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Awesome job man!

this x2

The SCIII is an improvement over the SCII. It's the same material that the Avid blanks are made out of.

I'll use whatever looks good, but I'd say my goto's are YUM and Big Bite Baits.

It must really depend on the size of your hands and how you hold the rod, because I have no problems with it either. I actually really like it.

I have a 97 Ranger Sport R70 with the same system as you, so I'm very familiar with it. First off, When in empty mode, your valves are open. I don't believe the older models like ours have a check valve in them to prevent water from entering the livewell like the new ones, and if they do, they are simply worn with almost 18 years of wear on them. With the valves we have there will be a minimal amount of water in the livewell with them in the empty mode. They won't however be completely full, and if you check after a little run down the lake they will be emptied out until the boat settles back in the water. Once you flip the valve to fill, a flap is slid into place over the drain hole in the valve. It allows water to flow in when the pump turns on, and when the pump turns off, the pressure from the water in the system presses the valve back against the valve body sealing the system. Once full the system slowly pulls in fresh water while recirculating the water currently in the livewell and the extra flows out via the over flow hole. As for the one livewell not draining, there are a few possible culprits. Either the drain is plugged, or there's a valve issue. If the drain is plugged, I've found the best solution to be to take off the screens on both in the livewell (if you have them...if not you should) and under the step. Take a garden hose with preferably one with multiple spray patterns and put it on the jet setting and spray from both ends. Take your time and go back and forth with it and usually that'll clean them out. It could be the valve itself as well. If the arm broke, or the insides no longer move that could cause the same issue. It's also possible that the cable that runs from the controls under the throttle to the valve could be stretched or broken. The only way to check that is by getting to your valves. They're located under in the rear compartment under the false floor in the middle. You may have something over the false floor such as an oil tank, or battery, but if you move that you'll see there's 4 screws that hold it in place. Take them out and the pumps and valves will be out in the open. If you need more information, or visualization of the system, much more info can be found at https://flow-rite.com/marine Our Rangers run the system #2. All parts are still available, and should be direct replacements if you need to replace anything. Also the valves can usually be rebuilt as well if that needs to be done. Hopefully this helps, if you need anything else, just let me know.

Your other option would be go buy yourself some JB Weld and try fixing it first. It's not assured it'll work, but that stuff can be pretty amazing at what it'll do. My dad had an 1983 Ranger that had a push pull control for the livewell valves. One snapped shortly after he bought it in the early 90's. He has since sold it and got a different one, but I just saw the boat last weekend and it's still working as it should.

Yeah, I hear ya. I was just being "that guy" lol. The only advantage I see to the 350 would be the fact that it's a V8. You don't gain all that much in horsepower, but I would imagine it'd have more torque to it making it noticeably more responsive. But I'm just speculating since I've never drove a boat that big or with either of the motors mentioned.

Heck, if you're gonna spend that much you might as well go big or go home! Go for that 350!

Have a friend who caught a musky the cast after he put a candy dot on one of his trailer hooks as a trailer haha. Most likely coincidence, but ya never know!

I read an article somewhere about how in a lot of lakes, fish with small populations in the lake can grow some giants. They have less competition with their own species over food where they live and they aren't a targeted forage because there aren't enough of them. I wouldn't doubt if there's some more of them in there though. He might want to wait until a little later. It's possible the water is still hard or freshly softened that time of year, not to mention their fishing season isn't open yet.

Bill, take a look at this, it should clear things up. http://stcroixrods.com/why-st-croix/power-action/

I've done it twice on a square bill. Almost a 3rd time the weekend before last. Had a smallie try to take it away from another right by the boat. Unfortunately the one I had on had one hook in the mouth and one was tucked up under it's gill plate otherwise I would have got the second one too.

Good luck! Haven't fished Spider before, but I've been on quite a few of the lakes up there and there's good fishing to be had just about everywhere!

Mine did that, but would then slow to a grinding halt when my trim motor was going out. Yours doesn't sound like the same problem. It could be a stubborn air bubble stuck in there. I'd say as long as it's not too bad I wouldn't worry about it. Most are a little choppy on the tilt ram when lowering under power anyway.

The green mirror on glass isn't super intense. There are certain lights you can see through them, but in most light it's intense enough that you can't. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205254275308885&l=f20d5cf0fe

I'm kind of lucky since I'm done at 3:30 Monday through Thursday and done at 12:30 on Friday. Now that the days are getting shorter it's tougher to get out after work but I'm usually on the water on average of 4 days a week. During the summer, week nights will be about 4 1/2 to 5 hours and weekends will be 10 or so. In my mind, I still don't fish enough or as much as I want. If I could fish that much though I'd be out there almost every day all day.

I think that's probably a little high, especially this time of year. A lot of it depends on the condition of the boat itself.

Agreed, definitely not fine! It looks like it can be repaired, or you can buy another new one.

If I could do it all over again, I would have bought higher end stuff sooner.

Congrats on the PB. It's always a blast to catch a bass on a frog and the fact that it was a PB just makes it that much sweeter!

Looks like a great time! I've had the opportunity to meet quite a few pros, and I've gotta say I've met very few who are really nice and approachable guys. Looks like your son had a great experience as well.

x2 I had wrote Gamakatsu about the issue and they told me it had been resolved. I went out and bought two packs of the new and improved ones and had the exact same issue. I think I threw the second pack away. Switched to Trokars and haven't looked back.

I haven't used the power shot's, but I use the spin shots all the time and they don't seem to mind it at all.

That's just one of the great things about St. Croix. It sucks when things go wrong, but they always do their best to make it right. I had an issue with one of their rods after the warranty expired. I called them up, because I was going to pay them to fix it and when I showed up to drop it off they told me they'd do it for free. Can't say enough about them.