Susky River Rat

My boat was 40k and was $258. I could see a bass boat being exspensive due to the speed.

Good luck! Be safe! And keep us posted

I don’t think there is any issue with buying it if you can afford it. When you feel like you need it but, can’t afford it that’s the problem.

@Swamp Girl it is interesting. I feel like most times people go to big water or new boaters and feel like they have to cover every square inch of it. I force myself to fish small. Could I be missing out sometimes? You bet I could and do! As long as I am catching fish I am happy. Even pros during tournaments fish small. They make an hour run but, it’s to fish something specific where they know fish are or were. They do not waste time.

I run all HG spinning reels and XG casting reels. I fish a lot of 1-8ft. I love cranking and they seem to get the job done. I choose to slow my retrieve down. Generally if you are using a deep diver with a XG vs a lower gear it’s more strain on you and the actual mph you bait will go is the same cranking as fast as you can. There was a guy named gear man Steve who tested the tranx 500hg and the tranx 500pg. Made sure he had the line marked to time the same an amount of line out per cast. Same lure line etc. he found the actual MPH the baits were coming in at were extremely close. The HG was just more effort. Where HG XG gear ration shines is slack line pick up. So for jerk baits and anything you need to pick up the slack line quickly without the drag of the lure.

There are people that buy 80k rock proof style boats with every intent to run them over rock ledges and treat them like a demo derby car where I fish. @gim I watch a YouTube boat ramp channel from down south. It amazes me what boats people have down there easy 250k for most of them.

I would be curious to know how many of these 100k bass boats are actually sold a year.

@MediumMouthBass if he only eats every other day he can buy brand name. Bass fishing is only as expensive as you make it. The more serious someone gets into it the more expensive it seems to get. I’m still under my racing budget a year.

Ahhh you can swing that . Just eat only Ramon noodles for the next 30 years.

I have a terrova but, cable pedals give you a great feel. I could tell where my head was just by how my foot felt on the pedal. Too bad you don’t live closer. I would give you the edge in my basement.

6th sense boosa shakey worm

I wear the strike bibs and jacket while ice fishing. Very warm they are made for sitting doing nothing so you can get hot very quickly when moving. As others have said not a USCG PFD. It’s considered a float aid. I think it’s only rated for two hours of floatation aid.

I try to spend most the winter working Saturdays. I did go ice fishing once but, I’m itching to be out in decent weather on my boat with my doggie. It’s getting to me for sure. I have new line I want to put on but, no point probably 1.5 -2 months away.

What would you consider not local? 1.5 - 2 hours away or 2 - unlimited hours away. I regularly travel 1-1.5 hours to fish. Now a trip to stay for a few days and over night I’d be going south west, south or west. I have a few spots in mind I’d like to get to and visit some old ones.

I think one of the reasons is fishing is so secretive. Everyone is looking for an edge or pile of fish that they do not want anyone else to know about. How do you teach someone to wiggle a worm? How many times have you tried to get a friend in the boat who wasn’t catching fish to do the exact same thing as you and it didn’t work for them? Mx/Sx is worse than fishing in my opinion. You have factory teams giving guys bikes with no salaries unless you are the top dog on your team. They may have winning bonuses but, no salary. The sponsors are usually team specific gear, boots, helmets, handle bars, etc. you get no money from them goes to the team to use their stuff. So unless you have a personal sponsor you’re just a puppet for your team. PED run rampant through that sport and they do not randomly test for it only recreational drugs. It’s to expensive to test for. The grooming of a pro motocross racer starts at age 4. That’s when factories start looking. By 16 they turn pro and by 30 they were already pro 14 years. Kids get pulled out of school with their parents living a dream through them. They mostly have no choice but to continue because they don’t know much else. “Hobby sports” will never been taken seriously and always be the black sheep to the stick and ball.

I don’t think they will ever overcome that. They have a niche market and honestly great boats for what you pay for them.

Interesting topic. I tend to catch bigger March to June and sept thru November. Can’t really say what happens. Just like walleye in the river over the summer they are super rare but, the cold months you can get them mixed right in with the smallmouth.

I don’t go by the size of the bass. I go by the enjoyment I get for catching them which is pretty much the same everytime.

First one of 2025!

I will pick up fishing line that I reel in. Like @MediumMouthBass way too many tweakers and weirdos to go around picking up their garbage. I’ve seen people passed out in their vehicles in the boat ramp parking lots. I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere but, a lot of trashy people hang out around our boat ramps.

@Craig P I fish there often when the river is too low to go. I can’t say I have seen any boat 8-10ft longer than mine. They look a lot bigger because of the freeboard and beam compared to a 20ft bass boat.

@J Francho I did not see anything other than a kill switch must be worn. Honestly I am willing to bet most boats being used in PA minus the Great Lakes are 20’ and under. Unless it’s a pontoon. This to my understand and digging into it is not saying that. Since it’s new for 2025 I would think if they are not exempt there will be some unhappy people. Usually though I rarely see the fish and boat commission out. The lakes get patrolled not so much the river.

Solid info. The one thing here is our fish tend to stay shallower because the flatheads inhabit the deeper holes now. They completely school up and pushed most smallmouth out.

@Johnbt I’ve hit rocks and trees under the water i couldn’t see. Smashed jet intakes just the nature of running the river here. Slow no wake is not the everyone will be safe and nothing will ever happen speed. It’s the most rational and used as a threshold. It’s just like work zone speed limited on highways.