Boomstick

I can't wait until I can get mine. I was planning on likely getting one next year... but then I got diagnosed with colon cancer so it'll be at least another year.

The boat speedometer could be a little off, or perhaps the prior owner modded it. I have a friend who, years ago his step father thought it would be a good idea to modify his boat motor and made an otherwise 40mph boat into a 70mph boat. So that might be posssible.

Is it the Evinrude motor by chance? I hear those have more power than rated. However, I've seen it tested with a Mercury 115hp and the top speed is consistently around 43 or 44mph

I've been shopping aluminum boats and I will say Ranger does offer more storage than most other aluminum boats, but the 17 foot Lund Renegade offers better storage than the RT188. Certainly good enough for me, but on fiberglass boats some of the storage compartments are basically the entire deck. Xpress does offer a very similar amount of storage to most fiberglass boats though. I am shopping aluminum because the lakes I will fish regularly are between 480 and 920 acres and aluminum is very good in shallow water as well. I might hit some larger lakes occasionally, but that's the exception and not the norm.

I see mostly heavy rods with AGS for under $270 (didn't even look at shipping), so wasn't what I was searching for.

Oh okay so the AGS rods are $280 (I was half interested in the drop shot rod although I think M/F would be a bit stiff so I didn't go that way). However, I have yet to see one discounted. Disregard that then.

I haven't used a Tatula elite, but the one thing I will note is that most of the Tatula elite's run around $280 and I've never seen them for less, where I can find a Tatula for $110-120 on Amazon at the right time which is hard to beat, and in my target price range.

I figure M/F is good for most of them, minus jigs which can be fished on a wide range of rods depending on their size, hook size, weight etc. You can certainly fish weightless soft plastics on a M/F and you're also good with topwater and cranks.

I would go with M/F with a spinning rod personally. You can use it for both cranks and finesse, where most MH spinning rods still don't have the backbone for heavier presentations you can get away with a MH casting rod, like frogs for example. Also going with a lighter line and lighter presentations for bass would mean it's better for crappie. That's just me. I think it brakes better than the Curado but casts just as far, holds the line of the Curado K but is around the weight of the Curado 70 and brakes close to the Tatula SV but casts further. It's also arguably the smoothest reeling rod I own.

I would take my chances with the President casting reel. I got my son a Pfueger Supreme XT casting reel and I think I like it better than the Curado or Tatula SV.

Nothing wrong with taking cheaper rods out on a kayak because in the event you should lose them. The President spinning reel (no experience with the casting reel) is a very solid reel for the money, so I'd say start there. If you want to save some money up front, see if you can find the President combo. The rod is actually not half bad for a rod that comes with a combo that I paid $60 or $70 for, barely more than the price of the reel. I have the 6'6" M/F rod with the 35 which they don't offer anymore, but the 6'6" M/F with the 30 reel would probably be better for finesse techniques anyway.

Did you try it with some heavy jigs by chance? Wondering if it would double nicely for jigs... If not, the slightly less meaty 7'2" rod might be a better option.

I'm using Berkley Trilene fluorocarbon in 15lb test this year for cranks (I usually fish square bills and that's often fish around weeds and rocks so the heavier line helps ensure I get my baits back). The knot strength is very good with this line as I have yet to lose a bait using a 5-7 turn uni knot and I've got some pretty nasty snags at times.

I picked up a 6'9" ML/XF St Croix Avid X earlier this year for drop shots and ned rigs. It's nearly impossible to miss a bite on it, and it's still a decent fight with a larger fish as well. I have a far inferior (although surprisingly passable) Pflueger President M/F combo I would use for shaky heads, as shaky heads are better with a little extra backbone and slightly heavier line (8lb vs 6). Personally, if it was me, I would go with the ML which is rather ideal for ned rigs and drop shots and just have to deal with a less than optimal shaky head setup (although it should be fine). I find I use a ned rig or drop shot far more often anyway. The other thing is that while I am not entirely sure about the Clarus, a lot of Shimano's rods are quite a bit beefier than their rating says. You will definitely want a fast action.

I picked up a Daiwa BG 2000 earlier this year for $75 on Amazon and it's been a very solid reel for me and they have a great track record for holding up as well. If you don't mind the slightly heavier weight, you won't know it's not a $200 reel. If you want a lighter reel, try the Pflueger Supreme or Supreme XT. If you want to spend less, try a Pflueger President which you should be able to get for $50 and like the BG, has a solid record for holding up. I also have a President, but I like the BG better.

I plan on buying a Daiwa Tatula 7'4" H/F frogging rod at some point, it's just a matter of getting the money.

I usually use my 7'2" glass MH/MF with 15lb fluorocarbon for anything up to 1/2oz. My 6'10" MH/F rod with 40lb braid will also work just fine but the downside is if you get a little hookset happy, you may pull the spinnerbait right out of the fish's mouth. I find the 15lb fluorocarbon to be rather ideal. I'm using Berkley Trilene and I have no issues with knot strength (use the uni knot 5-7 turns), and it has enough strength where if I cast along a thick grass line and miss, I can still get my bait back. The downside is that it does sink quite a bit more than using 14lb mono, so if you fish a lot of rocky bottom areas, it's possible you may snag in rocks. I used 17lb mono last year with no issues as well.

Well I got skunked -- almost had one but didn't get a good hookset and he got free. My son got his first one of the year though, and had several more nibbles. I totally brought the wrong rods and fished the wrong baits for the lake. I knew it was clear water (some of the clearest I ever fished) but I had no idea other than several docks that there is virtually no cover anywhere on the lake. Also I learned that one way from the state park (where we rented the canoe), the shoreline is very shallow and has sun shining on it all day as well, the other line has the sun at a 90 degree angle and much more depth, so I know which part not to waste time in. Next time I'm bringing my spinning rod and fishing a drop shot.

I've had the opposite experience. When 30 or 40lb braid backlashes, which is quite thin it can cinch down on itself and it's really hard to grab to pull out! I haven't used Tatsu, but I spooled up some Berkley Trilene Flurocarbon on my cranking rod earlier this year and I haven't had any casting issues at all, and it's easier to pull out bird's nest. I do give it a good spray of KVD line conditioner once a week, and using the uni knot with 5-7 wraps I have yet to have a knot break. I use braid on the setup I use for soft plastics, jigs and worms only because I also fish frogs on it, although once I get a frog rod, I will run straight flurocarbon on that as well, it's just easier.

I don't think they make 17lb Big Game, but they do make 17lb Sufix Siege and it's a great choice for beginners. On my Daiwa Tatula SV (rated for 14 and 16lb lines) it still casts pretty far but is really hard to bird's nest and really easy to pull a bird's nest out since it's easy to grab the line. It's also pretty abrasion resistant and very good handling line.

Yes, it is the thickest bass and heaviest bass rod I own, although it doesn't really bother me to be honest. It also makes an excellent rod for up to 1/2oz spinnerbaits and crankbaits, as there's a fair amount of hidden reserve, so it gets a lot of usage, probably more than any other rod I own. When I get a bass boat, I will add a M/M rod for open water cranking, with bit more flex. Since I don't own a boat and it's so common I get caught in weeds or hit branches and stumps in many areas I fish, the faster action and more backbone is perfect. But I haven't really lost a fish yet with a spinnerbait or a crankbait - the only one was my fault for not paying attention and setting the hook.

The glass rod will be stronger and thicker and maybe has a little more bend to it. The graphite rod will be lighter, and maybe more sensitive. Now I have a 7'2' MH/R Tatula glass cranking rod (graphite handle, glass past the first guide) as well as the 7' Mojo Bass MH/MF Spinnerbait rod. The action and power isn overall quite similar on both rods, but I can't say the graphite Mojo is necessarily more sensitive than the glass Tatula. I'm quite surprised at how sensitive the Tatula is - the vibrations are pleasantly muted, but I do feel everything that goes on. I have fished the same weed beds with both, and I swear I can feel things on the glass rod that I can't on the graphite Mojo, and I don't think the Mojo is a bad rod by any means either. tackletour.com did a review on the same rod as well and also said they were surprised how sensitive the rod is. Not that I need the most sensitive rod for moving baits... What's the sensitivity like on the Zillion? As I said, I'm surprised by the Tatula's sensitivity. And it's actually on the stiffer side of a cranking rod, largely geared towards deep divers but that also makes it good for fishing cranks around stumps, and spinnerbaits, which was what I was hoping for when I bought it.

I rarely use a trailer hook. If I find I am getting a ton of bites and not landing the fish, if I am getting a lot of short strikes, that is telling me they like the presentation but are probably getting a look at it, so I will either switch my bait or add a trailer. In cases where the water is clear, I may use a trailer hook because that's cheaper and a little quicker, but the downside is the bait it now not nearly as weedless. Alternatively, I will switch to a crankbait or a paddletail swimbait with a spinner added to it in these cases.

My target range for a rod is typically around $100-160, with the Avid X I use for finesse being the exception. I will look to spend more on rods depending on presentation -- for example the rods I use for soft plastics are generally my most expensive. For reels, it really depends if it's casting or spinning. I will spend around the same $100-160 price range for a quality casting reels (that retail up to $200), but I am usually able to find quality spinning reels like the Pflueger President or Daiwa BG for $50-80 (that retail up to $100). I wouldn't hesitate to get something cheaper if it's not something I would use too often as well.

I'm trying to plan my fishing trip for the weekend and I am thinking I will go up to either Lake Dunmore or perhaps Echo Lake (the one in Plymouth VT) and rent a canoe and maybe fish under the piers if I go to Lake Dunmore as well. I am trying to decide what rods to bring on the canoe. I'm thinking of trying a t-rig, jig or maybe a spinnerbait that I can use to work grasslines, under docks etc., or my spinning rod and fishing a drop shot in deeper water (although I have to find an anchor and rope if that's going to be effective). It's supposed to reach a max of 79 and will probably be much cooler in the morning, and there's also supposed to be high barometric pressure so the fish should also be active. Since it's a rented boat without a rod holder, I would likely just bring one rod with me so I don't risk losing it. This will be the largest lake I've been in with a canoe, so I'm going to play it safe until I learn the lake and feel more confident I won't lose it -- where in the past of I lost a rod, I'd swim to the bottom and get it). If anyone has any experience with the lake it would be appreciated.