Craig P

I do not have those specific models you mentioned but I do run a Dobyns, several St Croix and an E6X. I believe the earlier E6X were the ones people did not like but the later model was said to be better? I cannot confirm that as I never owned an early one. I will say that I absolutely love my E6X / MGL71 / 10# Sniper Assassin setup for Ned fishing. I swear I feel when they just look at my bait. Ok, a little over the top but the sensitivity is impressive and I credit this setup for landing me many fish that I may have missed using another setup. FWIW, before I got into bass fishing a few years ago, I was a trout nut and I fished Gloomis for 20 years prior, I even built a few spin rods off of their blanks, when you could get them so I may be a little biased but it is a rod or blank that just feels like home to me over any other blank I've tried.

I think it's funny how many YouTubers jumped on board. Anything to get a view....

I enjoyed that video because the fall-acy of bass chasing schools of bait just doesn’t seem to happen on my local highland reservoir. Problem is though, they draw down mid-October when water temps are still 65 degrees and there is very little wood left to fish. There is some grass but it is far and few between and I can say with certainty yesterday, they are not there. I’m not even finding them in deep structure right now and that is always my bread and butter. I am at a complete loss, are they chasing bait somewhere on the lake that I am not? Who knows for certain…..

Sniper Assassin Floro. Like Eli, I put that S$&@ on eveything. I do have a braid setup where braid is needed though and I have to admit, the FG knot has been treating me so much better than the Alberto.

I like Aftco clothing. I use the Reaper Windproof Pullover when the mornings start at around 45 to 60 degrees. If above 60, I use the Reaper Technical Sweatshirt. It is not cheap stuff but I bought them both at the same time and got a pretty good discount. I only wear a t-shirt under either of them.

I have two lakes that I often fish and they are in completely different directions of my house and I noticed something. The one lake, there is a Tracker / Ranger Dealer close by and it seems almost every boat is a Tracker and a few Rangers. The other lake, there is a Crestliner Dealer nearby, you guessed it, there are mostly Crestliner boats on that lake. My point, dealers matter and a good boat might not be as good without a good servicing dealer so keep that in mind if purchasing.

Are you properly marking on that unit? If you just hit “Mark” you will be marking your exact position, think man over board type of mark. On the Garmin, you should pause the sonar and then tap the actual structure you want to mark and then select create waypoint.

I do prefer it new. While I do want to pair this reel to this specific rod this is more of a “let me try something new” thing. As mentioned, the rod is not going to see alot of use so I want to keep it relatively inexpensive but to also dip my toes into other brands. I have a new Dobyns Rod coming in soon so finding a new reel for the E6X allows me to take the Curado DC currently on the E6X and pair it with the new Dobyns for football jig fishing.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to research the reels mentioned. As for not liking Shimano, I do like Shimano but I want to see what the other brands are like. You never know, I could like them even more?

I am looking to pair a reel with a G.Loomis E6X 783C MBR 6'-6" Rod. I do not need/want BFS but I do want something lighter that will cast 10# line with a Ned or Tiny Child Rig. While I really do like this rod for a small local reservoir that does not allow boats, I do not like the length while using my boat so I know it will only see limited action and I would like to keep the budget $200ish or below. And why not Shimano? All of my baitcasting reels are currently Shimano, it just seemed natural to use Shimano when I went over to baitcasting as all of my spinning reels are Shimano but I want to see what I've been or maybe not been missing? from other brands. Thanks!

I was not a floro fan after trying MANY brands and types but Sunline Assassin changed my mind about floro. I don’t use anything else now, SA and braid only where required.

Priority for me and has been done twice now on two different boats is trolling motor first but you must consider the TM with your planned electronics in mind. Remember that if you want to add additional transducers, including Livescope to your TM, you’re going to want a TM that is wire friendly or at least have a wiring solution planned. I can fish without electronics but I need mobility and this is why I say TM first. I cannot comment on poles, I fish reservoirs where the water goes from 2’ to 20’ or more in two steps so I’ve never needed them. As for starting with another boat, only your wallet can decide. I know I like shiny new things LOL but unless you’re spending 50k plus, you won’t get exactly what you want from the factory and you will be paying a dealer to add the finishing touches so why take on the additional expense of a new boat that isn’t necessarily needed.

Just a follow up. The “issue” has worked itself out, unfortunately, sending me back to the drawing board. I really liked the Ranger Aluminum RT series. I felt it was a quality boat at a great price point but after reading some reviews of people who have received them recently, I am re-thinking now. It appears the Rangers are getting the same treatment as Trackers in build quality and workmanship now. I had hoped that the Rangers would remain better built since Morris took over but they appear to not be and now get the same build attention as Trackers. Shavings everywhere, stripped screws, hatches not aligning, trailer issues, etc. Having owned a Tracker, I pretty much accepted their quality and workmanship as they are cheap but I just can’t pay for a Tracker at a Ranger price. Time to expand my horizons.

That is actually one of the things on my mind as well. Will this year's MSRP just get bumped up another K or so next year? Most likely.....

Good point about the economy and this thread should not turn into that discussion but I do see people who were bored during Covid getting out of the boats and RVs they bought. And bird in hand, I hear you there!

After 4 years with my 16' Tracker ProGuide Deep V, I made the decision that I want a true Bass Boat. With this in mind, the current market due to Covid is just crazy so I decided that if I was ever going to make a move, now would be the time to get the most value out of my boat, so I sold it today. It went quick and I did very well on it. With Covid and where I believe the economy will go the next 12 months (down...) I initially thought I would wait until next Spring to swoop in on a Covid purchaser who may then need money more than the boat they used just a handful of times. However, it appears that there is a dealer near me who has the exact boat I want in stock. So, would you wait for a "potential used" deal or would you just go buy the new boat that is in stock now? "In Stock" is a rare thing with boats today but I would not expect it to be next year. Thoughts?

I personally would not buy or own a boat if I did not have my own garage to store it. Weather just kills boats. I've seen 5 year old boats look 10 years old and after 15 years, they're sold to the next guy as a bargain fixer upper. Unfortunately those second or third hand owners rarely get to use them, they just work on them and when they do get it out on the water, something else breaks. While my boat is young at 4 years old, it looks and functions as close to new as you could get so on top of having controlled storage, it's right there for me to take a towel, tube of grease or wrench to. It does not take much to maintain it, heck, it's actually fun but for the guy who stores it outside or elsewhere, maintenance can easily be forgotten or put off and that only leads to a decreased life span.

Sorry to hear this. Love the Houstons. Thoughts and prayers. Been there with my Dad and I know the fear and emptiness but my Dad pulled through so we were lucky and it is proof of hope.

7 up and 7 down, regardless of braid or leader weight. Knock on wood but I have never had a failure.

I never “cared” about laws on this. It just makes sense to use it EVERY time. I don’t even notice that I do it, it’s clipped to my PFD and I insert it into the cutoff switch in one motion so I guess I’m “trained” in at least one good habit.

You don't need "leader" although "leader" is suppose to be of a more consistent quality than say a spool of floro, even if the same brand.....at least that is what marketing says. As for floro, I would suggest that if you are going to go through the effort to tie a leader onto braid, why not go with something that "may" give you an advantage in visibility....unless of course you want / need shock absorption.

7 years old is much too young to be watching YouTube today IMO. I see too often parents handing their kids an iPad and saying go play on the couch. If you must let your child watch YouTube, I suggest limiting it to the YouTube kids app only.

Always a snell knot if there is a long enough shank to support a snell knot. The reason for this is because of hook position when setting the hook. When you're bored one day, tie a typical hook with a uni-knot with about 12" of line and then do the same using a snell knot. Now point your finger on your one hand and loop the line over your finger with your other hand and slowly and easily pull the line to see if the hook catches your finger. I said easy right. Do this about 5 times. Now do the same thing with the other knot. You will notice that the hook tied with the snell catches more often than the hook not tied with a snell. This is something I learned through salmon fishing where lining or flossing a fish is common practice.....ethical, that's a different discussion but the guys who use a snell knot hook up WAY more often than they guys who do not use a snell knot. FWIW, there are not many places a Palomar cannot be used vs. a uni-knot so I always use a Palomar, it's more reliable and easier to tie IMO.

I've been using https://www.hagensfish.com for many many years for my lure making parts. I know they carry Gamakatsu but not sure if they sell the exact one you are looking for. Don't be intimidated by their minimum quantity order. They just add a dollar to the order if under minimum.

Are you certain your Tracker dealer doesn’t sell Rangers? I thought Ranger was bought by Johnny Morris. My local Tracker Dealer is also a Ranger, Mako and Nitro dealer and I thought they were all under the Morris umbrella.