Boomstick

Either this or put a peg on the track behind the pedals so it limits their motiion.

I am left handed and cast left handed but I can't reel with my left hand, it's super awkward and jerky if I try so I use my spinning reels left handed and a right handed baitcaster.

I would second this, the Mojo Bass is a far superior rod if you can swing it or find a deal.

Yeah I didn’t bother with landing gear, I wheel my trailer to the water and take my kayak off and I’m good. It’s a nice secondary feature. I wanted to go with a Harbor Freight trailer and modify it to my needs but the cheapest utility trailer I could get during the pandemic was going to run me almost $1500 so I got the purpose trailer but in retrospect that did me a huge favor.

I would think a trailer like what’s pictured should be good just make sure it doesn’t weigh too much. Some of them run heavy which makes it hard to function as a hand cart. I have a Yakima Rack and Roll trailer and that’s a 150lbs and works well but a lighter one would be easier

Excellent! The first time is always rough. The next time will get better.

Sounds about right to me.

As someone who is 6'3", I notice the 4" if I am fishing something like a jerkbait or popper. 6'10" or less is good fishing a popper from the shoreline, any longer and I might hit the tip on something. If I could have every rod I own be 6'10", I would for this reason. I think I would start with the MH/F and later look at a M/F for lighter lures & treble hooks. Most of what you listed is better on a MH rod.

Generally, rod. If you have a really bad baitcaster that's almost impossible to cast, then maybe you need a better reel but once the reel behaves, the rod is more important.

Yes it is. We were on the west end so you can always see land there.

I have only fished in 4 states plus Lake Nippising in Ontario in Canada. Massachussetts - my home state. I catch some bass, but generally it's tougher fishing and more pressured. Vermont - Live a couple towns from the border, home of some of my favorite fishing spots, nice and quiet and I've caught most of my largest bass in Vermont lakes. New York - There's a little bit of everything in New York. Great Sacandaga lake is great as are all the lakes in the Adirondacks where many of the lakes are connected - was a lot of fun. Have fished the St Lawrence but it's difficult to content with current so ended up largemouth fishing in Goose Bay which is contained from the current where I caught a few. North Carolina - Went to North Carolina to fish in April last year. Only had a week, started learning the lake my last couple of days and caught large numbers of bass my last two days but nothing big. Didn't even get to one arm that had an old creek bed that I bet would have produced well. Ontario, Canada - Fished Lake Nippising. Almost caught a nice walleye, missed my spinnerbait. Caught a few bass. Nothing large. Needed more time to learn the lake.

Nice! I haven't had any luck as it's gotten colder, generally shore fishing. Back when the weather was in the 60s I was catching a few though. Now it's getting to 30 degree temps and I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold so probably won't see a lot more fishing this year.

On an ideal outting, virtually never. That means all the conditions fell into place as I expected, I rigged up the right lures off the bat, haven't lost a bait on a laydown or rock and I'm catching bass. There are still some times where I might switch lures even still. For example I may throw a jerkbait during the day and as dusk approaches and the bass move into shallows I may switch that to a popper (which happens my favorite rod for each is the same rod). Other times I go out and realize I brought the wrong baits. Or sometimes I go from skipping an arky head style jigs under docks and around weeds and later end up on some flats where I want a football jig or something obvious like that. And sometimes I snag my bait on something and can't get it free.

My take on it is it's not how I like to fish, but if I ever try to get into competitive tournament fishing, I am going to want to learn how to use it as well as every tool at my disposal to get every advantage that I can. That said, the idea of an occasional no livescope tournaments is definitely appealing for those like me who don't have it or like to use it, but I'm not one of those people who will say ban it either.

I currently have the Garmin Echomap 93sv with the GT54UHD transducer. You should be able to get a package deal on the older model at least with the newer improved GT56UHD transducer in your price range, and maybe the newer Echomap 2 in the spring. The newer transducer will get more distance in sidevu, maybe 100 ft out side to side where on the GT534UHD it gets dark after 65 feet or so. What I like about Garmin is they have a really easy to use interface and they don't require a whole lot of tweaking going lake to lake with clarity changes. I would also consider Hummingbird simply because they still have the best imaging although Garmin has made great strides recently to lessen the gap. But their interface is like something out of the 1980s. As a software developer, it drives me nuts that they can't figure that out. In my opinion, I would either go with Hummingbird or Garmin for these reasons. At the end of the day, it's what's most important to you.

This year it's been poppers. I didnt get to fish a lot this summer due to health issues but this fall I fished a lot, which is normally popper season. I only got one fish on a popper all year where normally in early and late season they're very productive.

For a ned rig, I would probably use a medium light spinning rod. Maybe a finesse medium if you have a lot of weeds to content with. A medium heavy is a bit much for the ned rig. I am wondering if you are simply not getting enough bend in the rod to keep your line tight and the fish hooked, where you don't really need a more powerful rod but a lighter rod?

The SLX MGL 150 is a pretty solid reel. If you aren't using line thicker than 16lb flurocarbon, the SLX MGL 70 is worth the extra $50 - an amazingly good performing reel that bomb casts light lures with ease.

I have always thought those old Champion bass boats were great for fishing big waters. Many like Phoenix and Bass Cat a lot too. For myself, if I ever get a bass boat, I would go for the Lund Pro V Bass which is about perfect for my needs.

When I go shore fishing, I find three rods will generally suite my needs almost anywhere I go. #1) A MH/F casting rod for t-rigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, larger keitechs etc. #2) A M/F casting rod for things like crankbaits, jerkbaits, poppers, lighter T-Rigs or weightless soft plastics and so forth. My kid has a Dobyns Sierara 703C that is the perfect rod for this - enough tip for soft plastics but the right amount of bend for treble hooks. #3) A ML spinning rod. for ned rigs, tubes or maybe a drop shot - more often than not ned rigs from shore though. If you happen to have access to heavier cover, a H/F rod might also be a worthwhile addition. This year especially as lakes in Western Massachusetts have gotten really overgrown. I hear you there. I live two towns from the Vermont border and usually have much more success (and quiet) going north.

I went with Amped Outdoors. They're well known and legitimate and a little bit cheaper than Dakota Lithium (another very reputable brand).

I have a Daiwa Tatula Elite Brent Ehrler 7' "Finesse" M-MH/XF rod that is absolutely perfect for what you're looking for. It throws weightless senkos well, but still has enough power to pull them out of some moderate cover.

A little redundancy might not be bad so you can have two things rigged at the same time.

2-4 minutes does sound like a long time, but considering it's cooler most bass should survive for 20 minutes - not that I recommend leaving them out of the water for 20 minutes. So I can't really say what happened here.

I would wear whatever is comfortable and then either some NRS boots or some knee high dry socks with water shoes.