PECo

What you said about developing your own routine is dead on. Operating a boat safely is all about routine and habit. When I'm on someone else's boat, I try to stay out of the way, unless I'm asked to help with something. And when I have others on my boat, I ask them to NOT help me operate the boat, unless I ask them to help with something. You sound like you've been around boats enough to know what you're doing. My one piece of advice: Don't forget about the bung plug. Oh, and my second of two pieces of advice: Don't neglect your trailer.

It sounds like you want a smaller, lighter boat. I have two kayaks. The one I use the most is a Hurricane Santee 116 Sport that isn't designed to be a fishing kayak, but works fine for me and weighs only 36 pounds. My other kayak is a Hobie i9s that's inflatable, but has a mirage (pedal/flipper) drive. Out of the seven or eight kayaks that I've had, I kept those two because they're EASY; easy to store, easy to transport and easy to use. Both of my kayaks weren't particularly inexpensive. Lighter is usually more expensive. You can get a much better kayak for your dollar used off of Craigslist than new from a retailer.

Heck, yeah, it's worth getting into a kayak and off of the shore. I have a bass boat, but would never get rid of my kayak, er, kayaks.

That's an old polyethylene boat. It looks like the plastic has degraded from UV exposure. It was probably stored with the hull in the sun. I wouldn't touch it.

My dealer put some nice vinyl red and silver numbers on my new boat: However, I prefer raised letters in silver and black that better match my boat: The numbers (and letters) came properly spaced on a translucent backing for easy installation. I used blue painter's tape to mark the position on the hull. I got mine from a vendor on Amazon. You buy them and then send a note to the vendor with your number. The turnaround on my order was quick. They were shipped on the same day.

I once had a "discussion" with Rich about back-reeling versus using drag. He let me off the hook reel easy.

I already have three of them, but I paid more than $129.99 for each.

I just got my first bass boat, a 2017 179 TrX. Even though it's my third fishing boat, I've used the livewell in all three of them a grand total of one time. . . and that was two boats ago. I'm fishing a bass tourney on Sunday and have no idea how the livewell works. To top it off, my livewell has three different pumps. I've never seen a more complicated setup.So, how do I operate my livewell? Do I put leave the drain plug in or take it out? I'm guessing "in". In what positions should the switches for the livewell be? I'm guessing Recirc Manual would fill the livewell and Recirc Auto would circulate it when full. But I'm not sure. Help!

My medium/fast Shimano rods are rated for 1/8 to 3/8 or 3/16 to 5/8 ounce lures, but I use 7' or 7' 2" rods. If you're throwing 1/32 or 1/16 ounce lures, you'll probably need to use 6 pound test line. I sometimes throw a 1/16 ounce jighead with a 1" curlytail grub on it for white perch using my setups, but it probably weighs 1/8 ounce. And this is with 10 pound test Tatsu, which is really too heavy for it. However, if you're throwing a weightless wacky-rigged 5" Senko, a rod rated for 1/8 ounce would work perfectly fine. Mine do. I always have a wacky Senko tied on. I'd bet that Bass Pro or Cabela's has a 6' graphite rod that's rated down to 1/16 ounce, if you really think you need one that light.

While fishing for stripers a few months ago, I swapped spinning setups with a buddy who was having trouble getting bit while twitching a 1/2 ounce jig. He was using a fiberglass Ugly Stik rod and I was using a graphite Shimano rod. I was surprised by how springy the Ugly Stik was. Not only did that make getting a crisp, sharp twitch on the lure difficult, but it also made feeling a bite difficult. I sometimes fish for stripers with my eyes closed. That would be really tough to do successfully with a springy rod. I suggest that you try using a graphite rod. A medium, fast action rod would be a good place to start. Also, try using fluoro, instead of mono. Mono stretches and dulls your feel for the lure. A very inexpensive place to start would be 10 pound test P-Line Fluoroclear, which is a co-polymer line. It's still pretty soft, but much less stretchy than any mono. If you like that, you could try 10 pound test Tatsu, which is 100 percent fluoro and doesn't stretch much at all, but is stupidly expensive. Another alternative would be to use braid with a mono or fluoro leader. Any of those would give you more feel than straight mono.

My understanding is that the 189 TrX trailer comes standard with hydraulic surge brakes. In Connecticut, a brake is required on each trailer axle if the GVWR is over 3,000 pounds. The GVWR of my 2017 179 TrX is under 2,800 pounds. The GVWR of the 2017 189 TrX is probably around 3,500 pounds.

I just ordered two 2500 Stradic FKs for only $129.99 each with free shipping and no sales tax. Thanks for the heads up, Darren (and @bickshirt98).

My first of eight or nine kayaks was an inflatable Coleman. It was slow, but worked just fine. It was similar to the Coleman Sevylor 24-Gauge K5 Hot Fish Inflatable Single-Seater Kayak that you're considering. Although I sometimes hooked the polyester cover with a lure, I never worried about puncturing the air bladders underneath. It was a great boat for me. I ended up giving it to a stranger who's now a friend. It was a great boat for him, too. I've attached an old photo of him fishing in it. Eventually, though, the area around one of the valves failed, although not before we both got a lot of use out of it. However, I have no regrets about buying and using it. I'd suggest getting a 12 volt air pump to use when inflating AND deflating the air bladders (I loved that part). It makes using an inflatable much easier and more convenient.

I was at my local Dick's Sporting Goods, yesterday, and saw this Perception Hook Angler 10.5 for only $499.99: It's compact for storage and transport, weighs only 51 pounds, and comes equipped with an anchor trolley (anchor included) and a Scotty rod holder. It looks like a really sweet boat for small water.

Are you asking about only largemouth bass? A fishing buddy and I boated 121 striped bass, today, with four keepers (28 inch minimum): 28 inches - 29 inches - 31 inches - 28 inches -

Regarding whether a 179 TrX is underpowered with only a Mercury 115 Pro XS four-stroke, I've added a port-side console to mine and have started using the fishing seat (I sometimes fish for river stripers by feel, with my eyes closed), so it's a little slower, now, than it used to be. Here's a VesselView Mobile screen shot from a recent trip, fully loaded with 450 pounds of fishermen and more than half a tank of fuel: And here's a prop slip calculation from that data:

Between those two, I'd definitely go with the Pelican Catch 120. It weighs 69 pounds versus 95. Also, the reviews that I've read show that the Field & Stream Shadow Caster has had quality issues. But, like DogBone_384 said, you should paddle before you buy.

Connecticut says that the tongue weight should be between five and seven percent. Yeap, that seems arbitrary to me, too.

Yes, you'll probably need a license from both states. You have to be very aware of the jurisdiction in which you're fishing when you're on the Potomac River. While Virginia and Maryland share jusrisdiction in the main, tidal stem of the Potomac, each has its own, separate jurisdiction in many spots along the river. Here's a good place to start learning about it: http://prfc.us/fishing_potomac.html And D.C. has its own jurisdiction, too!

Thanks, Glenn. Tatsu is still stupid expensive, but this makes it hurt a little bit less. I ordered a couple of spools for In Store Pickup at my local Cabela's.

Although fish slow down when the water is cold, one of the best ways to catch cold water largemouth bass is with a reaction bait like a lipless crankbait or a chatterbait. In sub-40 degree water at the beginning of last April, I caught a 5/0 and a 5/15 on a chatterbait with paddletail swimbait trailer:

I wore through the keel on my Hurricane Santee 116 Sport. I patched the holes and thin spots with Devcon Plastic Welder, smoothed out the patches with sandpaper and then applied an Eazy Keel keel protector strip over the entire keel. That was two years ago. So far, so good. I would suggest using a heat gun or hair dryer to soften whichever keel protector strip you use before and while you apply it, especially when you need to conform it to the curved ends of the keel.

Have you considered fabricating a mounting plate to cover the holes?

I fish any open water I can find, year-round. During the coldest months, I fish for striped bass in the lower Housatonic River. Yesterday, a buddy and I caught three dozen with a 30-inch keeper: I'll be out of town for a while and really hope that I don't miss the yellow perch spawn or the anadromous white perch spawn in the Connecticut River.

Congratulations on the new boat! G3 makes good ones. At times, I still miss my 2006 Eagle 165.