Russ E

you can also buy the rapala super line scissors for $2.96 at walmart . mine are 3 years old and still cutting. they also fit in one of the slots on my boat console.

congrats. hope you enjoy it. I love my little ranger.

I am not a fisheries manager. this is just from personal observation. On well managed waters selective harvest can produce big dividends. I wish the state of Kansas would take a more hands on approach to bass management. They seem to have the Ronco set it and forget it attitude on most of our lakes. while we have a few decent lakes, it could be a lot better. A good portion of the lakes have a standard 18 inch limit, and that is where it stays. If you harvest a legal bass, it is more than likely a female. A few of them could use an occasional slot limit to thin out the smaller male bass. In regards to Bass tasting bad. They are a sunfish. not much different from crappie or bluegill. Mushy fish are generally not handled correctly before cleaning it. If you are keeping any fish during the summer, It should immediately be thrown on Ice. this keeps the meat firm, until you can process it.

broke down and bought one today for the $49.99 sale price. needed a dedicated reel for my plopper rod. I have an older PQ2. that still gets used quite a bit. I did a comparison in the yard today. the old reel and new reel are mechanically identical. only difference is the accent colors. they are both very smooth and the dual brakes work great. I don't think you can get much better in the 50 dollar price range. I would put it on par with my gen 4 revo sx reels.

we are not looking too good here in the kansas city area for the next 10 days. any fishing will have to be on power plant lakes. The local cold water lake was supposed to open this weekend, but it is half iced over, including the marina. probably will not open for another week or two.

V waking a spinnerbait at night will get explosive strikes.

Everytime I have been in Louisiana, I have eaten my share. Good Boudin is hard to find around here. A few restaurants try, but they don't quite get it.

I will occasionally tie an FG knot at home. but if I need to replace it on the water I always tie an alberto knot. To me it is not worth the hassle. If you tie the Alberto correctly it is small and very strong. I have never lost a fish due to a bad Alberto knot.

I make deer jerky and pepper sticks in the winter. One of the two are always in my cooler for a snack, while fishing. If I were in your boat, not much fishing would be going on. I would be eating all of your Boudin. even though I am a midwesterner, I love cajun food.

it's strange that it is happening on the console unit. often times it is motor noise on the trolling motor transducer. Are they both on at the same time? Sometimes if you have 2 running they will distort each others readout. One thing that often helps is the noise filter setting in the sonar settings screen. Some versions have it. Some don't. generally you will get more definition with the filter shutoff. If there is excessive noise turning it on usually helps clean it up. just looked at my 2 current helix 7s. they do not have the noise filter setting. my previous models did.

The rod is fine. I don't use braid for jerkbaits. I use copoly. Constantly jerking the slack out of braided line gives me wind knots.

If I gut hook a keeper size bass, I will eat it. Otherwise I don't keep them. In part, because they are usually at the top of the list for fish with high mercury levels. I should clarify. In Kansas there is a fish advisory for eating larger smallmouth and largemouth Bass statewide, because of mercury levels. most of the lakes I fish have an 18 inch limit. that eliminates the smaller eating sized fish.

I was bored one winter day and saw one like this on Amazon. Even though I was skeptical I bought it. It actually works.It has a tension-er you can adjust to let the filler spool twist at the same speed as your reel. It will fill a spinning reel with zero twist. if filling a baitcaster, you just tighten the adjuster so it is stationary.

elaztech has a tendency to react with some other plastics. they are one bait I always leave in the original package. not copying you. we posted at the same time

Obviously I am not in the heavier is better camp. Give it a shot. If it feels too light you can always move up. Either way it is a really nice bass rod for the price. Amazon sells them at about the same price as anywhere else and if you have prime, it only takes 2 days to get it.

I have been fishing for 40 years. I know how to flip. I have an 8 foot fish eagle flipping stick. It gets used if I am flipping exclusively. The op wanted a dedicated flipping/jig rod. To me that meant a combination flipping/pitching rod. I suggested the 734, because in my opinion it is a better option if you are pitching with an occasional flip. The 734 is a heavy power fast action rod. It is 7 foot 3 inches long. It is also rated for 10 to 20 pound line and 1/4 to 1 ounce baits.

Occasionally I flip, but multiple target in close quarters, is uncommon on the waters I fish. Usually I prefer to stay farther away from the target and pitch. What is your point?

The lakes I fish are old. most of the heavy brush has rotted away. All that is left is standing timber and laydowns. I have a couple heavier flipping sticks, but use the 734 most of the time. It weighs less and is more sensitive. Since you already have a 733 and 734 that has not been tried, I would try them out and decide if you need to go heavier.

Curious on what your plans are for the 734. I use my 734c for pitching jigs and creature baits. Some may say it is a little light for that, but I am not a fan of fishing with a broomstick. If I ever feel the need to go heavier I will buy a 735.

I have one that is 2 years old. It is a nice reel. Mine cost $99.99. The $49.99 reel is a special edition, but other than cosmetics it is supposed to be identical to the original pq2. That is according to the local bass pro shops rep. If I needed more reels I would not hesitate to buy a couple.

the 518C is a nice boat.

I own a 2 year old Z175. Even though it is their smaller boat it is not in any way lower in quality. in my opinion the buyout has not hurt Ranger quality and service. Ranger goes out of their way to fix any small issues you have with their boats. The new Nitros are also very nice. I bought my boat, because it is easy to push around in my suburbia garage, It is easy to launch and load by myself, and it is easy to maneuver around some of the small lakes I fish. The Largest lake I fish is around 7500 acres. If I fished larger lakes I would have bought a bigger boat. considering the lakes you plan to fish the bigger Nitro might be a better fit.

Doesn't it use the standard Thompson center #11 nipple? You can buy them on Amazon.

Ned rig was made for budget equipment. KastKing sharky III. Low cost. (around $50.00) Very smooth and the slow gear ratio works great with the midwest finesse retrieves.

For an all around reel I would pick 6.3 to 1. It will handle any bait you can throw. As others have already said you can slow down with a faster reel. Problem is most people don't. When I learned to fish 6.3 to 1 was a fast ratio. I could fish all of the popular baits Just fine. It is easier for me to control the speed on a slower ratio reel. With a fast ratio I have a habit of fishing crankbaits and vibrating jigs too fast.