Preytorien

Wish I had enough foldin' money to join yer club! Congrats on the sweeeet reel!

Those things work amazing. I bought a used Compre offline and had never cleaned the cork. I saw a while back a post on using Magic Erasers. Went and bought some, now that cork looks new. Looks great.

I think the allure of the lure is what keeps us non-southern guys going. Otherwise we'd lose our minds when it's Easter and we get an inch of snow.

I was thinking of the MattLures U2 Clayton.....it's not that much more. I'm just not excited about dropping $50+ for something I'm not confident in yet. What's your take on whether to get the sinking/floating or straight/boot tail? I'm looking for direction here on these guys, they look great.

I'll also add that'd it'd be nice to have the option to plug in a foot pedal on transom-mount trolling motors. I know Motorguide has the Bulldog and there's the hotly criticized ProControll doo-dad, I'm still on the fence about it. But it'd be sweet if MK and MG would make an optional plug on their motors to add a basic foot pedal.

I'm not yet ready to shell out a lot of money for a swimbait style bait, so I was wondering if these lures are decent to try? Any experience with them? The Bass Pro XPS Z9R http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-XPS-Z9R-Perch-Swimbaits/product/10210240/

I use a digital scale and tie the line to it, have the wife hold it while I set the drag to about 1/4 of breaking strength. I had a case last year where I was using 6lb test Yo-Zuri Hybrid....I set it to 2lbs (I know, 1/3lb). I hooked into a 4lber and man was it a fight. For a minute there it felt like River Monsters, the fish peeling line of the reel.

This is an interesting thread. None of mine are particularly industry-changing like clear braid or anything, but that would be on my wishlist too. Maybe Teflon-coated line guides Soft plastics that employ a more dense soft plastic in one area and a less dense plastic in other areas to create a sort of embedded ballast. I can think flukes might benefit from this. Like a bottom that is more dense to provide a keel to keep it upright, or a craw style bait with a more dense nose to have a nose-down effect without the weight (even though it'd sink slow - might be nice to have) A braid that has different colored fibers inside so that you could easily tell which part of the line has too much/risky wear - kind of like tires have wear indicators

I've got the same boat. Really any 2HP would work. My only thing is that I used one, then went back to the trolling motor. It's much lighter and unless you're planning on running around a lot, the speed of the trolling motor will do fine. I don't fish large places anyways, nowhere that needs a gas motor at least. I can run my SE8 with a 45lb trolling motor the same speed as my buddy with a 16ft aluminum johnboat and a 2HP motor. Another thing is that space inside the SE8 is at a premium, especially when you've got 2 people in there. Not sure what size gas tank you'll be using, but a size 27 battery fits perfectly under the back seat. It's just a much tidy-er and quieter setup. Oh and add to that the fact that they're MUCH more expensive (new, that is)

I have the old one for my frog setup. Man it's a nice rod.

I'd like to know too. I just found a place that was moving, selling a lot of inventory for cheap. I picked up some Little Johns for 6 bucks a piece. I like shallow cranks, but is there anything technique-wise to these guys? They're pretty flat-sided.

I've used Abrazx in the past and liked it, but I think my woes with it came from the fact that I used too light of line. I had a couple of breakoffs. That said I went to strictly braid. Now I've decided to give it another try since I'm getting more into cranking. I got a spool of Super FC Sniper at a store going out of business here in Indy.....$10

I do with a fluke or Caffeine Shad on it instead of a worm. My guess is that the bass may think it's a fingerling, just doing it's thing feeding off the bottom near the shoreline, and I've seen plenty of bass ambush fingerlings on the shoreline, so it seems to be pretty effective.

i would say my downfall tends to be fishing a particular body of water historically. I'm so excited to get there and catch something, waiting for the next high, that I revert to lures that worked for me in the past, only to be skunked. Stuff under the water changes, and as drastic as the weather can be from one day to the other here in Indiana, the lake from one day to the next could be a whole different world. Sometimes I have to just turn off the classic oldies country station on the way, and literally talk through my strategies and factors for the day. I'm sure other motorists see me talking to myself and think I'm nuts. I have to factor in weather trends, (likely) water conditions, wind factors, what stage the bass are in, etc. That way I can have some sort of gameplan other than just using what worked two weeks ago in that spot. I'm a work in progress.....LOL

i like Spro....all of em, especially the bronzeye poppers. I don't use hard ones. The only soft I use is the Rage Tail Toad.

I havent.....but it looks really good. I will be soon! Thanks for posting the schematics on the build! This looks like a great rig for river smallmouth.

Aw man! Sweeeeeeeet!!! That is one sharp looking ride! Enjoy!

I try to accomplish the majority of the larger items on the honey-do list. That way they're outta the way during warmer weather. Spend time with the kids. Get better at another hobby - I practice music a lot, I'm a musician. Save up those accrued paid-time-off days at work so I can use em' when it's warm. Of course clean the gear, replace old/broken stuff, organize. Wait....wait....and wait some more....it'll be here soon!

when fishing a jerkbait throughout the year, how will water temps affect the suspending nature of the jerkbait?

I switched to KVD Swim'n Caffeine Shad.....in pearl white. That thing is awesome.

Cool, thanks guys. I knew there probably was an actual reasoning behind it. I only ask, because my latest deviation from Sufix 832 is that I'm trying the new P-Line XTCB braid, but it's a 4-carrier braid. Its from BPS, to which I had a gift card, and as of yet they don't have the XTCB 8 yet. I'll give it a try. You can definitely feel it's not as smooth. I'm skeptical that it'll separate me from my trusty 832....but I'll give it a shot. I like P-Line's other products very well.

I've always used Sufix 832 (with an occasional mistake of trying something else, like PowerPro - go ahead and crucify me LOL), which is an 8-carrier braid. But there's also 4 carrier. I presume since there are twice as many carriers on 8, you could make each strand thinner for the same lb-test, so would 4 carrier just be a coarser and thicker braid for the same strength as it's 8-carrier counterpart? Where would the two different carrier types have application? I guess I don't understand what 4-carrier is for.

I've found that Bass Pro's "SmartPost" option they use is about the worst I've ever seen. I had a rod and reel, ordered at the same time, shipped at the same time, arrive 3 days apart. It's one of the same things where FedEx handles the long distance transport, then the USPS handles the final leg. The rod shipped from MO, pretty much straight to me (using their hubs), but the reel went from MO, to LA, to OH, to KY, then finally to IN. Never could figure that one out. I've figured out though the tracking systems for USPS only works as good as the people who input the data. UPS updates the tracking each time it's scanned. But I've had USPS stuff say it's still In-Transit or Out for Delivery 2 days after I got it.

I think every hobby/sport has those kinds of folks. It's a matter of preference until it becomes a point of "status" I ride in a road cycling club here in Central IN. There are always those couple of guys who've always got the latest $15K race Tour De France bike. One or two of them don't make much fuss about it, they just enjoy the technical aspect of having the newest technology available. But then a couple of the will flat out look down their nose at you because your ride is 3yrs old and only cost $8K....yes...that's a thing. Those kinds are irritating. I love it when us "inferior" riders put em' in their place. Am I a bit jealous?....probably....but I'm satisfied....LOL until I see my fishing buddy with a new Curado I....me with a G.....then I might have to get one and ask forgivness from the wife later.

I know a bit about what you mean. There's a pond I go to sometimes and it's great fishing during pre-spawn, spawn, and a little after post-spawn, but by mid-late summer, the hydrilla is so thick that it's tough to fish. Of course since it's a pond and no boats are allowed, understand I'm fishing it from the bank. It's tough to fish almost any lure, but when it's a warm summer evening, throwing a frog on there will result in some great fishing.