Scott F

My front ones are in exactly the same place as those in the photo. My console is not tight to the side of the boat and there are storage compartments running the length of the boat. In front, when I lay my rods down, on the storage lids, the tips point towards the rear, and the handles start behind where the cleats are. In the back, they are close to where those in the picture. Whoever is in back lays his rods so the tips are toward the front and the handles never come near the cleats. Could be because of the layout of my boat that the cleats just don't get in the way. We also always keep the entire rod inside the boat so they don't have parts hanging over the side.

I use spinning reels most of the time and I've never owned a 4000 size reel. I once bought a 3000 before I started using more baitcast reels for pike. Any spinning reel I have on a medium power rod is a 2000 or 2500.

I have had 4 of those cleats on my boat for 30 years and have never had a rod catch on one before. It could be because they are not located near where anyone would normally lay a rod.

If I’m so wrong, shouldn’t those things be in a lake and not your driveway?

I was a service technician for 36 years. My #1 tip, above all others.... "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

IF, the mapping is of excellent quality and is accurate, it may be very valuable on the bow. I fish lots of off shore submerged humps. These are out in the middle of the lake. I use the console mapping unit to drive right to these humps without having to search for them. Once I drop the trolling motor, the bow unit helps me to stay just off the edge of the structure and gives me an idea where I'm at in relation to the area I want to fish. If you catch a fish and the wind is blowing, it's so easy to get knocked off the structure. The map makes it easy to reposition yourself exactly where you want to be. If you generally fish waters that don't have a lot of off shore structure, you may not make much use of mapping. But if you are trying to follow a creek channel with a trolling motor, a good mapping unit on the bow will make it a lot easier.

Bluegills eat bass eggs. Kill em!!! Birds eat the same food as bass!! Kill em!!! Bucket fishermen eat bass!!! Kill em!!!!!!!

I used to have a friend who custom built all my rods for me but he quit doing it several years ago. Since then, I’ve been using nothing but St. Croix. Good rods, you can find them anywhere and if I happen to break one, I’m at the St Croix outlet store often enough I can exchange it over the counter.

If you don’t want to “rip mouths”, ease up up on the hook sets.

Contrary to what all the "pros" do, I don't over think my set ups. I just grab a rod or two and go fish. I find it much easier to use a few rods at a time that than having the deck of my boat covered with a different rod for each bait.

No bare feet or sandals for me. I get easily sunburned so my feet stay covered up. I like waterproof shoes to keep my feet dry if it's raining or I have to step in some shallow water when loading the boat. I like my LL Bean waterproof shoes. Good grip too.

IMHO, If a bass is in the mood to eat, and sees a crayfish, he will not pass it up because it is not the right color. Even if the bass has never seen a crayfish before, if he thinks it's edible, he'll eat it. One of the most popular bass baits of all time is a worm. How often have you ever seen worms swimming in your local waters?

There's lots of them. You looking to find some? Would you care to narrow down the area you might be interested in?

Loctite blue, is for metal fasteners. Not recommended for plastics.

When the fish are pretty small, even with light tackle, it's hard not to ski them back in. My favorite fishing is for river smallies with ML or M spinning rods. You just can't ski in even a medium sized river smallmouth on gear like that. Getting them in the boat is not a priority. My fun comes when I set the hook and fight them back. Once the fight is over, if they get off next to the boat, so much the better.

If sales suffer with the shorter warranty, the lifetime warranty will return. Lifetime warranties are an expense. How much more would you pay for a longer warranty?

All of the rods that I currently use in my regular rotation, are St. Croix, mostly Avids. One day, after a particularly hard hook set, my medium action Avid spinning rod snapped in half. I am fortunate enough to do a lot of fishing within 45 minutes of the St. Croix store in Park Falls, WI, the home of St Croix. I walked in to the St. Croix store, handed them the rod, and they went in back and got me a brand new one.

Which Garmin with Si and Di do you have? My Garmin with Sv and Dv work just fine. I don't know why you say it's garbage.

Very slow on all my devices.

To me, that looks more like a tiger musky. My basic rule is a pike has a dark body with light spots and a musky has a light body with dark spots. Either way, it is a unique fish.

As you've already seen, the "knottable" wire can be tied into a knot, tying it isn't the same as tying mono. It does take a bit of practice to tie it without making look like a pigs tail.

HA! The best to me, is no knot at all!

The benefit of increased casting difference in dropping down from 30 to 20lb braid is probably bigger than you think. I saw big decreases in casting distance when I went from 10 to 15lb test braid. To increase your casting distance, you have to decrease the friction. Increasing the number of guides is going to increase the friction of the line dragging on the guides. Speaking of line dragging on the guides, the knot connecting your leader to the mainline reduces casting distance as it hits the guides. More guides will increase the amount your line slows down as the knot passes through those guides.

I fish for smallmouth about 90% of the time. Because most, of my smallie baits are not very heavy, spinning gear is what I use. When I do target green bass and use spinner baits and larger topwaters or If I'm musky fishing, I use gear appropriate for the baits which is usually bait casting equipment. Overall, spinning gear is in my hands most of the time.

I've had a lot of success with Charlie Brewer Slider Heads. The bullet shaped weight does not get snagged in rocks easily, and allows you to rig them weedlessly.