Snakehead Whisperer

What Tom said. Think somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-15' deep, possibly deeper. Check primary points in the main lake/river and secondary points in creek arms for staging females. I usually drag a Carolina Rig or fish a jig/dropshot, but deep cranking and slow rolling heavy spinnerbaits can be effective if the fish are active. If you're consistently catching bucks, back out to the nearest point with quick access to deeper water like a creek channel. If there is hard cover in these locations, all the better. Deeper is relative. In some bodies of water deep is 6 feet, while in gin clear lakes deep may be 30+ feet or more.

Nice one.

I do this same thing, but I use foam earplugs in the tube. The foam also holds scent really well, so I'll usually douse it in anise scent.

I agree with Team9nine. The article also doesn't state whether the aluminum boat was underway or not. A wake at 20-30-40mph is a totally different beast in a flat bottom boat.

You should get at least a 1436, since you said you'd be fishing with 1-2. The wider the better. If you can find a 1448, even better. I'd advise against the casting deck though. Jon boats are great, but they are far more stable when the center of gravity is low (e.g. standing on the floor.)

I target perch, crappie, bluegill, etc. with a dropshot quite a bit. Just downsize the line to 2lb or so, hook to 6-8-10 and bait to 1" or less. Killer for lethargic smallies too.

Pair the Stradic with a St.Croix Premier 7 foot-ish M-F/XF and you'll be happy. Get a Triumph rod if the Premier is out of your price range.

Then what do the sunfish eat? I would guess that there is some other forage species available in that lake (shiners, fatheads, dace, darters, killifish, etc.) Maybe they want something smaller in size. A trout streamer or nymph/midge might do the trick.

It's likely that the baitfish are somewhere deeper in the water column, and are being chased up to the surface by bass/sunfish. If it were me I would try a suspending jerkbait/slashbait, or something that sinks; then you can count it down until you find where the active fish are feeding.

That depends. In some markets where pure petrol gasoline is available, it is sold as premium (91 or 93 octane.) At most gas stations in the US, however, the 91 & 93 octane is E10 (10% ethanol.) Ethanol free will be clearly marked, and usually cost more. As a preface, there are several methods of determining the octane rating for gasoline. In the US the AKI or (R+M)/2 method is the standard. Different methods will yield entirely different numbers, and the AKI is the number that most of us are familiar with. The major difference between regular (87) and premium (93) is that higher octane fuels are designed to withstand more compression before detonation. In newer engines with higher compression ratios (not to be confused with cylinder compression,) you need the higher octane fuel to prevent pre-ignition (e.g. pinging, knocking, etc.) Igniting premium fuel requires a higher activation energy, which only a high compression engine will deliver. Without the high compression in the cylinder at the time of ignition, there will be un-burnt fuel remaining in the cylinder. A good example is that my old '89 Mercury runs terribly on premium gasoline, as it doesn't burn all of the fuel. I get more power and better economy on 87. I almost always fill it with E10 nowadays, but rarely does a tank of gas go unused in my boat for more than a few days. Most modern outboards recommend either 87 or 89 octane fuel.

Not sure, I've never owned one. I do have an old Coleman canoe that is constructed similarly, and you can move the seats and supports easily.

That's a great looking blue!

This might be completely off base, but... What about an older Coleman Crawdad? Those things are light and pretty wide open. I believe they're about 11' and made of RamX. And you could score one for far less than $1750.

My neighbor in DC is selling a 13' Boston Whaler with a 40 horse Merc on it. This boat flies (close to 40mph, which is scary fast on a boat that size.) It's basically a skiff.

I voted for spots, although I'm not sure why. They seem to be numerous and relatively easy to catch within their native range. We don't have them where I live though (I've heard stories of them in the Potomac, but never seen proof.) If we are talking any fish in the genus Micropterus, then my vote would be redeye/rock bass.

I'm a line watcher so I usually fish jigs and finesse baits on hi-vis yellow braid, so I do use a leader (usually fluoro.) On my frogging and punching setups I run straight green braid with no leader.

This ^^ This is about the best you'll be able to do within your price range unless you find a closeout deal or something like that. My friend has the 70lb X3 on his 17' deep v, and it has plenty of power to spare. I'm assuming that the hull on the deep v is going to have more drag than your bass boat, but then again your boat's a Ranger

I rarely use backing for fluorocarbon (usually just fill the spool.) If it were me though I would use mono for the backing, but tie a short length of braid between the mono and fluoro to reduce the size of the joining knots. It might just be personal opinion, but I feel that braid to fluoro/mono knots are much cleaner and tighter than mono to fluoro. I tie staggered leaders for fly tippet and the knots are always bulky feeling. Fortunately it doesn't matter much in that case.

Welcome to the site Crankenstien. I too am amazed by the quality of the members on this board. Hard to find a forum where people keep the discussion civilized (for the most part.) You've really got to hand it to Glenn and the moderators, because they run a tight ship and keep all of the discussion on topic. It's a tough job to keep everything in order, and they do great at it. I was/am a member at several other bass fishing forums, but this is the only one that really matters to me anymore. With that said, this thread will probably be moved to the "Introductions" section by one of the diligent mods

I checked the IGFA records, and this is the record holding fish. It's cool to see a pic of it.

That's the only caveat. When I trailer my boat I have about 8" of clearance between the ground and the lower unit. I just drive carefully and don't go down any steep driveways. My lower unit will clear the driveway at the gas station, for instance. I tilt the motor up when I'm at the ramp.

Don't know anything about the carp spawn, but I do know a little about catching them. The best bait that I've found for carp is wonder bread soaked in italian dressing. That and squarebill crankbaits (I seem to snag more than my fair share.) Here's a pic of my PB, caught on a homemade squarebill. Here in DC a lot of folks throw mulberry looking dry flies for carp during the mulberry hatch. They do pretty well with these, and topwater carping is practically an oximoron.

I trailer mine with the outboard all the way down. Less stress on the transom that way.

My personal go-to is 'baby bass.' All of the colors previously mentioned are great too.

Lure retrievers do work, although it's almost pointless if you're fishing from the bank. Can't tell you how many times I've used my landing net to free a stuck crankbait. I've also used an old 12' surf rod to retrieve lures from trees.