Tennessee Boy

and I thought it was just me.

I agree. Here is map of a Kentucky Lake ledge. The yellow dot is a waypoint I dropped after catching a fish on a Carolina Rig. You can see from the map scale that you need to be able to cast 30 to 40 yards to fish the ledge properly.

Some interesting responses here. For at least 20 years, I’ve been using Daiwa 105 HiLa’s for larger jigs and Carolina rigs. With a 3/4 Carolina rig I can throw all of the line out (about 110 yards). I have no need to cast that far fishing but sometimes I’ll do it just to get a nice tight clean spool of line. Last fall I started auditioning new reels to replace my old Diawas. I tried a Zillion SV TWS and was shocked to find that I could cast a 3/4 oz c-rig about 50 yards max. That’s with the spool very loose, the breaks on 1 or 2, and casting hard enough to give myself a hernia. With a 1/2 oz weight and a normal cast I could hit 35 yards easily. It’s like the breaks are designed to never let you cast over 50 yards no matter how hard you try. The reel worked okay pitching a jig but it failed the audition due to the 50 yard casting distance. From some of the responses here, I’m wondering if most modern reels are designed the same way. Next up in my auditions is a Curado DC.

Welcome

Welcome to the forum and welcome back to bass fishing.

Welcome to the forum.

@clemsondds it can be a struggle when you're a new boat owner, new to bass fishing, and new to a body of water. Look at the results of any major pro tournament and you'll find guys at the bottom of the standings that have struggled and these are the best fishermen in the world. It's not easy. For most of us normal fishermen, it's made easier because we know the waters we are fishing. We can return to spots that have worked for us in the past under similar conditions. We're moving into the time of year when fishing get's easier. Depending on your location, fish are either spawning or getting ready to spawn. That means they are moving to shallow water. It's hard to make recommendations without know what part of the country you're in. If you were fishing middle Tennessee, I would tell you to tie on a weightless Zoom Trickworm and fish it around any cover you find along the bank in major creeks. It's a fun way to fish this time of year and will allow you to catch some fish and get used to your new boat. When you find an area that holds a lot of fish, looks at a map and ask yourself where those fish will go as they move deeper after the spawn. Target those places as we move into summer.

The reason companies spend so much on advertising is because it works. People have always been willing to pay way more for brands with a well funded reputation for being cool. I went to high school in the seventies, before the age of Air Jordan’s, and we wanted to wear the cool shoes just like the current generation. The fishing industry is no different. There’s an old saying in the marketing world, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak”. Take a look at the website for any ultra high end rod. You’ll find lots of words and few actual specifications. Words like “impossibly light” sell better than giving the actual weight for the rod. Facts allowed people to make informed decisions, not emotional ones. That’s not what you want when you’re selling a $500 rod.

Welcome to the forum.

I have used them occasionally when I’m trying a lot of different baits to see what works. When you use them you don’t have to retie but people forget that it’s good to retie.

Weightless Zoom trickworm is my #1 bait in the spring.

Welcome to the forum. Looks like an interesting project. Those Rangers where well made boats. I'm a tin boat guy so I'll let the fiberglass guys answer your question. I will suggest that you check out youtube videos. I don't remember the exact video but I watched a guy make a fiberglass bench seat to replace one on a boat that was cracked. You can learn just about anything on youtube.com.

I couldn't agree more. The offshore world is so much more fascinating and fun to fish. Kentucky lake has so much interesting structure. When I first started fishing the lake, the maps were terrible. I found stuff by accident most of the time. When good maps started coming out, it was so interesting to finally be able to see how some of those old favorite spots fit into the surrounding structure. 90% of my offshore fish are caught on a texas rig, a carolina rig, or a jig. I try to keep it simple.

Leave it to @A-Jay to take the high road. I have an engineering background and these balance threads always dive me a little crazy. Everyone can enjoy and learn from a good debate on this forum. Insults have no place. My post this morning was very condescending and I apologize for that.

Let me try to explain. If you spend enough money on a rod and reel, you're gonna want to admire how good if feels in your hand. If you understand the physics of torque, then you understand that the forces on a rod change as you change the rod angle and they change dramatically when you attach a lure. None of this matters when you're just standing around admiring your perfectly balance $1000 combo.

Rebel Wee-crawfish

Welcome to the obsessed angler support group. ?

Last classic for all the guys that switched to the Bass Pro Tour but not the last classic.

Buy some new fishing pants that don't have holes burned in the pockets.

The Ultrex has spot lock, a cable controlled pedal, and does not have lift assist so you should be able to mount an external transducer to it. It is also the most expensive MinnKota. Some people have found solutions to the external transducer issue for TMs with lift assist like the Terrova or Ulterra. The same solutions should work with the PowerDrive. Here is a video showing a third party bracket for routing the cable for an external transducer. I have no experience with this product but it doesn't look very appealing to me. You can search youtube for other approaches that people have taken to solve this problem.

Congratulations! and thanks for a great writeup. I remember how windy it was during the KY lake tournament and wondered how that was affecting you guys.

I don’t think the cost of the boat you’re installing it on matters that much. What matters is how you use the FF. I know guys with high end units that spend most of their time fishing the bank and just use the FF as a depth finder. If you fish off shore then good electronics make a difference otherwise save your money.

@MIbassyaker and @A-Jay do you catch primarily smallmouth on your green, brown, orange, etc spinnerbaits?

Good stuff here. Does anyone think the world need more spinner bait colors than white and chartreuse?

I said “around the spawn”. The schedule on their website runs from February 12th in Texas through June 5th in Oklahoma. Tell me what I’m missing.