jerzeeD

Nothing wrong with brand loyalty. If something is comfortable and reliable, why not return and buy another product from the same company. I have been driving Toyota trucks for years.....why? It isn't like I woke up one day and said "Toyota is the best". Not at all....I had to buy a series of disappointing POS vehicles that drove meto try Toyota. Once I tried my first Toyota truck, it got to 200k miles with no real repairs and minimal maintenance. Meanwhile, my Jeep it replaced needed a new engine, trans, and clutch at 110k. Other vehicles by GM, Chrysler, and Audi have been very disappointing as well. So now I drive Toyota trucks based on my experience with them, and probablly will for a long time until my experience changes.Moral of story...If a company makes a quality product that works well, what is wrong with being a repeat customer? There are alot of money pits out there in life, no matter what you are buying. Nothing wrong with sticking with the tried and true.

As a guy who has towed AND built Toyota trucks I will tell you this. Go for 4wd... Muddy and slick ramps make it worthwhile...The boost in resale value makes it even more worth it. As for the TRD off road package, skip it. It costs 4000+ dollars more for a locking rear diff and 4 ok quality shocks. You can purchase and have installed a ARB air locker and Better HD bilstein shocks for around 1800 dollars less. If all you want is Limited slip, my base model 2010 Tacoma 4x4 has that standard.

I use a 6'8" M/XF St Croix legend tournament... But as said above, the Avid in the same length is a great choice as well.

I use a 6'8" M/XF St Croix legend tournament... But as said above, the Avid in the same length is a great choice as well.

I have a 12' lowe angler with a 57" beam. It is a newer boat and is probably a little wider than yours. I can't really post pics right now because the boat is covered and put away for winter. I mounted 7" pedestals with flanges to the metal benches with brackets. I then built decks from 3/4 in plywood lower down inside of the boat and carpeted them. I even have a small hatch in the front deck for storage of my anchor and 2 life vests. The deck is about a foot lower than the top of the gunwale. I sit at about a 90 degree angle with the boat set up like this. It is extremely stable when sitting... And the deck is low enough for me to stand and cast without it becoming an an adventure. The smaller tin boats require you to keep a pretty low center of gravity in order to be safe. As for the bow mount trolling motor, I have seen it done to my cousins 14 footer. When I asked him where he got it all he told me was he had the motor installed at the marina where he bought it...So I know it can be done.

6' 6" M/MF Fenwick HMG spooled with 12 lb. P-line flouro clear. Great all around rod for lipless cranks and divers up to 15' in 3/8-3/4 ounce sizes.

If you mean 100 bucks per reel, I would look at the Pflueger Supreme or Purist. If you want little over 100 for both reels, the Pflueger President is a good choice.

You do make some valid points. As for me taking the time to learn it...not going to happen. To give you an idea why not..it is time related. I work 50+ hours most weeks with a 2 1/2 hour daily commute...Throw in a 7 month old at home and you can see where I am going. The little free time I have right now to go fishing, I do not want to be picking out birdsnests instead of fishing. Honestly, with the way I have been lately, I can see myself throwing said combo into the lake in aggravation if it tangles a few times in a row. Perhaps later in life I will have time to try it out.

I picked up a 6'6" M/MF Fenwick HMG for cranks for 85 bucks delivered off ebay. It actually was overstock.com's store they had set up there. Haven't fished it yet, but it is light and made with good components....especially the alconite guides. It seems to be somewhere between my St. Croix Premier and Avid in terms of weight. Impressive for the $.

Huddleston weedless shad (5/8oz) or Huddleston grass minnow (7/16 oz). Love them both! I have heard good things about the Keitech swimbaits, but have never tried them

Figures.

Wow...Good price! That is exactly how I saved 40 bucks on my Patriarch.

Pflueger supreme or supreme xt. I actually scored a Pflueger Patriarch last spring for 160 and it has been one hell of a reel for finesse fishing so far.

Columbia PFG is probably my favorite.

St. Croix Legend elite. Taken over the legend extreme only because I like full cork grip on my moving bait rods.

12 lb. P-line flouroclear is what I am using. Low visibility underwater and good abrasion resistance, the 2 most important things to me in crankbait line.

They could still use aluminum oxide guides. The Avid uses Fuji alconite..Stepping down to Batson forecast guides on a rod that is made in Mexico rather than in the USA should be savings enough for their bottom line. The grip isn't the issue for me at all. It is the guides....Those terrible, cheap guides.

They hold up pretty good. I have even caught a few pickeral on them and they continued to work without gluing them. If you can avoid toothy critters, they hold up for a fairly good number of catches

I still can't get past the guides on the rage series. For the price point, I feel the rod should at least get the same guides used on the Premier/Mojo series. Instead they give me lightning rod guides on an Avid bank.

I live about 30 min. from there, but have never fished there. I won't take my boat out on that monster. My Dad's friend lives on the lake and seems to know where the Hybrid Stripers are. If I manage to talk to him, I will ask.

For cover/vegetation I use Huddleston Weedless shads and Grass minnows. I also started using a Live Target Blueback Herring in fast sinking for a hard bodied open water type swimbait. Have yet to catch anything on the Live Target, but I have barely used it yet. The Huddlestons produce well though.

LMFAO... I have never seen anyone up here in my neck of the woods catch anything on those things. I really wanted to try one, but plenty of others have wasted their time so I don't have to!

St Croix Avid...But the new Fenwick Aetos series might be worth a look.

I have just stuck to spinning rigs for everything. But then again, I live in the NE....Where 6-7 lb. bass are elephants Baitcasters seem to be a better "power" set-up. If I fished in TX or FL where I was pulling 12+ lb. LMs out of the slop I would probably taken the time to learn one. But pulling a 5 lb. LM out of slop is no problem on my MH/F St. Croix spinning rod with a full aluminum bodied reel.

I generally use P-line CX and Flouroclear in 10 & 12 lb. test.