BaitMonkey1984

Yes. Plain and simple. Watch and behold.

Throw a Sebile Lipless and watch it catch 5x the fish of a Rattrap. Got my first one from MTB and will never use another lipless again. Amazing.

These are the best trailer tires around. I literally had the sidewalk give out before the tread wore. Over 10+ years on my last set. These things flat out last and haven't had any issues with them whatsoever. Great tire for the money.

I feel your pain. Boats are a lot of work. A lot of people don't realize that. Between the maintenance, the cleaning, the trailering, the gassing it up. Plus, then to throw fishing on top of that. I spend hours checking my tackle, changing lines, organizing tackle, changing baits almost every week of the summer. I hate when your taking someone inexperienced fishing and they are like what are you doing or try to rush you to save 5 minutes. I am like if you had any idea what kind of preparation what into this you would think I am crazy. But I grin and bear it. Boats are a lot of work but most of us have them because they are totally worth the aggravation.

Bring him fishing. They may turn out loving it (if they don't already), and you may find yourself a fishing partner. I get your rub with what he says and the timing but sometimes people see things differently. Like, when I take someone fishing and they see all the combos on my front deck and think nothing about asking to use this one or that. They see a spinner bait or a crank bait and want to use that. What they don't see is the expensive rod and reel. Ignorance is bliss. But I always let them use ( i just keep a close eye and am thankful that St croix and carrot stick have a great warranty/replacement policy) I always take anyone who wants to go fishing. My buddies step brothers are young teenagers and it is a full time job keeping them fishing, undoing their snags, etc. But, I still bring them whenever they ask even thought I do not get to fish much. The more people involved will only better the sport for everyone. Also, it is an amazing feeling to see them hook up and land a fish.

All I could think of when reading your post was this....

I just keep the motor tilted all the way down. Also, my driveway has a slight incline so if it is really cold I would pull in truck first letting the motor sit a decline, to make sure every drop is out of that outward. I usually keep the transom saver on the boat all summer. So remember to do a walk around and put the motor up before taking off for a day on the water. I got about 20 feet down my driveway before I realized that strange noise was my keg scraping the driveway.

Jack D or dear old grand Dad for me.

Almost all of my lead baits have a similar warning. It states something such as a "a chemical known in the state of California to cause cancer" For better or worse I stopped paying attention to this warning. If I die, I'll die happy. Plus, pretty sure theres more lead I come into contact with the firearms.

5" GYCB Watermelon Creme wacky rigged on a circle hook. Dead stick it and the bait will literally set itself. Doesn't get much easier than that. Produces when nothing else does.

Got some good deals on gammys for $3.00 and some soft plastics for cheap too. Not a bad day. Thanks for the heads up OP.

The newly released bait that I don't have. Gotta get one in each color and size. Right?

If the braid is stiff it could be due to water retention. Re-soool with a fresh spool of PP and let us know if your issues continue. If it does its water retention not the condition of the line. And if the issue is resolved, it was the opposite.

Once again AJ hits the nail on the head. Either spooled the line in the wrong direction and/or overfilled the spool.

Is your braid old? I fish extreme conditions with it and my PP doesn't absorb that much water wherein it starts to freeze. I would first try a new spool of line. IF that doesn't work I would try to use ice fishing specific line. It may not cast as well as regular line but will prevent your issues of line freeze. Keep us posted.

Nice fish. I hope some of the smaller ones are tucked in the deep freeze for a winter of fresh fish.

I really want to get better using jigs. Have a fun box of them. However, my home lake just doesn't produce in jigs. At least not for me. Caught a few drinks on them but nothing noteworthy and not a lot of numbers. I know part of it is a confidence thing but I have used it repeatedly and unless I am swimming it, it just doesn't catch me much fish. Sucks, because I love watching the videos of people setting the hook hard on a jig fish.

I do not believe that noise is that big of an issue. I try to not make a lot of noise, but I do not go overboard. I always have music on usually talk throughout the day to my fishing partner. I don't let the fear of making noise ruin my day. But I do not go out of my way to make a lot of noise, barring a lost good sized fish where I feel entitled to throw the rod down on the deck.

Spinnerbaits and curly tails are easy to use, and virtually snag free. I would be weary of using crank baits from shore because in my experience I get hung up too often and lose baits.

My first bass boat is my current boat. It is a 2001 Ranger that I got about 5 years ago now. It was kept in pristine condition. To date, I like WIGUIDE have had some projects. I needed to update the two fishfiners, replace the trolling motor, replace the batteries, replace the trailer jack, replace the winch, get new tires, redo the trailer brakes etc. This was over the course of 5 years and now, after redoing the seats and carpet everything will be updated. I actually enjoyed personalizing the boat and making it mine. DO not be put off by the age of the boat. The first two considerations should be the condition of the hull and the motor.

I would buy the entire stock of the gammmy hooks for $1.00

Took me a second or two..then I fell over laughing.

Have had several. Broke several. Great warranty, terrible customer service.

Wachusett BBQ. Local chip company still produced under utz. Red hots are a close second.

Couple thoughts. 1. Warning. If the motor is a 2015 make sure you break it in according to factory specs. Otherwise you risk serious damage to your motor. I do not know your level of boating experience but I would certainly play with the trim, that bow should be getting down more. If that doesn't work I would do as WIguide suggested and try to make a change in weight distribution. First, try to eliminate unnecessary weight. Second, move weight to the front of the boat. Your situation is unique and you want to get the two down, so buck convention and put the heavier gear up front. I would try running higher octane gas and see if their is any noticeable increase in performance as well. Lastly, I would look at getting a jack plate that may give you the right angle to get the boat on plane. In fact, I can help you out with the jack plate funds- just let me take that power pole off your hands.