Scott F

I think it's a young lake trout.

The on board charger needs to be plugged in to a 110 volt outlet. The motor will charge the starting battery, but not the trolling motor battery.

echoMap by far. The Striker series has no maps. It has GPS, but only shows tracks, with no relation to location. With the echoMap series, you can create your own high def maps of any lake. The LakeVu HD maps are included in most models and have 17,000 lake maps built right in. I was extremely happy with the quality of the HD maps and their accuracy. If you are getting a discount, take advantage and get one of the echoMap series.

Snaps are OK, but swivels generally are not needed. Some guys may use swivels with to counteract spinners that are twisting their line.

How far do you bury the hook? I usually just barely put the hook just barely under the skin. I also use braid so all of my hookset moves the hook and is not absorbed by line stretch.

I suspect you might have a clogged fuel filter. True, ethanol can cause problems, but there are thousands of people who run have run their boats for years using E10 that never have had problems, including me. Take it to a good mechanic to have it checked over.

That's why they call them "sliders".

The baits you are using are fine. You're just not putting them in front of active bass.

Usually, the fastest water is not that deep. I would fish the fastest water you can find, riffles or rapids with deep water that is close by. Hot water means lower oxygen levels and fast water riffles, adds oxygen which will attract and hold bass.

I don't use baitcasters a lot, but if you were asking about Quatum spinning reels, they would be my first choice.

I go to White Castle about once every 4 years. After I eat there, I remember why I haven't been there in 4 years.

I had a visit with the surgeon today. I go under the knife a week from Monday. I'll be good as new (almost) a few weeks after that. I will miss out on another trip I had planned for August, but I'll make up for it in September and October!

I won't know anything about what surgeries are needed until I see the surgeon tomorrow. Right now, I can't stand, sit or walk for more than a minute or two without intense pain. I gotta do something soon.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the kind words.

I had a vacation week off from work this past week. The plan was to head north to Wisconsin to float some rivers for big smallies. Last Saturday, I was loading up the truck and felt a sharp pain in my lower back and down through my right leg. I'm certainly no stranger to lower back pain but this was the first time my leg was affected. The pain was pretty bad so I treated it with ice packs and laid down for the rest of the day. I thought I'd just delay the start of my fishing trip by a day, maybe two at the worst. Monday, the doctor prescribed some meds, but they were not much help. For the last week, I could only get comfortable by laying down. Sitting on a chair for even a few minutes brought extreme pain. By Friday, there was no improvement and an MRI revealed bulging discs and loose junk floating around my spine. On Monday, I meet with the surgeon to discuss my upcoming back surgery. I not only missed out on my trip this week, it looks like my next trip up north next month is in jeopardy too. I'll know more on Monday.

The speed control is a factor in picking a motor I've seen models with 80 pounds of thrust that only have 5 speeds. Speed 1 was just too fast when you wanted to go slow. No way to slow it down enough. An infinite speed control would have made that motor more functional.

All the water I fish is clear. I only fish braid. I don't believe bass are spooked by fishing line. I have no reason to use fluoro for leaders or the mainline.

Option C. Braid, no leader.

Get to know those who actually fish your area. Join a club or find local fishing forums so you meet someone who can show you where to fish and what to use. Reading or watching videos, will help, but actually fishing with someone who knows what they are doing can be much more effective.

Why do you think fishing downstream is fishing backwards? If you were a trout fisherman, that would be what trout fishermen might say, but aren't you fishing for smallmouth? If you are wading and you normally only go upstream, dont you fish your way back to where you started? There are lots of ways to fish moving downstream. If you shuffle your feet as you walk, you will stir up the bottom kicking up all sorts edible critters that bass eat which will get their attention. Stop frequently and don't move your feet for several minutes which will give the bass time to settle back down. If you are fishing now, in the hottest parts of the summer, I hope you are finding the fastest moving water you can. This is a must. If there is little to no current, move on. Toss a small spinner or shallow crank bait down stream and reel it back very slowly, stopping to let the current rush past the bait. Top waters also work well against the current. Hold it in likely spots next to a rock or a log where a fish might be holding out of the current. A bait spinning or vibrating held next to a bass will drive them nuts.

I'm not entirely sure why you are asking for opinions here. As a commercial photographer I'm sure you are aware that the only opinion that counts is the one from the art director who will buy your stuff. We can all say that it looks great, and it does, but if the buyer doesn't like it, or it's not what he's looking for, that's all that matters.

A spool with a larger diameter will pick up more line per turn than one with a smaller diameter even if the gear ratios are the same. Now that higher speed baitcasters are a "big" thing, you will be seeing a lot more of that filtering down to spinning reels. Quantum is already advertising higher speed spinning reels in their Smoke series. It was never really an issue before, but it is a good marketing tactic for reel makers so look for a lot more spinning reels to be advertised as "high speed".

If you google the model and name of the rod you might find someone who has it for sale. Looks to me like it has been discontinued.

To make sure you get the same rod, there should be some other numbers and information on the old rod so you can match it up. Is it a medium, or medium heavy rod. What size lures does it recommended? What size line does it say to use? It might also say what kind of graphite or fiberglass was it made from? IM7 graphite maybe or something like that? The length and color alone are not enough to make sure you get the same rod.

I've got that book. I admit I haven't looked at in years. I got it passed down to me after my father passed away over 30 years ago. I also got a copy of the In-Fisherman book from him, "Largemouth Bass Handbook of Stategies" which was autographed by all the original authors including Al and Ron Lindner.