NathanW

It has its place. Most the comments so far are pretty accurate. It is stiff, doesnt hadle great and has above average memory. I say it has its place becasue it is strong and abrasion resistant with very low stretch. I like it a lot for leaders, and mainlines on T-rig, Jig, stickbait, C-Rig, and football jig. But wont use it for any reaction stuff and wound not dream of using it as mainline on spinning gear. Lines it is comparable to are Abrasx and Shooter both of which I also like just fine for these applications. If you are a Fluorocarbon newbie I would probably look for an easier handling line (seagar red label or invizx would be my recommendation), but if you really know what you are doing you will really appreciate Trilene 100%'s strengths.

Some examples of when I got off shore.... For low current lakes.... After the spawing rituals are well over, I go off shore during the summer month usualy starting at around 9am or 10am depending on how hot it is. I always fish the bank in the mornings and evenings unless a major cold front comes in, then I may start off shore. For river/higher current bodies of water. Current means channels, channels mean well defined grassline. I will fish the inside grassline in the morning and then go offshore to the outside grassline after the sun gets up. If I am really desperate for big fish I may stay on that inside grassline longer but typically the outside grassline will produce much better quantities of smaller fish. Another example of when I go off shore on a body of water like this is when the current shuts down considerably. This is a great time to go fish those offshore humps, rockpiles and vertical structure that are close-to or in the channel. This is stuff that does not hold fish or is difficult to fish during normal current. I moved to a location where I was forced to fish offshore because there is virtually no shore bite during much of the year. This is helped me tremedeously on other lakes and rivers when the shore bite slows on hot days.

Would be a no brainer for me....I would buy a Shimano Bantam off ebay before buying any new casting reel under 40. I am a lefty but keep a few righty guest rods the have Bantams on them. They are very reliable and most people are surprised by how well they fish.

I think you are in good shape. Dont forget the plug... Pretty much the same thing you do except I siphon the stored fuel into in my riding lawn mower and vehicle. Then refuel with fresh fuel, add Seafoam becuase I am not fishing a whole lot the first month of each season (March) and the fuel may sit. The last lower unit I had let in traces of water so gear lube was a two or three time of year deal, but the one I have now runs pretty tight and I only change it at the end of each season. I order NGK's online as they are not really easy to find anymore in stores but only replace them when they start to visually wear. I have run Champions but their threading is cheap and the terminal loosens too easily. But havent had any perfromance problems with either. I dont replace them annually but always carry spares.

The blue and white areas look pretty good. I probably wouldnt spend much time fishing the tan area. (; Not a lot to work with but ony my river I would key in on the areas that have a lot of contours close together (steep) that are next to countours that are not close together (flat). Most specifically an area like upstream of 13, and they get pretty tight at 10 as well. But trust me, time of year, current, species, water quality and bottom composition play a very big role in determining their location/catchability on a river system. One example that is applicable to here, when you have limited current the cut-bank side of the river can be very productive but if you have heavier current, with possible rising waters cut banks are the first area to easily rule out.

I use 5/0 for 5" senkos. 4/0 for 4" Senkos. I go a bigger for the added weight for casting gear's sake. If I am fishing spinning gear I am typically wacky rigging now. Yamamoto is so soft that you dont need as much gap as you do with other plastics so you could esily get by with smaller. I just make sure I have a fast rod with a solid backbone.

X2 on the hook thickness. This is always a factor. Also, you are not going to be sucking line up as quickly with the spinning setup so you may be setting the hook a tad early. I like a medium action casting rod for senkos thats pretty fast and a little on the stiff side. Not all Meduim, Fast action rods are created equal so maybe it is your rod. I own one rod labeled M Fast casting rod that I would dream of fishing plastics with.

I don't notice that stuff while I am actually fishing. But the extra spool is nice and worth mentioning.

I say it is not worth the extra money because when I pick up my President/Supreme I cannot tell which one is which until I look at the label (the spools are interchangeable). Why spend the extra $100.00? For that cool graphite handle and foam grip....? With Shimano, the quality speaks for itself. Go look at resale value on ebay of the Stadic FG or FJ (or any older Shimano reel) and compare it to other brands resale value. Ive seen 10 year old FG's sell for over $100.00 multiple times. But yeh, I'll be honest I prefer my Shimano casting and spinning reels when I am on the water. I love it all when I am in the shop playing with it but time and time again my Daiwa and Abu stuff end up back in the locker while my Curado's end up on the rods that are still on the deck.

President is great. The Sup Xt is nice too but not really worth the extra $. If you are going to buy a spinning reel in that upper price range the Stradic FJ is the only one that is worth it in my opinion.

That sounds like fun.

I have used them and caught fish on them. I am very green when it comes to toading FYI. I rigged it with a Paycheckbaits Head case and it stayed put all day. At the end of the day I put the same bait back in the bag. My only suggestion is to give them a try if you do a lot of toading. My main fear regarding Elaztech is that hooksets with T-rigged baits will jam up more often/ easier.

No power poles? Sorry for making you upset. You will use both livewells so that changes things. For me storage is extremely valuable and I think that Tracker (not you) is only considering a sector of anglers who, like you are meat fisherman and load up the livewells, or guys who want to fish tournaments out of an aluminum boat. There are plenty of meat guys out there sure, but I'll tell you most of them are not lucky/good enough to fill up two livewells the way that you are. On the other hand there are very few bass tournament guys that fish from aluminum. If I came out to a tourney in my 60HP Tracker I would be protested by the co-angler, trust me. If it was a buddy tournament, I wouldn't need two livewells so I just dont understand it. The older Trackers are not trimmed out as nicely but the storage space is plentiful and they are much easier to work on when making modifications/repairs below the deck, pulling new wires, etc. Other than that there are plenty of advantages to the new design. I do not blame you at all for getting one.

Remove the trolling motor pedal panel and the carpeted panel that angles up against the bow. Maybe you can see what you are dealing with. My tracker can store rods up 8' easily after I removed some foam. Use a chisel taped to a broom stick and follow it with a shop vacuum afterwords. Be careful, duh. You have got your handsfull with the layout and storage design of that boat. I went through one down at the Pheonix BPS and had some questions... Hopefully you get a lot of use out of BOTH your livewells. (; You didnt need that storage space anyways.

The 6'10" jerkbait topwater rod is the only Skeet Reese rod that I actually like. The 7' S-Glass rod is not bad either but its on the heavy side. Honestly, its a no brainer buy that rod and you will love it. I own two and use them all the time. They are the also the least expensive rod I carry and get used almost every trip out. Something I cannot say about the most expensive rods I carry. Just dont expect to fish anything t-rigged with it like flukes, toads or frogs. Its not that kind of jerkbait/topwater rod. You wont get those fish in the boat. It will work for treble hook baits I also use it for swimming a grub on an exposed hook jighead.

Cool. Thats what I figured it was. That sounds like a lot of fun. A buddy and I used to do this with new and sometimes unusual baits came out. We would bet LC/Spro crankbaits on who could catch one first on the chosen bait. We still have yet to catch anything on those gigantic 4.5" Reaction Innovation beavers, a bet that is two years running. Lol.

That lower unit would take quicksilver 80W-90. When you remove that lower screw do it slowly. If you get water before oil you need to have the lower unit seals replaced. I usually replace my lower unitl lube twice a season. I have never changed a lower unit that didnt have somewhat milky discolored lube. It will always be a little streaky and lighter in color than it was when you put it in. But if its like a milky yellow color and doesnt look anything like it did when it went in (and stinks badly), its time for a pressure test becasue you've got a bad seal. Super easy to do I would recommend buying a pump from walmart made especially for this.

It has been years since I have had any other hobbies. What I do now besides bass fishing is only done to please my wife and kids. That includes work, family stuff, chores around the house. And trust me while I am doing those things I am mostly thinking about bass fishing. It is a sad case of addiction and I feel sorry for my wife.

I always try to use a bait that is a little deeper. You go too much deeper and your are asking to lose that bait unless you really slow your retrieve. I dont think crankbait fishing requires as much science as some do. I have caught so many bass on a SK Pro Model 5 in 4-8 foot of water you wouldnt believe it. As long as you get bottom you will catch fish. Just look for something that casts well and gets into the strike zone quickly. For a guy that has little cranking confidence, go pick up a few SK 3XD in chart shad or gizzard shad and I promise you your luck will change.

I have handled these in the stores. They did not have the cranking rod but regarding all the "fast" action rods, I was surpised how different they were from typical Lamiglas. The tip action was heavier but slower than, say the pro X or Certified Pro (Does that make sense?). The taper of the blank reminds me of the Veritas actualy. The quality looks great and they dont have a real heavy gel coat build. I was never an orange Excel owner, I cannot put a finger on what I didnt like about those (lol it was probably the color) but I would pick one these rods up for sure if I was in the market for another worm/jig/T-rig rod but that is the last thing I need more of. I would not expect these rods to be great light bait flingers or smallmouth rods the way the legacy Lamiglas and Pro X have proven to be but I think they are stepping up their game in terms of what nationwide bass anglers are looking for.

The key to this system is to keep your shorts above the kneecaps. On cold days you just have to tough it out.

Dude, trust me. Keeping a log will pay huge dividends for guys who are on thier fist couple years of serious fishing. And is smart for lakes you dont visit often. But it significantly loses its luster once you get a few thousand hours under your belt. You are right. I have never seen grass grow in the same way from one year to the next, the spawn will shift from year to year, etc. I still keep a log but honestly its only to keep record of my best five. I want to know when I am ready to go compete against the big boys, and I'll be honest, I've got a long ways to go.

This is my most common regret when reflecting over a poor perfromance on the water. I have days where I catch them really really well in the morning on moving baits and try to re create that for the rest of the day... Last Saturday I would consider my worst performance in a couple of years... I started the morning with a quick 7.5lbs/3 fish on an SR5 fishing the same type of stuff. It was like clockwork for the first three keepers. I kept grinding, running SR5's, SR7s, glass raps, and LC Pointers over the same type of flat/transitional bottom structure ALL over the lake and each one of my proven honey holes. I did not reviece a single bite on any of those baits the rest of the day!! When I am fishing like this I always check the edge for arches on the graph and drop down to them with a drop shot. I was able to get bit 4 times on this just couldnt get the fish in the boat (they were biting really funny). But probably only spent 20 minutes doing this the whole day. In hindsight it is ovbious how I should have been fishing but I basically spent 7 hours ignoring logic.

There are laws against interfering with the capture of fish and game. And ovbiously they do not own the water on public lakes. I still say try your hardest to respect these peoples space and property. I dont mean dont dock fish, just dont pitch to targets like trampolines and waterslides, and if the folks are out playing in there back yard it doesnt hurt to say hello before you start throwing at their dock. I know a lot of guys disagree with me here, I even know a guy that keeps a copy of the DNR on his boat and is almost looking for an argument most of the time. Its embarassing. Anyone who has dock fished has left a hook or lure in a dock, I have left many, and this is what these poeple are angry about. As a kid, I grew up in the water hanging off docks and got cut up a couple times from rusted hooks. Many parents (parents that are smarter than you and I ) are not immunizing their children so a rusted hook could be a serious injury. In all honesty I would love to hear what would happen if that guy was reported. There is no way that is legal. If its a public lake I would go for it.

EMERICAN!!