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If that's the best $25 you've spent in a while, I can assume it's been a while since you've bought any tackle? lol

They should dive at about the same rate. The bill on these is what makes them dive, not their size or weight.They both dive from 4-7 feet and that will depend on line size and type, but they should suspend at any depth, the bill will just run it down that far.

I hear you on not buying it in anticipation of selling it, but eventually down the road you eventually will sell it. When you do, you'll get more out if it than you would had you bought something different. It's not a huge deciding factor, but it's still something to consider.

Slope, unless you're planning on keeping a boat until you die or it dies resale value should be important. You gave the example of you buying tools based on how well one does the job. You can think of this the same way if you have two tools that do the job equally as well but you know one will hold up over time. If you tried to sell the one with the known shorter lifespan a few years from when you bought it, you wouldn't get nearly the price you could get if you were trying to sell the longer lasting one. If you're thinking over a short term, resale value probably doesn't matter quite as much because as you stated, anything new takes the biggest hit. However, long term, you are going to get more out of it in the long run. For example, my dad bought his first Ranger in the mid 90's. It was a 17 footer with a 140 in really good condition. He sold it in 2003 when upgrading to a bigger and newer Ranger. Although he didn't sell it for quite as much as he paid, he still sold it in the $7k range and had people who offered to pay more when they found out someone else was buying it. If you looked around at any other comparable bass boat at that time that was 20 years old, you could pick them up in the $2k-3K range. All in all, that helps to decrease the cost of ownership over time because the boat does not depreciate as fast.

The FTO is a good option if you are don't carry a big assortment of hooks. It'll keep all your basics handy and labeled pretty well and gives you a little space for additional things you might carry, however it sounds like you want to keep everything handy. In that case I'd opt for a Plano 3701. It's the same footprint as the 3700 boxes but shorter height ways. Two of them together will take up slightly more room than one regular 3700 and it will hold even more than what you need. Personally I have two of them, one for my hooks and one for my weights. I couldn't be more pleased with them. Also to keep them organized, I take a permanent marker and write on the inside of the individual compartment what size the hooks are. It stays there as long as I need it and if for some reason I need to change it, a few stiff swipes of the thumb and maybe a little spit will be all you need. I just switched to this system last year and it really has helped me to save time on the water.

I'm a big fan of Trokar's. Super sharp, super strong, and has great durability. I use them for most applications, however I really like VMC trebles as well as their spin shot. I've used a few BPS hooks like their vertical drop hooks for small swimbaits as well as Mustad for bigger swimbaits

I believe both BPS and Tackle Warehouse have free shipping right now if you're looking to order.

Good idea. He put a lot of work into it but honestly I don't think it's worth anything near what he's asking. The fact that he didn't want to let you try it out is very sketchy. Just backing up from that cl post onto the used boats this one caught my eye right away. http://stlouis.craigslist.org/boa/4332099360.html You'd need to see more pictures but from what I can see from the top deck, that looks like it was really taken care of since there's no fading. It's also got a newer trolling motor and big motor. Like I said you'd have to see more pictures and see it in person to be sure but that looks like a really good deal and it'd make for a good starter boat. If you aren't looking for a bass boat and/or would rather have aluminum there are better deals out there. Keep looking and you'll find one!

This is actually Ranger's second aluminum line. They had one back in the mid to late 90's possibly even into the early 2000's. They were a bit higher priced than others but they were absolutely awesome boats. Definitely worth the extra money. Ranger's hold their resale value extremely well, and they are built to a very high standard. Trackers are nice boats, don't get me wrong, but I think you'll find yourself a happier camper if you get the Ranger. $1700 really isn't much in the total price of a boat, especially when you'll get it back in added resale value.

My advice would be to get a fast action. It's not perfect for either but it'll suffice, just be sure to lighten your drag up when fishing crankbaits to prevent any hook pullout.

I absolutely love fog fishing. There's nothing that beats a monster exploding on one. Are they for every condition? No. Are there days when you will miss more than others? Yes. Are there days they just won't commit? Yes. Overall though, I'd say my strike to hookup ratio stays between 60 and 90%. Once you get the hooks in them they shouldn't be coming off. Also, if you're fishing really think cover like matts, you are going to miss more fish due to the fish not totally being able to see where the bait is. Another thing worth mentioning, I've found when fishing in the thick stuff, fish that miss are generally smaller. I know that because I've thrown back and caught them with something else, where as the bigger girls generally get it in the mouth.

Fish jump all the time especially when chasing bait up to the surface. (have actually had a northern jump INTO the boat when it jumped to grab my bait as I was pulling it out of the water) Also, up around by me there's Lake Sturgeon that can grow into the 60-70" range and they will randomly jump getting their entire bodies out of the water so they're hitting the water from quite a height. I agree with you that people should be respectful, but as long as you're not chucking them at the water or up in the air I think they'll be just fine.

Freight Manager at Artisans Inc. (a custom clothing manufacturer). I handle all the freight shipments that we send out. I also coach both Jr. High Boy's and Girl's basketball during the winter and run my guide service in the summer.

As far as I know they are still making them. They might be a little harder to find, but you can order them straight from Terminator. http://www.rapala.com/T-1-Original-Titanium-Spinnerbait/T-1%20Original%20Titanium%20Spinnerbait,default,pd.html?start=2&cgid=terminator-spinnerbaits

One other thing you'll want to get is Eco Pro Tungsten's Pro Wacky Weights. They'll help you to fish it a bit deeper, as well as impart more action as well as make your worm last longer. Check them out at http://www.ecoprotungsten.com/pro-wacky-weight/

Too bad it's not as big as it used to be. When I was in elementary school the Springfield Bass Pro was one of the very few if not the only Bass Pro store in the country. The Spring Fishing Classic was always held sometime around Easter. It was a huge deal! All the big names in bass fishing would show up to work at vendor booths and give seminars. They'd have midnight madness and blue light specials along with other normal sales. A few years they even had the Legends Tournament that all the biggest legends of the sport would compete. The whole experience was super super cool and I wish they'd bring it back. We went 3 or 4 years in a row and we live halfway across the country!

I would suggest getting on it as soon as possible. Go ahead and catch a few. 6 weeks before a tourney is longer than you need to worry about sticking a fish. Find out what the average size fish is so you know what it will take to win. Also, after you do that pick out spots not where the fish are at that time, but look where they're going to spawn and draw the line on how they are going to get from where they are to where they will spawn. I'm not sure entirely what type of conditions you are going to have at the end of April over there, but I'd be guessing the bass will be setting up in a prespawn pattern. If there is a lake or pond nearby that's similar do the rest of your prefishing on there. Keep an eye on what the fish are doing there and although it will change a little from lake to lake, it'll be close enough to the other lake that when the tournament rolls around you'll have a pretty good idea what the bass are doing an what they'll be keying on. Match that with the knowledge of the lake you're fishing and you'll have a pretty good game plan.

With the reel trade in, you could probably get a Revo SXT for pretty close to what you're looking for. Depending on if it goes on sale for the spring fishing fling, you could even get it for less. The other decent one to look at is the Johnny Morris Signature Series. Although a little heavier than some, these reels are very solid performers. I've also heard good things about the Tatula and that is also in your price range. Another thing to be aware of is the fact that Shimano refuses to participate in the reel trade in program, so don't bank on using that if you're going Shimano.

The 10XD comes in at just under 2oz. so that'd be stretching the limits of your rod. Personally these are the majority of the crankbaits I throw: Xcalibur Square bills Rapala DT10's Bomber Fat Free Fry -cover the same depth as the dt's but offer a smaller profile Rapala DT 14's Bomber Fat Free Shad I've also got other cranks to fill in other specific niches I want covered, but this accounts for the majority of mine.

Looks like you've got a nice start there. You sure can tell it's winter in these recent gear posts, everything is so neat an organized. I get everything ready this way too and by the end of the year it looks like a tornado hit my storages lol.

I prefer my niche to be whatever I can get those buggers to bite on that given day. That being said though, I absolutely love fishing frogs. There's nothing like a gigantic explosion followed by an eye crossing swing to let you know the battle is on.

Side Imaging/Side Scan is the best tool

As TxGator said GPS these days is almost a must. Even just for safety of running, you can run a safe pass and then on the way back follow your tracks without worry of hitting anything. You can mark anything you find and come back to it at any point and time. The other thing that's important when you have a GPS is a color screen. It really helps to make the maps and waypoints pop as well as just all around being easier to read in the sun. On a side note, I've got a used Lowrance LMS 332 for sale. It's got a 5" color screen and it's also a GPS. It comes with the GPS puck, transducer, and all cords needed. The only reason I'm getting rid of it is because I upgraded to the new HDS 7 Gen2 Touch with side scan and down scan which ran me two grand. :/ It'd be within your price ranged. If you're interested send me a pm and I'll give you the rest of the details.

Yeah, unfortunately it doesn't work over ethernet. I found that out after I forked out the $50 for an ethernet cable after being told it would. Oh well, that just gives me reason to upgrade lol

I've caught them all over on a drop shot, usually with a finesse worm, or some other small bait made for the technique.