Scott F

Early, Saturday afternoon is the peak time and the aisles will get pretty full. Friday is a good time, especially if you get there around 3. Much easier to find better parking too.

I assume you aren’t releasing these fish into a frying pan? If the fish are inhaling like that, you could switch to a single, barbless, hook. At least, if they inhale that, you can remove the hook faster with less damage to the fish. If you keep good pressure on them, you won’t lose many. Even if you do, if they are hitting that well, it won’t matter.

I’ll be working the booth for The Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, open to close, all 4 days.

Not looking good for the Packers. ?

Looks like an easy way to keep a bass from getting hooked at all.

None of them are 100% reliable. Good ones are all pricey. I went through two others including a Pro Mariner before I got my current Minn Kota MK220PC which is the 2 bank, 20 amp version of yours.

Pike, musky, walleye, crappie, bowfin, and yellow perch are some of the species I get while bass fishing in Wisconsin. This was one of my accidental catches last spring.

I own a two year old aluminum, custom built jon boat, and a 32 year old fiberglass Ranger. Trackers have always been the least expensive boats you could buy. A few years ago, a good friend of mine was the marine manager at a Gander Mountain that sold Tracker boats. 100% of the boats that were sold by that store were back at the store for warranty issues. Quality control at that time was very bad. I’ve heard things have gotten better in that regard, but they are still cheaply built boats with poor resale value.

I don't like Trackers so I'd take anything over one.

Use them anyway you want. Search past posts for Ned Rigs to see how many guys do it.

Aren’t there any boat dealers near you?

You might not be happy with the higher power if, you get the least expensive 24 volt motor that only has a 5 speed selector. On those, the lowest speed setting might be too fast to let you go slow enough. Be sure to get a motor with variable speed control.

If you think those are simple questions, you probably don’t know anything about it.

Statistics from the last 20 years of fishing licenses sold in the US does not show declining sales. In fact, in 2013, almost 36 million licenses were sold. There has been a slow, steady increase since then and 41.4 million were sold in 2019. Doesn’t look like the industry is dying just yet.

There is always the chance that the fact that a hot bite lining up with whatever solunar table you use, was just a coincidence. Just like when guys see bass spawning during a full moon and come to the conclusion that the two are connected. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

What is your current battery set up? I can always get two days of fishing without having to recharge.

I’ve been towing boats for over 30 years and have never owned a 4WD. Due to the fact that I never needed it in the past, I didn’t even consider it with the new truck I just bought. I also don’t launch on bad ramps or put myself in a situation where I’ll need 4WD.

You not only said they were no good, you called them “substandard garbage”

Trying to match the color of your carpet may be tough, but I often got pieces of carpet from the dumpsters behind carpet stores where they threw out the leftover pieces.

Specifically, what makes them “substandard garbage”? Garbage to me means they won’t function at all and must be thrown out. Nothing about them has effected the performance of my Avid X.

No matter which plug or connection you use, it’s important that they are tight and secure. There is a lot of current going through there and that connection will always be the weakest point.

6 hours North of Chicago bass fishing is where I spend at least 6 weeks every year. You give little details about when you are going, if you have your own boat, how long you want to stay or what kind of accommodations you might be looking for. If it was me, I’d start at the Minocqua chamber of commerce web site. There are literally hundreds of lakes within an hours drive of there, most of which have lots of large and smallmouth bass, that see very little fishing pressure. You can get a cabin on a lake and fish the same lake every day, or stay in a motel and fish 1-5 lakes every day. Soooo many possibilities. The town has lots of restaurants if you don’t want to cook, and plenty of grocery stores if you do.

1. 2019 Ford F-150, 6’8” bed with a cap. 2. No fishing gear stays in the truck year round 3. I have a 4 rod rack that hangs from the ceiling of the cap. But there are only rods in it during fishing season. I might, leave a single tackle box in the bed. I have a bed rug so the box doesn’t slide around. 4. A couple of spare hats and a rain jacket will stay on the back seat. Leaving stuff in the truck is just asking for someone to break in and steal stuff. The rod rack isn’t visible from outside the truck.

The way things have been some years lately, fishing for bass before the season began meant you'd still be fishing through the ice.

It’s funny. I fish with a guy who’d rather go to the dentist than throw soft plastics. Next season, I’m giving up on him.