Junk Fisherman

Seems like an 18.5' deep V with a bassboat layout with a transom equipped for a kicker would fill a niche currently unoccupied. Like the old Ranger 618VS.

Get the better rod. Money will come around later to get baits.

I was being completely sarcastic. “Growing the sport” is so the fishing business can be more prosperous. I don’t want to see more fishermen, more tournaments, and more fishing pressure.

I guess I don't view fishing as a grind or a struggle. I have a process I go through as a I fish- almost a process of elimination and fine tuning approach. Really, the only time I feel I am grinding is during a tournament where I am just hoping for a couple fish to salvage a tough day and get on the board. I can think of a tournament a couple springs ago in which it was TOUGH fishing. I knew that my best odds were to just keep throwing a jig in deep water and hope to stumble onto to something. Caught a little keeper and then a 5.5 lber which was nearly enough to win. Usually, I don't do that when fun fishing. I will keeping trying new stuff or look for new water.

Yeap. Great advice. I always have an empty coffee container in my boat in order to pee in or do a #2.

I've never liked the name either.

Seems to me that Skeeters and Tritons are in the middle tier of bassboats. Above the Nitros but a step below the Basscat/Phoenix/Ranger group. Who did I just anger with that statement? lol

So much of it depends on the conditions, season, cover, and type of fish I am targeting. Windy- small swimbait or a chatterbait depending on the season and water clarity. Calm- Ned or dropshot especially if I am targeting smallmouth; jig if I am on a largemouth reservoir and plan to be fishing deep all day; it would be a Ned if I was on a pressured body of water

Well in that case..... #1 Wind and waves especially when it is stronger than forecasted #2 Tournaments- hate pulling up to the lake at daylight and there is a big, long line of bassboats especially when the tournament wasn't listed on the DNR website. And the couple times this has happened- it was a HS tournament. Gotta "grow the sport" though! #3 Biting flies- they literally chased me off the water once last summer. I was in a swarm and went on a 5 mile run thinking I'd get away from them. Nope. I left a couple hours sooner than I planned on since they were so annoying. Now, I always carry a long sleeve shirt and pants in the summer in case I get into them again.

This one is easy- when something breaks in your boat or you hit something with your boat or motor.

I don't blame Loomis for doing this. I broke a 843GLX this past year that I had used HEAVILY for nearly 20 years. For $110 I received a brand new version that retails for $480. I already got the value of my original rod. While I wouldn't do it, you can easily see the value in intentionally breaking a rod in order to upgrade it.

The only variable you mentioned that I have a strong preference for is longer rods especially with my spinning rods. My small swimbait rod is 7'9 and the last rod I bought was a 7'6 Steez rod. The shortest rod I would consider is 7' and ideally I want 7'4 or longer.

To answer this question, you have to think about what bass species and what cover/structure you typically fish. I use just about every fishing style throughout the course of the season while fishing for largemouth and smallmouth. So I have 5 spinning combos and 6 casting combos that I routinely use and covers everything I do. The only techniques I do not use are punching and 1 oz+ swimbaits. So I would say that 12 combos would cover just about everything in the bass fishing spectrum.

Why not give the rod away to a fishing buddy if you didn't like it? The Extreme HP are fantastic rods and the vast majority of fishermen like them. At the least, sell it and spend the money on gear you like. Such a waste.

Was the early SHOs the motors making oil? I remember reading about that quite a bit when I was researching Yamaha engines. I went with the F175 but they didn't make a 25" SHO in a 175 or 200 so I didn't study the SHO that much.

I get my bearings done but I do the motor maintenance myself. I would estimate it as $300-$400 per year.

I enjoy the entire day not only the catching. Experiencing the outdoors, following the weather and the seasons, getting solitude and time to reflect on life, investigating the body of water I am on, boating especially on the Great Lakes, being a tackle junkie and using high end gear, and continually trying to improve my abilities with different techniques and fine-tuning my strengths are all parts of "fishing" that I enjoy. We all know that catching a bunch of fish or big fish or both makes for a great day but I have really grown to enjoy all the supporting aspects of fishing as well. So yeah, I would say I REALLY enjoy fishing.

This describes me as well. My heaviest spinning rod is a 763 Champion that I use for primarily for 1/2 oz tubes and stupid tubes. I prefer to use baitcasters when I can but line weight dictates that I use a spinning rod for those applications. I am considering getting a 702 Champ Extreme casting for pitching dropshots and other finesse tactics. I do plan on playing around with the 702C and the 703C with the 1/2 oz tubes and stupid tubes. The rest of my spinning rods are 1 power and 2 power for all other finesse applications. I like the 1 power for Ned rigs and ultra lite swimbaits and the 2 power for everything else. I see no purpose in a 4 power spinning rod.

If you already have the lure out, it takes less than 1 minute to tie on a new bait. I have timed myself. So I always anticipate what type of changes I think I will make and I have those baits ready to go.

Turns out that Daiwa cannot repair the anti-reverse on my reel since it is 15 years old so I am in need of a new spinning reel. I will pick up either a 3000 or 4000 Tatula. Contemplating the 4000 for added casting distance. The finesse baitcasting thread got methinking about getting a Dobyns FX742SF casting combo with a Daiwa Tatula. Not sure what Tatula but the reel will be used for pitching dropshots and some other finesse presentations. I fish around a lot of breakwalls and pitching is much more effective than casting or pitching with a spinning combo.

I never use such a light sinker for my dropshot. I typically use 3/8th oz DS weight and a 1/16th oz Ned Rig weight so I don't think this would work for me. But hey- give it a shot and see if it works.

My wind knots (that annoying wrapping around the first guide during a cast) are 95% with braid and fluoro. It was such an annoyance that a couple years I switched to straight fluoro on my small swimbait reel which completely solved that problem. I try to keep my connection knot as small as possible, always manually close my bail, and not overthrow a cast.

2 years ago I would have agreed 100% but I have started cracking tubes (1/2 oz) and throwing Stupid Tubes over the last couple year where a heavier rod or hookset is required. I prefer both of those presentations on a medium spinning rod versus a medium light spinning rod or a medium casting combo, I will say that a lot of people prefer their medium action spinning rods. I am on the Dobyns Facebook group and the 3 power spinning rod is highly recommended. Personally, I love their 2 power (ML) and only have one 3 power (M) rod. But I agree that under most instances I'd much rather use a medium casting outfit than a medium spinning combo.

I have been in a BASS club for 5 years now but I don't fish that many events. Our club is geared towards the state championship team and that doesn't really interest me. Since we have so many events that I'll never make, I just pick a couple Ts that fit in my schedule and are on bodies of water I want to fish. In the limited number of events I have fished the last couple years, I have done well with a win and a couple second place finishes. I feel if I committed myself, I could contend for angler of the year. My dream scenario would be fishing as a coangler in a buddy series with someone better than me. I'd love to take it more seriously and fish as a team if I had the right partner.

In terms of hobbies, I hike a lot in the winter. I try to get a lot of home improvement projects done over the winter as well. Sometimes I feel doing a lot of prep and research makes cabin fever even worse but I do it anyways. Usually, I would say going to a couple fishing shows and the local BPS a couple times would be some ways to kill time over the winter but those are out this winter.