Logan S

I was in high school and college...I've faded away from it now. I still have my go-fast truck, although I am going to sell it eventually (it's technically for sale now, I'm just not trying very hard at it ). 92 GMC Typhoon. 13.2 in the 1/4 mile...Not the fastest in the world but with Turbo/AWD it would challenge and sometimes embarrass almost anything I'd normally run across stoplight to stoplight . Was fun, but I realized I like fishing more and this was just taking time/money away from that.

Swapping to heavier hooks can make it sink, but it's probably going to be too slow to really let you get much deeper unless you were to wait a long time to count it down. You could try using thinner line...Going from 12lb to 10lb or 10lb to 8lb can make a noticeable difference in diving depth...Although I don't think it would give you the 2 or 3 feet you're looking for unless you were using pretty thick line already (like 15lb+) and dropped to a thin line. Easiest solution would be to get a couple deeper running models to go along with your shallow ones.

I'm not a super expert, but I've always assumed that these types of things are a result of the sonar cones.

Nothing too crazy...the vast majority of co-anglers are great. Only 2 really stick out. One of the worst co-anglers I had was a guy that didn't do anything too terrible, but spent the whole day complaining about the place we were fishing, how the fishing sucks, how much better he was than various other boaters he's fished with, about pleasure boaters, kayakers, getting snagged, how it was too hot....Basically anything and everything, the most negative person I've ever met. By about 1:00 I finally snapped and told him that I'd take him to the dock if it was really that bad, but otherwise he needed to STFU and enjoy a day on the water. He didn't say another word and left early when we got back without helping clean up the boat and without chipping in gas money. Was fine with me though...Good riddance. My worst experience happened when I was younger and wasn't even a tournament. My club used to do a week long trip to a lake in Canada every year where boaters would pair up with non's for the trip. For my 3rd year/trip I paired up with someone pretty new to our club who was shopping for boats but hadn't bought one yet (his 1st boat). Anyway, since I had been there a few times already in my boat I knew a lot about the lake, had spots/areas/techniques, etc...Anyway, as you'd expect with a group trip, we'd all talk fishing while not actually fishing and this guy would constantly frame everything we did as though HE somehow did it or figured it out or was otherwise was the reason for our success - Basically trying to take credit for everything I had done. "Yea, I found this hump....I found this school of smallmouth....I ran out to the islands....I figured out they wanted a dropshot....Etc". It went on the whole week like this, I guess his ego wasn't good at handling the fact that a 19 year old kid was running the show or something. Anyway...The week ended and he finally bought his bought that year. So the next year we are all back up at the lake and he's a boater. I'm sure you can guess what happened, he was in every single area that I fished the previous year. Literally all of them, it was so blatant that other guys noticed it too. I was pretty annoyed at that, but I lost it when I heard him start telling stories about how "He found this spot last year" and other similar things. It was the most bizarre and irritating 2 trips I ever had. He didn't stay in our club very long, which is good because he's the only person ever actually disliked in the fishing world.

Interesting...Don't take it personally, but I'll have to see that to believe it. Supposedly whatever it is will be announced or something this week, so hopefully we won't have to wait long.

Once again I agree, but this particular boat does have ~$10k in electronics along with other high dollar items...Hence the high price tag...I was just relating to the original topic. I know all about not needing the most expensive stuff to compete and succeed...I started tournament fishing in a 17' Tracker with 1 cheap greyscale sonar and no GPS. My latest boat is pretty dang nice but is still not on the level as these top flight rigs like the Icon.

Agree 100% on both counts. I was just pointing out that the accessories are expensive and more numerous now than they were in the past...And that contributes to the higher costs, especially on a boat that is the peak of the top of the line models.

Any credible source on this? That's a pretty huge bombshell if true...Especially since good chunk of the field for the 2019 Classic are already qualified or likely to be qualified and the 2019 FLW Cup is set/scheduled as well. Not to mention both schedules for 2019 are already announced. I seriously doubt that's the case. I personally don't think MLF itself is 'the future', but I do think you'll see the Catch-Weigh-Release format come into play eventually...BASS already does for Texas Fest, the College Bracket, and the Classic Bracket. It's a great idea that's catching on all the way down to the grassroots level, our club even does it for some tournaments.

You don't get 'invited' to the Classic, there's a qualification process and those guys haven't qualified...Not saying they couldn't, but they just haven't. I doubt they merge, I don't think either tour will ever have enough money to buy the other. I've seen the rumors about something involving MLF and Johnny Morris, I guess we'll have to wait and see. I think it's probably some kind of anglers union or organization like the old PAA that's coming.

Another thing to consider is how many more accessories we are throwing on bass boats now and the cost of these high-tech accessories. Even just 10 years ago the 'standard' accessories were just a fraction of what they are now. On the Icon I see the following for main accessories: Carbon16 3D: ~$5,000 Carbon12: ~$3,000 Ultrex 112 Link: ~$2,800 Hydraulic Jackplate: ~$2,000 Power Pole 8' Blades w/mounts (x2): ~$5,000 So you're looking at approximately $17,800 in retail costs for just those main electronics/accessories. Now throw in all the other odds and ends that come on the Icon (like stereo, digital gauges, extra console, etc, etc, etc) which will add up to a good amount on their own. Outboard's are also pretty dang expensive these days...250HP outboard run $20,000+. Tandem trailers are $6,000+....Probably more for the tricked out ones. In this example I'm laying out, you've got about $44,000 in costs BEFORE you even talk about the boat itself. As bass fishing has gone high-tech, the costs are going up. You obviously don't NEED all this stuff but when looking at modern top of the line 20' or 21' models with all the accessories you should't be too surprised at the prices given all the extra stuff put into them now.

It's rare that I disagree with Catt....But go price similar model Basscats and Rangers, price difference won't be as big as you might think. Basscats are one of the more expensive brands out there, I was recently shopping for a boat and priced them, I couldn't afford them. Brand wars never end well lol....But having said that, Skeeter or go home! On the topic of how expensive everything is...There are lots of more affordable options out there, but a 20' or 21' glass rig with a 250 and all the accessories is not going to be one of them. Aluminum or mid-sized glass boats are pretty affordable comparatively, at least in my opinion.

Megabass products are built to a very high standard, IMO their price tag is deserved. Whether that price tag is worth it to an individual angler is more of a personal decision. The PopMax has a similar reputation as the Vision 110, one of those baits that just has that special 'it-factor'. If you like fishing topwater, you won't be wasting money on a PopMax.

Our club, Fish On Bass Anglers, fishes the Potomac and most other local waters. Not in Southern MD though - we're based in Montgomery County. Open to all, boater/co-angler draw format. Only the meetings are in MoCo though and we don't have participation requirements or anything like that. If you'd like more info feel free to PM me. Website is in my profile, can't post it due to forum rules (it's only allowed on profile).

Took my daughter fishing the other day and snapped/posted this pic of her helping me wipe down the boat...Just on my own page and I'm not a big social media person. Skeeter Boats saw it and liked it enough to feature it on their page . She's already more famous than me in the fishing world lol ?.

My thought on all this was that lots of people saw the video of the guy casting at the wall and thought the DC would be magic...Allowing them cast full distance with no thumb input. When they winged that first cast out there and backlashed, they thought it was a faulty reel. DC is cool and there are some situations where I think it really shines, but as a general reel day in and day out I doubt the average user would find it to be a huge 'game changer'. I say this a Shimano fan and owner of multiple DC reels.

Great rod, definitely up there. IMO the Megabass XX Shakeyhead is a better rod...I sold my LTB's and replaced them with XX's. I'd fish with an LTB any day though, one of the best...I just prefer MB after having used both.

No experience with Falcon or Suzuki...Although I've heard Suzuki's are a little tough to prop on bass rigs, but obviously possible since people are running them. Supposedly bulletproof and those that do have experience seem to love them. Only thing I'm seeing is that you're underpowering the Falcon 205 with only 200HP. IMO this is a recipe for regret down the road, not just a speed thing...All aspects of performance will take a hit. Not sure if it matters to you, but underpowered bass boats also tend take a huge resale hit if you ever go to sell it or trade it in. I love my ZX250 and can't recommend Skeeter and the Yamaha SHO highly enough...If you go that route I can vouch for the fit, finish, performance, and fishability of the ZX series.

Yep same here, can't let the yaks, canoes, and AL/Jet boats have all the fun

The Potomac and Bay are shallow/grassy also, similar to FL waters in many ways (I lived in FL previously)...90% of the fish I catch there are in 4' or less (with a good chunk of them coming from 2' or less). I still use electronics pretty heavily... Side imaging can map out the grass edges and find isolated clumps that don't reach the surface. I also use it to locate rock/ballast piles and wrecks that don't uncover at low tide. Since the grass changes season to season you can mark productive areas, hard bottoms, or other things so that you can find them quickly even if the visual identifiers are gone. While fishing shallow like this I sometimes turn the sonar off, but I always have my map/GPS on. Mapping and location are just as important overall as sonar. Not saying you're wrong or anything...Just pointing out that electronics aren't useless in shallow, swampy water if you decide to take advantage of them .

I use them quite a bit and think they are the most important accessory on the boat. I don't think it increases my skill, a better way to put it is that they make me more effective. Here's a quick example: This is a spot that's pretty well known because you can see the top of this tire reef when the water is clear...But those single tires out deeper you can't see. But with side imaging they show up clear as day. Sitting at the wheel while scanning I can drop a waypoint on each of those tires and have them appear on my map up front thanks to the ethernet link between my graphs. When I come back to fish them, I have range rings on my map so I know exactly where to cast and can drop a bait right on those individual tires that are 12 to 20 feet deep without ever seeing them with my own eyes. I catch fish on these frequently. Side imaging, linked units, and good mapping can make you very efficient if you put the time in to use them to their full potential. Plenty of other scenarios too.

Fishing has always been #1. Used to have a few other hobbies like wakeboarding, mountain biking, and cars...But I faded away from them. My only other hobby now is diving...My entire family dives - dad is an instructor so it's sort of in my blood. Wish I could do it more but its somewhat limited here where I live. Most of my diving these days is just helping my dad with his classes occasionally. I probably could do more if I didn't fish so much...But fishing is #1 .

Been done and referenced in thread already ...

Excitement as a 4+ goes completely airborne, then defeat as it spits your frog back to you . Also, this is what the Susquehanna Flats looked like the week before the Elite event was supposed to be there...Perfect conditions. Things changed fast to make that postponement happen.

Test is useless since the lines are dry...How often to you fish with dry line? If he did that test underwater I'd be pretty confident the result would be different. In general, mono is similar or better than FC in abrasion resistance and knot strength when dry...But when the lines are wet it flips and FC usually performs better than mono. This is becasue mono(nylon) lines absorb water while FC does not (at least not in significant percentages). IE, FC stays the same whether wet or dry, but mono/nylon weakens when wet due to absorbed water. In real word fishing, FC is generally the best line type in terms of abrasion resistance...But the ultimate abrasion factor is diameter, a thicker line will be more abrasion resistant than a thinner line - Even if one is mono/nylon and the other is FC. This means if you're going to compare 2 lines you should start with the same diameter - Not the strength rating on the label since there is no standard for diameter to rating.

I really like Siebert's Dock Rocker head with the Deep Throat hook (Dredge series). The reverse angle on that hook keeps the trailer from sliding down while skipping. Paint holds up better than most I've used...But any jig will get battle scars after skipping all day.