PECo

Candlewood Lake is THE lake for big smallies in Connecticut. It ain’t Lake Erie, but it ain’t bad. Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection considers a Trophy smallmouth bass to be four pounds (if weighed) or 21 inches in length (if catch and release only). That’s a really nice fish!

You couldn’t be more wrong about that! ?

You might consider more of a deep-vee hull for big water like the Great Lakes. There are a few guys on this forum with Lund Pro-V Bass boats, which are deep-vee hulls set up with bass boat deck layouts. That’s where I’d start.

I once bought a factory-reconditioned Minn Kota trolling motor from Cabela’s. I had no issues with it and wouldn’t hesitate to buy another.

KVD had and used a Hydrowave before anyone else could. I read an article quoting a fellow pro who believed it gave KVD an advantage over him. He said he put one on his boat before the next tourney. Was it an advantage? The pro quoted in the article thought so. But was it unfair? He didn’t seem to think so. He implied that KVD was just ahead of the curve.

I use Trimax stainless steel receiver and coupler locks. My last stainless steel receiver lock froze up on me and had to be broken off with a 45 ounce deadblow hammer, so I've been spraying WD40 into the Trimax locks on a regular basis. So far, so good. I bought the locks separately through Amazon, so they're not keyed-alike. However, Trimax offers keyed-alike coupler and receiver lock sets. Here's a link to the product page on the Trimax website: https://www.trimaxlocks.com/product-category/locks/keyed-alike-receiver-coupler-lock-sets/

I just saw one of these mounted on the back of a work truck. It’s pretty slick.

I called the DEA and sent them to your house. Smuggler!

If you’ve ever fished a topwater or very shallow running lure from an ocean beach, you’ve had birds go after it. I love fishing walking lures, but once the sun comes up and the birds take to the sky, forget about it. I’ve caught seagulls, terns, pelicans and various little shore birds. They’re a pain in the butt to untangle and unhook.

Nebraska’s online information is sparse, but basically says that you only need a Hull Identification Number to register a motorized boat: http://outdoornebraska.gov/boatingregulations/

Yes, CHIRP is built into the unit and, yes, the Ultrex’s US2 transducer can handle it.

I had a 16-1/2 foot G3 mod-vee bass boat with a 60 hp Yamaha four-stroke and had the same problem with a buddy the one time we filled the livewell. He didn’t have any problem with sitting on the front deck until we got on plane.

Ditto. Humminbird’s US2 transducer is NOT compatible with DI or SI. In fact, using the US2 transducer with one of Humminbird’s DI units can damage the transducer. However, it CAN handle CHIRP in the 2D bands (i.e., 75-95 kHz and 175-220 kHz).

I fish the lower Housatonic River in Connecticut during the winter. Stripers always hold over in it.

I caught 204 striped bass in one trip last December, just because I could:

What do you mean by “best”? How do you want to fish? I’ve been out on Okeechobee only twice, but most of the guides I saw out on the water had their clients drifting shiners under bobbers. That’s definitely NOT for me. The guide I used had us throwing soft plastics on 4/0 EWG hooks; toads and flukes. Our lunker was only seven pounds, one ounce, but I’d rather throw artificial lures all day than chuck bait.

Culling balls help with that a lot.

In our kayak tourneys, we have to put an identifier (e.g., a random number provided right before the tourney) in our photos. We usually write it on the back of our hand and hold the fish down with the identifier visible in the photo. There’s less chance of losing a fish that way.

Congrats on getting your son to enjoy fishing. My 24-year old son has ADD and has never had the patience for fishing. I have to borrow someone else’s kid. My tourney partner attended college with my son.

The various pedal drives work differently in shallow water and weeds. Out of the bunch, Hobie’s Mirage Drive is probably the most versatile. But none of them beat a paddle. Sometimes, I miss my Pro Angler. That Hobie Compass is giving me expensive ideas.

I’ve had no issues with my Ultrex, but it has the separate GPS puck installed. Do the Ulterras typically come with it installed, too?

A cartoppable pedal drive or motorized kayak is a tall order. The pedal and motorized kayaks tend to be bulky and heavy. I know a guy who used to cartop his Hobie Pro Angler, but he’s a giant who can make that look easy. And I think even he broke down and has a trailer for it, now. Hurricane Aquasports and Jackson Kayak have teamed up to make a lighter, thermoformed pedal kayak called the Skimmer 120 Propel (Hurricane) and Cuda LT (Jackson). It uses Hurricane’s thermoform technology for the kayak and Jackson’s Propel Drive for the drive. It’s probably worth checking out.

I know a guide who used older Trions for bass and pike. I tried using one of his, once, and it flexed like it was made of rubber. I started bringing my own reel along after that.

Not quite, at least not yet. I don’t spend most of my time running balls out or even just on plane. I think the more aggressive hull designs that are available on glass boats work better at slower speeds than the flat plane designs you see on tin boats. I was hoping Vexus would break that mold, but don’t think it has, based on the photos I’ve seen. It’ll be nice when you’ll be able to get a tin boat with a hull like Nitro’s NVT, which is all sharp angles and parabolic curves. That thing slices through chop.

A buddy has been catching bass there recently with weightless flukes. Try a Lunker City 5.5-inch Albino Shad Freaky Fish.