AmericanMade

Thanks for the help. I was also looking at the Lews. What does the group think about KastKing? I did find this in a 6'8 M fast. https://kastking.com/products/kastking-spartacus-ii-fishing-rods?variant=44154146554093 Im just talking about the rod and only because of the color, id pair it with a different reel even though ive read a few things saying they've came a long way since they started.

My oldest son is starting to get serious about bass fishing and can finally set the hook, land, and release on his own so I want to surprise him with his own set up for his 10th birthday coming up in a few weeks. He's able to handle a 6'6 spinning rod well enough but I think that will also give him room to learn and grow. Most of our fishing is from the bank using Texas rigged senkos so im thinking a M or MH fast, 2 piece would be prefered for ease of transportation. Im trying to keep it under 150$ with rod and reel. Im looking at the Aird X but open to other suggestions, I don't want to break the bank because I know it will get a little abuse but also don't want junk. His favorite color is green so if that is integrated anywhere on the rod and/or reel that would be preferred. Thank you for any suggestions!

side console not tiller. lund rebel 1650 or 1750 how does charging work for a trolling motor? i imagine its tied into the outboard and charges while the outboard is running? is that system standard or an extra charge? the reason i want a gas kicker is for trolling for salmon, kokanee and other species in the open water, the electric bow mount would be for bass fishing. im looking at the lund rebel 1750. how do you like the 1650? how many people have you had comfortably on it? The reason i ask is because right now it will be my wife and 2 boys, but as the boys get older it will be 4 adults.

im looking at buying a 17-18 ft lund aluminum boat. its going to be used to troll for kokanee, fish for steel head and pike, and of course bass fish. The boat will never leave freshwater lakes, maybe the occasional river. Its going to have a 90 or 115 merc and a 9.9 kicker for trolling in the open waters of the lake. I wil probably get about 4 hours max per day out of the bow mount electric trolling motor when i am bass fishing which will be about 2-3 days a week. Ive spent my whole life fishing and on boats but have never owned one so ive never been keen on all of the different options compared to each other. I wont be fishing any tournaments but will be out on the lake as much as possible fishing with my family and friends. What would you recommend for a trolling motor some someone in my situation? I would rather by nice than buy twice so i dont want to spend the bare minimum and want to upgrade after a season but i dont want to go completely overboard and pay for something i wont need. 12v vs 24v? will i need a charger? what size motor? also looking for recommendations on a fish finder. Schools of kokanee will be anywhere from 30-70 feet deep depending on time of the year. Id like a quality fish finder and gps but again dont want to go overboard and pay for something that somebody like me wont need

North Idaho

In the near future I plan on buying a brand new ranger rt178. I was going to pull the trigger but found a house and was told to wait to make any large purchases until I get approved for the home loan. A few people have told me not to do it, it's a horrible investment, etc. I've even read that on these forums. Ive never bought a new boat before, am I missing something? Why does it seem to be the general consensus that buying a new boat is a bad idea? I know it's a horrible investment, in fact it's not an investment at all. I'm not expecting this boat to be worth more than what I paid for it, ever. I now have a 5 month old son and I plan on teaching him and his children how to fish on this boat. I Would be financing it and don't want to take any money out of savings to pay for it outright, but the monthly payment would literally be like 2% of my monthly income. So what's the deal here?

A question about two very specific aluminum boats turns into an argument about wood. Gotta love the Internet

Pulling the trigger on my first new boat. It comes standard with minn Kota edge 45 45" TM, lowrance elite 3x, and an onboard dual pro charger 6x1 here are optional upgrades... List is too long to type out http://www.rangeraluminum.com/model.cfm?sid=7323#accessories anything you notice that is worth upgrading too? I fish just about every weekend April-September, have never fished any tournaments but considering the possibility within the next couple of years.

Thanks for the replies. After doing some more research I'm definitely going with the ranger. I usually fish every weekend from about April to September and I'm planning on setting it up to troll for steelhead and Kokanee salmon too. I've never bought a new boat before. Is it similar to buying a car where I might be able to haggle off a couple thousand? Also is it normal to have to pay a freight and document fee? I know with cars you can usually get them to remove that but not sure how flexible boat dealers are. Thanks for the help!

I've been considering a tracker 17 or 18 foot center console aluminum Jon boat. Just got back from a boat show where they had a similar model but also a ranger rt178. The ranger was a few thousand more and felt like a nice boat. The salesman kept bashing tracker saying they were absolute trash, etc. . Any truth to this or was he just being a salesman? I'll admit the ranger was nice but just a tad more than I wanted to spend, but still affordable.

The lake I fish has a ton of bass and crystal clear water. You can see 5+ pounders swimming around in mid day just a few feet from the bank. There are a bunch of beds visible underneath trees on the bank and a huge patch of Lilly's about 10-15 feet out. I generally fish the edge of the Lilly's to the bank and its only a few feet deep. Near the bank you can see dozens of tiny blue gill, perch, and maybe even some baby bass in about a foot of water. When I reel in I can see them attack my worm and it feels like getting some good bites. When I cast out to the Lilly's and i start getting bites it's hard for me to tell if its a bass or these little guys. I feel these bites on nearly every cast. I've pulled a bunch of bass out of there and every time that I've got them I will feel the bites and then just basically wait for the fish to take off with it and set the hook. I'm certain that I've been missing bass that have just picked up the worm or nibbled and spit it back out and me thinking that its these tiny fish. I'm not very experienced so I can't tell the difference unless the bass hits hard. What are some things I should be specifically feeling for?

Where can I find those? Local shop doesn't have them and didn't see them on tackle warehouse or amazon

I've heard a couple of people say these things work great, it's a relatively new company, and it does look interesting but I'm hesitant to spend 15$ on a lure without hearing more about it https://www.piranafishinglures.com/models/

What size/weight hook is that?

I've noticed yo-Zuri is extremely expensive compared to other fluorocarbon line. What is the reason for this?