TOXIC

Common misconception of what "Project Management" entails. There's a big difference between completing simple projects with oversight and being a professional Project Manager. Same misconception I had going into the program. The application of statistical formulas to control the progress of large projects where manpower, supply logistics, timeline quotas, contingency planning and a thousand other variables involved in Project Management. Sure, it can be dumbed down to small projects where more common sense applies but for our project we used building a manned rocket for NASA as our model. Thousands of employees, a complicated supply chain, a strict timeline, cost containment, budget and on and on. I never want to go through that again. My hats off to whoever chooses that career path. I took it because I was in charge of locating, leasing, moving and building out an office location for 400 employees in downtown San Francisco. My project would have been laughed at by the professional Project Managers and the types of projects we did in the class. Lesson learned.

Here's an old "Guide" trick when meeting another boat head on. A lot of accidents happen in this situation when both boats turn into each other and then try to correct and tun into each other again. First consideration: NEVER assume the other boater knows the rules.....NEVER! Second consideration: Scan your water and path to determine the safest area to make a correction to your situation. Third and final consideration: Make an exaggerated turn to show the other boat where you are going. I used to call it "show them your side". Kept me and my clients safe on very busy waters. Back to the OP's "spotlight" situation. Any running light mounted on the front or handheld WILL impede me from seeing your nav lights. That's why no boat manufacturer has "headlights" (except Allison Boats) and on all boats with mounted lights, they are called "Docking Lights" . It is acceptable to switch on lights to scan or mark nav buoys but not for running. On....mark location.....off. If I ran down the river here with a handheld or mounted spotlight, I would get a ticket.

I will head out in most everything EXCEPT lightening. That is no bueno, no way, no day. If we are on big water it's an immediate run for cover.

Since I am in Virginia, I have fished the upper as well as the susky and Shenandoah. Because of the current and rocks dropshotting is not my go to. A Yamamoto Natural Shad grub on a jighead is a killer on those waters. If you want to dropshot rocky waters a premium dropshot weight should be a consideration. I use QuickDrop dropshot weights that were developed by a guy who fishes the rocks in the Columbia River in Washington State. They are top notch.

That trip is a 10 hour drive for me lugging a boat but we have done it for 16 years straight. Those smallies are the reason why. And make no mistake in all of those years there has always been a dropshot used to catch some. Some years it is not the most productive but it always works. Side note, I have never straightened, broke or bent that Gamakatsu small wire #1 hook even on those hard pulling smallies.

Call me stubborn but I never nose hook my dropshot baits. I know plenty that do but for me I T-Rig them all. I use a #1 (Not 1.0) Gamakatsu EWG hook. Baits of choice are a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm and a Yamamoto Pro Senko. The almighty dropshot was the outstanding bait for our annual trip to Lake St Clair this year and I used it to bed fish as well as open water.

I have had a continuous battle with tree rats. I live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and normally take a live and let live attitude. We have every type of wildlife imaginable including some that can be dangerous. Copperheads and Black Bears come to mind. We have a strict rule to not feed the wildlife (I did put out a salt lick for the deer herd). I have a lot of nut trees around my house, Hickory, White Oak, Beech, Japanese Magnolia and they all produce squirrel food, I know that. The tree rats traverse my roof to get to different groups of trees. I have no problem with that but for some unknown reason they decided to add the asphalt shingles on my roof to their diet. I had to thin the herd so to say. I used my grandfathers plastic stock (had to be one of the first made) 17 shot 22 semi-auto (if loaded with Long Rifle) and Buckhorn sights. If I was hunting for food, I would have had an endless supply of squirrel stew. Instead I opted to let the Red Fox family that denned on my property to get free meals. As a matter of fact, if I hadn't downed any squirrels in a while the big male Fox would sit at my backdoor and stare in. He was the most magnificent specimen of a Red Fox I had ever seen. Probably because he and his family got fed so well. I also thought about selling the tails to Meps because they are always looking for dressing for their lures. Anyway, I got pretty dang good with that setup and after a new roof, the tree rats have opted to remove it from the menu.

Nice. That's my happy place....when the wind isn't blowing 30 knots.

I'll bet a T-Rigged Senko would have cleaned house under those docks. Or even in the vegetation for that matter.

I have a gut feeling there would be a big difference in the fish. Those same waters I'll bet are a lot more pressured today than they were back then.

Dealer or private sale you can get the stats from the motor at any shop that has the software to pull it. The advantage to a dealer is that "if" something major goes wrong in a reasonable time after the sale, they are better equipped to handle it than a private seller. If you are going to get regular service from the dealer you are buying the boat from, they will be much more receptive if you bought it there. Downside is that normally you will pay a little more for a dealership boat vs a private seller.

Don't panic. Some rust is normal and if there are weak spots, there's a good chance the trailer can be repaired.

Tube trailers are notorious for rusting from the inside out and you'll never see it until it's too late. It doesn't have to be saltwater but that just speeds the process up. As has been said, poke your trailer and inspect it for soundness.

They are if they do not follow the below Regulation for lights. USCG Lighting Requirements: Powerboats under 12 meters (39.4 feet) in length must have separate or combined red and green sidelights covering 112.5 degrees and visible for 1 nautical mile. The white masthead light must cover 225 degrees, be 1 meter above the sidelights and be visible for 2 nautical miles. The white stern light must cover 135 degrees and be visible for 2 nautical miles, or you can substitute one 360-degree all-around white light. For larger boats, the sidelights must be visible for 2 nautical miles and the masthead light for 3 nautical miles. If you want the exact statute in the USCG Regulations it is: Subpart C—Lights and Shapes § 83.20 Application (Rule 20). (a) Compliance in all weathers. Rules in this part shall be complied with in all weathers. (b) Rules concerning lights complied with from sunset to sunrise; other lights. The Rules concerning lights shall be complied with from sunset to sunrise, and during such times no other lights shall be exhibited, except such lights as cannot be mistaken for the lights specified in these Rules or do not impair their visibility or distinctive character, or interfere with the keeping of a proper lookout. I just don't want to see you get a ticket. If it is "customary" to run aux lights and your Wardens look the other way then you're good. But you are not "Legal".

Yes, I got mine from George Washington University here in Washington, DC but it was back in 2006 and I doubt I would be of much help. I used it to round out a section of my resume.

"Some" Rods had a full replacement policy some didn't. Some had limited replacement, fee replacement, no fault replacement, etc. Depends on the company. For those that did 100% full replacement, it always made me wonder how much of the cost of that warranty was built into the initial rod price because you know you are paying for it.

Your biggest concern is your tow vehicle. I found these stats on a 2019 Kia. Which one do you have? Dynamax™ All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) System: There's certainly no better way to promote towing or performance. Not only will it give you the extra torque that you need to haul that heavy trailer or camper, but it'll also ensure that you're enjoying the smoothest ride, regardless of circumstances. 2.4L 4-Cylinder Engine: 185 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque. 2.0L Turbocharged Engine: 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. 3.3L V6 AWD Engine: This is the monster that catapults you into the 5,000-pound towing range. After all, with 290 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque, how couldn't you manage to tow the world? It's important not to overload your tow vehicle both for safety and longevity. It's also important to have some towing add ons if it does not come so equipped. Transmission cooler (easy aftermarket buy) upsized brakes if at the upper end of the tow range and the correct class hitch system. Do you want glass or tin? There are advantages and disadvantages of both. You need to narrow down the field a little.

Personally, from my perspective there's a few reasons I have a 70mph boat (that's really working to get my 21 foot Ranger to that speed but I can). First and foremost, safety. If I need to outrun a storm or need the power of a 250hp motor in bad water (wind and waves), I know I have it. Second, to get the maximum MPG and control, bass boats are designed to run "on the pad" and while that may make you feel you are close to "out of control" you are not. With a properly set up boat/motor, it's running at its optimum when it is on pad. BTW in the "go fast" glass bass boat world, 70-75mph is very slow. Your skill as a driver and water conditions should dictate how fast you pilot your boat. I'm not a speed demon and with clients in the boat, I rarely exceeded 40mph unless they were boat owners and were accustomed to higher speeds. And as has been said, things happen very fast on the water at high speeds. BUT>>>>There's something to be said about getting out on the lake at sunrise with the water like glass and being able to "let her eat" running down the lake. Working the trim and jackplate and feeling that last little bit of hull lift out of the water knowing your boat is operating in its maximum capacity and your motor is singing at the top of its RPM range. I may be old but I'm young at heart.

Virginia, Maryland, Michigan and soon to be Wisconsin.

Odd that a batch of "Seconds" made it to the market. If they were sold by an individual then I could see it because as pro-staff, we were able to get seconds in 100 count bags. It's not cool though as those baits were never meant to get out to the public because they failed Yamamoto's QC standards. As a staff member, I am not allowed to sell my baits....ever, it's in violation of my contract. I got the exact laminate seconds you are referencing (color 901) and can no longer get them. Per Yamamoto, they have refined the laminate process and no longer get mistakes. Yamamoto did experiment at one time selling "Bulk" pacs, they were even on their website and available at some retailers but they do not sell them anymore, they were not seconds. There may be some bulk packs still floating around out there on ebay or from private sellers. Just be careful as there have been some unscrupulous sellers that claim to have original Senko's in bulk but they are knockoffs. Many times any bait that looks like a Senko is sold as such. Senko has become a generic term for that style bait.

Can I get an Amen? I'm with Tom and Glenn, maybe we are just and I know there are some advantages to braid/leader combos but nothing outweighs adding failure points to your setup. That's the same reason I don't like snaps or swivels.

I'll just add that as with a lot of Yamamoto baits, you need to look at it in the water. There's a good possibility it takes on a different look, hue or sheen once in the water. Some will vary noticeably from what they look like in the package.

Your spool can't spin any faster than when in freespool with -0- brakes. There's nothing the spool itself can do to cause an over run. Even if it were hanging up and releasing when casting (cast control malfunction), that would not cause an over run. Not knocking your ability at all just saying you might need to look at other factors like different line or lures. Don't want you buying parts if that's not the problem.

Normally, those offers are all marketing. They know you are more apt to buy their product with a discount if you can call yourself "Pro-Staff". You are buying, they are selling plus they get the benefit of you singing their praises from the rooftops. Mass marketing at it's best. Carrot Stiks used to be pretty bad about that type of deal.

I always considered the 901 as a shad imitator. Good clear water bait. 305 is my go to when it's cloudy on St Clair, 297 when it's sunny which is weird because 297 is darker than 305. All of Yamamoto's laminates are in the 900 series.