fishnkamp

Personally I am not sure what rods you have broken. Pay very close attention to the rods lure rating. You should look at rods designed specifically for punching. Take a look at an Irod designed by Bub Tosh. It is called an Irod Genesis II IRG7114P “Bub’s Punch Rod”. That rod does run $150. I fish other Irod Genesis rods and they are light, well balanced and do exactly what the rod's advertisement says it will. Another option would be a Dobyns DC 805FLIP/PUNCH These rods were also specifically designed for the job. It would run around $260. I do not own this rod either but do fish other Champion XP rods. I have no doubt this rod will balance well and fish extremely well. You might also want to ask this in the rod building and custom rods area.

Then lets talk about a workable rod arsenal. I am guessing that all the rods you listed are casting rods. Now these recommendations are just my personal preference and keep in mind I fish a ton of different water. I live next to the Chesapeake Bay so I fish its tidal rivers. These include the Susquehanna River and Flats, the rives like the Gunpowder, Middle and Back River, and the Potomac river. Most of these offer big grass beds, down wood and rock but include old boat wrecks or huls and a ton of docks. Most of the time the water would be considered off color. Then I go on vacation and fish super clear deep lakes in Kentucky and Tennessee. So my arsenal is designed to fit all of those conditions. I like to start with 2 spinning rods. One would always be a 6'6" to 7 foot ML with a fast or extra fast tip, something that rates 1/16 to 5/16. I like it for lightweight baits like Ned Rigs and grubs fished on the lightest slider heads. This is a great drop shot rod as well. Be creative, do not just use the small finesse worms on a drop shot, look at either the J P Derose J P Hammer Shads by Power Team Lures or maybe a Berkley Gulp Alive Minnow. There are lots of good options. My next rod would be of the same length and it would be a Medium power spinning rod with a fast or extra fast tip as well. This would rate somewhere around 1/8 to 3/8 or 1/8 to 5/8. This is a workhorse of a rod. I definitely would fish my Kalin 5 inch lunker grubs on this rod using a Perfect Finesse jighead from Bass Pro. I fish ring worms and other finesse creature baits and worms on these rigs. I never worry about the bobber stop moving and the weight and hook separating so one gets stuck. The places I throw these, it is easy to loose traditional texas rigs! Robo Worms and zipper worms, as well as the smaller Keitech swimbaits, fish well on this rod too. Here is where I throw lightweight 2 to 4 inch floating diving Rapala Minnows as well as small top water baits like Tiny Torpedos or small Pop Rs. They just do not fish as well on casting equipment. I also throw very light spinnerbaits for river smallies on this rod. Here is a link to the jighead. They come in many colors, weights and hook sizes. Match the hook size and choose several weights and I really do not care about the color of the weight myself. http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Perfect-Finesse-Worm-Jighead/product/178745/ Now look at these next baits, they are the Reaction Innovations Dippers. They have a great swimming action and when you KILL them their dying minnow flutter gets fish to eat them fast. They come in 3 sizes. I usually use the Little Dipper weightless on a spinning combo. This is deadly shallow to 5 feet around dead wood or rock walls and even docks. On a Light action baitcasting rod I will throw the Skinny Dipper and Big Dippers rigged on a belly weighted swimbait hook. These cover from 3 foot to 10 foot pretty well. I fish these two sizes on a Picasso fish head style swimbait jig head. With these baits on jig heads weighing 3/8 to 5/8 of an ounce you can easily fish these baits all the way down to 30 or 40 feet. I regularly use this setup on big deep flats on Dale Hollow, where smallies that range from 3 to 8 pounds roam underneath big bait schools in depths of 20 to 40 feet of water. Often the bass are suspended in open water that may be 100 foot deep. In your arsenal I do not recognise a good crankbait/rattle trap rod. Maybe you use your jerkbait rod for this. My preferred jerkbait rod has a short handle, so I do not hit my arm. My crankbait rod has a standard length rod handle. Anyway a rod that has a medium power and moderate action is important here. The Strike King Red Eye Shads and some Bill Lewis original rattle traps, as well as a few Booyah one knocker traps should be included in your tackle box. The shallow to mid depth crankbait are a must. I do not throw really deep ones, but it might fit your waters. Lastly if you do not fish swimjigs then add them. Dirty Jigs and Nu Teck make some good ones. I like the bluegill colored Kalin 5 inch Lunker grubs for a trailer as well as a Skinny Dipper or Keitech swimbait as a trailer. This is a very useful combo. You can be swimming it out from the shore, kill it and make it look like it is eating off the bottom. Then slowly make it swim away again. Like any jug it can be hopped or just swam but it is very easy to get a big fish to bite using these baits. I hope this makes you think about your arsenal a little differently, Having rods that cover the same territory may be an asset. I suggest you pick some baits and throw them on each similar rod. Figure out what each rod does best. Dedicate that rod to a group of techniques that that rod does really well. Maybe you find that one rod feels really great with 3/8 to 5/8 jigs so that becomes your favorite jig rod. Another might cover the same rating but feel best with 3/8 to 3/4 ounce texas rigs and carolina rigs. Evaluate what lures/techniques work best on each rod. Then let the arsenal show you what you may want to cover next based on the water you fish. I have fished for over 40 years and until two years ago I never needed a good frog rod and I still do not own a good rod for deep cranking, it does not fit in style of fishing my waters. I may be missing an important tool!

The 734C models are some of Dobyns most versatile rods in each of his rod lines. I own several Sierra and Champion XP rods. The Sierras are just a tad slower graphite on purpose. They are really nice rods. If you are looking for a very versatile rod you can throw jigs, texas rigs, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and most of the paddle tail swimbaits like a Keitech or Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper or Big Dipper on say a 3/8 or 1/2 ounce swimbait jig head, like a Picasso, then you should enjoy this rod. My wife uses a Sierra SA 705SF spinning rod to throw jigs and hollow body frogs. It has nearly the same feel as my Champion XP DC705C which I also use for frogs and big jigs on deep ledges. I own a Powell Max 683CEF and I think that my 683 should be very similar to your 703. The Dobyns Sierra will handle its' lure range very well, but my Powell is speced for 1/4 to 3/4 and can throw baits that are well over twice that without being over stressed. It is an amazing rod. It is also a super fast tipped rod. The SA 734C should feel more like a typical 1/4 to 1 ounce rod. The 733 makes a great spinnerbait rod as long as you are throwing baits less than a 3/4 ounce, at least in my opinion. This rod would also throw rattle traps well and smaller jigs like for smallies. As for comparison I have to apologize, I sold off all of my St Croix rods and replaced them with Dobyns, Powell, and Irods. Just my personal preference. I also agree, I wish they kept some of the Powells the way they were. I love my Max 683CEF. It is matched up with a Daiwa Tatula CT and fishes Dirty Jigs swimjigs with a Kalin 5 inch grub most of the time.

Before you look at which boat lets talk about where you want to use this boat. Are you going to primarily fish small lakes, ponds and smaller rivers? A 144 to sixteen foot john boat with an engine ranging from ( to 25 horse power might be what you would want to start with, A boat like this may be all you need. I fished out of several of these while fishing small lakes and rivers like the Susquehanna River in PA. I had a special rock guard that looked like a circle welded up and added to the 9.9 hp engine, and a rear transom mount trolling motor. If you are fishing bigger water there are lots of used Alumacrafts, G3s Lowe Boats, XPress Boats, etc. The highest end models come from companies like Crestliner, Ranger, Triton, Lund etc. For bigger waters and waters, where faster boats will be encountered, then a boat ranging in size from 17 1/2 to 20 foot may meet your needs. Mod V boats are good for most waters but if you intend to fish the biggest waters then definitely consider a full deep Vee hull like the Lund and Polar Kraft are so well known for. I own the boat in the first picture but the second picture shows what the Deep Vee boat looks like.

Powell offers some nice crankbait rods in the Inferno and Max3d lines. Check out a Inferno 755 CB MH Glass/Composite rod. It normally runs around $110 I really do not think the 765 Flip will be soft enough to keep the treble hooked baits and your fish buttoned up. I like the rod, but not for that purpose.

If you are interested, we could met up and you could fish with my Max 683CEF. It would give you a good feel for what a Max3D 683CEF would feel like. That rod is my favorite jig rod bar none. I throw a swim jig with a Kalin grub trailer on it most of the time. If you decide that is not the rod you want, take a serious look at a Dobyns Champion XP DC734C. I have a Champ 705 that I use for frogging and could easily handle jigs and texas rigs if you would like to play with that one also. The 734 has a nicer transition between tip and backbone, but feels very similar in weight and balance. We could meet up somewhere like Centennial Lake in Columbia, it is a run for me, but sorta on your way up to Anglers.

The Dobyns Champions are going to be more sensitive and lighter.

Well since I was called for here is what i recommend. First you are fishing some good rods. The Fury rods are really nice for their cost and even hold up pretty well against other brands much more expensive rods. In the Dobyns lineup my wife and I fish some Sierra rods and some Champion Xps. The Sierras rods are a bit slower than say a Champion XP ( DC ...) If I were looking for bottom contact rods for fishing jigs, texas rigs, etc then I would definitely go for an Champ XP. They will run you around $260. I purchased a couple of Sierra rods for my wife. One of my Champs is my frog rod. I cannot fit a rod over 7 foot in my rod locker so even though the 735C would have been the best choice I am completely thrilled with my DC 705C. It is super well balanced, lightweight and very sensitive. This rod doubles as both frog and a rod to throw big deep water jigs. Believe it or not they build an almost duplicate rod in the Sierra 705SF, which is the perfect spinning rod to accomplish thew same tasks. That is my wife's latest addition in her rod arsenal For your purpose I would look at a Champion XP model DC 734C. I think you will be thrilled with it. If I could fit longer rods it would have been my second Champ. Its taper and transition from tip to but is a bit nicer than my 704C.

Take a look at a Dobyns Champion DC 806CB Glass for $240 or a Irod Genesis II IRG7113CC “Fred’s Crank Launcher”. Both very nice options.

My wife and I fish with many 30 and 35 series reels. I really like to spool about 1/2 of the reel with 12 pound Stren original mono and then fill it up to the proper level with 14 pound Berkley Original Fused FireLine braid. The 14 pound braid is the same diameter as 6 pound mono. I also fish with a 4 foot leader made of 8 pound mono or P Line CXX. I always tie the different lines together using a double Uni Knot and like others have said knots like Palomar, uni knots and even Trilene knots work pretty good. I set them up this way for several reasons. The entire 330 yard spool of Stren costs like $8, it works out to about 3 cents a yard for quality line to use as backing. Backing takes up space on the reel, so you do not waste expensive braid, and it keeps the braid from slipping on the reel. I fish lots of different types of water, from deep clear lakes in Kentucky and Tennessee as well as the off color waters of the Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers. This setup works well for us in both conditions.

On my last boat I had a Motorguide hand control trolling motor and two little foot switches mounted on the deck. T&H Marine makes both items. It is hard to tell in this picture, but the foot switches have a lock bar on them in case you want to slowly move down a bank or something. This means you can move the boat without having to keep your foot in one position the entire time.

That may be true, but think How awesome the smile on that young mans face will be!!! My wife never fished before we met. Together we have fished with lots of guides, many world famous like Bob Clouser. She has been able to catch some huge fish, many of them are larger than some of my male fishing partners have been able to catch. The family biggest belongs to her, it was on a guided catfish trip and it was a 34 1/2 pound flathead catfish. Guys at work asked if I was embarrassed to be out fished by her. My response was simple, this summer we will celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary and we dated all through school. So, I asked if he noticed the HUGE smile on her face. Every married man knows when the wife is smiling like that life is good. If that young man smiles like Linda did you will be king in his heart.

Dobyns makes a really nice rod. I have never had that one in my hand but Gary has said it is a very popular one. Give Tackle Warehouse a call and ask about the procedure to ship into Canada. I know of another member here that did just that because there were no Powell dealers near him in Ontario.

I do not know that rod but I would look at the Dobyns Fury swimbait rod. Brand new it is $120. Look here: http://dobynsrods.com/rod/fr-795sb/ I believe you will find Tackle Warehouse regularly ships into Canada

I pull my 17 1/2 foot Lowe all through the mountains of VA, TN and Ky with a Chevy S-10 with a V6, It is often more about the amount of brakes than engine these days. I run a ZR-2 so it has the full towing package and big brakes. With all of the 4 door trucks they sell today maybe a 4 door truck like a Tacoma might work for you. I have a friend that hauls his 20 foot Ranger with one of those trucks.

You must plug the hole leading into the hull. That is the drain for the bilge area. You will sink your boat if not. If you do not have one, you should be able to get a new plug from WalMart or any boat dealership, evn West Marine if you have one nearby. You are best off with the type of plug you insert and tighten, not the type with the flip up lever. It sounds like the second hole is the feed for a livewell pump. The hose should lead to the livewell's spray nozzle or bar. Most times they have a screen at that hole. I would test the other hole by filling it up with water from a garden hose. Most likely that pipe is a drain coming from the bottom of your livewell. If there is a plug in the bottom of your livewell than most likely that is your mystery hole.

Do yourself a favor. As you are working on this project send a pm to Kris2016 He is my buddy and he did a restore that he would be happy to share with you. I know he has it listed on several boards but would share the links and discuss what he did. He resurrected a great boat after a bunch of work.

I have to ask a couple of questions. What gear ratio does your current Shock rod have on it. Would it fish baits like rattle traps and small crankbaits well? Is there a second type of baits that would fish on that rod well but would do better with a fast retrieve reel. For instance I use two different rods for my wake baits, small to mid sized cranks, and spinnerbaits. I prefer a 6.3-1 reel for this. I use a similar rod for chatterbaits, buzzbaits, burning a spinnerbait just under the surface and for throwing heavier big bladed spinnerbaits slow rolled on the bottom. For these baits I prefer a 7.3-1 reel.

Congrats for what you are doing. Believe me, the most expensive thing we own in life is not our possessions, it our time! The time you are sharing with this young man will be repaid many times over with the memories and good times you will both share. I am 55 years old and honestly do not remember much from my earliest years, but I remember every time I went fishing with my dad! Especially when I hooked my own jacket hood when I made a bad cast. I was only 5 years old then, but I remember it. Sharing some spare equipment and making up a tackle box for him is terrific. Teaching him new techniques will be fun, and who knows you may learn some thing from him. Someone else mentioned you may have changed that young man's life. It is a fact! He is learning what it is to be a "good man" by your example, he is learning that others care and he will repay that going forward. Young kids that get into fishing rarely get involved with drugs either!

There are some TOOLS that can make boating a bit simpler When I have to launch by myself I often use this. Now for the question can you maneuver a bass boat manually into your garage. Since you are looking at a lighter weight aluminum then yes you can. You will want a level driveway and there will still most likely be a bump going from driveway to garage floor that may make it a bit tough but not impossible. Here again tools help get it done. Look into one of these dollies from West Marine. When you get closer to seriously looking at boats I have owned 11 bass boats including multiple aluminum bass boats. I currently own this Lowe Stinger 170. If I can help you with any questions fell free to ask.

The angle material on the sides could be mounted using screws coming from the outside in. I would use a panhead type screw. I have mounted a few items on the side of my jon boats that way before.

Go get it exchanged under their warranty program. It is toast.

My wife and I fish a lot of Pfluegers, mostly Presidents and one Supreme. I prefer the 30 series for my medium light action rods and 35 series for my medium action rods. Physically they are not much different in size.

I feel your pain. I live in MD and we have basically one dealer to visit as well. Last April I drove to Tennessee for vacation. I stopped at a bunch of dealers along the way. They are spoiled out there.

I fish 14 pound FireLine on 7 out of 9 spinning rods my wife and I use. Line twist is never a problem, but there are some simple habits that you need to pay attention to. First, do not close the bail by turning the handle and reeling in the line. Instead as the lure stops falling, close the bail by hand and I sorta lift the rod a bi to tighten up the line on the rod and reel. Now I start reeling. Secondly, if a fish is pulling drag NEVER reel the line in. Someone else has mentioned it but to remove any line twist stand your rod up and open the bail. Cut any lure off and walk out say 20 to 30 feet of line. Return to the rod and while using as clean cloth with some pressure walk down the line. The line will straighten out as you walk down the line pulling it through the rag. It also helps to use a good line cleaner at this time. Make sure it is a cleaner/conditioner for braid. Braid Aid and Reel Snot are pretty pretty good. http://www.itainttv.com/braidaid.php https://www.reelsnot.com/