bishoptf

Was going to try to get them out today but for some reason shoveling the driveway was more important, ugh....so ready for winter to just go away ..:)

I hear good things about them but just haven't found any on clearance and thats when I tend to pick stuff up. The latest batch of reels were 20-25 bucks, will see how they do but have had good luck with Okuma's.

I did 2 10" units (console and bow), i think right now basspro has them on sale. I have been happy with the 10" units, going from 10 to 12" was a big jump in price. One thing to keep in mind if you want 2d for depth while running DO NOT get the gt56 transducer, you will want the 2 units WITHOUT a transducer and then get the combo unit gt8/gt56 which will get you a thru hull unit gt8 and then your side and down with the gt36 on the transom.

Probably late to the game but I will give you my .02 and probably not worth that but I was in your same spot last year when I got a new boat. They all have pros and cons and it just depends on what is most important to you. I rigged my boat myself and being an old engineer I tend to get in the weeds when researching. After thorough research I will give you some of the things that at least steered things for me. Again I don't think there is any wrong answer they all pretty close these days imho. I went with 2 echomap ultra2's and garmin force trolling motor, mega 360 and a helix head unit for that one. Here are some of the things that steered me towards Garmin... Some pros: My older boat I had humminbird and I do think they have the best Side/Down imaging but the newer Lowrance and Garmin units are pretty close. When Garmin came out with the GT36/56 transducer I think they closed the gap in regards to side/down and the same for Lowrance HDS Pro units. Wireless networking with the new echomap units (only works with 2 units though), even the Garmin force wirelesses links to the units. Brushless TM (they are all brushless now, but the old MK ultrex was not brushless, the new Quest Ultrex is, the brushless motors are stronger and way easier on batteries, they still sell the old Ultrex so FYI. All the brushless motors can run 24v OR 36v.) I also did not want a big ole cable going to my foot pedal and have to deal with it at the front of the boat, Garmin force has a wireless foot pedal. I have no lag that I can discern, it is different from a cable steer but seems to work well. Even though I was not going initially with FFS I felt that Garmin had the best FFS and if I wanted to add it in the future it would be an easy add. Garmin units, at least the latest echomaps (I did not look at the gpsmap units) are quick release units. They have a latch and snap in and out of the cradle, my boat does not stay at my house and its easy for me to pop them in/out and take home etc. Might not be something important to you but it is convenient. There are more but I think it really does come down to which ecosystem you want to live in, they all will work. I will also add that Garmin support has been top notch. I have had issues with my Force and its rare that you can call someone and get a tech in the US within a reasonable time and they work through the issue. I've called them on the water to troubleshoot stuff, I have a lot of charging electronics and that was not there issue but they helped me figure things out. They have sent replacements if needed and really support the product. Maybe the others are as good but I was glad to see that at least Garmin supported the product. My main niggle is like was mentioned above, if you hit spot-lock while moving you will back up. I have learned how to deal with it I hit spot lock and when it slows you down and starts moving you backwards I just turn it off and back on. So I tend to hit it a couple of times and it works pretty well, I do use it alot when I am coming in hot to an area and use it to slow or stop the boat, just have to get used to how things work. One thing to think about that I missed initially is you will want a heading sensor WITH any unit that you are going with. GPS direction on works IF you are moving, called course over ground. Each brand has one called something different but they are basically magnetic compass that ties in with your unit so when your not moving your maps are still pointing in the right direction. If you have any specific question about garmin just let me know, maybe some of this rambling may help....attached a couple of screenshots with my phone, if you dial things in you can clearly see fish on side imaging...

I need to pull them off and get them on their way. I assume just send them to the address on the website, should I mention being a bassresource member so I get the special treatment

Yeah I mean I bought most of them for $20-25 so upgrading the drags not going to brake the bank, lol. Interesting the Okumas have a lot of grease, the Ugly tuff almost none and the Shimano is in between. I debating on sending you my Citicas for a good cleaning, while I like the reels and they have been with me for some time, I just like the low profile reels much better and just havn't made up my mind if I want to keep them or not. Probably should send them in and then see where they are when I get them back.... I had heard that but I also hear that the new presidents are not nearly as nice as the old ones...but thats true with most things these days.

I've been called cheap and that I am but when things have been on clearance I stock up. The only thing that I have spent more than I should on is Baitcasting reels and then I still purchased on AE for some mgl reels. I needed some additional spinning reels and Okuma has been pretty decent to me, so I picked up some Okuma Avengers on clearance, Ugly tuff and Shimano Nexave. All were clearanced priced and thought what the heck. Pretty much knew what was going to be in the Okuma Avengers since I had some similar from DSG, three stack felt drag, the Ugly tuff was pretty similar. The one that kind of threw me was the Shimano Nexave, it only has one felt washer along with the metal washer. Was really surprised to see that, I know they retail for about $50 but that just surprised me though. My other Shimano spinning reel that I have had since I was a teenager ( a long time ago) a Sienna is with my son at college so I have nothing to compare it too. Is this normal for Shimano Spinning reels in regards to the drag or just the lower end models? Just thought I would ask since it was different. The ugly tuff is a little different also, heavier than most since its an all aluminum frame, which is kind of nice. The other oddity is that the handle screws on, first time I had seen that, comes with a 7 year warranty to boot. The Okuma Avengers are smooth and like the ones they make for DSG seem to be well made, I've caught many decent size largemouth on them and never an issue. All reels are in the 25 or 30 size and ordered carbontex drag washers to update all of them from smoothdrag.

Ive been like a king through most of the baits and there are a few SK stuff that didnt have the banner on them, maybe it is all of the SK but maybe not. Couple of examples, sk hack attack jigs, sk mini king spinner baits...there were a few others also. Again they all may ring up but you just want to make sure they do.

Just went back to Academy and the discount has increased from 30% to 50% additional discount so anything on clearance take 50% off the green clearance price. Picked up some more kvd elite jerkbaits for 6.50. The one near me has lots of crankbaits, spro, frittsides, river2sea, lots of stunnas..right now they have a bunch of stuff.

The In store Academy clearance will on get better, not sure if its each week or every 2 weeks they will continue to mark stuff down. The one store I went to locally had bins full of stuff. The clearance is UP to 65% then additional 30%. I also had a gift card and have been wanting to try some spro baits, lil johns and lil john md 50 baits and they had some. Marked down to 10.97 with an additional 30% making them $7.67. Not all the colors but picked up cell mate, craw and citrus. They also had Berkley Stunna's and KVD elite 300's in the bins also.KVD's were marked down to 12.97 extra 30% made them 9.07. I already have some stunna's and not sure what the price was for them. Also picked up one of the h2o express ulitmate jerkbaits the ones they had on clearance were $3.50. They had lots of spinnerbaits and plastics also, lots of stuff and again will get cheaper as the weeks go by...

I know I am bumping an old thread but looking for cheaper jerkbaits and saw your post. I am located near St. Louis and trying to figure out what color for the lute in the picture. Since Basspro bought out Cabela's some things have changed, they still have the lures but maybe the colors have changed. I jnow your probably busy but if you could let me know which colors that you have had luck with that they still have I would appreciate it, I want to pick up some, thanks.

Just got an email from Tackle Warehouse, up to 75% off gambler lures/plastics.

I have plenty of arid-x and procyon that are MH to H and really wanted something lighter and shorter for some of my other stuff. Not really sure what the difference is between the HD rods and the EVO's they are at the same price point, I know a lot of folks like the HD rods but haven't seen much out there on the EVO's but heck for $32ea not sure there will be anything better for $32, lol. I usually can get the diawa arid-x from academy with a coupon for $40 and this looks on par if not better. I really like the full cork handles, wish I could have picked up more but I also got a couple abu vengence spinning rods which were even cheaper. I picked up 2 VFC-4-166, medium, moderate 6'6" rods and the one VFC-5-168, medium heavy, medium fast 6'8". Again they had a bunch of them and man was I tempted but Walmart also had some reels on clearance like Shimano Nexave Spinning reels for $20 and some other stuff. I think I bought 6 rods and 4 reels, lol.

So I just picked up some Falcon Evo rods on clearance at walmart. I know they are not near as nice and the higher end rods but I usually am on the cheaper side of things for rods and for $32ea I thought why not give them a try. Just wasn't sure what to expect, I liked the full cork handle and they seem decent for what the normal price was $79. My nicest rods that I have right now are diawa arid-x and wanted to see how these compare but thought I would ask what are the opinions of the lower cost Evo rods, thanks.

Another Walmart clearance find, this store had very little baits on sale but had a fair number of rods and reels on sale that the bait monkey made me purchase...Looks like most were 60% off.. Lews Speed Spin Reel, size 30 - $24(not sure how good these are but for the price why not see) Shimano Nexave Spin Reel size 30 - $20 Shimano Sienna 500 - $12 (Always wanted a crappie reel) Lots of rods on clearance: Ugly Stik GX2 - $20 Abu Vendetta cast - $36 Abu Vengence spin/cast - $22.50 (picked up a couple spinning) Profishency Krazy (sp) - $23.50 Lews Xfinity - $20 Falcon Evo - $32 ( I liked the full cork handle bought a few of these) I might have missed some but see pics below, I would have bought more Lews Speed spin if I knew if they were any good but bought the 2 Nexave reels they had, three falcons evo casting and two vengence spinning rods. Would have gotten Vendetta spinning but they did not have any spinning rods just casting, pics below. Just thought I would pass along, this was in mid missouri St. Louis area.

Yes they have clearance tags on the items that are discounted and/or just ths lower price. Again Ive been to probably 5 or 6 stores and its hit or miss, i think three stores had no discounts at all while the other three did. Not sure how it works but that is what I have seen. The easiest way to check prices is to download the walmart app and they have a scan feature that you can scan the upc and it will display the price for that store. I do that to verify all the prices, good luck!

Looks like Berkley Frittside's 5 and 7's are also on clearance if the store carries them, $3.50 or $4.00. I found one that had all the above and pretty much cleaned them out, lol. I didn't take a pic of the soft plastics but they have some powerbaits on clearance also. I am located in mid Missouri, St. Louis area so again its a YMMV but getting these for $3.50 I think is a pretty good deal if available, good luck!

This is a YMMV, but a couple of Walmarts have some tackle on clearance but it varies by store and pricing also varies. The one item they had that I thought was the best deal were some Rapala OG 6 crankbaits, couple of store have had them marked down to $3.50. Most have been cleared out but I have found one, still have a couple more stores to go to...Here are some of what I have found and local prices, they may have 1 or 2 colors on sale its not all of them, YMMV: Ozark shallow crankbait $1 (couple different colors) Strike King Redeye shad $2.50 1/2oz(2-3 colors) Zoom super tubes - $2 Ozark rattle lure -$1 (small and large, looks like a red eye shad copy) Berkley Lil General- $2.50 Berkley flat worm - $2.50 Rapala OG 6 - $3.50 Berkley Fusion swimbait hooks 5/0 - 2.00 Eagle Claw pro Series Jason Christie Spinnerbait Trailer hooks - $1.50 Just thought I would pass along....

Did you see these on the website? I looked for the shimano slx xt and it doesn't even show up on the website.

You have tonsearch for it, I did and they were already out. They may have some in store and should match but that was the only way I found it, DSG website is the worse ..

To bad they removed the anti-reverse switch, I'd probably be tempted. Not for me fighting a fish but sometimes I wind up to much and near impossible to open the bail, nice to be able to flip the switch to let some line out, for me it's just a convenience thing when I do dumb things, lol.

Keep waiting for that to happen here but hasn't happened....thanks for the heads up!

Pretty sure its Aliexpress...

Man I wish I could have an outing like that, threw a ned rig today along with a bunch of other stuff, one dink and one white bass. Its a grind right now for me, must be a location thing, just not sure where the bass are right now.

War Eagle! You and me both, ive tried lots of moving baits and going to fo this weekend and thinking of trying a ned rig. I'd like to figure out what to throw for the bigger fish but right now just trying to catch a few fish, 4 trips with nada for me...its warmed up and will see what else I can throw and figure out what they want.