drakesndrum

I have a Basspro AM-24 and it works fine, no issues in rain. Not the best for wading in rivers if you're prone to tripping over rocks ...don't ask. My biggest gripe is the recharge kits are $25 a pop.

1/16-1/4oz depending on current and water depth. I usually start with 3/16oz as a rule then adjust.

Didn't weight any of mine either but my longest 5 went 95.5", which were 21", 20", 18.75", 18.25", and 17.5". These were all river fish as well. Those lake chunks you guys have are impressive!!! Would love to road trip with my kayak up to MI, WI, MN for a couple weeks!

Zoom Super Flukes in pearl. 4-5" senko style worms wacky-rigged, any shade of green-pumpkin. 3-4" Rage Bugs fished on River Rock crawler jigs. 3.25"-4" Rage Swimmers on jig heads, KVD Magic color. 3.75" River Rock Striker on jig head. When the water gets into the 40s, I switch to almost exclusively Zman Scented Jerk Shads, 4 or 5", on a crawler jig. Link to the crawler jigs, River Rock is a Virginia local and makes good stuff. https://river-rock-custom-baits.myshopify.com/collections/hats/products/crawler-head-jig

Humminbird Helix 7 or 9 MSI. Had two Lowrance units previously, and the Bird's Mega imaging is far superior. Have a 7 on my SS127 and it works just fine for me even with split screens. Good luck!

Usually rocky bottom with a big enough current break to shield them even in high water flows. Depth is relative the river system. Small flows a winter hole may be 4' deep, and in bigger flows you may need to find 10'+. A recent trip yielded some nice ones that were holding behind big isolated boulders in slow current, water was 46.

Been following it and I'm not overly impressed either. I've had my SS127 for several years and LOVE it, but the RVR just doesn't make me want to jump in the truck and go buy one. I run an 1103AC which mounts to the stock holes on my boat, the RVR requires an additional adapter plate. Like Hook2Jaw said, there isn't any internal storage either, and I like a clean deck. Will see, I'll have to go paddle one to be sure.

Lucky Craft Pointer 78s, 97s, and 100s are great for river smallies as well.

Took me four hours to find them yesterday, and they were at the tail end of a pool in about ten feet of water around large isolated boulders. Water temp was 46.1-46.6 from launch to take-out. Zman Scented Jerk Shad on a crawler jig was the bait of choice. Letting it sit on the bottom or very, and I mean very, slowly dragging it. Biggest of the day was right at 20" but skinny at 3lbs 3oz.

Caught one yesterday, roughly 16", that was missing scales on both sides but otherwise healthy. Looked like a flathead hit it at some point recently. Water temp was 46.6 at take out.

Got to test out my rig the other day(Bonafide SS127-Torqeedo 1103ac), got it to 6.8mph fully loaded going downstream into a headwind, and could get roughly 5mph going upstream in a light-ish current. Fished for 5 hours and burned about 30% of the battery. The display showed if I kept the throttle at roughly 2mph, I could run 40 miles! Powered through a moderate riffle without any issues, although in higher flows I would probably portage it just to be safe. Still used the paddle to position myself in tight areas, but overall the motor saved me quite a bit of wear and tear. As soon as the water comes down and cleans up some I'll get back out to my winter holes.

Buy the lightest paddle you can afford.

Find the relative deep and slow water on your river and start there. Keep in mind a wintering hole needs to be able to protect fish from strong currents even during a high-water period. Fished my local river yesterday, water was 55-56, and the fish were still holding in moderate current, but very near deep pools. Didn't catch any big ones, but the ones I did catch were lively. Suspending jerkbaits, flukes dragged or deadsticked on the bottom, and small finesse jigs are what I throw when the water drops into the 40s.

It does have an internal gps but no spot-lock, which for me isn't a big deal fishing in a river, as I am target fishing most of the time anyway. If I need stop I have anchors front and rear. The main reason to motorize my boat was to be able to open up miles of river that aren't accessible unless I plan an all-day, several mile, float trip. I fish solo 90% of the time so I don't have anybody to ferry me, and my good spots are all over an hour from my home. If I fished big lakes and was focusing on off-shore structure, spot-lock would've been a must-have.

It varies with throttle position, but at 2mph the battery will last 40 miles. Check out Jeff Little on YouTube, he's got all the numbers for these motors. Wide open it will run 6+ mph but not last as long obviously. Motor comes with its own proprietary battery, and the whole rig weighs approximately 20lbs. Doing a float trip it will not be needed, but for solo trips I'm stoked to have it. 3 clips and one pin is all there is to remove the motor at the end of the trip for travel. My SS127 is very stable but it's a heavy boat, so having the motor also helps with paddle fatigue, especially in current. Humminbird runs on a Noqua 10ah battery that is separate. Haven't killed that little thing in a full day yet either.

Just waiting on my rock guard from Innovative Sportsman and I'll be set. Expensive setup for sure, but it eliminates paddling upstream or having to have someone ferry me so I can fish rivers. It'll open up miles and miles of new water. Fairly easy and straightforward install.

Berkley X9 15lb hi-viz to a 12lb Seaguar leader(FG knot) on my river spinning setups. Berkley Sensation 12lb or 14lb on my baitcasters. Baitcasters are 99% for moving baits, spinners for finesse.

Same, these things are awesome.

3.25" Rage Swimmer on a 1/8oz jig head got all my bites yesterday in 56-57 degree water. I'm buying stock in those baits, I've probably caught more smallies on those than anything I have. Keitech 3.3" works as well. Even caught a 26" Musky on one yesterday!

12lb Seaguar Bas-X or Red Label in the rivers I fish.

I ALWAYS have a wacky worm handy on the river! Simple rig, weightless with a 2/0 ewg hook. Reason for that hook is that I can switch from the WW to a fluke easily without having to retie. Will sometimes add a split-shot if I need to get to the bottom. 4" and 5" Yum Dingers, and buy them in the 30 packs, you'll go through a bunch of 'em.

Trilene Sensation 12-14lb on my river baitcasters. I run braid on all of my spinning gear still.

130mm with 4/0 Trokar EWG, third cast ever using this bait. 22 1/4" right at 7lbs. Fished weightless it rides mostly upright and lays on its side when I kill it. Stuck a neko weight under the chin and it rides better upright and tends to just fall nose first when killed, definitely better over deeper grass. The 90s need a 1/0 EWG, 110s fit a 3/0 EWG. Going to go throw them around again here shortly. The 130mm I believe isnt going to illicit many bites, but they ones that do bite are going to be quality fish.

Thanks FryDog, that's exactly what I was looking for. I tend to carry too much gear anyway, so saving on weight and space is a big deal. Thanks again!

Thanks for the replies!