The Baron

Nice one @Team9nine! 😎 update from Canada: it’s dark and cold 😒

Thanks guys. I’m kinda leaning toward a Garmin Force to sync up with Garmin electronics, but gotta talk to my local guy about it.

Good to know. The boat does have a cutout for the trolling motor foot pedal. Our 165 has a refurbished MK Powerdrive with an add-on GPS/Spotlock kit. No foot pedal, just a remote. It’s been OK and we love Spotlock, but would prefer a foot pedal. So I guess that’s a cable drive version? I’ll be going into my local dealer soon to discuss options. First priority might be pull our Garmin UHD 93sv out of the little Tracker and mount it into the console/dash of the new Lowe. Then a trolling motor with Spotlock. Electronics at the bow might have to wait until our old boat sells.

As the father of two teenagers, I almost understand these comments.

100% the Bass Resource gang gets a say - and I’ll just show my wife the posts to prove I’m only following the great advice. 😊 But yes, my top priority is a trolling motor with Spotlock - I put one on our little 165 and we’ve loved it. For a 24v 80#-ish I’m not sure if that means Terrova or Ultrex or ?? but there’s a local dealer I can work with. Probably at the same time will be a 9”-10” nav/fish finder in the console and a 10”-12” at the bow. Just down/side imaging for now. We’ll see how the bank account is doing after that but I’d like to add a couple of shallow water anchors (likely 10-12ft Talons based on what little research I’ve done so far). For how we like to fish, those upgrades would really make this our dream setup.

Welcome, from Kingston!

Welcome, from eastern Ontario. I just saw online a 10# largemouth was caught in BC - I didn't even know BC had a largemouth fishery!

Well, I did a bunch of research and also found a good unbiased review on YouTube that was very helpful. Also turns out a buddy owns a Lowe Stinger 198 and has been very happy with it. So I made up my mind and bought a boat today - a brand new 2024 Lowe Stinger 195 Bass with a Merc 115 Pro XS at $10k off sticker price on clearance. After shaking on the deal the sales manager told me that with our weak Canadian dollar and threat of tariffs, their purchase costs are going up substantially. He said all prices are going up so I snagged a great deal just in time. The deal was already signed so I don’t think that was a sales pitch. So, we just bought our dream boat. Time to start thinking about add-ons. 😎

I’m still on the hunt for a 19ft-ish aluminum bass boat for the coming season. Does anyone have experience with the Lowe Stinger series? A local dealer has a 2024 Lowe Stinger 195 on clearance, making it an attractive option. I just don’t know much about Lowe boats and internet searching didn’t come up with very much - a few new boat walk through videos, no long term reviews or info on the ride.

Have you tried changing colours? (sorry… colors) 😝

I’m so happy I have no desire to own a $100k boat.

Once Christmas is over and winter really locks in, I pretty much suffer through it. I do a little rabbit hunting for fresh air and fun, go the gym, fight whatever gd cold is going through our house (I’m sick right now) and hopefully just stay busy with work. Watch YouTube videos about fishing, maybe get to the shooting range on a mild day. Thankfully we don’t live in a really cold part of Canada, but winter is usually a damp cold, add some wind and the odd ice storm and it’s miserable. I used to not mind winter when I was young, but now I dream about spending Jan-Feb in Florida (the pre-global warming Florida, not the snowy nonsense that is currently happening). Hopefully I’m able to spend some winter time in the south when I’m retired. 🤞🏻

I don’t wanna give up all the Canadian secrets @Pat Brown but when the fishing really gets slow, or if you’re just in a hurry, you can try a CIL wobbler. 😉🤫

Good to know - thanks!

I'm looking at stepping up to a bigger aluminum bass boat, from our Bass Tracker 165 Pro. A dealer not too far away has a 2019 Lund Renegade 1875 in great shape, with a Merc 115ProXS (that's the max. hp). I'm very tempted, and I can go see what I think about the layout and features but what I can't tell is how do the Lund Renegades last over time. I expect this boat would be it for several years, so I don't want it to turn into a rattle trap or leaker. My primary concern is it's a riveted hull (i.e. not welded), but I'm a small lake/calm seas kinda guy so won't be pounding it in rough water. The only thing that bugs me about our little Bass Tracker is the under seat storage is always damp-wet. I'd hope our next boat has dry storage. So, are there any Lund Renegade owners here? What was your experience and thoughts on the build quality of the Renegade?

I would have to post a picture of my wife to participate in this post, and I doubt that's appropriate. 😬 No hope of catching a 10 up here, but "someday" I'll go south. Heck, if I went south and caught a couple 6's I'd be thrilled!

Man, that's a tough call. I love SMB and LMB. If I was forced to choose, I'd say largemouth just because I like the way we fish for them. And high jumping SMB are a blast, but there's just something about how a big LMB wallows and you see that huge mouth - I think seeing that for the first time got me hooked.

Did @AlabamaSpothunter just call this Canuck a Yankee? 🧐🤔😝🙃

Wow, that’s pretty awesome fishing for anytime of year.😎 We’re in a cold snap here, and it feels like it’ll be forever until I’m fishing again. When I do get fishing again, I sure hope to catch one over 5#. I couldn’t crack that nut last year, several 4’s but the magic 5 never bit. 6’s can happen up here too, but they’re rare. A 7 is a once in a lifetime bass and could happen with a smallmouth just as easily as a largemouth, although my boat’s too wee to spend much time on Lake Ontario where the really big smallies live. It gives my hope to have the little boat ready to unwrap in April and go after some shallow water pike, to get warmed up. Hopeful a warm spring.🤞🏻

Oh, man - I hope you can recovery at least a photo from that card. Don’t let it ruin your memory though! (darn - no pun intended. 😬😝). Good on you for prioritizing the release though. Fish like that deserve such respect. 👍🏻

I’ve been pretty lucky. Lost pliers last year, and a rod sleeve that ejected off the rod when running down the lake. Had a funny episode with a buddy when I took a brand new Rapala Rip Stop jerkbait out, and caught a pike on the first cast. Got him in the net safely (no leader) and he thrashed around and tossed the lure in the net. I said perfect, and pulled the lure out and tossed it out of my way into the lake. Let the pike go and realized he’d snipped the line when he thrashed in the net. lol I did also knock a combo over the side this year, but I quickly plunged my arm over the side and pinned it against the side of the boat. Amazing how fast I can move when about $400 is sinking. As for wedding rings… I was hunting turkeys with friends in Oklahoma years ago. We were headed home, stopped in Kansas when I realized my wedding ring was gone. Long story short, my buddy found it in a towel in the laundry basket at his house - had slipped off my finger when drying off after a shower. Buddy mailed it back to me, so all good. I still joke that “I lost my wedding ring in Oklahoma” should be a country song. 😆

Geeze, I was really torn between the sad face for the reason and the “like” button for the sweet new pusher. I got a fishing hoodie (it says Under Armour on it, but I know I’ll wear it fishing. 😝). And that’s OK, because anyone buying me fishing stuff would have to guess what I want. I got my son a selection of different frogs, because that’s his favourite way to fish… and he’s a hammer at it. 😎

Some nice ones, Mike. It’s fun how one good day can put a particular bait into the favourite pile. (Yes, “favourite” is spelled correctly 🇨🇦 😝) Great job on the slow bite win @Bluebasser86 👍🏻 Update from Canada: It’s cold, and diving off the dock really hurts now.

Wow, I think this was one of my first posts in here. Fun to see it resurrected, as I’ve come a very long way in the past 5 years. I’ve got multiple (10+… would have to count) baitcasting rod/reel setups now and can’t imagine ever fishing without them. The Duckett rod I mentioned is still going strong and is on the deck pretty much every trip. I did buy that Chronarch 200e7 I spoke about and it’s still in good use - I’d buy another in a heartbeat. That reel is now setup with 15# copoly on a dedicated swimbait/glide bait setup for pike/bass (in that order of use). I’ve been blessed with the means to try many reels and I think the Shimano SLX/SLX DC reels are hard to beat for value and performance. I’ve got a couple of Curado DCs too, and frankly I don’t feel they’re any better than the SLX. I’ve not tried any Lews reels yet, but we have a couple of their Speed Stick rods (green handles) and are very happy with them for a $100-ish rod. I’ll be setting up a dedicated frog setup for myself next year because my 15yo son “stole” the one I had (and has whooped my butt with it too many times - darn kid has the timing down on the hooksets so good that I should steal is back and tell him go buy your own. lol). I may try a Lews for my frog rod, so I can speak first hand about a Lews reel. @Jsher19038 For a frogging reel, I definitely recommend an 8: speed. I’d also recommend a 150 or even 200 size for decent line capacity with 50+ lb. braid.

Awesome! I really gotta find a way to migrate south in the winter! 😩