WIGuide

I don't have any experience with the Duckett rods, but if I were picking an all around rod, I'd go with something between 6'6" and 7' and it'd probably be a MH/F. If you're going to fish crankbaits with it, be sure to back your drag off to help compensate for the fast action.

A 2500 should fit the bill for you.

I would advise against it, especially how the tracker trailers are made. They're a boxed frame which will let water in and not allow you to rinse it out very well. Tie that in with the fact that it's unpainted on the inside, and it'll start rusting in no time. As for the rest, others have already stated.

I'd be sure to run at least a 29 series dual purpose battery with a 31 being a better option if you can get it to fit.

There are very few situations where you need to both be on the front deck. If you're fishing a narrow canal or trying to parallel a bank then it's probably beneficial to do so, or maybe as others have said when fish are schooling and you can't reach them from where you are. Other than that keep your around the consoles unless he's consistently fishing out in front of the boat, then you should be able to cast roughly the same angle that he is. If it's a tournament I'd still recommend against that and keep the console rule in play. I really don't feel you're at much of a disadvantage fishing out of the back. You're presented with different angles than the guy in front, and most of the time there's plenty of targets to keep you both happy. He is your friend though, so it's more than ok to ask him as well.

I use them all season long. They can be absolutely deadly as well as very versatile.

He put in a ton of work and lost a ton of weight. As far as I know he did it the old fashion way.

If you're going down to 1/16 of an ounce a spinning rod/reel might be a better option for you. Otherwise, if you already have the reel you should probably be looking at the 7' M/F "Plastics" rod.

I would try it yourself first. Even if you get into it and find that you're in to deep, anything you get done is money saved. Most marine places are $80 to $100 an hour for labor so it adds up pretty quickly. Even if you can get the old one out and the rope pulled through, you'll be saving a decent amount of money.

You might want to check into the TW rod quiver. It's supposed to hold up to 8 combos so you're good to go there, plus it'll give you a little extra storage room too with the added pockets. Your bag should be fine as long as you can keep it out of the way.

My favorite lure to use is whatever one the fish are biting while I'm fishing! If I had to pick my favorite way to catch them though, it'd have to be on a frog. Nothing like a big blow up to get your heart racing.

Welcome to the forums.

I've been in the last two Bass Nation State tourneys in WI.

Strike King Dream Shot, Mag Dream Shot, and Baby Rodent along with the Missile Baits Fuse have been my top producers for smallies on a DS.

Spiderwire has Glow-Vis Stealth Braid which was designed to react with light above the water to create a high visibility line that anglers can see and yet doesn't glow under water. The line has special UV reflectors in it and because of it it works very well with a black light.

The motor shouldn't loosen up. If you tighten it down and then lock the handles together or put a locking bar on it it shouldn't loosen up. If you still have an issue with it gripping, just go ahead and mount it. Use stainless bolts and be sure to seal the holes with marine grade silicone.

Congrats on the "new to you" rig! You are going to have to mix the gas and oil and 50:1 is the ratio. Dump it in before you add the gas and let it mix that way. If you do it before your trip it'll slosh around in the tank enough to be mixed anyway. If you go to Walmart they've got little oil containers that make measuring the oil very easy. You fill the bottle with oil up to the line showing the number of gallons you are going to add and then dump it in. Simple, cheap, and easy! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Attwood-Oil-to-Gas-Mixing-Container/38057090

Found this little tid bit on the old interwebs.

The Xcalibur line has some great squarebills (CS100 being my favorite) Bomber makes some good baits too as well as Rapala. None of them are dirt cheap, but they perform very well.

No, no! Get it right man, he's got a boat for every technique! His list of boats (All of which he's used to catch fish with and some of which he still has) Ranger 520c Nitro Z8 Trition TR-21 Bennington Pontoon ..... ..... ......

A guy in my bass club has a few of the newer ones and likes them. Last I heard he was picking up a few more. I never got to use one though so I can't say they're good from personal experience so take it for what it's worth.

And I use a 7.1 for just about everything.

IPT is based on the size of the spool, and stands for Inches per turn. It's not however one turn of the spool but rather 1 turn of the reel handle. If you take the Revo Rocket as an example. It really only picks up slightly more than 4" of line with each revolution of a full spool, but because the gear ration spins the spool 9 times in the one revolution of the crank your IPT will be 37".

I believe a lot of it has to do with how you hold the rod too. Those who keep their hand behind the reel or towards the back may find it easier to use a left handed bait caster. If you palm the reel, or at least the way I do, it makes depressing the thumb bar with my left thumb almost impossible. If I were to use a left hand retrieve baitcaster and hold the reel the way I currently do just with my right hand, I'd have to cast with my right, then hold the rod with my left to the reposition my right hand so I could begin my retrieve. With a right handed retrieve reel I can perform the "hand switch" in one fluid motion during the cast and I'm ready to go before the bait even hits the water. In the end though do what's comfortable for you. Humans are not all built the same so if you've got something that works then go with it. There's no right or wrong.

A 5.5" setback would probably be just fine. If it's not you can always buy the spacers that bolt in between the plate and the motor.