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This is definitely true, it is a hand-eye coordination movement and this friend has got it in spades. No wonder this guy catches a lot of fish. His amazing ability that windy day included plastics t-rigged, chatterbait and even a crankbait. Amazing. Anyone know if the flip/pitch technique can be done with spinning rig? Seems that with baitcast, the thumb on the reel would give much more control. (EDIT: I found some info on flipping with spinning rig after a google search. Yes, it can be done.)

Friends kept telling me the bargain a BPS Pro Qualifier reel is. I guess they put them on sale each year in February during their big sale. This year, it was a PQ rod/reel combo for $100. The reel alone costs $100 regular price. I bought the $100 combo and love it. Last year, they had the PQ reel on sale for $50 and the salesmen told their regular customers about the upcoming sale beforehand; they had a LONG line of fishermen waiting at the door when they opened. The PQ is a good reel at regular price but the sales are fantastic.

I have never mastered flipping and pitching. Haven't tried much. But I will now! I do a little flip now and then but mostly cast and I am pretty good at casting. Couple days ago, I witnessed the most incredible display of accuracy I have ever seen. I can't imagine anyone being better than my friend. We finally went fishing together. It was horrendously windy, lake wind advisory in effect, gusts to 35mph. Just a bad day on the water. And cast after cast, this guy put his lure, whatever it was, smack dab into the obvious target. He said he used to practice pitching to a coffee can and I believe him because his bait ended up going right into a spot the size of a coffee can. We were fishing a Cypress tree filled lake and there are obvious targets you want your bait to land. Generally, you want your lure to hit right at the tree trunk. And there will be limbs and stumps and such that create pockets that you can see... there is the target! Time after time, perfect flip/pitch/cast. To flip/pitch, you pretty much have to stand, and he did. He put his bait into places that blew my mind time and time, unreal! I mean under limbs and such, way back into a tangle of limbs. He also did a lot of casting, and it was ALWAYS underhand or kind of side arm. Never an overhead cast. I take it he does this because he keeps the bait low to the water. And with every single cast, his lure hit the water with barely a ripple. He did this with his thumb. I finally asked him how in the world did you get this good and about his equipment. His rods and reels were nothing special far as I could tell. Maybe 7' rods. All bait casting reels. He said he took all the breaks out of his reels. I guess he has a magic thumb. I still can't believe what I witnessed. Does anyone know how high the deck of a bassboat sits above water? If you are going to practice, it would need to be at that height. I will try and get with this friend again and have him give me some instruction! He's hard to catch; until then, any pointers? I have several baitcasting rigs, including a Cashion 7'6" fast, medium heavy rod and a Lew's reel, a Tournament Pro Speed Spool TP1SHL. I bought this for fishing frogs in cover, and also to learn flipping. I have 60lb braid on it now. Does anyone flip/pitch using a spinning rig? Thanks for any insight. My casting is pretty darn accurate, but I love the flip/pitch, and also with my casting, my bait hits the water too hard. Gotta get better at this, I fish lakes with lots of cover above water these days.

I find it incredible that the G3 is/was designed so that its transom sits too low. How in the world can a company screw up like that? That seems really odd. As for them touting the 'new' change, I can see them not being vocal about that for liability issues with the previous design. Not wanting to admit that they screwed up. If that is, in fact, the case. I have no idea, I thought the G3 had a good reputation for a good design. There is no way a bass fisherman can guarantee he will never be in rough water unless he barely leaves the dock or only fishes narrow water bodies that can't get rough. That would be rare. Most of us will get caught from time to time by surprise winds.

How often / when do you spray your boat? What do you use to spray it on? Do you keep your boat under a cover, open, in a garage or just what? Do you know if it works on aluminum boats, too? Thanks for the tip on that product.

Totally agree. That is in the cards, but maybe not right now. Thinking of cheaper alternatives until settled into a house.

Why does that matter? (I don't know the answer, curious.)

In another thread, I mentioned that a man I saw on the lake who had a beautiful Champion boat told me it was 25 years old. I was shocked; it looked showroom clean. He said his secret is he uses Baby Wipes with lanolin to wipe down the gelcoat and also the seats on a regular basis. And even more importantly, he keeps his boat stored inside a garage. And said that people make a mistake covering their boats with a cover (in humid areas like we have here) because it promotes mildew growth and just funks up everything. I can attest to a problem with mildew; I have used a cover. I don't have a garage. He meant enclosed garage, like one that is part of your house. In that thread, someone said that he thinks you could buy a vented cover, and then use a fan running on low speed and it would prevent mildew. Anyone have knowledge of airflow preventing mildew? I happen to have a fan kind of like this -- https://www.grainger.com/product/AIR-KING-Portable-Blower-Fan-1XGG2?functionCode=P2IDP2PCP I would need to somehow calculate how much electricity a fan would use (and also the cost of a vented cover) versus the cost of building a carport. Although, building a carport that is not totally enclosed, I am not sure that would work. Non-enclosed carports are 'everywhere' around here. They look like this -- http://store.alansfactoryoutlet.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=12x21-Regular-Carport&gdftrk=gdfV28043_a_7c2612_a_7c10951_a_7c12x21_d_Regular_d_Carport&gclid=CjwKEAjw_ci3BRDSvfjortr--DQSJADU8f2jN-ZRDyRzHzUSxrNDEkroWA25MhGlHWROWJRk4FRYNBoCEtjw_wcB Those cost $700, plus tax. Building an enclosed carport attached to the house, or an enclosed 'shop,' wow, that would be really expensive! So, building a $700 carport and using a vented cover and low airflow fan... it's worth investigating. The problem with just building the $700 carport and that's it... yes, it would keep rain off, but in the spring, you would have a horrendous problem with pollen. That stuff coats everything this time of year! And we have a bazillion dirt dauper wasps around here and they build their mud nests everywhere! My boat motor, they built nests INSIDE the motor. They find any tiny hole and crawl into the dark place and build nests. This could still happen if you have an attached garage or an enclosed shop, but less so if you usually keep the door closed. Anyone have any comments?

There may be mentions in this thread, not sure, but there probably is somewhere on this forum... if you fish mostly shallow water, you can use a 'power pole' type of pole (except it's not powered, lol) that you push into the lake bottom and is secured to your boat. But you would be limited to pretty shallow water.

I have seen someone showcase a method of storing one in the air and I think it is in this thread but I have no idea what page, sorry.

Does anyone know when stores might be apt to put a Pelican Bass Raider on sale? Does anyone think that there is a 'superior' brand/model of this type boat? Is Pelican Bass Raider it? I have read this entire thread over a year's time (90% of it last year) and don't want to read the entire thread again! Thanks! I have an old Bass Tracker and it works fine but if I could get a better design, maybe a little bit lighter, I would sell mine.

I would be very wary of buying 'only' a 16' boat. IMO, that is too short. As for me, I have come to the conclusion that 19' is about right for me. I have a 17' and it works, but I would prefer more length for storage, for floor space and I guess it would give a better ride in chop.

Where do you buy a new motor, what type of 'store?' Where would you get it rigged out?

I was just at a Dollar General (dollar store) and wow, the Marvel was $3.50! I think I paid $5.50 at Advance Auto Parts recently. If Marvel is good for boat motors, that is cheap!

There are four buttons on my 1997 Tracker, bought used and the labels have worn off. I know what two of them are for, running lights and livewell pump. The other two, I don't know. Maybe bilge pump is one. How can I tell what each is for? Also... I know little about electronics but it's too expensive to take a boat into the shop to do this and that unless I just have to. I guess I need a multimeter to help fix things like... running lights quit working... livewell pump quit... bilge pump not working... gauges don't work (tach does work)... onboard battery charger doesn't work. For instance, the livewell pump, how can I tell if it just 'went bad?" Might be a fuse? It worked up to last week and now I hear nothing when I turn it on. There is a fusebox housing several fuses under the console. I don't see a label for what each fuse is to... bummer! How can I tell what each of the fuses is for? When I get a multimeter, can someone explain the process of what to do to analyze what is the problem with any broken device? I need to determine if power is flowing through? How, exactly? Also, see this first photo below? This is a master switch that the former owner installed. I'm not sure what it's for. And let me ask... the guy said if I left it "on," it would, over time, drain the battery. Why? Lastly, the second pic below, what is that fuse holder for? Can someone explain what it's for and why the 3 wires but only 2 are connected? There are 2 black, 1 red. One of the blacks doesn't go to anything, is that for a ground wire to something? Thanks for help.

I have read (and seen pics) of people splitting in two boats like this, but necessarily this exact brand/model. I think it is in the Pelican Bass Raider thread. Which might take you a month or two of reading, lol.

I was going to start a thread on this very subject, but it was about buying a used boat hull/trailer and adding a new motor and new troll motor. Since those are the two main trouble spots for reliability. I was wondering how much a new motor would cost, say, a 115 to a 150hp. Probably a 4-stroke.

Only 1 reply, so, I guess everybody uses Sea Foam, lol.

The Keitech tears up really fast, I'm wondering if there is an Elaztech version. That is Zman technology?. It is really tough, stretchy plastic. I love their worms. I think Strike King also licensed some Elaztech baits. Zman alone has a LOT of different swimbaits with the paddle tail. Perhaps their DieZel MinnowZ might work. Anyone aware of a Swing Impact like bait with Elaztech? Also, I like the Keitech Swing Impact Fat. Does anyone use the Swing Impact, not the Fat? If so, why? One thing I see is that the Fat, in the larger sizes... it's thicker, so, I am concerned about hookset when fished weedless, getting the hook through all that plastic. I have bought some different swimbait hooks to try.

Keitechs are tough? I really don't get that one! I think these are the softest, most easily destructable baits I've ever used. They catch fish, though. But based on two days fishing, I am going to find a better jig/hook than what I have used, and also look for a tougher bait that works as well. Maybe it exists. This could get expensive. A Zoom super fluke, I bought a bunch of these on sale at Academy and they were 18 cents each. I have caught more fish on a fluke than any bait I've used in the past few years. I like these Keitechs a lot but they are about a dollar each! Your Flambeau looks interesting for this.

I wish I would have put into the OP that I must fish weedless. I would get hung up too much on underwater snags in my lakes. The Keitechs I have are Fats, and it seems they are more of a problem to rig weedless than the Swing Impact. Today, I used a jighead that had a wire weedguard. It worked okay, still not ideal. Without a doubt, an exposed hook would be best but I know I would hang up too much.

My first time trying Keitech Swing Impact Fat today, caught 7 bass in two hours. But lost 6! That drives me nuts, to lose bass. Poor hookset. I was using a very light rod, I wonder if that was the problem. I blamed it on not having the proper jighead. This was the 2.8 Fat. I was using a 1/16 oz Gamakatsu Perfect Finesse Worm Rig jig and just didn't seem to fit right. Where the hook point inserted the plastic body... it seemed too thin there. Like the hook was too long. I also have 3.8, 4.8 and 5.8 Fats in hand. I tried it on the 3.8 and it didn't seem like large enough hook. There didn't seem to be enough hook exposed when it came out the other side of the lure. How do you guys rig these, what do you use? I was mostly using a steady, slow retrieve. Texas rigging should work, I guess I just need the right size hook. Users comment about how fragile these are and, wow, is that correct. These baits tear up quick. I am going to try to find an alternate bait that works as well. I know some people say that it can't be found, that Keitechs are 'special.' But... this will get real expensive, they are so soft.

That's pretty cool that 15# is so tough. Hookset is so important to me, do you think it stretches and is a problem with a hookset, or do you want it to stretch? Do you use a certain rod with this line? Do you use it for all baits/techniques?

I have never used these lines - Berkley Big Game or Yo-zuri Hybrid or Gliss. If you use one, why do you like it? What presentations do you use it for? So far, I haven't liked fluorocarbon but I will try it one more time. I really like braid, but I'm open to others. I fish a variety of lures... soft plastics, spinnerbait, chatterbait, frogs, topwater, crankbaits but overall, the most common for me is soft plastics like flukes, worms, brush hogs, both weighted and weightless. Thanks for info!

Does anyone use Marvel Mystery Oil as an additive? Do you put it in your gasoline or engine oil? Will this do about the same as Sea Foam? I went to buy Sea Foam yesterday but this seemed to be quite a bit cheaper. My brother was with me and he swears by MMO but he doesn't own a boat, lol, just uses it in his truck and tractor and says tons of people swear by it. I have never used an additive but my '97 Tracker (Mercury Marine) motor is running a bit rough.