DaubsNU1

If you have a Scheels near by, check them out...they have Scheels branded rod-n-reel combinations that look pretty solid.

Man, this thread is great timing! I will be 55 this fall...thinking I have 8-10 more years working. Job is good, really enjoy working with my team, assistant director, my boss, executive leadership. My 51 year old brother will retire from teaching in 4 years. Last summer purchased his dream boat (Lund Alaskan)...much to his wife's chagrin! HA! His rationale: get the boat now, while we can still take our Dad (81) fishing. It has been GREAT! My biggest concern on retirement: what the heck will I do with all my free time? Love mowing grass, keeping up on house, and have an old 1972 Chevy K-20 to restore. And of course, fishing! (and hunting). Hopefully there will be grand-kids in the future. Staying healthy and fit has always been a priority...and will continue to be. I've seen way to many friends and relatives struggle with health...and not be able to enjoy retirement.

Horizontal rod holders in my V-hull. You might be able to fashion something similar in a canoe. I fish a lot of timber, and didn't want anything above the gunwale. These have worked great for 20+ years.

In 2004, when gas was $1.85 a gallon, I ordered this from the factory... 2500HD 4x4 with the 8.1/496 Big Block, Allison transmission, LT with all the goodies, including rear sear DVD for the daughters. This truck got 10.5 MPG city, and a whopping 12.5 MPG highway. I record fuel/mpg/etc. with every fill up. I once calculated the total amount of $$ spent on gas for the year...yea, never did that again! : ) It was my daily driver until 2010 when I got an Accord to drive back and forth to work. It was a great truck, loved driving it! Sold in 2019 with 140k on the odometer. Got in to a Duramax...getting slightly better MPG city (~16), and still daily-drive the Accord...it rocks 30 MPG all day.

: ) Works on me when it comes to lures / bait-monkey!!! I keep telling myself I don’t need a new rod, new reel…cause I know if I got my hands on the latest technology, I’d be ditching my old Cabela’s rods and hitting the Loomis site : )

All this “specialization” is just an effort to get fishermen to buy more stuff. Period. End of sentence. I’ve been fishing the same Cabela’s branded rods since the 1990’s…they do fine. Fish what you got.

I tracked MPG on my 2004 Chevy 2500HD for 16 years…every tank. Brands didn’t make much difference, but octane and ethanol did. I paid a little more at the pump for 91 octane, ethanol free fuel…and got slightly better MPG. Did the same with my 2014 Accord for about 5 years. At about year 8 I totaled up what I had spent on gasoline…@ 10.5 MPG, you can imagine how large that number was. It had the 8.1/496 cid Big Block backed by the Allison transmission. Great truck!

My brother suggested getting a roll-top tonneau cover for my truck…while it’s not 100% secure, it does pretty good. My tailgate locks…people can’t see in…and have no idea valuable are under there. Bonus, tonneau cover keeps rain and snow out. Kicking myself for not getting one sooner! Easy to keep 7 foot rods in my 6.5’ bed. Brother’s bed is shorter…no problems keeping rods in there all the time. Something to consider.

Old school laser eye titanium SB, from the 1990s.... Two have broken in this way recently... Was looking to get more titanium SBs, or is there a better, more durable SB option? I do fish lakes with pike.

Yea, for some stupid reason I stopped throwing them...I'm glad they are back in my arsenal. Easy to fish when the wind picks up and I need to work the trolling motor to stay on fish.

It is 14' long, 60" wide. I stand a lot when fishing alone. The trolling motor battery is under front deck. Decking / weight definitely helps with stability. Check my albums for more pictures and details of the build. The boat is 1960 Rich Line...20hp Merc is from 1974. Works great for the lakes in Eastern Nebraska. Lots of 5mph limit...I don't mind bouncing off trees...don't have to deal with big water / big chop. Check out Tiny Boat Nation...they have an Amazon store, Youtube channel, and a FB page. I got lots of great ideas from that group.

Buddy from Texas pretty much taught me how to bass fish when we lived and worked in NE Missouri in the 1990's. Spinner baits, jig-n-pigs, t-rigged worms, Slug-Go...those were our staples. We caught fish. I learned a lot from that man! I was out of the game for 18+ years while my daughters grew up, played sports, went to school, moved a few times. Got back in to fishing a few years ago and found this site...and all the new-to-me lures and techniques (Senko, NED, squarebill, drop shot, shakey head, etc.). This spring I decided to go back, and concentrate on some of my old school lures....and they have been producing! Some very nice 2-3lb bass on spinnerbaits, and some nice 4-5lb bass on jig-n-craws. What is your old school lure / technique of choice??

Thanks! Aluminum from Lowe's / Home Depot, riveted together for framing. Floor is 9-ply Baltic Birch plywood. My Dad's a retired carpenter...he used this to make drawers...it's rock solid. I coated with two layers of marine epoxy. Was going to carpet the decking...but it is doing good as is. I really like it! A few more pictures. Echomap up front, on my trolling motor. A before picture.... Main goal was to mount Garmin up front...then decided to add decking...then thought I had better replace the transom wood...It fishes 1-2 guys great. Before I could get 23MPH from the old 20hp Merc...Now I'm getting right at 20 MPH max. I'll take it!!

I've got a 40lb Minn Kota on front, with it's own battery under the casting deck. The rear battery runs my two Garmin's, bilge, and lights. Both my batteries are Walmart deep cycle marine, about $100 each.

I gamed a lot back in the 1990's -- Doom, Wolfenstein, Call of Duty on the PC. Had some cool Star Wars games on the computer. When my kids were young in the early 2000's, we got an xBox 360 & Wii. Daughter and I loved to play guitar hero and NCAA football 2007. When daughters got involved more in sports, the gaming pretty much stopped. I will play some NCAA '07 in the winter...between hunting season and ice-out, just to kill the time. I've got no interest in games any more. Heck, I don't even turn on the TV much, except to watch college football and some NFL here and there.

Welcome!! Great that you will be able to share the fishing journey with your kiddo!

My boat is small, so I don't have a measuring board right now. I have two measuring tapes on the gunwales of the boat. Quick way for me to measure fish before returning to the water. ** Following, as I would like to add a measuring board...easier to take picture of length. **

My preferred method is spinning rod with braid to fluoro. I do a barrel swivel and 12" leader...they tend to twist the line pretty good.

KVD 1.5 or the Crush 50x

Agreed! Caught my PB largemouth bass on a rainbow trout colored Slug-Go many years ago... I tie one on every now and then.

My method to dry spinnerbaits, jigs, anything with hair... Let out about 6' of line. Then twirl / spin the bait overhead 5 or 6 times...sometimes more if needed. Pretty much dries them out, and ready to go back in the tacklebox.

I bring my own pillow, a noise machine, and ear plugs. My biggest issue is humidity...hotels can be so dry. I get a towel from bathroom, soak in hot water, then place over the HVAC unit...helps create some humidity. And run the shower with hot water, and leave in the bathtub over night.

How is the water clarity? I like your idea of a spinnerbait. I'd start in the 2-6' range with the SB, then try a NED or t-rigged plastic worm. Rocky ledges, toss a small crank, square-bill, or jig-n-craw and target smallies.

10-12" worms, jig-n-craw, big swimbaits. Focus your attention to shaded areas in middle of the day.

As long as your vehicle is equipped / rate for E85, I say run it. They are designed to handle it. I've been running ethanol blend (~10%) in a 2004 Accord purchased four years ago. I've put close to 60k on that car, it runs like a top, and knocks down 30 MPG all day long. That said...I always run ethanol-FREE fuel in my outboard, ATV's, mowers, blowers, trimmer, generator, power washer, etc. Even my 40+ year old Lawn Boy gets ethanol-FREE gas mixed with oil for the 2-stroke engine. That thing sits for months, even years at a time...and still fires and runs great. If your car sits for long periods of time, especially in the winter months, I would steer clear of E85.