backpain...

Behold the power of video editing.

The line could have gotten a tooth or a gill plate as well.

First one you grab out of the livewell goes back. Keep it simple.

KVD almost never does real well in the beginning of the season fishing the south and western lakes. He usually hit overdrive as the tour reaches the upper mid west and northeast lakes.

I am of the belief that a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. With that in mind, I do not ever use a leader with braid. If it is a situation that would require a flouro leader, I use all flouro. I only use braid in conditions where I can use it from reel to hook. If I were you, I would switch to all flouro in a lake with 10'-15' of visibility. You get plenty of feel in the low strech flouro. Again, some people do very well with braid + leaders. I can't do it.

I pass them on to teenagers from the church to use. Hooked a few on fishing over the past few years!

Rod by a long shot. It doesn't matter how smooth the reel is, or how long of a cast it makes. If you don't feel the bites you might as well be casting in the parking lot, because you aren't going to catch the fish. I have heard all of the woes and warnings about getting cheap bait casters because they will be torture. I learned to throw a bait caster on a $20 wally world special. Even now, I think the "best" bait caster I own is a Quantum PT. Am I missing out on smoothness and casting distance? Maybe.... but I would sacrifice that for feeling the bites and getting the fish in the boat any day of the week. IMHO a sensitive rod is a necessity, a nice reel is a luxury. I said sensitive on purpose, because you can get some pretty sensitive rods for a good price.

Get a Kistler Carbon Steel 7' Med and never look back! I got a few over the winter. I took it out a few weeks back and could feel every vibration of a rattle trap in a 20mph wind with 30mph gusts. got 5 largies on a day when I probably shouldn't have even tried to fish in my 14' tin boat back in early April. I hooked one fish when I simply felt the vibration stop. Set the hook and there he was a little 11" buck bass. I could also feel every thump of the spinner bait on the MH as well. They get my vote for the price point any day of the week.

To some degree it depends on your market. I saw a boat very similar with a console and a 70HP Yammy that needed new floors. The guy would have taken $2500 cash. I personally wouldn't pay more than $3500 for a setup like that, and that is if it has a good trolling motor etc. But in some markets that might be a steal. The name of the game is supply and demand. Where are you located?

By far my biggest flaw is not getting out enough. When I do I am so amped up I have a hard time enjoying the whole experience. It takes me an hour to really calm down and even realize I am fishing. That is an hour lost. I am sure I have a ton of other flaws like boat control, casting angles etc.... I am just too unfocused to realize it half the time lol.

My dad loves fishing, but he has always been a "bait and bobber" kind of guy. I never took to that kind of fishing and from a young age soaked up all I could via magazines, books, and later the internet and videos. I agree that the learning curve on your own is rough, but it is worth it. Only these past few years have I really been able to dedicate much time to fishing and even that is limited. I like to think I am still learning something every time I am out.

I have used Cabela's no-vis flouro for two years now without a single complaint.

Depends on what you mean by shallow cranks. I like using deep diving cranks in shallow water. I dig them into the bottom and let them float up off of cover when they get in it. For this I use heavier mono for the strength and floating factor. If you like to use small shallow running cranks I would go with 10# flouro so you are sure to get some bottom/grass contact.

Or walk it back under the surface and see what happens.

I have handled those rods at my local Dick's store and they don't feel too bad for the price. I have never fished with one, so please let us know what you think!

I have fished the back of a small boat alot. And when you are in that position most of your mid range casts are better off being an modified flip so you don't catch the guy on the front in the melon. I would say 30-40 ft would be the limit of an effective flip. If the bass are more aggressive and forgiving the backhand skip works great from the back.

Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate it. I just purchased the boat and have yet to get a chance to really see how bad the leak is. Every time I have looked at it I was in my suit and tie looking under as best I could without needing a dry cleaners visit. Hopefully this weekend I can get under there on my back and see fully what I am up against and decide on which product to use. I just know that I don't have money to pay a welder 225$ to stop a drip leak.

I have an LTA 7'6" flipping stick, as well as a 6'9" LTA spinning rod and love them like crazy. My brother has the same rods in the old LTX series and they are more sensitive, but I personally like my LTA's better. I don't like the wrapped style grips on the older ones. If you are lookng at the new ones that have cork grips, I like them better than the any other rod I have thrown.

Depends somewhat on the action of the rod. Personally if it mod-fast it would be great for small crankbaits and small treble lures. If it is a fast action, I would use it with weightless plastics like senkos and flukes, or even open hooked tubes. That is what I would use it for.

Sorry, I can't help you on that one.

I got an 81 Fisher Marine 16 ft Aluminum bass boat on Monday and I have a few questions you guys might be able to help me with. Question #1 Does a livewell overflow drain have to be above the waterline to work? I see only one thru-hull fitting beside the livewell. I am assuming both the drain and the overflow tubes would go to the same drain, but it appears to be below the waterline. Will it still drain? Question #2 What is the best way to fix a small leak? There is a small leak in the keel rib of the boat about mid-ship that I found by having water in the hull and it dripped onto the floor. It looked as if the PO simply gobbed silicone caulk on it and hope for the best. I am not worried, as it has a working bilge pump and I have an emergency backup. My wife on the other hand is freaked out a bit and wants it fixed. What is the easiest way to fix it? A local welder said he would do it for $225, I said no thanks... A friend gave me some plumbers epoxy (the kind in the tube that you kneed into a compound) and said that should work. I am hesitant to use that because I am not sure it won't corrode the aluminum making the situation a disaster. I wouldn't want to go from a pinhole to a pothole! Any ideas would be appreciated.

I had two 27 series batteries powering everything on my last boat. It worked great. I could use the electric motor all day, and had no interference in either my Eagle fishmark320 or my garmin gpsmap 431. The only pitfall I would avoid if I were you is killing one of the batteries. If you leave the circuit connected when not in use then the stronger of the two batteries will leach off of the weaker one until it will no longer hold a charge. The way to prevent this is to either keep them on a battery tender/maintainer when stored as I did, or disconnect the circuit when not in use. Good luck!

Make sure you change out the water often in warm weather. Using an additive that removed ammonia, and chlorine from the water also allows you to add ice to the water to keep it cool. I think keeping the water cool and fresh is the biggest challenge to using a cooler livewell. I have used one for two years without issues.

I use either a San Diego Jam or a Polamar knot. Both seem to work just as well in my experience. It just depends on my mood which one I go with.

On the topper the bench is probably a thin shell of aluminum with styrofoam in the middle for floatation. I personally wouldn't feel safe just screwing a mount in there and having a large pedestal. I would try to get access to the underside and having removed enough of the foam to get to it, put a piece of plate aluminum or wood underneath and use stainless steel nut and bolt combos with good sized washers for the base.