TOXIC

It's not unusual if I am in my own boat to have 4 rods rigged with different presentations of Senko's.

Yes, I am a little biased but there are some "differences" between baits. Take the Senko for example, everybody makes a knockoff and there's a big difference in the way each knockoff fishes compared to the original. That "can" equate to different catch rates. But....if you are going to use any kind of weight with a Senko, IMHO you might as well go with the cheapest knockoff you can find because the weight will cancel out the natural action. As for everything else in the plastics world, I haven't found a style of bait that Yamamoto doesn't make and a few that are actually unique to Yamamoto like the Fat Ika. If Yamamoto doesn't make it, I don't throw it.

I think your options have been explained really well. I have poles and I use them a lot. I have a 112 fortrex on the front, I use it a lot as well. I would like to have a Ultrex but for me the priority was poles since I fish in shallow water a lot. I am very financially conscious and bought my poles used. I bought my fortrex to replace a motorguide when my buddy upgraded his 2016 boat with a fortrx to an Ultrex. When finances allow, I will buy a new TM used as well. Waiting to see what Lowrance comes out with TM wise, they are supposed to introduce one of their own design.

I got mine off a swap and sell board but the Rangerwear website has them new the last time I checked.

That's on my plans as well. It will be a standalone trip though.

Good luck. You've got a pretty aggressive upgrade schedule. As for the keel damage, if you can get it repaired by a glass guy so much the better but if you are tight on funds, you could patch the glass with marine tech or any fiberglass patching material and not worry about it looking perfect since you are going to cover it with a shield anyway. I would recomend a KeelShield by Gator Guards. Made in USA, Lifetime warranty. It is my preference for a self-install. As for the seats, you will spend an arm and a leg if you go through Ranger. Take a little trip over to Bassboatseats.com and check out what thy have to offer. Adding under seat storage to seat pans that are solid is no easy task. Concerning the tray, get your hull ID # and Call Ranger. They will tell you if you can put the size tray you need for your ultrex in that model year boat.

The way you avoid volatility in the Stock Market is to diversify and keep all your eggs OUT of 1 basket. There's no get rich quick plan for long term retirement. You may not make as much as some and you won't lose as much as some when the market moves if you are set up properly for the long term. Do your homework and find a Certified Financial Planner you trust and let them set it up. The Agency I work for has some limitations on what stocks I can hold (bank stocks for example) so my Financial Planner had to know the rules. My best advice.....The earlier the better. Make it part of your regular expenses like groceries and gas...put it in your managed retirement account and forget it. Then when you are like me and get ready to retire, you call your Financial Planner and find out you will make more retired than you did working. That's a score!!

Although on my schedule, shooting South of Virginia isn't in the plans right now. I'm going to get my fix on some of my favorite water and that's up North. Mille Lacs just looked like a good lake to give some diversion and I know there are a LOT of lakes in MN that are overlooked for bass. I know about Bemidgi because as a kid we used to go to Lake Kabetogama from Nebraska. That's a 9 hour jaunt whereas Mille Lacs is 5 from where I'll be in WI. My buddy wants to meet up at Sturgeon Bay as well. All I know is this is gonna be a fun few weeks!!

This is the leaning post I have in my boat right now. I put a padded butt seat in the back for my partner because he has a bad knee and will actually sit on top of it.

So, this year on our annual trip to Waupaca/King Chain of Lakes in Wisconsin, I will officially be retired!! WoooHoooo!! We usually go for a week and I pull the big boat up from Virginia. My Brother-in law and Sister-in law always stay in the cottage for another week after we leave. This is in early August. I've decided to stay for the second week (why not!!) but my wife will fly home after the first week (somebody has to pay the bills). Apart from the risk that I will be unsupervised, I will be on no timetable for the trip back and I've decided to take a few fishing sidetrips!! First spot that comes to mind is Mille Lacs because who wouldn't want to fish there after the smashfest the pro's put on when they were there? It is about 5 hours from where we stay in Wisconsin. One of my St Clair buddies also retired at the beginning of the year and he wants to meet up and fish Sturgeon Bay. So, the question is.......If you were me, where would you fish on your way home? I'd like to keep it reasonable distance wise but no where is off the table.

When I first started guiding, my back was giving me fits after a few days straight on the water, an old time guide told me to take the butt seat out. Took me a while to get used to it but my back problems pretty much went away and after a number of years guiding, I have to think the back muscles used while standing on the deck got a bit stronger. Your balance will increase and it's just like riding a bike, it will become second nature. I do use the butt seat on St Clair because that is almost never anywhere near calm enough to stand and if it is I work around the butt seat. I was told the problem with a butt seat is that it keeps you in the same position no matter which way you are facing and especially if you are on the TM so you over work some muscle groups. I fish with a young Vet who lost a leg in Iraq and he has a seat that helps him over a long day of fishing, I'll try and find out which it is but he really likes it. Found it.... on Facebook it's Buttseatbackbrace by Mosher Marine.

A Yamamoto Hula Grub on a 1/4 oz Gamakatsu football head jig will get you bit all year. More than one of my Lake St Clair crew's favorite bait. Will often times outfish a tube.

You can bet if I caught a "world record" bass, I could/would parlay it into a very good payday from the manufacturers products I used. Wouldn't be hard at all. Now I just gotta catch it.

I sold the boat and the buyer loaded it up in the bed of his truck. I still have the utility trailer collecting dust under my deck. Needs new tires and lights and probably a few other things.

I put my Bass Hunter on a small utility trailer from Tractor Supply. I also unloaded everything from the boat when trailering and here's why....When you have a battery sitting on the floor of a pvc boat and you go bouncing down the road, it will crack the floor over time. Don't ask me how I know. I also launched and used my boat when the lakes were semi frozen so i had to drag it over ice and even break skim ice with it on occasion. I ended up putting a couple layers of fiberglass on the rub areas after I noticed they were cracking and leaking water into the pontoons. You could be preemptive and put some Gator Patch on the pontoons. Go look on the Gator Guards website for the patches. They were designed for patching yaks and would work well. I also added a drain plug to one of the pontoons due to water intrusion that happened from my cracked pontoons and because water gets in between the top cap and hull. I would unload the boat, put it on it's side with the drain on the bottom and then tip it up on its tail to drain the water out. It did have a drain in the floorboard of the the rear of the boat, but that didn't help with the pontoons. I was extremely rough on that little boat taking it through ice, gravel and even rapids in some cases bouncing it off rocks. If you unload it completely, there would be no problem loading it in the bed of a truck even if it was uneven and rested on top of one of the fender wells.

Sorry, not for Snakeheads. I have not fished for them there but have seen a lot of pictures of them being caught. I would assume a spinnerbait, senko or frog would do well in the summer.

Lake Brittle right down the road from you. Shore fish anytime or rent a boat when they are open.

Chic Lake.

When I go to St Clair, we run into schools of these fish pretty regularly. Fun to catch but we will usually move on PDQ to get away from the school. As Bluebasser said, they can horn you pretty good and they have a habit of milking all over the deck.

Saw a Facebook post where someone pulled 2 that's right 2 ten pounders out of the lake.

Interesting, since I just was talking to a friend about this last night. It seems that the website is a direct link to the foreign factories and cuts out the middleman in the buying process. Shipping can be long and quality is sometimes questionable from all of the reviews I read. I also read of a lot of very satisfied customers. I wasn't willing to set up an account to scroll through all they had to offer, seems they sell about everything.

I had a Bass Hunter and alone, I could stand but I found that I was more comfortable learning how to cast and work baits from the seated position. In my Ranger I can't fish sitting down......at all. It just doesn't feel right. I tried it when I injured my knee and just could never get used to it. In the Bass Hunter, it was like second nature. Put 2 people in that boat though and I guarantee you will be sitting down.

Funny thing about marketing, there is a lag time between all the work you put in to market a product and it pays off in sales. My wife owned a title company and he partner used to look down her noes at all of the functions and networking events she would do. She had an aggressive marketing campain going. 3 years into the business, the work started rolling in and her partner couldn't keep up and decided she didn't really want to work that hard or expand. 3 years wasted. On the other hand, I owned a Pest Control franchise and the home office didn't believe in advertising. The only thing they paid for was yellow page listings. They wanted word of mouth to be their advertising. It worked and I was very successful in that little endevour. IMHO with Shimano, it only takes 1 generation of fisherman to lose the positive market they have taken years to build. Sure, the old users that are loyal will stay but the new customers have many more options and the quality differences have been narrowed. IF they do lose new market share, it will take time to get it back. Shimano is into so many other business lines like bicycle gears, guitars and many other things you would never think of, that they could probably survive without their reel line.

Everybody thinks they bought the best boat on the water and for that reason you need to go out and either climb around in or if possible get a ride on the boat manufacturers you are interested in. Since you are buying new, most dealerships have sponsored anglers and it's their job to do demo rides and explain boat features. I know because I was one for a number of years. You will find that there will be boats that just "fit" you better than others. It's best to study up and find out what you need/want from the boat so you can narrow down the choices. Things like big motor manufacturer because as a rule, you can't get a mercury on a skeeter for example so if you were set on a merc, skeeter would be out. Trolling motors and electronics are interchangeable but you are correct, some work in tandem with each other. Every manufacturer lists options and measurements like deck width etc. Good luck!! Half the fun is the journey.

The one I linked is for a Trolling Motor. You can get a Dual Purpose for cranking that is for starting and also deep cycle. When it comes to powering your boat, move with purpose with this EverStart Maxx Group Size 29 Marine Battery. Specifically designed for use on a trolling motor, it provides long-lasting power, allowing you to enjoy more time on the water. This EverStart Marine Battery boasts 30 percent more cycling capability than standard marine batteries. More cycling allows you to run accessories and electronics even while the engine is shut off. Whether you are fishing or cruising the river, this battery is sure to make an efficient and practical addition to your boat.