Obi_Wan

One thing I've picked up fly fishing is when the fish aren't biting, go down in size vs going up. Like AJ, I'm a fan of the 110 size jerkbait.

I'm fishing a ned rig, a curly tail grub, or a crawdad jig most of the year. Jerkbaits when I'm tired of plastics.

Went fishing with some friends in the Homer spit. One guy was adamant that we needed special line to fish there. So we stopped on the way to get some. When we got to our cabin that evening, he stripped all the old line off his Abu Garcia baitcaster and spooled on the new line. The next morning we went fishing. I got rigged up and made my first cast while he was still rigging. As I'm watching my line, I hear him cast and can hear the backlash from 20 feet away. He immediately starts cussing Abu Garcia reels as he's trying to get the backlash out. It was pretty severe. After about 10 minutes of trying, he just starting cutting out the new line. He ended up cutting off about half the line. He re rigged and made another cast. This backlash was worse than the first. My other friends and I had to look away to hide our laughter because he was as mad as I've ever seen a human. A few minutes later he said, "You know what I think of Abu Garcia reels?" When I turned and looked, he had taken the reel off the rod and was holding it in his hand. He threw that reel as far as he could into the spit and sat on the bank drinking beer until the rest of us finished fishing. It wasn't the reel's fault. I think when he re spooled the line he loosened the spool and never tightened it back. He was my supervisor in the USAF and when he retired, I bought the exact reel with the exact line and loosened every knob. I made a huge cast and backlashed it beyond recovery. Then I mounted it to a plaque, backlash and all, and gave it to him for his retirement gift. We laughed about that so many times. Miss that guy.

I had posted on here before, can't remember where, that I was thinking of going to all spinning gear and getting rid of my bait casters. Still considering it. We go to Canada for Walleye and smallmouth and I only take a baitcaster so I can let my arm rest after a few days of fishing. I have spinning rods that will do everything my baitcasting rods will do, but I just can't shake having some baitcasters around. I do like them better for jigging and texas rigged worms but that's about it. I don't think one is superior to the other in every aspect. You can use one to replace the other these days. But I'll probably be 80% spinning in the near future. Not counting when I decide to go fly fishing.

Several of mine are already on here. If the big motor is running, the PFD is on is one. - Follow the game laws. You may not like them, but they're there for a reason that you may not always see. Don't assume you're the smartest guy in the room. - Don't keep more than you can eat, even if its legal. - If fish are hitting the search bait, keep throwing the search bait. - You don't need the most expensive gear to catch fish or to enjoy yourself. - No one else can determine what makes you happy. - Find joy in catching the small ones.

I'm not familiar with the lake you mention, but $45 K will buy a lot of used fiberglass. Don't get me wrong, I love a good aluminum boat, but Id want to get a Lund or Vexus. And those will cost more than $45K

Well, the SS wasn’t in the budget. Ended up ordering a 175. Its in the shop now. Hoping to get an update tomorrow on installation. Can’t wait to get it in the water.

Watch the video Glenn posted. Lots of good advice there. Brands I would look at in that time frame are BassCat, Ranger, and Champion. That being said, anyone of those could have issues. You will have to take each one individually.

What’s your budget? That’s the real kicker. I have a 99 BassCat and its a great boat. If I had it in the budget, this is what I would look at. #1 Lund Pro V Bass. My personal opinion is that its the best overall design on the market. #2 2024 Vexus AVX1980. New hull design and its a lot like the Lund now. #3 BassCat. Whichever design I liked the best. Right now, I really like the Bobcat, but its only 17.5 feet. #4 Avid. Don’t know if they will change their hull design to match Vexus, but it is a good boat. #5 Put a Suzuki on it. It really depends on lots of factors. Budget, fishing style, Fish alone or with someone, etc…. If you’re going used, besides doing your own research, work with a reputable dealer.

No opinions on either motor?

1999 BassCat Pantera.

Ned

I’m putting a new motor on. Standard DF or SS and why?

Both. Sometimes the screwhead is the ticket. Sometimes its just not necessary.

Megabass Okashira

Dropped the BassCat off Saturday to replace the old 2 stroke Mercury with a 4 stroke Suzuki. Can't wait to get it back on the water.

If I had the money to buy any boat I wanted, it would either be a Lund Pro V Bass or a new Vexus (2024 hull design). I like the layout of the new Vexus, but I think the Pro V Bass is the best aluminum bass boat on the market and maybe the best period. A-Jay is the expert and has tons of good videos to see what it will do.

I’m a fishing Dentist.

Army National Guard 1988-1996 Active Duty USAF retired 1998-2018

I’ve decided to repower my BassCat because that is my only option right now. But the next boat I buy will be a Lund Pro V Bass unless someone makes something better and I’m not sure that will happen. I think its more boat than I need 90% of the time and exactly what I need the other 10. I’m at the point of not caring how far I will have to go to get one. Luckily, should only be a few hrs away when the time comes.

I had some of the same questions. I have a fiberglass boat and have been looking at aluminum. I don’t fish in what I consider big water like guys in Texas or near the Great Lakes. What I realized after getting some of the same advice as you, is that I really didn’t understand what rough water is. And the true answer to it is, rough water depends on where you are. Where I fish, it would be an extremely rare event to have over 3’ swells in the main part of the lake. In the back areas where i fish, they are much smaller. A mod V fishes there just fine. We got in some 3-4 footers in Canada a few years ago in a Ranger glass boat and I am so happy we weren’t in a mod V. It would have been disastrous. I say all that to say, I think thats the size of the swells, but don’t have enough experience in them to really know what size they really are. I just know that bigger water calls for a different boat design. I think AJ is right about the driver making the difference. However, its kind of like saying money can’t buy you happiness, but its hard to be happy when you’re dead broke. Well its hard to navigate “rough water”, but its easier in a boat designed to properly take on “rough water”.

That’s what I always thought until it was the only rod I had in the boat for a ned rig. Only fish I lost with it were the ones I tried to set the hook too fast on. I would still prefer a fast tip, but don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with a moderate one.

I use a 7’ Denali Pryme ML Fast with a 1000 reel or 7’ Denali AttaX M mod with a 2000 reel for ned rigs. Straight 6 lb mono on both. I’ve used the M mod most often. I set the hook like I do everything else, because I get excited and let it rip. Used the AttaX in Canada with a 4” Charlie Brewer Slider worm on an Eagle Claw 1/16 oz jig head. Don’t think I missed more than 1 or 2. Between the three of us we caught 120 that day. like others have said, ned your drag tight enough to hook set and loose enough to allow some fight with a bent rod.

I think I’ve decided to just keep the Pantera and repower it and do some fixing up. Rewire the triler, polish the trailer wheels, polish the gel coat, clean the carpet (I’d like to eventually replace it with SeaDek). Then I’ll put a newer TM with spot lock on it. Maybe move the TM batteries under the hatch in the front. Who knows. Boat is in great shape. Has a few nicks in the finish that I will repair or get repaired.

I would buy a Pro V Bass in a heartbeat if I had the $60-80k to spend. I’ve researched lots of boats and I think it is one of the best bass boats on the market today. Treated well, it should last a lifetime. It would be good in small and large lakes. I just don’t have that to spend. Those Rangers are nice boats. I’ve looked hard at them too. I found a Margay too far away to look at easily and too far to have shipped affordably. I’ll probably end up keeping the 99 Pantera and just put a new motor on it. I’m not a fan of how it set up, but I may have a way to fix my issues. Beaver Lake in AR - 28,000- 32,00 acres and Norfork in AR - 22,000 acres. Lake Ft. Smith - 1,400 acres. Occasionally Table Rock in the kings river arm or Bull shoals. I asked someone that has fished Beaver for years today about it and he said there are more and more wake boats on the water in the summer and when they are there, even his 21 footer seems small in the big part of the lake. Thought Aluminum or the Bobcat would be good in the river arms. This may be where I go. Repowering the current basscat will increase its value adn then save some money to get what I really want down the line. But for some reason, I love the BassCat Bobcat.