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I've been trying to use this as an example to my wife of how $40,000 for a bass boat is a bargain. She's not hearing it though. Hopefully they'll come out with a $200,000 bass boat soon. That might do the trick.

Are you sure those are black bass? I'll often see a lot of fish schooled up in areas like that, but they're usually crappie or white bass. When they are black bass, they're usually suspended off the bottom, pretty much asleep. It's usually not worth your time. You might catch one or two if you spend all day with them, but typically, they're not worth the effort... Except if you have livescope. I've seen guys with livescope or something like it that can pull an A-rig, jerkbait, or something through there and tease a bass into biting. You almost have to dangle it right in front of them long enough to tick them off into biting, against their will. That's hard to do if you can't see what's going on in real time. In my opinion, this is the one thing livescope will do that you can't do any other way. Annoy inactive bass, not relating to anything, into biting. I haven't done it myself, but I've seen others do it, and on days where the bass just won't bite anything, it can win you a tournament.

Yeah, it's probably still fine. I'll continue to fish 832 long after it turns grey and fuzzy. It gets softer and more flexible as it ages, and I kind of like that.

I think Power Pro has a thicker coating. So it tends to fray and fade less than 832. I don't think the number of strands really affect the fraying.

None really. Sure, I grew up watching Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance, etc. But they didn't really inspire me. My grandfather inspired me. Even today, while I'll pay attention to what the pros are doing, I don't really get inspiration from them. I might try something new because one of them is doing it, but I've been around long enough to know that what works for them on their lakes doesn't have a high likelihood of success with me on my lakes. Now if I talk to a guy at the dock who's killing it on pumpkin green senkos, guess what I'm rigging up first?

Did you have them install circuit breakers? Because if you didn't specify and pay extra for that, they probably just installed fuses, which are cheaper and just as safe. Either way, they should come right after the batteries in the circuit. Usually, you'll find them wherever the wires split off to their individual paths. Also, they should be attached to the red (positive) wires.

I really like the BPS XPS The Egg. And at almost half the price of the 6th Sense, it's probably worth a shot. As for color, I guess the depends on what your local lakes look like. Personally, I do the same color thing with all of my hardbaits. Two colors are all I need for any situation. I get one in either Chartreuse and black or Firetiger for dirty water, and one in whatever that brand's equivalent to Sexy Shad or some other realistic baitfish color for clearer water. There are a few exceptions in my kit, like red craw for prespawn presentations, but that's 90% of the hardbaits that I own, right there.

I'd hold off on taking it in. It still sounds like something simple. It'll likely cost you more time and money to have someone else fix it than tackle this yourself. So, does the battery charger connect to your cranking battery? Because it might just be charging your trolling motor battery. That wouldn't be unusual if your outboard typically recharges your cranking battery as you run it. Just like a car or truck does. And if either your alternator or stator is bad, or if the cranking battery itself is bad (which will usually show up first in cold weather), this could be source of your problem. Do you have a DMM? If so, read the volts on the cranking battery as it sits. Also check for any corrosion on the terminals and loose wires. If the voltage reads low (below 12volts), then take the battery out and take it to an auto parts store. They should have a device there can measure a battery to see if it is still good or not. Also check the water levels of the battery if applicable. If the battery tests bad, replace it. If the battery is still good, then it's likely an alternator or stator problem (or maybe the rectifier or regulator). But you might want to recharge the battery on a charger and then reinstall it to see if the problem continues, just to make sure. If the battery tests good but still dies on you, then would be the time that you might want to take it into a shop. Changing an alternator or stator and accompanying parts isn't too difficult, so it's up to you if you want to get that involved into this repair.

Sounds like you've figured it out. It's probably either the battery charger or the battery. My money is on the charger. What kind of battery charger is it? It could have blown a fuse or breaker, if it has one. Not all do. It might need to just be replaced. Also, are you sure the outlet is working? Have you plugged something else into it to check? Do you have another battery charger you can try? Also, you might check the connections from the charger to the battery to make sure nothing got loose.

The expensive Minn Kota connector is probably worth it. Here's why. Those SAE connectors, like what the Yak Power 5 Circuit Switching system uses are only designed to handle up to around 20 amps each. Maybe less. I have some on my 30 amp trolling motor and they want to get hot with prolonged use. However, I splayed out the male connectors a bit to give me better contact, and now they operate fine without getting too warm. That tells me I'm using these connectors right at their limits. And an Xi3 pulls about 50 amps, which means you'll want a better connection. On top of that, you will want this one to be watertight, if for no other reason than to reduce resistance so you don't lose power.

Ours had gotten pretty bad a few years ago, but it's improved a lot in the last year or so. I've also been told by a lot of people that it's almost impossible to get a job at our local post office, yet about two months ago, they were advertising that they were wanting to hire a bunch of new people. So it seems from my viewpoint that there were a lot of people that didn't care about doing their jobs and most of them either retired or were let go. Or they were massively understaffed and are now getting up to a full compliment. Whatever the case, it's now running about as well as you could expect the post office to run. Amazon, UPS, and FedEx have also improved a lot in the last year. They were all getting bad, even before COVID. But after COVID, they all just went to pot. Anyway, it's nice to be able to trust them again, as there for a while, I was experiencing about a 75% success rate on package deliveries.

Mr. Fusion for your all electric boat. Never have to worry about fueling up or running out of gas or charge on the water again.

Look at the trees. Even during a warm winter, the tress still lose their leaves in the fall and grow them back in the spring. While temperatures matter, it's far from the only thing that triggers nature to go through these cycles. The length of daylight and the angle of the sun, as well as the phase the moon, all play a role. In other words, the fish should still go to their normal wintering habitats regardless of if it's a mild, warm winter or a particularly harsh and cold winter. The extremities of the conditions may affect how long they stay in those spots and what times they move to them, but they'll always still go to them. Instincts are strong. And on a particularly warm period, they might venture a little further shallow to take advantage of that warmth, but they'll still stay close to their winter holdouts. The weather is just one small part in the large equation of bass behavior. We, as anglers, tend to overvalue it, if only because it's one of the factors that is most apparent to us. And while it definitely matters, it's far from the only thing that matters.

Oklahoma has a lot of outdoorsy people, so any accessible bodies of water near the big cities are going to be frequented. That means, I don't really get to have a quiet place on the water. There are a few I've found that are around 1.5 hours drive or more, but they're not good fishing lakes. On the flip side, we have enough bodies of water that everyone knows about, that it's also never super crowded at the lakes (outside of holidays). So you're never really alone, but you're also never fighting for a good spot. There are a lot of private ponds and such, but dear God, you better know the owner and have their permission! Actually, there is one quiet, public spot that I know of. It's the western side of the Oklahoma River just upstream from the waterpark. And I don't know if it qualifies as a true "quiet place", as you'll hear nonstop cars and plastic bags rustling in the wind. But the only other people you'll see down there will be the ones on your sonar.

I'd probably start with a 1/2 oz. blue black jig, but that could quickly change. Lots of times conventional wisdom will tell me one thing and the bass will tell me another. Always listen to the bass.

It'll probably appeal more to people just getting into the sport who typically value casting distance over accuracy. I'm betting it's more geared towards Millennials and Gen Xers (who may still be young to you?). But the youngest generation, the Gen Z kids, are kind of anti-technology for stuff like this. They grew up with everything being connected to the internet for no reason and having a 2-3 year lifespan before it needing to be replaced, so they tend to appreciate simplicity and durability more. They're actually the largest consumers of luxury goods right now (of course it helps that housing is so expensive that most of them are forced to live at home as adults which gives them lots of discretionary income). But they're learning to appreciate simple quality over gadgetry and features. They grew up in a cheap, throwaway world and don't really like it. Then again, they're not really the age that gets into fishing either.

My Lifetime Yukon is only 32" wide, and I have no problems standing up on it. That being said, I'm in my mid 40's and only weigh about 175 lbs. It took me a while to get used to standing, but after a few trips, it's second nature. However, stability has as much to do with hull design as width. So while 33" won't be ultra stable, it might be fine if you're in good shape and have good balance. The 10' foot gives me slight concern. It might be okay. But the shorter the kayak, the harder it is to push through the water. But if you're in good shape, then that's just exercise. I'd worry more if it were just a paddle kayak. I'm guessing it's 55lbs unloaded and 75lbs with the seat and peddles? That doesn't sound too bad. But the problem with a kayak being too light is the only way to do that is to make the walls thinner, and thus the kayak less durable. Still, 55lbs for a 10' kayak isn't ridiculous. But I'd still want to check the thickness of the walls before committing if I were you. I know some of the cheaper kayaks have problems with people's seats collapsing the walls from normal use, or kayaks bending while in storage or transport. So I'd feel better about double checking that out. There is an advantage to a heavy kayak, which is why a lot of the higher end ones aren't very light.

Some of this is just the result of more people doing more studies. I'm not saying to ignore this study, but articles like this can showcase our growing awareness of pollutants versus an actual rise in pollution. And that is good. But just because we have a study like this doesn't mean that wild caught fish from our lakes are actually worse for you than they were 20 years ago. We've removed other chemicals from our water supply since then, and added a few more. I guess my point is, we should be concerned, but not overly alarmed. We won't know the full effect of these chemicals for decades. So it's probably more important that we pressure companies to quite allowing them to get into our water supply than it is to stop eating fish right now.

True. But this can be dangerous. If something happens (like you get laid off) and you can't pay it back, you could not only lose your boat, but your house. Now you have to make two monthly payments or risk the bank foreclosing on your house (assuming your still making mortgage payments on our house). It can be good if you're in a stable situation and that's not really a risk for you. But you're putting a lot of eggs into that one basket. Yup. And it's often a good idea to have extra credit cards you don't use, if you're trying to build your credit. And never cancel a bunch just before you need a loan, as that can look bad. I've got excellent credit and a bad job, but I built that credit partly by having a bunch of cards and cycling between them for purchases. Then I pay them back online about a week later after the charges have posted. Not only do I get the cash back from my credit card (which is small, but adds up over time), but it looks great on my credit report. The trick is to stay disciplined and not treat it like a credit card. Don't spend money you don't have. Instead, just funnel your normal purchases through them temporarily.

A lot of kayak guys shorten the shafts. I don't know how much more difficult it would be to do on a Fortrex, but on my Endura, it was simple. According to Minn Kota's website, it can be done. But they say it voids the warranty unless you have it done by an authorized service center. https://minnkota-help.johnsonoutdoors.com/hc/en-us/articles/5416132971799-Shortening-your-Shaft So it might be worth the time and money to take it in an have it shortened. Or it might be worth attempting yourself, depending on how you feel about warranties and how handy you are. Or just use it as is, and see how you get along first with it raised up.

None taken. Yeah, I've never used one of those websites. I just figured it might be an easy way to hit a lot of banks at once, judging by their commercials. But if it sounds too good to be true... So I'll take your advice on that. Between my wife and I, we have several accounts through different banks and credit unions, plus our insurance company (USAA) that we go to for loans. So we never really go outside of that circle (except for dealers) for loans. Either way, we'll usually get at least three quotes, sometimes more, before settling in on one. It's not always about who has the lowest interest rate available. Different companies will use different methods of doing credit checks, so it's possible to qualify for one companies best rate, and another companies second best, because the two companies aren't looking at the same data on you.

Agreed. *Better yet, go to a website like Lending Tree and get a couple of quotes.* Then take those to your bank and see how they can compare. Then take the best quote to BPS and see if they can compete. Not always, but sometimes you'll find that if you can produce a quote for a cheaper loan somewhere else, the company you're talking will try to beat it. And if not, then you've got a better deal in hand. I've had it in the past where a dealer won't budge off an interest rate, telling me it's the lowest they can possibly go, and then after producing a better offer, they dropped it to beat my other offer. Doing more work on the front end can save you a lot of money. EDITED: *Or even better still, don't. Apparently, they sell your info to spammers.

I wouldn't worry about it. It could have come on a large pallet, and the staples where somehow used in securing the pallet. Or any number of things. So long as it works, I'd call it good.

Where I live, in the winter, if you can fish, you should fish. You never know how it's going to be until after you've tried it. But it's rare to find days where the weather allows for winter fishing (unless you're retired), so if the weather permits, it's worth it to fish. Because it might be another two months before you get that opportunity again. Winter fishing is all a bit of a lottery. The only real way to increase your odds is to increase the number of times you play. You'll lose more than you win. But the winning is still worth it!

Something I've been experimenting with this winter is a Carolina rig. Only I'm using about 12-16" of #10 mono and a 1/0 dropshot hook with either a floating trick worm or Z-man Ned rig worm and a 1 oz. weight. It seems to be working pretty well in the muddy bottoms I'm fishing. The heavy weight allows me to fish it from the bank and still access deep water. And the slightly floating, or slightly sinking worm stays just above the bottom where bass can find it. I'll try it out first to see if the worm floats or sinks. If it sinks, I'll hop it slowly like a jig or T-rig. If it floats, I'll pull it slowly like a C-rig. Either way, you have to constantly keep the line tight to feel any bites. It's about the only way I can buy a bite from the bank.