Stratocat_Joe

I was a Marshal for a TW Pro Circuit event earlier this year and was paired with an angler who had just finished in the top 5 at the Pro Circuit event on Okeechobee. This angler told me he caught his fish there flipping but used 25 lb. fluorocarbon over braid. His reasoning wasn't because of sight of the line by the fish but he said braid has a different sound/vibration as it goes through the water that can sometimes make a difference.

I just watched "What's Happening, Roland" on YouTube and he was out in the Everglades in his canoe. He actually got out to wade fish and draped a length of rope over his shoulder so the canoe wouldn't drift away in case he saw an alligator and had to jump back in! I hope I feel like I can move that fast when I'm 81 years old! I've seen some old video footage of him wade fishing years ago at Santee Cooper, too...and there's no shortage of alligators there, either!

My wife and I were in the market for a SUV last year after the birth of our son. I had just purchased my Bass Tracker Classic XL and wanted something family friendly to tow it with. We decided we wanted the 3rd row capabilities and looked at several options (Honda Pilots, Dodge Durango, Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia). We decided on the Chevy Traverse due to its cargo capacity. I used Car Gurus to find vehicles that met our list of demands (AWD being among them). I tried negotiating with the local dealer but they wouldn't come down on the $35K price. I found a 2019 with only 3K miles on it, still under factory warranty, for just under $30K (after taxes) in Houston, TX. It cost me $150 for a plane ticket to Houston and a 10- hour drive back home but I was willing to do that to save $5K! I'd recommend using Car Gurus to check prices.

Thanks for the insight, everyone!

For Father's Day, my wife purchased a gift certificate for a guided trip on Lake Eufaula (AL/GA). I am guessing that tips are generally expected at the end of guided trips, correct? If so, how does one usually determine the tip amount? Is it the standard 15-20% used when tipping at a restaurant?

As someone who recently moved to SW Georgia, only a little over an hour away from the fabled Lake Montgomery, the story of the world record bass allegedly caught there has captivated my attention. As mentioned earlier, the Bass Pro in Macon has a nice display honoring George Perry and the legendary fish he caught. Perhaps some have already Googled this but I thought I would share this article written about George Perry for Game & Fish magazine in 1953: https://tpwmagazine.com/bass/worldrecordbass/

No. There was nothing blocking the blade from spinning. I even bent the arm out a bit so the blade wouldn't hit the head like it's designed to (hence, the Hammerhead name) but that didn't seem to make any difference. Yeah, I was excited to try it out! Hopefully, I can figure out a way to make it work. I was using a 6:3 reel, so I wasn't reeling it too fast...it would work for a few yards and then just start twisting. I've always liked War Eagle buzzbaits. I put one of those back on and had no issues.

I received a Greenfish Hammerhead Buzzbait as part of the MLF Champions Club last month. I decided to try it out for the first time but all it seems to do is twist in the water. I tried it with and without a trailer (Z-Man Goat and a soft-plastic toad). Without the trailer, it would work for a few yards in my initial retrieve but then it would just start twisting in the water. I've used all sorts of different buzzbaits and never had this issue before. I cut it off and put a different buzzbait on and had no issues, so I'm pretty sure it's not an issue with my rod/reel/line setup. Has anyone else used the Greenfish Hammerhead? Any ideas to make it run right?

Yes, I followed the instructions. I even tried to sync it while I was on the phone with a MG customer service representative who painfully walked me through each step.

I currently have the Motorguide Xi-3 with Pinpoint GPS. I love the trolling motor but it only came with a handheld remote. For Christmas, my wife bought me the wireless foot pedal, which runs on two AA batteries. At first, the pedal worked great but it appeared that the batteries drained after about 6 hours of use as the pedal would stop working and I had to use the remote. However, this past weekend, I took my boat out for the first time in about a month. I changed the batteries in the pedal before going out but, when I got out on the water, I couldn't get the pedal to sync with the trolling motor. I've contacted MG and they said it's a warranty issue and I need to take it to a dealer, which is about an 1 & 1/2 hours away. I'm going to take it to get it fixed but I was curious if anyone else had a similar issue with the wireless foot pedal for the MG Xi-3/Xi-5?

Like others have said, I'd recommend trying a few options out before purchasing. That being said, I've been a fan of FeelFree kayaks for a while, mainly because of their stability. Like you, I like to stand and fish. I started off with the FeelFree Lure 11.5 (the Lure also comes in a 10 ft. Model) and loved it but, after a couple of years, I wanted a pedal drive. I found a deal on a Dorado and fished out of it for a season before my son was born. I decided I needed a boat for my family, so I sold the Dorado for what I paid for it and put that money towards a boat. The boat is great but I also missed the simplicity of kayak fishing when it's just me going out. I found a deal on a slightly used Moken 10 V2 for $500 and picked it up. When standing, it rocks a bit more than the Lure but, once used to it, I stand and fish out of it with no problems. For reference, I'm 5'10 and 175lbs. Just remember that there is a trade-off in kayaks for stability. The wider they are for stability, the slower they are when paddling.

Since using a spinning rod for jerkbaits has become popular, I'm curious if anyone uses a spinning rod for topwater walking baits? It seems to me that the same reasoning for using a spinning rod for jerkbaits (i.e. longer casts, easier bait movement w/o moving the bait very far, etc.) bodes well for also using a spinning rod with topwater walking baits, right?

Although I'm originally from Missouri, I recently moved to SW Georgia, about an hour from Lake Seminole and Lake Eufala. It was my first time on Seminole and I was fishing a pocket with a Zoom Horny Toad. I decided to lay that rod down on the deck of my boat and try a different rod/lure. The toad was just slightly hanging over the side of the boat when I noticed something coming up from underneath. Being from the Midwest, my first thought was this is going to be a fish. Then, I quickly realized it had teeth and a snout! As this was my first experience with an alligator, I let out an "Oh, no!", which caused the gator to freeze just underneath my lure. I'm no expert on estimating the size of a gator but I was in about 10-12 feet of water with visibility of only about 2-3 feet. All I could see was the teeth and snout...I never saw the body. We both froze in that instant. My first thought was "Please don't eat my Horny Toad!" My next thought was that I had to try to get a picture (again, first experience with an alligator!) As I slowly reached for my phone in my pocket, the gator must have seen my movement and quickly darted underneath the boat out of sight and I heard thrashing underneath some vegetation that was about 10-15 feet off the side of the boat! Needless to say, I learned a lesson that day... don't leave lures hanging out over the side of the boat!