BigAngus752

I think I'm going this week to look at a brand new Lund Pro-V Bass that's already set up with a 36V Ultrex Quest and the Humminbird network with two graphs. Curious if anyone has experience with one of these TMs yet? I never want brand new models of anything. I hate being the guinea pig.

And then I snap into a Slim Jim...

You can't go wrong buying any of the big three. All are excellent trucks. Heck, they even share parts now. All three half tons use the same auto trans now. I had a 2015 GMC that had turned into a repair monster so I traded for a brand new 2020 F150 with the 3.5 ecoboost. It's got just under 60,000 miles on it now and it's been absolutely flawless. I choose the Ford because of it's aluminum body. I plan on keeping it for a long time.

5:30AM, no wind and the water was almost glass. Very light misting rain. Walking a Zara Spook, looked down at my Lowrance and HEARD her suck it in and swept the rod. Topwater is the best of bass fishing IMHO. Stayed with the topwater for 2hrs and ended up with seven more on the Spook and a WP. Then went home and had breakfast with my perfect wife. I consider that a great morning. 4lb-9oz, Bone colored Spook, 12lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid on an Okuma TCS all-purpose M/H. Water temp 69 degrees and she was shallow on the rocks next to a steep drop to 8-9ft.

Exactly!

First I want to say that I'm very glad to hear the victims were recovered. That's a significant blessing for those who were waiting for word. I completely understand anyone's decision to not be near that lake until there's closure. Dead bodies are icky. I'm not using that term to be funny. I'm an avid reader and I can tell you that there is no writer, living or dead, who can put into words an accurate description of the sight or smell of rotting or burned human flesh. Being in an enclosed space with remains of someone who has burned to death or with the remains of a human that is in the latter stages of decomposition hits you in a primal, crocodile-brain place and there is no language to convey that. Anyone who chooses to avoid that is simply acting on our own animal need to survive and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I will tell each of you, however, that I have communicated with many of you for years now about all sorts of personal things, to include core beliefs and I have read along thousands of times while you talked with each other. I know that, while all of you find dead bodies to be "icky" (again, without humor), I also know that if any of you spoke with a loved one of the person that disappeared in that lake another part of your primal instinct would kick in. To stand with someone who is on the precipice of learning that the most important person in their life is no more, and to listen to them as they verbalize there belief that there is a chance it's not true would change your minds. If you talked with them for minutes or even hours in their home or on the shore of that water and just nodded your head as they explained all of the ways this could all just be a mistake and told you stories of how their husband or child was somehow lost, or unconscious but safe, or how this could all be explained because the victim's cell phone just went dead and any minute they would call from a gas station twenty miles away....you get the idea. YOUR crocodile-brain also has a button that overrides the survival instinct and that button is empathy. We all have a trigger that says, "Help that human". It may not seem like it these days because so many people just take a video with their phone while someone is dying, but I believe that this is actually a "helping" response from a human that has not been conditioned to deal with such a critical, primal situation. They've never experienced it or even thought about it so the only thing that kicks in is "I'll point my phone at it". But we all have that innate urge to help. Mine was conditioned as such that it screams "GO" in my head. I left my son's basketball games when he was a kid, I've left on my anniversary, I've left in the middle of the night and not returned for 48 to 72 hours straight. I've left on Christmas morning. It's still unbelievable to me that during my career I was called to THREE Xmas morning homicides. THREE! I can believe one maybe but three?! What's up with Christmas morning? SMH. The point is, that primal phone rings and says that another human is suffering and your instinct is to help IF you have been conditioned to that. My wife even has it. Her trigger is still well past mine, but it's funny that she's been with me enough times when my brain screams "GO" that hers now does also. When she sees someone in danger I know that her conditioning has overcome her fear for my safety when she says my name. When something bad is right in front of her and she says "Patrick..." in a certain way I know her trigger has clicked and she's opening the door to let the dogs loose. My point is, anyone's decision to avoid these sights and sounds are not only acceptable, they are a part of our crocodile brain and a part of our survival, but so is empathy. I've never met you, but I still know many of you and I know if you saw the living suffering you'd lose some of the "icky" attached to the dead. A blessing from the Lord that these victims have been found, the living have closure, and the lost are sitting at the right hand of God! Wow, I just looked back at this post and it's reallly long. I hope you skipped it, LOL. Finally a topic I'm an expert at. Final words, WEAR YOUR PFD... or don't...turtles gotta eat too. (Callous humor can be a useful coping mechanism but some can find it offensive, sorry). God bless each of you and yours!

That is very interesting. I appreciate the detailed knowledge. I tow with a 2020 F150 FX4 with a 3.5 Ecoboost and 3.73 e-locker. It doesn't even know my aluminum boat is behind it. That's great info, thanks.

And that is the biggest issue with the tin boat trailers. My Ranger Trail for my RT188 has tiny wheels and no room under the fender for larger wheels. My only tire choice is a Carlisle. I can't find any info about the wheel size on the trailers for the RT198P or Crestliner MX19. I'll have to contact a dealer and ask. I'm not good with staying with these Carlisle chinese rubber bombs. I would even consider a custom trailer if need be.

This had not occurred to me. I do this. If I choose the tandem I will invest in this: Thank you for pointing that out. I agree about the galvanized and I saw one manufacturer that offers one, but I ruled them out for other reasons. The two I'm left with are Ranger that has the "Road Armor" tandem and Crestliner who offers a full aluminum for their MX19, but it's a single. The Crestliner tandem is steel. I know that my single feels pretty maxxed with my RT188 and a 115 Merc. Plus I hate the tiny wheels. The tire selection is a total of two brands and they are both junk.

If I were to order a new 19 to 20ft aluminum bass boat, would I want to choose the single or tandem trailer? Why? I currently have an RT188 with a single axle trailer. I feel like the tandem would be more solid, but I will say that I make a tight, 90 degree reverse turn to get the boat into my shop. Would that be more of a pain with the tandem? Tear up my gravel more every time I back it in the shop? How about aluminum? One of the brands I'm considering has an option for a full aluminum single axle that costs the same as the tandem steel trailer. I would think this would be the best long-term option but I'd like to hear everyone's experience. I like the idea that I can run that aluminum trailer to the local machine shop for a quick weld-up if something breaks and never have to worry about rust. Still not sold on another aluminum boat, but that's a discussion for another post.

"Man I tell you, the day they passed out good luck ol' Bo and Luke must have been fishing. Welcome to Hazzard County". Waylon Jennings

Just so everyone is aware, this code works on sale rods also. I just bought a Delta-FSS DSR 711-1 and a Delta FSC MBR 706 1-C that are normally $199 each. They were both on sale for $149 each. The code worked, I got free shipping, with tax my total for both rods was $183. FYI

I do when I remember to! So....no.

This is my 1. through 5.

Is this a selfie?!!! That's a pro-level selfie! If I took that you'd see my chin and your hand and that's about it.

Most respectful forum on the internet and the moderators set the tone. Spectacular work!

In all fairness, the "You-can't-fish-by-my-dock-Ken" is just as bad. Just ask nicely, maybe?

Exactly! Weather and season plays a huge part this. You just have to start hitting areas to find out if they are out near the main lake or further into the coves near shallow spawning areas. It's like an interstate. They follow the road in to spawn, they follow it back out when they are done. And they don't all go at once.

Look for anyplace that shallower water sticks out into deeper water and has the wind blowing across it. Like at the turn where you go into a cove there is a point sticking out into the lake. If the point sticks out to the north and the wind is blowing from the west, it's blowing across the point. The bottom goes quickly from deep to shallow and back to deep again and sometimes the bass will stack up on that point hoping the wind will blow baitfish across it. Keep throwing! You're gonna figure this lake out.

Awesome advice right there ^^^. All I would add is, if there's any wind try wind-blown points.

If you have current, head right for the pinch points. Anywhere it gets narrow for the water to get through. If visibility is poor the bass will hang right next to something hard while facing the oncoming current. I've gone from zero to hero running muddy, flooded lakes just going from pinch point to pinch point.

^^^+1^^^ Well said.

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

"Spots" change with season and weather. I WANT to be good with my electronics and I know I need to take the time to learn them, but I just haven't. Part of that is because 90% of lakes you can look at the bank and extrapolate how the bottom of the lake looks in that same area. I have used electronics to find single stumps or rocks in the middle of nowhere that hold a fish, but I have found many, many more "spots" with my eyes and brain than with electronics. Your question was, "How do you find your spots?" 1. Know the season (the season the fish are in, not what season you are experiencing). 2. Know the fish in that lake and where they are likely to be during that season. 3. Know what the water temp is. 4. Know what the weather has been (including wind direction) for the past couple of days. On the lakes I fish the most I know what spot to try first, second, third, and fourth based on the above criteria. On a brand new lake? Well, that's a brand new ballgame...but I love new games...

I used to swear by Interstate and then I got several lemons in a row. I was in a bind after my last Interstate failed so I ran to Advance Auto and had them get me the two newest DieHard 27s they had. That was over three years ago. And my closest lake is electric only so I run my batteries down to 20% or lower at least once a week. When these finally go I'll be getting more DieHards. Cheap and sturdy.