boat, etc. Have only fished with them on once, for a very short period and they were comfortable. Was pulling spinnerbait so feel really wasn't hampered. Honestly, haven't used enough while fishing to give a fair assessment, but what little I have used them, I like!