Shimano_1

Absolutely worth it to me. I've tried them all hoping something is comparable and I've concluded that the $ I've spent experimenting would have served me better buying more 110's. Of course I'm a typical hard headed man so I had to figure this out for myself. When they're aggressive there's several that will catch em, when they're pressured and the lure/color matters, nothing else compares in my years of experience.

I've owned most Shimano, lews and a lot of daiwas. I'm honestly to the point i believe nine of then are going to last like the reels of a few years ago did. Obviously everyone is going to defend their preferred brands. They all make good and bad. A metanium is a much nicer reel...to me...than a tournament pro. It should be it's double the price. At the 200 price point the curado mgl is fantastic, as is the daiwa tatula 100. The older lews tournament pro reels were amazing, the newest version hasn't impressed me personally. Lots of guys love them tho. I'd suggest choosing what feels the best for whatever you're willing to spend, not what all of us think about it. It's pretty sweet that we have such a selection of nice gear these days.

I've had 3 Johnson/ evinrudes, all 89-95 models, and 3 mercs 08-19 models. Have never had much of an issue from any. My current rig is a 98 bullet with a 2017 pro xs 2 stroke. I'm running it cause I bought it for an unbelievable price. Had a 2019 115 pro xs 4 stroke on my rig before this one. The 4 stroke was fantastic in every way. I don't think a man can go wrong with most of the yamaha, merc, Suzuki, or Honda motors. I would be more concerned with who and how I would get one serviced locally.

My good buddy has had one since it was new in 99 or 2000. It's a pretty nice tin boat. It's held up really well, but he's pretty good about taking care of it. It is narrow by today's standards so it's a little rougher in some chop etc. His has a 90 merc and runs appx 40 mph. I'd say if the price is right and it checks out most would be satisfied for a first rig.

I'd personally go with the glass boat. Had a similar aluminum triton 18tx, sold it and bought a 20xd bullet. I wasn't ever satisfied with it on any type of bigger water. It's plenty of boat but I believe those boats are made with too thin of aluminum for anything bigger than a 115. I'm sure you'd be satisfied with either and the 4 stroke is definitely a little nicer and easier to maintain. The aluminum will definitely tow a little easier and sip the fuel compared to the glass boat. All comes down to what "you" personally are wanting from your rig. Obviously you're gonna get varying opinions. If I ever went aluminum again it would be an express or a lund. Much better made boats in my opinion.

The tatula rods are hard to beat. The falcon lowrider rods are hard to beat for the money as well! They're not cork handles but the new tatula rods xt I believe are super nice for 100 bucks. If I were looking for a few new rods on a budget it would be those.

Toss up for me between a rapala dt and a spro rock crawler.

No boss I meant boats themselves lol. Was with a buddy Friday looking at an older skeeter for him. They had a used vexus glass boat sitting beside it. Dude said yeah that one is used and we have it at 90k. Said that boat before any graphs or accessories new would be real close to 100k. I've seen several new ranger and bass cat boats listed for 90-100k, add tax title and license plus some 12 inch graphs and poles etc and ur well over 100k. I'm in the same boat, if It doesn't come with acreage I'm not spending 100k on anything. Pay 2 or 3 times as much for a boat as I did my truck? Not this guy.

It's not going to happen but if everyone would smart shop and refuse to pay these inflated prices, they'd come back down quick. I was looking to add one more Johnny Morris platinum reel to my arsenal and boom they go from 199 to 229. Yeah, never! Principal alone is enough to not pay these inflated prices. If we smart shop, wait for sales, search auction sites etc then we don't have to pay these ridiculous prices. Honestly the more everything goes up the more I wanna quit tournament fishing altogether. 100k bass boats plus 20k more in accessories? Absolutely absurd....but I get it. The market drives the prices.

Actually 10 GA is recommended on a lot of the newer bigger units and pretty sure a few draw more than 2 amps. I think the pre rigged harnesses are ridiculous for the money but I rewired my 2019 last year and it absolutely helped. Plus as you said a little over kill never hurt anything when it comes to power! Love the neoprene sleeve on trolling motor, just makes things look much better and protects things. Tp always a great thing to have! I also installed a bubble box in my aerator for 40 bucks and it keeps my fish lively and in good shape in the hottest of weather with no ice or additives. All things that give me peace of mind which is sweet on the water!

I own several slx reels in all variants except the DC. The mgl is my favorite but also more expensive. The regular is amazing for the price point. I've owned several of the daiwa tatula ct reels and my fishing partner fishes several. They are great as well but I prefer the slx in most every way. Little smoother, little quieter, better ergonomics for me personally. The xt is a fine reel, have 2 of those as well. Of course you saying the k feels huge compared to the ct shows differing opinions because I find the k easier to Palm. Honestly you can't go wrong with any of them. They are all great for the $, just boils down to personal preference.

I always watch my line but believe feel is just as important. Got a buddy that's a big line watcher. He kills more fish from them swallowing the hook than anyone I know. I try to be aware of what my bait is doing. I let it fall on slack line usually but immediately begin to try to feel as well. If I see or feel a bite I ease up and feel the fish then Crack the rod. Works for me but ymmv. As for regaining confidence...just go make yourself do what used to work. After a bite or 2 you'll be back to having the confidence.

I use one of the green plano sportsmans trunks from cabelas. Basically a heavy duty tote. Holds both my helix 12's and one 93sv perfectly. Think it was 15 or 20 bucks

With regards to soft plastics I prefer junebug but for jigs black and blue. Black and blue, junebug and green pumpkin do about 75 percent of my work.

This thread just shows how differently people view things. I fished lews for years and then tried the slx line of reels and have switched most of mine over. I feel like the slx is smaller and palms better than any lews I've used. The tournament pro lfs is a fine reel. I personally think the newer lews just feel cheap compared to the 1st generation tournament pros. The curado is a little bigger to palm than some may like but they're bullet proof. They all make nice reels. If you're satisfied with your lews, fish em. If you're not try a Shimano. I believe overall they're a little better made, a little more durable, and a little more consistent across the board. If I had 8 lews and liked them I'd leave it alone. It's a dark hole to go down when you start swapping out numerous reels. Good news is if your lews are in good shape you can sell em for pretty decent money. Good luck and do whatever makes "you" happy not what any of us say is right or better!

I've taken a few people's money over the years using my snaps on my cranks and jerkbaits. Kinda seems foolish to say it alters the action. It serves the exact same purpose a split ring does. Let's the bait move freely as it was designed. Pretty sure I've seen and heard kvd speak of using them and seems like he's taken a lot of people's money. If you don't wanna use em don't, but acting like someone is a fool for doing so is just plain childish. I fish with several people, some use em, some don't and the guy that catches more than the rest uses them with split rings. I've used them for 20 plus years myself

I personally like carpet. Buddy has the vinyl in his and I don't necessarily dislike it but I prefer carpet. Just looks nicer and feels better to me. Personal preference on that one. I think you'd be satisfied with the tracker or the ranger. I have a triton 18tx, same boat as the ranger rt188. I feel like I prefer the layout and trolling motor down part of mine better but probably cost a little more than the tracker as well. If you don't make long runs and speed isn't high on priority list I'd get the 60. As already stated tho no one has ever complained about having maximum horsepower. However, we don't buy these rigs for speed. They're easy to tow, cheaper than glass, fish well, and if care for will last you many many years.

I think most people tend to loosen the brakes up more and more with experience to get the most out of the reel. This also leaves less room for error. I can hand one of mine to my buddies and I just tighten the cast control beforehand or it's always a mess. I still backlash quite a bit but usually not bad. I blew one up a cple weeks ago beyond being fixable and that was the first time I've done that in a few years.

I have no experience with Yamaha or Suzuki but my new(2019) pro xs 4 stroke has been wonderful so far as was my last pro xs 250(09). I'd venture to say any of them should serve you well if taken care of properly.

I may be foolish but I tend to throw a lot more shad colored baits than bluegill. I'll mix it up some I'm the spring or when I think the gills are bedding or whatever. Other than that I tend to fish the shad colors an overwhelming majority of the time. They say throw trout colored swimbaits even if there aren't any trout. I think it's way more about action and presenting it in a way they'll want it than color

I've also basically quit throwing the regular TRD. The big one seems to get as many bites and let's me up my hook size etc. The regular one is just to small I never really felt all warm and cozy about throwing it. The big TRD has became a staple for me. Good luck

Try a shimano with an mgl spool. Slx or curado mgl. I don't do much skipping but I've been pretty pleased with all the curado and slx reels I have.

This! If they weren't so hit or miss I'd be running all daiwas. After a cple years of dealing with this off and on I sold all I had left and went back to shimano and a cple lews. I tried lube and everything else and some of them were just way too loud and geary to be acceptable. Never had a single shimano or lews be that loud. Kinda ridiculous and honestly makes me wonder how they've gotten so popular but a lotta guys seem to love em. Maybe some people just don't notice things that I do or I'm extremely unlucky

I would take a few solo trips or take a buddy and get comfortable with the rig and I think a lot of ur anxiety with protecting ur family will ease some. Being aware of the danger is actually quite intelligent. Yes there are dangers with being on the water period. Having said that, being aware and using common sense tend to over ride most of the dangers. Just like driving a vehicle, there's dangers everywhere. Probably much more likely to be in an accident in a vehicle than one you can't handle on the water. I think a few trips will help a lot. Just getting comfortable with it and how to control it etc will be a huge help. Good luck and stay positive about it and I think it will be a wonderful experience once you get more relaxed with it!

I'd guess it's the braid digging into itself and snapping on a hard cast. I never go below 30 and prefer bigger on casting reels. Just doesn't seem to manage well on casting gear and digs in itself more than heavier braid.