Scott F

While you are learning, I'd stick to just throwing one bait. Each different style can have a slightly different cadence to get it to walk. Switching back and forth between baits may make it more difficult. I taught myself to walk a Zara Spook. A Lucky Craft Sammy does not walk exactly the same way and I always have trouble getting it to walk with my normal retrieve.

Old style foot pedal New style

Why can't the lake hold smallmouths? Where do you think the smallies go during the cold water period? How shallow is "far too sallow to hold fish" ? 40-50 yards wide in my area is a river. Creeks that hold smallmouth can be wide enough to jump across. Smallies in my river will swim and be caught in water that would barely get your ankles wet. A "deep" hole in some areas may be only 1 foot deep. Reasons why you got shut out could be many. They may have been where you were fishing but weren't feeding, you may have spooked them or you didn't use the right presentation they wanted that day. If the water has warmed up, they may have moved to where the water was cooler or had more oxygen. Those are usually places where there is some current.

That sounds like the issue to me.

Aren't the new style foot pedals a lot better about this than the older ones were?

I like a great hamburger as much as anybody. If I'm going out to buy a burger, I'm going to have fries with it. Even if the burger is great, if the fries are bad, I'm going elsewhere. Five Guys burgers are OK, but those greasy, limp, fresh cut, French fries are just the worst. No more Five Guys for me. I like Fuddruckers a lot. Good meat, buns are baked right there, and you can load up the toppings yourself. Their seasoned potato wedges are very good. Because they have the toppings bar, I can put diced onions on my fries. I can't do that at any other place I've ever been.

Befor you start your construction, I hope you have spoken to others who have made the same conversion on their boats. The center of gravity will be pretty high and I'd think your boat might easily tip over while standing high up on the front deck. It would be a shame to go to all that trouble only to find it isn't safe to stand up on the deck.

Question. If you didn't like the foot pedal, why did you buy the trolling motor? There is no other "normal" foot pedal. The Powerdrive pedal has always worked that way. Hit the left side, it turns left. Hit the right side, it turns right. Isn't that the logical way a foot pedal should work? That low profile foot pedal is the main advantage over cable steer. You don't have to cut a hole in the deck of your boat to use it. Use it for a while and it will be second nature.

Evidence that "long arming fish" has been around for a while.

Tri-hull boats have THE worst ride you can imagine. Unless the water is smooth as glass, they will just beat up the passengers. Don't waste a lot of time and money on a boat you won't like down the road.

You should be able to attach a male/female connector to the damaged wires or use one to shorten the length of the cable if that's what you need. The transducer cable on my Terrova has an adapter cable to connect it to my depthfinder. The cost for the connectors is not cheap. It could easily cost as much for the connectors as for a new transducer. The attached picture is for a connector with 10 wires, but smaller connectors are available.

You can't compare what I'm paying for insurance and what you get quoted for. Rates can vary by your age, where you live, the value of the gear you want covered, your history, how many other policies you have with your insurance company, even your credit rating.

Call your insurance man and get a quote. Your gear many already be covered by your homeowners or renters insurance. No one here can tell you what kind of policy you may or may not already have or what it may cost to cover your stuff.

I've been fishing a long time but the term "cheese" as it relates to something in the water is new to me. Aside from the stuff that goes on a hamburger, can anybody tell me what the OP is talking about?

Senkos are also very effective for smallmouth!

Be careful where you order your hot dog if you are in Chicago. There are places that REFUSE to put ketchup on a hot dog if you are over 8 years old. The classic Chicago style dog is "dragged through the garden" (pickles, relish, onions, tomato, peppers and mustard) and never, repeat never has ketchup on it. Order it plain, and sneak ketchup packets outside to put it on your dog.

If it were me, I'd take the Ranger every time. Better build quality, better ride. If you ever wanted to sell it, It would sell quicker and hold it's value better. The age difference at this point only matters if the condition difference is great.

I noticed how few appreciate what the perfect hot dog requires. You just forgot the sweet relish. That Costco dog might be good but if they had decent toppings, like the tomatoes, pickle spear, and sport peppers, they'd be much better.

I think this is another of those Ford vs Chevy debates. Everybody has their favorites. I just replaced an Interstate battery I bought at WalMart 8 years ago. I don't use my boat everyday which I'm sure contributed to how long it lasted. I paid $82 for the group 27 at WalMart. A battery with the same specs at Bass Pro is $150. Is the Bass Pro battery $70 better? I don't think so. It would have to last 80% longer than the WalMart battery. I'm going to have to replace my starting battery soon, it's 7 years old. I'm going back to WalMart.

Aside from it being a bit larger, what are the other differences that make it greatly improved?

Most crankbaits will transmit their vibrations up through the rod (assuming you have a half way decent rod) and you will feel it working. If the vibrations stop, and you don't feel much if any weight, you are probably dragging weeds. When you feel the vibrations stop, sweep the rod up which will set the hook if it is a fish. You'll know pretty quickly if it is or not.

You should almost never need a swivel. Some people might use a swivel for inline spinners to reduce line twist but quality spinners just have blades that spin not the entire lure so the swivel does not help. A snap with no swivel is generally OK for quickly changing a crankbait but with plastics, your line should be tied directly to the hook.

We used to troll original Rapalas with a split shot crimped a foot or two above the bait to get it down deeper for walleyes. Had no effect on the action of the lure at all. I can't imagine why it would. It worked great. We used to use a 3 way rig with up to 3 or 4 ounces of weight when trolling for lakers in 100 feet of water. The same concept is used on the Great Lakes to the extreme using downriggers with lead balls weighing several pounds to get baits down to the desired depth. Casting a rig with a split shot in front can be tricky but experimenting with the weight of the lead and the distance in front of the lure will be required to get the desired results. I know the OP bought expensive line he doesn't want to go to waste, but for anybody else trying to add running depth to a lure, thinner lines, like braid is the easiest way to do it.

My ex-brother in-law used to put his beer in the back window of his car where it would get hot so no one would ask him for any.

In nature, many species of animals, including fish, have colorations that allow them to blend in to their environment so they may be able to hide from predators. Any animals that have some sort of genetic defect, like albinos, do not often survive to adulthood because they can't hide from predators. My question is, does it make sense to use baits that do not stand out from the environment and instead blend in, like those that have photo like paint jobs or does it make more sense to use baits that do not hide and that stand out so that bass can easily find them? Do those of you who insist on using realistic looking baits have better catch rates with them than you get with less than realistic looking baits?