Caia326

Welcome to the forums!

I recently purchased a new boat and had it financed. I went with a Tracker Pro Team 175TXW so I can only speak from my experience with going through Tracker. I was required to put 10% down regardless of my credit. The tag, registration, etc.. was all wrapped up in my deal so I had no out of pocked with the exception of the down payment and boat insurance down payment. I do regret not upgrading to the best trolling motor I could get but the one that came with it works for now. I would say get the best that you can comfortably afford.

^^^ This. I did the same thing a few months ago with a Ranger. Person told me that the auction for the boat ended and the buyer backed out and it was being held in eBay's lot. I read this and it sealed the deal for me that it was a scam. I told the person that if they re-listed the boat for sale with the same buy it now price I would buy it immediately but I never heard from them again.

I had a chance to get out on the water today and the Haines Cool Dry long sleeve shirts with UPF protection seemed to be ok. They are very thin but I didn't get burnt through it and it allowed for plenty of air flow. I may have to pick up a bunch more of the.

Done!

That looks awesome!

I have a number of the Extreme rods and reels that I've been very happy with. I've had a couple of them for well over 8 years now and they are still going strong.

I seen a 10 BB reel for $25 on Amazon and had to order one to find out what it was all about. Its pure junk. Flexes a lot when you catch a fish, does not cast worth a dang, brake system is a joke. Do your self a favor and just spend the extra money and pick up something decent.

I just purchased a new Pro Team 175TXW and I really like it. Its easy to tow, good on gas and goes fast enough for me. I do wish it had a bit more storage but so far that is the only thing I would change about it.

I've been throwing the Big EZ's as well and like them a lot.

I just ordered some Dri-Fit long sleeve shirts with SPF protection made by Haines from Amazon. They seem like they would be super comfortable but I guess we will see. Otherwise I'm normally wearing an angler type shirt and the convertible or zip-off pants that turn into shorts.

I dont know if this will help or not as its been several years since I've been there but I remember catching a number of fish off Johnsons Point in Big Lake Harris on soft plastic jerk baits .

Yeah, we never hit anything really big either, 5 or 6 up to 2lbs. I think I'm going to give it another go this weekend and do some flipping and I may run up to Hatchineha.

Its tough to say as reel types are a personal preference. Spinning reels seem to be easier for people to learn to use but most people eventually migrate to a bait caster. There are some techniques that are better suited to spinning gear and some that are better suited for bait casters so you may need to make a choice between spinning and bait casting before you decide anything else. There are several threads on the boards regarding best reels and rods under $100. I personally prefer bait casters and if I could only choose one setup it would be a 7' Medium Heavy, fast action rod paired with a 5+ ball bearing 6.4:1 reel.

Thanks SoFloBassFiend. We pretty much did the same thing in Jack Slough and had ok results. It was really windy and started a little cold.

Heading out to Kissimmee in the morning, anyone been in the last week or so have any tips?

That's a great looking rod, nice work!

I own 8 of the older BPS Extreme reels with aluminum frames and I absolutely love them.

Will do S Hovanec, I use the heat gun to help burst bubbles in fresh epoxy by moving it back and fourth really quickly and never letting it stay in one place, I assume the same is true when heating it up to remove it?

Thanks DVT. I have an actual heat gun, is it safer for the blank to use a hair dryer? DK they out out less heat?

I'd be interested to see how they turn out. I need to pick some up for the rod locker.

That sounds like a good plan, I just took a look at them and I may have to pick some up as well.

I went for the ultra cheap CRB kits and gave the rods away when I was done with them. I got some practice and I made a couple of peoples day by giving them an unexpected gift!

I started out with a couple of cheap casting kits from MudHole and it was fairly straight forward. I've found, like everyone else has mentioned, that I don't really save any money but I get a way better rod for what I was going to spend anyhow and I get to make it look exactly how I want it instead of settling for whats on the shelf. Before I bought a kit, i did buy some wooden dowels and practiced wrapping guides on it, that really helped with confidence when I went to actually wrap a blank.

Awesome, thanks for the reply S Hovanec!