Craig P

My last purchase on Amazon for fishing stuff was a BFS reel and while that was being sold on Amazon, it was sold by Shimano so just to be sure to check the seller.

Welcome aboard from a fellow Pa-er. I wanted to go to that show but life got in the way. I was there about a week prior and got out of there spending less (not much!) than $100. Not easy to do in that store for me, it has become a favorite of mine the last couple of years.

Not a fan of it. It’s just boring to me. To each their own though, a day on the water is what you make of it.

At one time, for a long time, it was wild trout as they are abundant in Pa. Bass in general is definitely my favorite right now. I wonder if I will ever grow tired of them and move onto another species like I did with trout? I do love saltwater fishing though and I go many times a year out of NJ. Catching 40”+ stripers never gets old, it does get tiring at times and I don’t care who you are, Sea Bass and Fluke fishing is just downright fun….and tasty!

I lean the same way as @Tennessee Boy with going cheap….but positively tested or reviewed. There is a channel on YouTube by Will Prowse, just search for his name and see if he has tested some of the ones you are interested in. Being you are on a Pond Prowler, I could understand some anxiety with having enough power to get back so getting a battery with bluetooth would be a nice option or you could add a shunt.

I spent last year narrowing down lure selection to what works for me so I’ll continue with what has been working. That has come with a side effect though. Since I am not buying as many variations of baits, I find myself spending more on those baits I do like. I seem to have developed a special liking to megabass baits and purchased some pricey JDM chatterbaits and V9 spinbaits. I can only hope they don’t catch! lol

I don’t know if you’re on Facebook but there are a couple of groups based on BFS that you can join. Many there run very economical equipment with good things to say about it. If you want some reading that is. I know for me, I have a couple of BFS setups that are on the cusp of just being light bass setups. While I fished my whole life using spinning gear and pride myself on my accuracy with it, it’s just too fun using light bait casters….I can’t go back!

Stop that! It hurts when you read my mind! LOL but definitely agree!

I do the same as you and employ more than just a couple of methods as I like several but I wish I could go back 6-7 years and tell myself to just get good at a couple of things. After that, start dabbling. Social media and marketing is rampant throughout bass fishing and the dangling carrot is hard to ignore. We all have dreams of catching the quality and quantity of bass we see on screen and getting distracted from perfecting a method is easy in the pursuit of fishing fever.

I can’t say I fell for it but I had to prove or possibly disprove it on my own, the endless amount of bass fishing techniques and baits. These endless techniques and baits force us to kneel to the bait money, the rod & reel monkey and honestly, makes us second guess every second we don’t catch. Find a technique or two you like and roll with it, the fish will come. I promise that!

Great post and great responses so far. I geek out about this stuff and agree with @Delaware Valley Tackle I often wonder if some of the manufacturers test their rods for their recommended weight, line weight and power or if they just print what the blank manufacturer states…and of course, if they actually test their rods too. Anyone who builds rods understands that cutting an inch off high or low changes a lot about a rod. Match everything correctly to your presentation and fishing condition……accuracy, length of cast, hook set and retrieving fish goes way up. Yeah yeah, I know a 7’ MHF is a great all around rod, it is but when you pair everything correctly, it’s almost like being in cheat code mode.

At your age, even mine, I know your son is old enough to figure it out. I’m with @A-Jay you’ll get it on your boat as soon as he figures it out….and buys all the parts. But seriously, I don’t know that your units are compatible. Even if they are, 7” screens would be tough to see for FFS. You might want to look into upgrading the unit you intend to use FFS and then of course add FFS along with it. I don’t know if you want to share waypoints screen to screen but if you do, make sure your old one can interface with the new one.

I wouldn’t limit yourself, just choose the 5 rods that best suit the water you’re fishing that day. I do this myself. I have my staples, 3 rods typically are always on the boat but then grab 2 off the rack if I know the lake offers something technique specific.

Double check that transducer with the Garmin 93. That is probably the GT54. Still good but the GT56 usually brings the premium price.

Thanks for posting this topic. I always thought I was weird or had some kind of medical issue. My on the water memory is off the charts. Ask me what I did yesterday not fishing, not so good. I know it’s just a matter of what grabs your attention but I do wish my daily memory was like my fishing memory.

@Aaron_H That’s a great deal for the visions. I will be stopping by there the next couple of days for some other things. Definitely looking that up!

Lots of good info here so I’ll keep it simple. Go to a store with display models and see what manufacturers interface is friendly to you and that should help narrow your decision, screen size as well. All of the major manufacturers are competitive, one may be a little better here, others a little better there but at the end of the day, it’s not light years better so you can’t make a bad choice.

YouTube got the best of me this past week so I ordered up a couple of these from a japanese supplier. $22 each shipped, ugh! The gist of the Youtube video was that these chatterbaits can be drug through tree branches without snagging…..as much. I’m going to test that! and my wallet will cry when I snag. LOL. But if they’re as good as advertised…….maybe I’ll pick up a more sizable order in different weights. If anyone has used these, I would love to hear your experience.

This is my theory on adding plastics. It gets in the way of a hook set so no trailers for me. Sure, it’s minimal on larger hooks but any impedance is an impedance.

I still shop Cabelas frequently for things they do sell. I like their free shipping if spending over $50 so I always wait until I know my order will exceed that price. On days I’m feeling like going for a ride, I hit up the one about 40ish minutes away and browse….of course always buy something.

Many years ago I asked my kayaking friend “How long do you think we can do this?”. We fished salt most of the time, drug our kayaks through many too long beaches and always seemed to call it a day when the tide was outgoing. He responded with “I don’t know, maybe 50”. I made it to 45. I loved kayaking fishing. It’s the most connected fishing one can do IMO. If you’ve never done it, you probably wouldn’t understand. I do miss it at times but backing a trailer into the water and jumping in the boat and firing an engine is SO NICE! Add in, no dry suit, no gearing up, yeah….you should sell that kayak. lol j/k.

Give a person a broom handle who has used a baitcaster for many years and they’ll cast it…..to an extent that is. Experience is key but I am a stickler for specifications so this is my approach with a little science in mind. Pick a bait weight and presentation style you want to dedicate a setup to. Or at the very least, a bait weight range and how you want to present it. With those specifications, you can now match that bait to a rod weight and action specification. With that bait and rod choice, what weight line and type would you like to use for the presentation? Do consider the rod limits, when a rod is made for X weight bait, it is wise to stay within it’s specified line weight. Whatever the line type and weight, find the diameter of that line. Match the line diameter with the reel specification line diameter, keeping in mind the drag and line capacity you desire and you now have a finely tuned setup.

I started using a French press about 2 years ago. I can’t go back, so darn good. It has to be beans though that I grind myself right before adding them to the press and the water 205 degrees. Worth the wait!

I want to catch them all! But I do geek out to the ecology of them all too.

Yea they do! I can’t tell you how many broken swivels I’ve encountered too but they’re not that expensive (in comparison to other brands). They do work though and throwing them on a bfs setup is downright addicting.