WIGuide

Sounds like a heck of an experience for the youngster and you as well! Way to make some great memories! The world needs more of this!

I really like the St. Croix LTB "Dock Sniper" as a frog rod. It's a 7' H/F so it's a little shorter and lighter and handles fish very well in the thick stuff.

Looks like a job well done!

1) Do you have a dedicated jerkbait set up (or a set up that doubles as a jerkbait set up which is frequently used to throw jerkbaits)? It's dedicated during certain times of the year, the rest of the year it's one of my lighter plastics setup. 2) What is the primary species you're targeting when throwing jerks? My primary species are usually largemouth or smallmouth, but occasionally walleye and regardless northern pike are usually caught as well. 3) Is your jerkbait set up spinning or baitcasting? Baitcasting, unless I'm throwing a very small one. 4) What is your preferred rod length for jerkbaits? 6'6" or right in that range, too long and you slap the rod on the water or boat gunnel 5) What is your preferred rod Action and Power for jerks? Medium power, fast action 6) If your jerkbait set up is baitcasting, what is your preferred gear ratio? Gear ratio doesn't matter to me since a jerkbaits action is usually caused by the rod action and the reel just picks up slack in the line in between jerks.

Personally I don't own a kayak either, but from what I've read, a lot of people that fish from them prefer the longer rod for fighting the fish, because when you're sitting in a yak you have a large portion of the craft sitting in front of you so when you're playing a fish and it decides to go under the bow, the extra length allows you to move your line around the bow without it getting caught on the craft. As for landing a fish, they've reinforced the tips to allow you to high stick a bit more. One thing I've learned about St. Croix, they don't bring something to market on a whim, or because it's trendy, they do their research and make sure whatever they do is done right.

As much as I'd like to say that this has never happened to me, I'd be lying if I did. It sucks when it happens, and it rather embarrassing, but it's not the end of the world.

Being that the motor is only a 75, I'd be guessing it's not a counter rotating motor. Steering torque is normal and on a boat like yours that doesn't have a no feedback system, or hydraulic steering, being able to take your hands off the wheel on plane would actually be fairly rare. Way2slow, gave you some good info on the causes of excessive steering torque so I would check those out.

A friend of mine who makes custom jigs, told me earlier this year Dicks was supposedly transitioning from carrying the majority of same stuff at all locations to each store getting a budget to pick tackle, equipment, etc that is best suited for their area. They work off some sort of purchasing budget and they can pick what they want in their fishing department. Maybe that has something to do with it.

I've run the same CMC plate on my last two boats. I've been pleased with it, although not as nice as a bob's or as fast either it has served me well. Jackplates tend to raise the motor roughly the same amount, the size you're seeing is the setback, or how far the motor will be mounted behind the transom once the plate is installed. The larger the setback the more leverage can be applied to the hull. Your best bet would be going on a sight like scream and fly or even *** and finding other users that run the same setup as you and see what they put on for setbacks and how their boat preforms after. A few things you'll want to purchase along with your jackplate is a water pressure gauge (if you don't have one already) and the blinker style trim as it'll allow you to keep your hands on the wheel and still control the plate.

I prefer the 4" for wacky rigging, it just seems to get bit a little more and that's usually what I'm looking for if I'm going to throw it.

The only real downside to them is you may not retie as often as you should, other than that, there's really no drawback.

That's a really personal decision. Aluminum boats have been made better and better over the years and the designs have improved immensely. A-Jay's Pro V Bass is a prime example of that as it's basically the same layout as a fiberglass boat with a little added depth. Not sure what models you're looking at, but that most likely isn't the case with other brands. Personally, in most cases, I'd go with a glass boat as a tournament rig. The main reason for me is just the fact that in most (not all) they have a better layout and make more use of space giving both you and your co-angler a better platform to fish out of with the ability to grow into it more with all your stuff. I was just comparing some at a show this last weekend and the glass hulls are wider and virtually every inch of space is utilized and although more expensive, the difference really isn't that much and it'd be worth it to me.

Congrats on the pb man! Next time you find yourself in the position where you forgot your tape measure and you need to measure something think of what you're using to catch it with. Take your line with bait still attached and run the line from your connection knot the length of the fish and cut it off. On something like a pb that you might want to get a reproduction of, wrap that same line around the largest girth of the fish again using the connection knot on your bait as the starting point. Where it intersects the line that has went all the way around the fish, tie a small overhand knot. Put the bait back in your tackle box, pocket, or somewhere safe and when you get home, measure the length of line and then from the connection knot to the overhand knot and you'll have both the length and girth of the fish.

I'll go with neither as my answer, I'll balance the two. There's no reason to go all or nothing. I don't need a 2 oz tungsten weight to punch with if I don't have a rod that I can use it with. Conversely, technique specific rods are nice to have for every technique, but what good does a 7'11" XH/whatever do me when I have a don't have anything to throw on it? I would balance mine arsenal and let some rods do double duty.

I would, but I can't find the transaction in my history as it's been a few years now. Just look at the sellers feedback before you go through with it.

BEAST! Heck of a catch man!

Crazy Bag!

A few of my favorite non- worm dropshot baits SK Dreamshot and Mag Dreamshot SK Baby Rodent Yum Kill Shot Yum Warning Shot Missile Drop Craw Missile Fuse

Cool stuff! I looked at some a long time back with my childhood toy microscope and it was interesting looking at some close up. I had checked out some cheap brand that I was hoping were decent and looking at the hook points really close like that opened my eyes when I compared to some Owners I had. It was night and day difference.

I got mine on ebay as well and actually for a price that made me wonder if they were knockoffs. They were the real deal though and I've absolutely loved them.

At that price point, I'd throw the 7'4" H/F St. Croix Mojo Bass into the mix. It'll handle the frogs and slop well and although it might be a little overkill for a jig, something like a heavy football jig would be a possible use.

True, but since I can't convince a bass to tell me what he sees, I can only go with what I can see. Thinking of the physics of color, white is the reflection of all colors and black is the absence of all colors in other words black is caused from absorbing all visible light. Regardless of what color spectrum they see, that should equate the same. Basically when it comes down to it, we're all speculating anyway so do what you believe in and you'll mostly catch fish doing so.

To me it seems fairly simple, black blends into the background in this environment better than the whiteish color braid fades to.

Sorry you're having issues, but I'd go with a dual pro charger. You can always take it out if you want to sell your boat. Mine was bought used and has been in my last two boats over 7 years without an issue. My dad's is the original that came with his boat and it just turned 19 years old and is still doing it's job. They are sealed to be waterproof, as well as serviceable. As far as I'm concerned, they're the best out there and the little extra cost is well worth it.

I fish from a boat about 99.99% of the time because I have that luxury. That doesn't mean I won't fish by any other means necessary, but I don't do it very often.