WIGuide

I've got one tied on pretty much all year long. Very versatile baits that can catch them anywhere.

A few years ago I managed to start out our fishing season with 4 straight goose eggs. Granted 3 of those trips were on a flooding section of the Mississippi which I wasn't familiar with, but prior to that it had been 4 years or so since my previous skunking and 7 years before that.

I've got a few lakes like that around by me. The lakes are a little bigger than that one, but the population is stunted. This one lake in particular that is close to to my house I use as a practice lake. It's not uncommon to catch 50-70 fish in an afternoon there so it's a great place to go to try out a new technique, but even with those numbers in the last two years of fishing I've only managed to catch 4 fish over 14". That's out of 300-400 fish sampled. That's why it is important to harvest bass in smaller lakes as they can easily overpopulate and then become stunted. I'm not sure if this is the case at that lake, or if they are just lacking the food to grow.

Check these places out....

Congrats on the new setup!

I'm not overly brand loyal when it comes to reels even though i have more of one brand than the rest. They were all reels I got deals on but I have no problems with sampling from other manufactures.

Well looks like something else I'm going to have to buy haha. Thanks for the heads up though!

Try their website or contact their customer service. I'm sure they will be able to tell you.

Pay me enough, and I'll go pick it up and deliver it for you! haha Despite me working in shipping at a company. I only deal with palatalized goods. Moving vehicles and the like is a little different, but you might want to check out reliable carriers. I know they handle that kind of thing.

I've seen some guys running Lowrance HDS 7's on them. I say run with it and you'll make it work! Happy Birthday, and it sounds like you've got a keeper with your wife!

Have you taken a boaters safety class? If not you need to do that. I still find it odd that that's not mandatory for all boat owners. On the road there's at least lines, arrows, and signs to direct you. On a lake there's nothing which is great freedom wise, but let's face it...there's a lot of idiots out there these days. Common sense doesn't seem so common at times and you need to know what you're supposed to do on the water. Aside from that, take your time. Read the advice above and take it. Safety is key so make sure everyone has a vest. If you have a friend who owns a bass boat give him a call and have him come out with you. Every hull drives a little different and as tempting as it might be to find out what your top speed is, but save that for later or have your experienced friend try to find it. Take it slow and easy until you get used to the way it drives and get a feel for it. Also as stupid as it sounds, keep in mind that boats don't have brakes. Yes they do slow down fairly quickly, but there's no pedal to mash on to slow you down quicker so always ALWAYS error on the side of caution. As for driving the boat, make sure you trim it all the way down to take off and open it up to get on plane. No reason to baby it and make your motor struggle under load for longer than it has to. Once the bow starts to round over you can let off the gas some and begin your easy cruise. If it's windy and there's bigger waves, keep the motor trimmed down to give you better handling. If the waves are very manageable, you can start to trim up. To what extent you'll have to determine that for your motor/hull/prop combination. If you try to trim up too far without giving it enough gas your bow will start to bounce up and down. Some boats can "power" out of that if you drop the hammer, others you may just have to trim down some. That should give you at least a decent start. There's no real substitute to time in the seat. Just take it slow and you'll pick up more each time you're out. Congrats on the new purchase, enjoy it, have fun, and be SAFE!

Both of these were taken using my St. Croix LTB 6'10" ML/XF throwing a drop shot 1 with a Berkley Bottom Hopper Jr. , the other with A YUM Warning Shot or Kill Shot. Caught on St. Croix Legend Xtreme 6'6" M/F throwing a Rapala Shadow Rap Deep Caught on Rapala Shadow Rap Thrown on 6'6" Legend Xtreme M/F and Xcalibur XCS100 thrown on a 7'2" LTB M/M Probably another week and I'll be able to get out on the river and chase some toads again! Super pumped! One last one that wasn't from last year but still one of my favorite smallie pics

Does anyone know the ice condition on the Mississippi backwaters on pools 4,5, and 5a by chance? I live about an hour and a half away but have a tourney out there in April and would like to start fishing it asap so any info you guys have about the ice would be great!

I really like my Green 580G's. I don't think they're too dark as I can wear them all day. They block sufficient sun at mid-day and I can still wear them morning and evening. Everyone's eyes are different though, and that's what makes it tough. I think you best bet would be to call Costa and discuss your needs with them since they are the experts on the matter.

BPS Pro Qualifier or 100 mph, Cabela's Guide Wear, Simms, Stormer, Under Armor, take your pick they're all good. I agree it's best to try on before you buy if possible. Personally I have the BPS 100 mph parka and I love it. Not to hijack the thread, but where are you headed on your trip?

The reviews state that this happens to soft plastics. I don't think it'd happen to hard baits.

Not only would you be fishing like the "pro's" you'd be catching a trophy every cast!! haha ^ That is priceless! This is true, but at least with the Hydrowave, the speaker for it actually underwater. This looks like it's being broadcast into the air above the unit. Also, Hydrowave seems to have a little more science behind their units. Not saying they work, or that I'm a believer of them, but at least they provide a little more to buy into instead of "launch giant jug to where you think the fish are and start catching them" haha.

I do for anything with treble hooks. Works well to keep them from tangling with other rods or getting hooks stuck through my rod gloves.

I use a few different swim baits, both the Big Bite Bait Cane Thumper and Yum Money Minnows. Cane Thumper 5" - BPS 4/0 Vertical Drop hook or 4/0 Trokar EWG 5" Yum Money Minnow - 7/0 Trokar Magnum Weighted Swimbait hook 6" Yum Money Minnow - 9/0 Trokar Magnum Weighted Swimbait hook

Welcome to BR! Kind of a cool idea you have going there. Like others have said one issue you might run into is the wide range in size of lures out there. Could work well for a quick trip though.

Good baits for sure. Like others said it's a Megabass knockoff. Saves me from spending $25 for one of those.

I throw all 3 on MH/F. Never had an issue doing so.

I don't think I'd go any bigger than the 1000. It can still be used for bass if you wish but I think it'd be a better setup for what you're looking at.

You could probably get away with it. I started out with a MH/F but there were times they'd wrap you up in pads and you had to go get them because there was no chance of pulling them out. There were times it'd struggle to control a little bigger fish and you couldn't get them up and out of what cover was there. My primary frog rod now is a 7' H/F and there are times it does feel a little over powered if I'm not in the heavier stuff, but there are times when you get a big one in thicker pads, or they try to take you down into some thicker grass clumps and it makes me happy I've got the heavy.

It makes me wonder if that weld could be ground down some as it shouldn't be interfering with the hole. My dad buy's and sells boats as a hobby and he's owned a lot of trackers. Hasn't had one yet that you couldn't get the plug in from the outside so it makes me think there was a screw up somewhere along the line. Also, I don't know if it'd be worth trying to retrofit the hole to make it work, but TH Marine makes a remote open close drain plug now that closes using a dial like the livewell valves. No more bending over or crawling under the boat to get at it. Only problem for you is they're designed to replace the screw in type plastic plugs. I'm sure you could make one work but it'd take some mods for sure.