Boomstick

The Pro V bass would be my dream boat. I basically fish a lot of smaller waters but it handles bigger water better than your typical aluminum boat due to the hull design but you also pay for it.

You at least gotta use a beer bottle. Maybe someday you'll re-create the scene from Dumb and Dumber on the water.

I found the initial setup of my EchoMap 93sv to be stupid simple. You will want to turn on WAAS/EGNOS so your GPS location will be more accurate, although it might be good enough in your area where you don't need to waste the extra battery life. I can't remember if the 1-4 shortcut buttons came setup this way or not, but I set them so that 1 is traditional sonar and downvu, 2 is just sidevu and 3 is all three and 4 is the fishing chart. As for settings, the defaults work pretty well. I find that I like my speed set to 3 or 4 since I'm on a kayak and keep flip flopping as to which I prefer. For gain, auto med is usually good for what most people would call clear water, and auto high for the clearest of clear water. In downvu and sidevu, 85% contrast is the sweet spot but if you're only in water that is no more than 6 feet deep you might want to set that to 70-75%. And auto-med brightness works most of the time but sometimes auto-high is good for brighter days. I picked up most of the above info from some Youtube channel, maybe FishTheMoment even though he's more of a Hummingbird user but it seems to be very accurate from my experience. As for the color schemes, pick whichever one you feel you can see the best on any given various light situation. I personally think some of them look two dual-tone regardless of whatever light you put it in, and some are easier to see in high and low light scenarios. I found a few suggestions on Youtube where they suggested some that I did not think to try but for the most part this is trial and error until you find what you like. A couple other minor things to add would be the frequencies are always ever changing, but Chirp works well for most situations. The only other thing I really have to mess with is the auto range. It usually is fine in sonar and downvu, but often it goes a little too far out, primarily in deeper water. If it starts putting me at 110ft, I will usually drop that down to 70 feet as the return fades pretty heavily on the GT54UHD transducer after 60 some feet on sidevu and auto tends to set it to 110ft or higher a little too aggressively. Were you able to get one with the new GT56UHD transducer? The biggest advantage with the new transducer is that has a very solid return up to 100 feet on sidevu.

Well my favorite rod is almost certainly going to be my Daiwa Steez AGS Bottom Contact rod. I haven't fished it yet (waiting until I get out the kayaks) but I can feel every vibration and every guide when I put the rod sleeve on, it's insane! From what I gather, this rod is newer than the other Steez AGS rods where they made a new specific blank and everything to try to make the best rod possible, so I have no idea if the rest of the line holds up (but I wish I had the money to find out) Most of my rods are Daiwa Tatulas which has been my go to line. They're very solid for the price. I also own a Tatula Elite and have another on the way.

Jig type is definitely a key factor. For me... Arky head jigs: 3/8 or 1/2oz. Hard to estimate how often but it depends on the depth of the water more so than any of the others. If it's simply 10ft or less, then I usually go with 3/8oz and 10-20ft then 1/2oz, but often if the water is up to 15ft but a lot of it is 7-10 I'll stick with a 3/8oz. Flipping jigs: 1/2oz, 5/8oz and 3/4oz: 60/10/30 - depending on cover. If it's thick cover, I go straight to 3/4oz and if it's lighter, 1/2oz. 5/8oz if I'm not too sure or a little of both. Swim Jigs: 1/4oz and 3/8oz probably 50/50 Football Jigs: 3/8oz, 1/2oz and 3/4oz maybe 30/50/20 Finesse jigs: 1/4oz, 5/16oz and 3/8oz maybe 30/40/30. Finesse football jigs: 1/4oz and 3/8oz maybe 30/70

It is hard when the water is pre-50. But the good news is 47 is getting near 50, so I would say pretend it's 50 and if that doesn't work, go to colder water lures. I would say things like T-Rigs and Jigs should be fair game as should crankbaits (preferably a lipless) and jerkbaits. You could even try a popper. I usually go small, but the baitfish are still larger so maybe a 1/2oz popper would be a good idea. Transition periods are always hard.

For me, it usually depends what I'm fishing and how much I'm moving around. If I'm at a crowded space, I will often setup my camping chair if I'm slowly fishing something like a T-Rig, but I prefer to stand for something like a jerkbait for example. It also depends on how my feet feel on any given day. I've been sidelined with gout a lot since last August so if that's flaring up at all, I'll tend to sit more lately than I would otherwise like to.

I would fish this on 12# fluorocarbon on my Tatula Elite M-MH/XF, but a rod like the Dobyns 703C or St Croix Mojo Bass 7'1" M/F plastics works very well as well.

While I generally think pressure is a little more than what you make of it, this statement is often so very true. Sometimes you will see a big bass following your lures but no matter what you throw, you can't get it to actually bite anything. We have a few lakes with drainage pipes, and often they hold bass. One lake in particular holds some pretty large bass in that drainage pipe. I didn't realize where the drainage pipe was on one side (you can't see it) but I would always catch bass in front of it and someone pointed out there was a drainage pipe there that held typically very large bass (the same person showed me a picture of a 7 pounder he caught out of it). I've gotten some big bass from it, and missed a real nice one. What seems to work best to target the drainage pipe is to drag a T-rigged craw or a football head jig across it very slowly, over and over. It may take a while, but I can usually land one. It's worth a try. It's usually even better later in the season, but I let my youngest son have the spot next to it a couple weeks ago and he caught this one not long after he switched to a craw from a power worm, likely because the power worm was hard to keep on the bottom. Also since it's generally pressured, try to throw something other people aren't throwing and give the fish a different look.

I would say beginners should go with Garmins regardless of model, but Lowrances aren't too far behind. Some Raymarines also have a good interface. Hummingbird has the best imaging, but would be dead last in usability. Their UI makes me want to gouge my eyeballs out as a software developer, perhaps the 1980s called and wants their interface back.

I'm aware, I just thought that the Victory was ultimately intended to replace the Avid X line. Did I mix that up?

At some point during the fight, I usually have some idea of if it's big or small, but that's about it. The largest bass I hooked I knew was big because it towed the rowboat around like a motor for a couple minutes before swimming under the boat and shaking the hook. That was in a class of its own. I caught two bass over five pounds last summer. One of them bent up my spinnerbait and put up quite the fight and the other came along quietly. I also caught several two pound bass in the same area and on the same day. I was surprised that one of them was over a pound, and another one I thought was going to be almost certainly 4+ but ended up being 2.5.

I will admit I have not, but the reviews have been really good so far. Even the fit and finish, at least on early models is supposed to be better than far more expensive St. Croix rods.

Late in the season, I'll throw a popper until the water is around 45 degrees or even less. Early in the season, it seems to take until the water hits 50.

How about the new St Croix Victory series (the Avid X replacement line)?

Basically keep your line tight, especially when they jump or swim under your boat. I lost what was by far the biggest bass I ever hooked (90% sure it was el mondo) when it swam under the rowboat I was in. And if you don't have good hooks that can get good penetration past the barb, you're out of luck.

The pop x and pop max's are great, they do everything welk and are the only popper I need to carry. For me, it's the Megabass 110. Mainly because they're pricey so I haven't got around to it.

The fact that they're twice as much or more is the reason I only have a few Megabass lures, but the ones that I do have do produce very well for me. I can justify the poppers since I don't lose them and they do everything so well. I doubt they all work that well, and some of them I'm skeptical if they'd work at all to be honest.

A longer rod will let you flip and pitch further. While it's not too different in terms of casting, the return on extra length is better for flipping and pitching. I use a 7'6" rod simply because 8' will not fit inside my truck. Also I use a 7.3:1 reel. The same reel in 8.1:1 was full retail but I got the 7.3:1 at a nice discount, which should tell you how big of a deal that really is. Some people prefer 7.x:1 because the lower gear ratios technically give you a little extra power.

That's a fairly versatile rod too, for throwing weightless soft plastics, jerkbaits, squarebills, 3/8oz spinnerbaits etc

I got the my oldest son a SLX MGL 70 and it bomb casts weightless T-Rigs very well. Definitely worth considering.

These three rods would definitely be the ones that you would want for a jerkbait. The 705CB will keep them pinned the best, but I like a rod with less backbone and a faster tip for bite detection when they hit it on the twitch, so the 663C or 703C would be better for that. And a shorter rod is nice - especially when I'm fishing on my kayak and not standing too high off the water, although I can make do with 7' if I have to.

Once the pandemic hit, tackle inventory was generally low everywhere. This is caused by a backup with production, delays in importing tackle and also an increased demand as people started fishing. Last summer, I lost a few arky head style jigs and my supply was running low, plus my kids started fishing jigs and I couldn't find jigs anywhere. Even TackleWarehouse was backordered for most brands. Some stores have since recovered. Some Walmarts are largely fully stocked, but it depends on which one and of course their selection is rather limited. This winter, I was able to find my entire shopping list, but it took me several months of just buying stuff as it was available. It's looking like this year might even be worse as it's starting early. I wanted to upgrade my transducer to the GT56UHD, but those are backordered until at least June if it's not delayed further. And I have a rod that's on backorder as well.

The beetle spin to me is more like a keitech with an underspin. It's good for when they aren't hitting a spinnerbait, maybe the water is too clear with not enough chop. A spinnerbait is going to be more effective if there is either stained water, wood or a lot of chop on the water. Sometimes switching between the two can be beneficial to see what they're hitting on any given day. Spinnerbaits also come through the weeds better due to their design.

I personally go with the old saying if it's not broke, don't fix it. Sure there has been improvements in modern fishing gear, but that doesn't mean ten year old rods and reels are inherently bad either. I wouldn't suggest looking to go out and replace all your gear because it's old. Instead I would say there's a few questions that you need to ask yourself. #1) Are you missing anything your my setup? If not, then move on if you are, is it for something you throw regularly or just for something situational? #2) Is there something in your setup that could be improved? For example, I had been throwing my T-Rigs on a rod that's a little bit underpowered if there's any cover or overpowered if I use a light weight, so I got myself a Tatula Elite M-MH/XF rod that throws them weightless and has adequate power to pull them out of typical cover for this year - and while I've been out a handful of times with it, it seems like it was a fantastic pickup. #3) Do you find that I have a particular lure tied on whenever you go out? And is that lure something that a nice rod would benefit? Perhaps a jig, t-rig or drop shot? Then maybe upgrading the rod or rods you throw these lures on would be a good idea. Likewise if you throw a crankbait regularly and can get a reel that casts a crankbait further then that makes sense to upgrade.