martintheduck

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

Jig fishing rocky bottoms? Siebert Outdoors makes a "dredge head" jig that I have had really good luck with in rocks.... hopping it along. Personally, around rocky stuff I'm throwing exclusively Siebert black/blue dredge head with a rage craw trailer. kills em'.

Yak fishing in where it's at. I started boating out of jon boats and yaks and was a great way to get on the water.

I've got a 2008 Yamaha VMAX 150hp and have run it pretty hard for the last year, plus the guy I bought it from had run it for about 2 years (pretty lightly) and never had any maintenance done on it. What kind of periodic maintenance is required to keep things running at top notch? How often should various parts be changed? (Ex: Spark Plugs, lines, filters [if there are any], fluids....)

From the little bit I do know, sounds like your jack plate could indeed be too high. I've adjusted my 150 up and down and found its sweet spot at around 3 1/4 inch below. At 3 1/2 theres no rooster tail, at 3 theres a huge rooster tail, and at 3 1/4 theres just a little rooster tail and best top speed. I used this guide to adjust my jackplate and measure it properly...... http://www.stevescustomprops.com/faq.html#How_do_I_adjust_the_Prop_shaft_engine_height_

Fill it with gas first then add oil. It'll mix on the way to the ramp. If you really want to too, just shake the gas can around a little

NuCanoe Frontier....

My boat came with a couple speakers installed underneath my console. Basically useless. Not loud enough when running. When fishing, the speaker position means I have to turn too loud to hear it and spooks fish. It would be decent I suppose for just bringing the boat out to lounge on the water. Moral of the story? The cheap route apparently yields cheap results. I just snagged a bluetooth speaker for my iphone and keep it up on the bow while I fish. Works awesome. Definitely great to listen to music while night fishing.

I dunno man.... stained water with a foot or less of visability? I'd declare that muddy, not stained. In muddy water I'm throwing bright cranks. I've had success on dark colors too, like a dark dark green w/ black back, but I don't have much confidence in that setup in muddy water

It does give it a wider wobble, for sure. I tend to only take the swivel off in the colder months or if they are short striking me.

Those nipples have to do with hydraulic fluid. Supposedly, you should grease the rod, but I never do. http://www.seastarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Hydraulic-Steering-Maintenance.pdf

Valid question indeed bud. Idea with cranks is to get bottom contact, yes, but when using a crank in its proper depth range, it will scape the bottom and be able to bounce off objects. So say you are throwing a DD22(deep crank for 20ft of water) in 6ft of water.... the action of the bait will be terrible and it will just DIG into the bottom. It will have a terrible action to it. I fish cranks I find myself changing depths or colors regularly, so something I started doing last year was using a swivel clip for my crank baits. I can easily swap out a DD22 for a 5xd and go from fishing 20ft of water to 10 ft of water.

I;ve got a 7'2 MH x-fast tip Cumara and the tip will break pretty easy if you mis use it. I've yet to have a problem with them catching fish, but if you bang them around they will break,

God gosh almighty!

I just know I've not had any issues with that knot on FC yet, even the light stuff. It's possible too I tie a real good palomar or I just have magic fingers... at least thats what my ole' lady says!

hahaha. I was actually about to write up a side by side review. A quick answer about comparison... The Quantum is noticeably lighter. So far I can get better casts with the Quantum. I believe that will change as there is always a slight learning curve with a new reel (and I've only fished the Shimano for maybe 30 minutes). The Shimano feels like a really solid build and the Quantum feels a little "plastic" in comparison. As for feel, they both feel about the same in the palm of my hand, but I prefer the Quantum. The handle feels better when reeling and feels like a slightly smaller profile too. I can't say overall if I like one more than the other yet. Give it about a week and I'll let you know.

I've rarely used a weighted fluke... I guess I've not delved much into it and if I need some weight I just slap em' on a 5/0 hook. What's your take on weighted? When you throw em? What kind of weight you using? How heavy? etc...

Stay away from Abu Garcia IMO. I've owned a number of them and finally tried Lews and Shimano. When dealing with the cheaper models Lews and Shimanos, I'd take the Lews over it. Once you get into spending $250+ though, I'd start going with Shimano.

Well, I pulled the trigger with my tax refund and scooped up one of those new Shimano Ci4+ casters. Just wanted to make a thread to let you guys know --- it is worth the $250+! It's a friggin R.O.C.K.E.T!!!! Smooth as all get out. Has really good power for pulling in fish. And the drag is super smooth. Also, the new braking system they put in there is killer with the ability to really fine tune it. Paired it with a 6'10 MH-fast Shimano Cumara Best purchase this year!

I have that exact same rod and I FINALLY found it's function --- cranks and hard jerk baits exclusively. I fish squarebills with it fantastically. Don't much like it for mids and deeps tough. Definately wouldn't use it for soft jerks like a fluke... probably won't get a good hook set. You, sir, scored yourself a great deal.

It's not really "cookie cutter" for me. Each manufacturer labels their rods differently --- Ex: Shimano Cranking rods are M action moderate tip 7'11 while some loomis cranking rods are 7'11 Heavy action!? So I doubt I'll be using a heavy cranking rod ever. The only useful thing about the "labels" of rods is the cool little pictures they put on the butt of the rod. Makes it easier to identify a rod quickly.

I respectfully disagree. But on another note ---- I fished dropshots on straight 10lb powerpro braid last year (no FC leader) and crushed some fish. I started using a FC leader (8lb's) this year and love it. I will say too, I set my drag relatively loose... just enough to get a hook set and then I let them take drag often.

For most all pitching and flipping I tend to like a MH x-fast 7'2-7'6. I only bump to H action when I get in some thickness. If you're willing to increase your budget by $50, you can snag a Shimano Cumara in the sales sections of TW for $190something + shipping. These rods have become my favorite and they have a lifetime warranty. Super light. Super sensitive. Great. If you are firm at around $150, I can't recommend anything really --- but I will recommend --- STAY AWAY FROM THE DUCKETT MICRO MAGICS. The guides are entirely TOO micro. Can't get anything heavier than 30lb braid through em' very good. That rod was a waste of my dang money!!!

5:4 isn't going to be good for any of what you want to throw except deep cranks. 6:4 is a solid bet for something versatile. I've fished all my cranks and jerkbaits on a 6:4 for years and don't plan to change.

What stage of the spawn are y'all in up there? What depth water are you throwing them in?