Sonik

I bought a Team Gold Speed Spin on a going out of business sale last summer for like $60. Super light and works well. I have no experience with their lower end models. Saying that, you will be hard pressed to beat a Pflueger President for under $100. I got my President in a combo with a 7' ML Cabela's Tourney Trail rod for $70 on sale and it is fantastic for dropshot and ned rigs.

I really like my Solarbats. I think I paid $90 shipped.

All I can think about is poor Chuckers

I started cranking a lot late last summer. This year I have decided to spend the vast majority of my time cranking. Clear warer, dirty water, early spring, now up to summer. It may not be the ideal bait but I want to get good at it and I believe that takes practice in all conditions. For example, if you want to learn music, I don't play guitar then drums then sing. I do one thing at a time. When I learn IT related skills, I focus on Cisco routers or Windows servers. I don't bounce between the learning material.

I've been told he was drop shotting with like 5/8oz to get schools fired up. But I haven't been on the lake to watch. Too much traffic this weekend.

I use a 7' ML spinning rod for dropshotting. I bought it in the combo with a Pflueger President for like $60. Good rod.

They must have changed something or it was broken. File down cork to get a reel to fit? That's stupid. I bought mine a couple of years ago and it had foam grips. Check item number IK-129899 on their site to see what I'm talking about. Not that it matters since you bought the St. Croix you like. Additionally, that combo is $100 now, it was $60-70 the other day I thought.

Correct. I do have the magnum. It holds 8 of the 3700 series boxes. I made a mistake though. The bags without included boxes are on sale. The bags with boxes are not.

Cabelas sells a combo that comes with a Pflueger President and their Tourny Trail rod. Very well balanced. It's on sale now I think. I bought the 7' ML and use it as my drop shot rig. I think it's around $60.

Cabelas has their green bags on sale. You can get them with ot without storage boxes. Very sturdy bags with lots of storage. I have the 360 and 370 BPS bags and they are not near the quality of the Cabelas bag.

7'1" Med/MF Cabela's Tournament ZX Lew's BB1 5:1 (multistop) 12# PLine Floroclear Bomber Square A, Cabela's Dig-It and Pork Chop Eagle Claw 374 when I have to replace

I have used Floroclear for a few years. I spool with it, not just a leader. It's worked well for me. You must wet your knot well. But it's inexpensive and quality. Many disagree though. I am working through the last of my Floroclear and I'm going to try Izorline this summer. Floroclear hasn't let me down, but for the same price or less, I'd like to see if I can't improve slightly.

I like my Buff. The designs are endless and they can be worn any which way from full balaclava to just at the neck. If it's warmer this weekend I am going to try and soak it in my cooler's ice water and see how that does.

Cabela's has a 2" crankbait (Dig-It) in chartreuse black back and they call it Hot Bass. The color pattern is their standard Baby Bass but with chartreuse and black. So maybe Hot Shad or something if it's a standard black back pattern.

1. Sexy Shad 2. Chartreuse Black Back 3. Crawfish That would be the 3 I start with.

Doesn't Humminbird allow you to exchange the transducers for minimal cost, if any? Seems like I read that somewhere in my manuals.

I don't like the large stick baits. I fish the 4" Zoom Fish Doctors and Centipedes though with some success. Mostly during midday.

I like the Cabela's Flat Side Pork Chop. The Bombay & Lime color is sexy shad. Good cranks and stock hooks in my opinion.

This is my take on it. I fish the Cabela's crankbaits. I have a few SKs and Bombers but I go back to the Cabela's. I'm sure it's a confidence thing in their products. I bought a crankbait model Tournament ZX rod and it changed my game. For shallow, I throw primarily Dig-Its (2") in Hot Bass, Bombay & Lime, Bluegill, and Orange Craw depending on time of year and water conditions. If I'm on Kentucky or Barkley, I upsize to Pork Chops (2.75") In regular or flat side. Medium depth, I throw mostly Grave Diggers (2") and Pork Chops. It depends on the cover, structure, water clarity, and fish activity. Deep, I throw mostly Pork Chops And almost exclusively in a chartreuse blue back or citrus color.

No love for Cabela's cranks I see. I have been catching them on shallow Pork Chops and Grave Diggers and the Dig-Its are really hot right now. Fished a SK 1.5 and Square A with limited success but they hammered the Dig-It. I like the Bombay & Lime color from Cabela's. It's their sexy shad.

Just as an update, I picked up some Columbia Backcast britches and they are amazing light and comfortable. I like the mesh liner for obvious reasons. I'm 6'2" 270lbs and carry a little more junk in the trunk than average. They fit loose and without binding on my oversized rear and thighs and don't pinch up in my crotch. I also picked up a Buff and some sun gloves. I already had some UV shirts from a few years ago I bought after I was charred on a trip to PCB, FL. With a decent hat, I should be ok. Thanks for all the help and advise. I may update after fishing the get-up this weekend.

That's a legit question, of course. No offense taken. Honestly, I don't like messing with it. I think it stinks, is greasy, a hassle to reapply, and it gets on my clothes.

What does everyone wear as far as UV blocking pants? I'm looking for recommendations. I wore short sleeves and shorts this weekend and now my legs, arms, hands, face, and neck are a nice shade of scarlet. I just don't want to play games with the sun any more. I've had two family members with skin cancers cut off in the last couple years.

Thank you very much. Fantastic information.

So, Wayne. Just to make sure I understand here and to tack onto the other thread I talked with in, if I bought the Autochart software with the card, I record my own sonar logs, dump them into the software, and the software compiles and dumps the completed map back onto the Zero Line card for use on the lake? Kind of a similar approach with the Navionics+ but the software is replaced by their site and an extra week or so and then everyone has access to my waypoints/edits and the map I made. If so, how does that work with multiple units? With the 798ci hd si on my console and a 859ci hd di at the bow, connected via an ethernet cable, will they share the completed maps or waypoints? If I go with Autochart, will I have to buy two sets of the software or can I just buy an extra SD card from Walmart And do a total copy? Sorry for all the questions but you know your stuff on these Humminbird units.