NathanW

Boom Beach, Candy Crush, Tinder, Subway Surfers, Minecraft, Youtube, Twitter.... the list goes on and on.

Double Palomar. Well I dont know if thats what it is actually called but you start tying a regular Palomar but you thread the loop end around the line twice (instead of once) before you pull the bait through the loop. I will resist slipping a lot better than a regular Palomar I use this knot for all braid but always stick to the regular palomar for fluoro.

If you don't see the use for regular crankbaits anymore because the existance of Traps and Vibrating jigs I suggest you get better at crankbait fishing. At least get to that novice level of crankbait fishing because at that point you will clearly understand the advantages and disadvantages of a regular crankbait.

Every time I have ever fished any type of coated or blended (Co-Fluoride) FC line the same thing has happened. Especially with P-line. It peels badly, separates, frays, breaks, just plain sucks. If you are on a budget but still want FC I would try Red Label. Stick with the 100% FC in my opinion. In noticed a few mentions of Siege and wanted to give that line a shout out as it is great line! On another note I was a die hard Sunline guy, basically it was Sniper, Shooter or NOTHING!! Switched to Seaguar and haven't looked back. I use Abrazx and Red Label exclusively for all FC purposes. I have had some failure but not the way I did with Sunline especially Sniper. At a fraction of the cost I cant see ever switching back to Sunline. With Suniline you will have days where you spend more on line than you do on fuel.

I usually forget to feed myself which is why I have found that an Ensure drink or something similar can be a godsend when its like 1:30pm and you realize you feel awful because you have not fed yourself since 4:30am breakfast. Other snacks that have the same effect but maybe not quite as easy are mixed nuts, beef jerky or Granola bar. The drinks just go down so easy which is I they are my go-to and they really make you feel great.

Okay. I guess I figured Chesapeake bay was a mini bay of one the great lakes or something the coincidentally had the same name as the Chesapeake Bay. This actually gets me really curious as to how that system works. Are they actually going to be fishing in the bay? Inst it saltwater? I wouldn't think you would get into any brackish water until you get pretty well upstream of the Susque/other river system?? Or is there enough freshwater feed from all the tributaries that its brackish in the bay itself. Sorry but this concept is completely foreign to me. I would have no idea how to fish something like this... Probably a tidal deal too. I wonder if Ehler and Rojas' Cal-Delta tidal experience will play...

I would be stunned if A-mart let it go considering its nothing but smallmouth derbys ahead. Edwin and Ehrler are probably his biggest threat from hear out. Still pulling for Hackney to go back-to-back, the most likeable guy on tour how can you route against him. Pretty much like all these guys though....

I finally got back into an old hobby last fall (Mountain Biking) and had thoughts at times that I should sell some of my gear and even my boat. Lasted until about May when I decided that I shouldn't miss the springtime Yakima River bite, caught about 18 lbs of smallmouth and that was that! Head over heels back in love with fishing. My wife thought it was crazy that I wasn't fishing in March and April but I didn't miss it one bit. I honestly think its a good idea to have something else, maybe something a little more active than fishing to go to during the off season or when you are feeling a little burnt out. I have fished less this year than many years in the past but have put up more 18lbs plus days this year than I ever have in the past. Time on the water definitely improves skill and technique but time away from the water could possibly improve drive by reigniting passion and removing you from your routines.

I am a bit of a craigslist junkie and never noticed that before. Learn something new everyday. Thanks.

Congrats!! Very glad it worked out you are going to love it. Just an FYI if you cannot fit longer rods in the rod locker its an easy fix. Pull off the top deck and cut out the foam that is in the way. Mine had to be modified to fit rods as short as 7' rods and now it can easily fit 8 foot rods. I know a couple other guys that own trackers who had to do the same thing. Would love to know how fast it runs with just you in it.

Would not be surprised if that is a scam add. The first picture looks a little pixilated and they did not leave any contact information. Notice that you cannot zoom in on the photo to see what state the boat is licences in? Otherwise that boat looks awesome. Every year I have my Pro Team 175 I like it more and more. I have considered trading up slightly to this boat so many times. I would probably say the right price for that boat is closer to $6000.00 maybe slightly less. My boat was 12 years old when I bought it and only cost me 4200.00 but a foot shorter and 30HP less also. I have noticed however that prices seem to be increasing on average so maybe that is the right price. NADA may have figured things out in the last few years but they used to under value boats significantly to the point that offered NADA for a boat it was very insulting. Hopefully it works out.

Catching Bass like a Pro by Steve Price. Been a few years since I have read any bass books but I remember putting some of the concepts in this book to use and having instant success as a boater. Probably worth a read for anyone in their first 1-4 years of fishing. I still break down lakes the way this book teaches.

Preparation!! Something that I used to do but don't anymore. I used to check and trend the weather, study map, check all my line for nicks, organize tackle, plan how I am going to fish certain areas, rig up not for how I wanted to fish but for how weather trends, water trends, and forecasts say I should be fishing. Its probably a factor of having young children at home combined with relying way to heavily on my on the water abilities.

Since this is a pretty long winded Question I am going to be blunt with my answers. My answers are based upon my personal knowledge and/or opinion so people will disagree. I understand all the new lines out, fluro / braid / hybrid etc but do any of you use braids or are there any available in the 4-6 lb range? Stay away from braid 8lbs or less. I want to outfit all my reels in the same general family, call me a fanboy i guess. Shimano seems to be the king but do they have a dedicated flipping reel like abu does with the winch and its 20+ lbs of drag. Is that rating of drag even needed? The winch is garbage, I wish I could have sold you mine. No the 20lbs drag will never be required in bass fishing. Shimano vs, Diawa is the most respected argument in bass fishing circle. Leaning toward St Croix rods, probably in the legendary line somewhere - anything better or a better bang for the buck? Maybe the shimano Crucial line? If this were 5 years ago I would recommend those rods but there are now rods being sold for less than $150.00 that perform just as well or better depending on what you are looking for. Hooks - was always a Lazer guy before gammy / owner and the rest came to my area...is trokar worth it? I have read on this site the difference between its cutting pt vs needle point and the damage to plastics - that still the general thought? They are all good but Gammys best. Trokar are worth the money if you don't lose them right away but they do tear up plastics and I really regret using them for T-Rig. PowerPro or Suffix 832? Power Pro Plastics - i was always a strike king guy over Powerbaits...the SK Rage tails seem highly regarded any others i should know about? Keitech, Yammamoto, Strike King, Roboworm, Yum, Reaction Innovations, Missell Baits, Gene Lerew, Zoom. All making great baits. Cranks - It's hard to outrun the success KVD has had with his named cranks - but i have read issues on them getting hung up in certain profiles. Is there another one to look at or more of a trial and error thing. Strike King and the KVD brand are both excellent choices. Transporting 8'+ rods on a plane. Any of you guys travel with large 1 piece rods ? If so how do you do it? ​No experience here. Best knot for flouro? Polomar. No contest here. i have read on several posts on this site about a "bargin bin" what & where is that? Its that sale bin at your local tackle store with all of those bright pink and orange Senkos, Hot purple crankbaits, and Vanish fishing line. Last time I bought high end gear G. Loomis was private and had a no questions asked warranty. I see they are now Shim-Loomis and that is gone. Any high end rod builder offering that other than TFO? GLoomis really hasn't been relevant for about 3 years and they likely wont ever be again in bass fishing. I also have not heard anything great about TFO. Lamiglas is becoming a dinosaur as well. The difference between a 100 dollar rod and 350.00 rod is so little these days and the cheaper stuff from one brand may easily out fish the expensive stuff from another.

A newer hub will slip or break upon impact to protect the lower unit. I would not be afraid to use SS for that reason but cannot gaurantee to anyone that they will not tear up thier lower Unit. I have gone through that after sucking up a shore guys braid and its awfull. You would not believe how expensive those parts in there are. An SS prop will pay for itself quickly if you find yourself replacing/repairing aluminums often. Low speed impact wont even scatch a good SS (from my experiance).

Summer fishes pretty good around here if you understand a basic idea. On a hot summer days the fish avoid the sun. On cooler summer days fish crave the sun. (this is mostly for LMB) If its hot you must strike hard and fast hitting your most productive areas first. The fishing usually peaks around 8am and lasts about an hour. After this dies you need to chase shadelines, docks, fish deep and slow, or heavy cover. Your best bet would be the slow and deep deal until you get really good at the other stuff and have a boat. The dock deal might work from the kayak if you could find a concentration in a good marina (maybe one that holds big tournaments). When its cold save your best stuff until that moment in the late morning or early afternoon when you can really start feeling the heat from the sun beat down. Before that I try not to get temped by a potential shallow bite and stay deep fishing something pretty boring. Sometimes playing defense of your best spot by fishing the deep edge next to the spot. You are going to catch fish but its not going to be a clinic until it that sun starts going to work. The good biting fish will be around those hot spots in deeper water or in it but not biting. You are on your own in finding these spots that hold fish but just make sure that you are not discounting productive areas because you are not timing them right. Areas with good depth next to shallow water and main lake current just about always have fish on them in the summer. I hate leaving long posts but just cant help going on about the summer bite. No time of the year I would rather be fishing.

I did the binder thing for a couple of seasons. Not something I would ever do again. First off, the binders are not made for the conditions they will encounter. I went through 2 binders pretty quickly. Second the capacity is not good. All it takes is a few bags in each page and you are dealing with a gigantic bulge with a whole lot of unused space and a binder that wont close. I have settled on storing plastics in original package categorized into about 6 gallon plastic freezer bags. Each bag has masking tape on each side near the top of the bag with the label printed in big Sharpie. I feel that nothing is perfect for storing plastics but I really like what I am doing right now. Probably wont change any time soon.

Good to hear. I have only had mine for about a week and have been a little weary. I own every curado from D and newer and still fish them all regularly. I honestly even like the G's after some initial fuss as they quite frankly handle heavier apps really well they just don't do the finesse the way the E's and D's do. The I has caused some initial frustration but I have noticed its potential. I tore up about 10 dollars worth of line before figured out how to tune the thing. I also had issues with the escape hatch not closing and trouble with the switch getting jammed. They just are not quite as fool proof as the older Curados. Once I got it set up right I had an Ah-HA moment and realized just what people are talking about when they mention its performance potential. The brakes are obviously superior. My first and second outing with it the brakes did not seem picky at all the way they are on a lot of magnetic braking reels. I have not handled any finesse stuff yet and am glad to hear you think it can match up or beat the old Curados.

I have only been doing this for 8 years which is a very short time compared to most but I have yet to find that rod. In fact its been quite the contrary. Every time I have a set of rods which I think are the holy grail last rod I will ever fish type deal I break one, replace it with something newer, then realize that the products in this industry keep getting better and better and better each and every year. One brand comes out with a 100 dollar stick and blows everyone away and the next year another brand copies their model but makes it ever better/lighter/cheaper/stronger. As a consumer you just have to love it.

Notice all the likes on the shrink wrap idea?? Ditch the O-rings.

I have the exact same pair assuming yours are the 2015 model Jose. I have not experienced your problem however the rubber molding is already separating from the frame in two locations. I will sending my pair in for repair/replace after only two months of use. I would weary caution of buying a frame with all that rubber near the nose piece.

I have bought all my props off of Ebay or PropMD. You really need to figure out the specifications of your broken prop or you are stuck with your best option being taking your boat into a dealer and asking them to figure out which prop you need and paying their premium price. Usually there are numbers stamped on the body of the prop that will tell you what size and pitch the prop is with a little help from Google. If you can find a used stainless prop for anywhere from 100-200 dollars on Ebay I would not hesitate. Small rocks and gravel will tear up aluminum but it usually takes pretty major impacts to hurt an SS prop.

It think this really depends on how much coating they use. Its pretty much a given that coatings will help protect the graphite. But you have a good point because how necessary is that protection? Its really difficult to pinpoint. I have probably only broken 2 rods because of wear just based on how easily they broke when they finally did. One of them was painted with very little clear coat and one of them was naked. I have broken another 5 just fishing too hard/heavy or due to stupidity or accident. Every one of those was naked come to think of it. *** (1ea. happened last night), Certified Pro (2ea), Lamiglas XP (2ea). I always lean towards performance over durability when selecting rods and have come to accept that there will be a few broken rods along the way. I stay away from rods that have lots of gloss and gimmicky blank material for those high sensitivity applications but don't care as much for cranking, jerking, or top water.

I agree but stick with the original. I wouldn't recommend the *** Black II yet as they have changed their blank for the *** II. I would bet the farm that their new blank is more indestructible and resistant to shock loading which usually translates into worse performance.

Favorite: Swing impact as a swimbait or on a swimjig. I want to catch fish shallow in cover. Least Favorite: Drop Shot. It lost its luster after the 10,000th fish I caught on a drop shot. Sad thing about it is that I usually run three drop shot setups and use all three just about every time I go out. Despite my eagerness to avoid it flat out catches fish day in and day out around here of all shapes and sizes.