basscat73

Can't have both? Then, go with the spinnerbait. You've got way more versatilty with the spinnerbait.

Congrats on the new boat! ;D

For trolling, it helps to have a reel with a clicker, so that when a fish takes your lure, your reel will start clicking when line is being taken out. I use 7'7" All-Star rods for muskie fishing. I don't know about the Berkley rods though.

It's super easy to rig and they work well for me. I use the smallest swivel I can get away with that will fit over the hook barb. The swivel doesn't add much weight, but probably a bit more than the clip.

Ditto. I used to be on the sauce, but not anymore. I fish with a guy who sauces all the time and he's not catching any more fish than I do! : ;D

You can get them at basspro if they aren't on backorder! They are used to keep plastics from sliding down the hook. Instead, I've been using small black barrel swivel and it works very well on my weightless plastics like flukes or ikas. Got the rigging idea from bassmaster magazine. To rig the swivel: 1. Thread your line through one end of a small swivel. (swivel is not tied to the line) 2. Tie your hook to the line. 3. Rig the nose of your plastic just like you normally would on the hook and slide it up over the eye of the hook. 4. Take the hook and thread it through the open end of your swivel and pull the swivel all the way up under the nose of the bait. 5. Skin hook or rig rest of your plastic the way you normally would. Here's drawing of the idea.

60lb braid is the way to go. You need a huge net. AFTER THE FISH IS IN THE NET: Once in the net, remove the lure. You must, I repeat, YOU MUST, own the the fish when you pick him up to take a quick pic. Use one hand to grab him underneath the gill plate, grip must be firm. Use your other hand to grab him underneath the other end, just like in my profile pic. If you don't have complete control, he may thrash, you'll drop him and you could really injure him. Don't keep him out of the water any longer than necessary. A minute or so is plenty long. TO RELEASE THE FISH: Lay him back down in the water. He'll be tired from the fight and from being out of the water. Grab him just in front of his tail, point him away from the boat and gently move him forward and backward in the water to get water flowing through his gills. He should wake up a little and let you know when he's ready to swim away.

Ceph, I know that was fun! Sad that he got away. My buddy and I had the same thing happen to us while bass fishing. He hooked into a 14" walleye and brought it next to the boat to scoop it out of the water, then a huge muskie surged up and stole the walleye right next to the boat! Had my buddy been going for the walleye a second later, his hand would've been toast. We estimated the muskie to be around 50". He fought him for 6-8 minutes, we didn't have a net, unfortunately. Then, the muskie just let the walleye go. Poor walleye, he was a mangled mess and still alive... somewhat...

This is a horrible thread! > I'm at work... and no where near a steak right now. :'( ARRRRRRRGH!

Yep, that looks like a steal of a deal! It's a lot of boat for that price. Congrats and have fun with it!

If I fish a big tournament, which is not often, I'll use the tungsten. But, up here it da north, we have too many toothy critters (musky, pickerel, walleye, etc) to deal with for me to use tungsten on a regular basis. I use ultra steel and like them quite a bit!

You could go with a pro-control model, which is $80.

Ditto

Congrats! Those Champions are great. Very sharp look'n boat. Those Wisconsin bass should consider themselves lucky to get lifted into your boat.

That's a nice upgrade! Have fun with it.

I see -- like navionics, etc. I don't think that's an option on this model. No biggie though. This model will give me way points, water temp and the rest of the basics. I don't need much for my console finder.

Thanks for the positive opinions. By the way the new captain thanks you too. See below. As you can tell, my little bass master has already taken the controls away from me! He's the one you gotta talk to about going for a ride. ;D

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. What are map packs? Does the Cuda 250 have it or is it extra or maybe not available for the unit?

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I can finally post pics of the "new to me" boat. I'm very happy with it. It's got a few technical issues to take care of, but nothing I can't handle. The fiberglass is in good shape and the motor is in great shape. I made two, 11 hr trips from Wisconsin to Minnesota in order to find a boat. My first trip was for a Cajun, but the boat didn't measure up very well. Then, with the help from fellow bass resourcer, ljmax, I found this Ranger, drove back to Minnesota, and bought it. I won't do too much to it this year, but next year it will get new carpet and a DIY deck extension. This is a great boat with oodles of storage. Cheers!

I need to get a finder for my console. I don't really need much fancy stuff since I'll mainly use it for watching depth as I'm running the big motor. This Eagle Cuda GPS caught my eye because of it's $200 price point. It would be nice to have GPS to lock in some way points and it also has water temp. Seems like a good deal. Any opinions?

Thanks Cart. I shot an email to that guy. Looks like he does nice stuff. P.S. Redliner, that's not my boat, but I did just buy a boat of the same model (Ranger 481VS Commanche) with some help from fellow bassresourcers. I hope to post some pics soon.

I have a '95 Mercury Black Max 150 XRi. My existing decals have the horizontal red stripes and they are tattered. I'd like to replace the decals. I saw another motor just like mine, but the decals were different and I like them better. I'll enclose a pic. Anyone know where I can find Mercury decals like these or replacements for the ones on my motor?