moguy1973

I think there's a lot more lakes/ponds/streams that contain sunfish/bluegill/shad than there are that contain crappie. Therefore there are more sunfish/bluegill/shad patterned lures. Like said above a shad pattern can and usually has the same base colors that crappie do and bass are pretty dumb and will eat whatever they feel like eating without looking at it too much typically.

I'm thinking people are looking at gear ratio the wrong way here. Sure a higher ratio like a 7:1 or 8:1 will make it easier to reel line in faster than a 4:1 or 5:1 reel will, but it really comes down to what different gear ratios do. Lower gear ratios reels have more torque which makes turning the crank easier and when you pair that with a heavy deep diving crank bait it makes using that bait all day long, if that's what you are going to do, a whole lot easier. That being said I've been to a lot of seminars where the pros are using higher gear ratios for cranking because they are studs and can take the pain. LOL A lot of anglers misinterpret gear ratio with inches-per-turn (IPT). An 8:1 ratio on one reel may have the same IPT as another reel with 7:1, due to size of the spool and whatnot.

Usually fogging is only necessary if it's not going to be started for 3 months or so. As long as you cycle the trim all the way up and then all the way down before you leave it the water in the engine should all drain and there should be no problems there. Also the gas treatment should't matter if you are running it every few weeks either.

Two stroke engines don't need fogging while 4 strokes do. The reasoning behind this is the 4 strokes will have valves somewhere in the valve train that will stay open which will allow air into the cylinder and cause rust on the cylinder walls. Typically, especially ones with EFI, two strokes will have a winterizing program that will shut the piston against the intake port eliminating any exposure to the to the outside air. As said above, unless I've put a lot of hours on mine I only change the lower unit oil to make sure no water has gotten in the gear case. If there's water in there and it freezes bye bye gear case housing. The engine oil I usually do every other season with the exception of high hour years.

Caught the one in my avatar in October a couple years ago in a local river.

I've found that if it's a really windy day it's a lot easier to throw a chatterbait. Spinner baits will catch the wind and and can't be thrown as far typically, especially if you are casting into the wind. Catching though, I've caught fish on both and both have their place.

Usually when you are at the steering wheel the transducer for the fish finder at the console is at the back of the boat. So you are only getting things you have passed over. There are some newer transducers/technology that views in real time what is in front of you but typically those are mounted on the trolling motor.

There’s a lot that goes into determining how much a vehicle can tow. And manufacturers do exaggerate their towing capacities for marketing purposes. The maximum towing amount takes into account the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the weight of the vehicle and everything inside it and the weight of the trailer. Manufacturers can and often do rate the curb weight of the vehicle as the minimum optioned vehicle and a 150lb driver. Add a fully decked out top end truck and a big driver and your safe tow capacity goes down because the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) goes up. GVWR also takes into account the tongue weight that the trailer is putting on the tow vehicle. If the load is unbalanced and too far on the front of the trailer it will lower the safe towing capacity.

I've had one split ring break on me in all the 40+ years of fishing I've done and it was on a $15 whopper plopper. I've had hooks straighten out on $10 lures with Gamy hooks on 2lb fish. So is it worth spending a lot on a lure to have the same thing happen to one that may or may not have quality components? It's worth a shot to give it a try. Like he said, the Academy H2O stuff that is $4 performs just as well if not better sometimes than similar lures 3-4 times the price.

They put the actual tow ratings because that's what the vehicle is capable of. Not really what is safe. It's like they publish the top speed of vehicles but it's only because that's what they are capable of. It's all marketing.

Fish don't care if they are $1 or $15 if they bite them.

Largemouth in moving water like rivers and creeks tend to like to hang out in the slack water. Anywhere there is a laydown or cover in deeper water opposite from the channel where the faster water runs is usually where I find largemouth. That and in old channel sloughs where the water used to run where the water is still and calm typically.

No need to put the boat in the water to work on them. When I replaced my bunks I put a floor jack under one side of the transom and jacked it up just enough to pull the old boards out and out the new ones in. I used some jack stands under it to hold it up while I was working on it. Lowered the side that I just did down and put jacked up the other side.

When they have the Classic on Grand in Oklahoma the drive to Tulsa is about an hour and a half for weigh in.

I've tried both and both are a good line but I found that Yo-Zuri tends to keep a memory a lot more than the P-Line CX Premium does. Therefore my go to non-braided line now is the P-Line.

I've found that a 100 pack of Goody rubber hair bands from Walmart work just as good if not better and cheaper than O-rings. I use the medium sized ones and double them to make an X and I put the hook under the X so the hook is perpendicular to the worm. Gets better hook ups that way. Color doesn't matter on the bands either as I've used black, white, green, pink, whatever color they have in stock. I've tried tubing and shrink wrap tubing and had nothing but horrible results with the fish just sucking the worm right out from the tubing.

Any other writing on them? Sammys are the only smallish ones I'm seeing around 65-70mm long.

Is it some sort of JDM bait? I'm not seeing anything that Daiwa sells over here that is shaped like that.

You can get a Garmin Echomap 93sv plus 9" with side/down/sonar touchscreen for the console for around $850 with tranducer and maybe a little less if you look around. An Echomap 73cv plus 7" with down/sonar touchscreen for the front can be had for around $500. That would be a pretty good setup within your budget. Both have NMEA2000 so networking them together should be pretty easy. Nice thing about the Garmin units is they are preloaded with maps. With Lowrance and HB you'll have to budget for map cards unless you find a good package deal. Maps aren't cheap.

While this may be partially true, in my experience using Rage Craws most of the time I've lost claws is when a smallmouth bass surfaces and shakes its head. Then I watch one or both claws go flying into the water and I'm left with a craw body shaped ned worm.

Caught this one today. 33.5" https://photos.app.goo.gl/SFDdmodpehmNJZmb9

I know! Right? Was my brother in law's father taking the picture. Guess I'll have to get a bigger one tomorrow.

Caught this one up in Canada today. 36" and 20+lbs. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662470208_257549c620_c.jpg

First part makes sense, but for the 2nd part I wouldn't think that solder would be a good choice to use since it can leave behind sharp edges too.

Maybe because they see these manufacturers doing it and charging more for it that they think its a good idea? I know it's not because they are catching fish so big they are opening up the eye of the hook. Or maybe it's for the same reason to use oval split rings so the area the line ties to isn't over the gap.