WIGuide

2 1/2ish

Way to go on the PB!

Congrats on the new PB!

I'm pretty much use all tungsten these days. I do have a few exceptions, the first is very very small weights, the second is drop shot weights. With the small ones I don't mind lead, because it's primarily used as just weight to get a bait down. The reason I don't use them often on a dropshot, is because I seem to lose more ds weights than any other. I like tungsten because I think due to the more compact size it gives you bait a more lifelike action. Also, because of the compact size they just go through cover better. They offer better sensitivity, are eco friendly, and don't get funky (oxidize) when sitting in a tackle box.

It isn't all that much work. Pop the bezel off and remove the 4 screws, then disconnect the plugs on the back and off it comes. I would probably take it off just to be on the safe side.

Both great rods I'm sure, but I'd stick with the St. Croix!

For that situation, I'd be pulling out my 7'1" MH/F St. Croix Legend Tournament.

If I remember I'll snag some pics tonight when I get home.

Windows movie maker isn't a great program, but it lets you do the basics and is pretty easy to use.

Catalog is the best place to look if you have them. It doesn't sound like you do though, so what do you need to know?

^ this. Check this first before you do anything else. These are known to go bad on the 150 and up Yamaha's. It's possible it's not that, but definitely check it anyway.

The equation for figuring out how many lbs of thrust for your boat is very simple. You figure out how many batteries you can fit in your boat multiply that times 12 and then find the highest lb thrust tm you can buy that runs on that voltage. That equation can be changed some depending on how much you fish and how serious you are about it. If you don't mind running for protected coves if it gets windy, or if your ok with loading up and going home then the 12v system might work for you. If you're like me and you want to be out there as much as possible, then there's no such thing as too much power in a tm. You can always turn them down, but they only turn up so far. To give you a good example, I used to have a 16 foot Ranger that was lighter than your boat. When I bought it, the first year I ran it with a 48lb thrust. It was ok as long as winds were light, or if I didn't get into too much grass. If it was windy, it was terrible. You'd run it on 5 and barely be moving. Same with the grass, a lot of times with a more powerful tm you can turn it up and it'll clear itself. Good luck with that with the smaller tm's I was constantly picking it out of the water to clear it. I needed an upgrade so I bought an 82 lb thrust to replace it. You might think it was overkill, but there was not one time I had that on my boat that I thought to myself, "I wish I would have saved a few bucks and bough a smaller tm".

St. Croix Mojo Bass 7'4" H/F and you could pair it with various reels. If you were going budget reels I'd stick to something like a Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier or Revo S, but you've got lots of room to play in your budget.

Sometimes the fish get fickle like that. There's been a lot of good advice posted here already, so I won't add to the broken record, but one thing you might want to evaluate is your hookset. From the sounds of it, you see them blow up and you wait until your line gets tight. That's great if they hit it and swim away from you, but if they're chasing it down and hit it, they may just be putting slack in your line. Go ahead and reel down on them. If they have it your rod should start to load a little and then you can crack them. Otherwise, you may simply be giving them too much time. Give it a try and see if it improves.

Berkley Bottom Hopper Jr.

A mythical nightmare created by those who don't use baitcasters to scare people away from using them. I NEVER get them.... haha OP the investment comes down to if you feel you need one. I know some very good anglers that fish all spinning or rarely a baitcaster. If you're comfortable in what you do and don't feel like your missing out on anything, and don't want to take on the challenge of learning how to use one, there's really no reason to. If you don't feel that way, or want to learn something new then go for it!

1/8 of an oz isn't very much over. You should be good to go.

It might be possible, but it might become an issue of practicality. If you have to spend 3/4 the price of a new reel to get the parts, you'd be better off paying the extra 25% and having 2 instead of 1.

On my texas rigged Senko style baits, I use 12 lb and for wacky rigged I use 6 lb.

I prefer a split grip, but I'm not that picky about material used. If I had a choice, I'd go with cork because I like how it looks even when it gets weathered. Xtreme skin is pretty sweet too.

Dane, you would be fine to use a snap swivel or a snap. Either will work for you. I try to use the smallest size so i think either a 0 or 1

Take a look at the Trokar Weedless Wacky hooks. They have very soft, double weedguard that doesn't get in the way. If it gets too thick for that, I'll switch to a texas rig instead.

It looks like the next rig I'll be trying out!

I haven't got to try them yet, but if they're anything like the rest of the Eco Pro lineup, they'll be good.

I love the St. Croix ML/XF for drop shotting. I currently have the LTB version but the Avid X would be great too.