wishin4fishin

Holy crap.

Thinking about finessing a little more as summer progresses and haven't really put enough effort towards the Shaky Head technique. I've heard a little about Zoom's and Strike King Shaky Head worms. What do you guys prefer?

I just found out today that our location here in Lexington KY is calling it quits. Ours lasted two years. I made out pretty well. All hardbaits were 30% off and I grabbed an Abu SX lefty for 130 bucks! Can't beat that w/ a stick. Most of the right retrieves were cleaned out, but plenty of lefty casters to choose from. I hate to see 'em go, mainly because the closest Bass Pro is full hour and a half away in Cincinnati. I do order internet mainly, but this place was always good if you needed something fast for that quick un-planned half day on the lake. And it kept a few of our younger central KY boys employed w/ enough part-time retail income to keep some gas in the boat. Bye Bye Sportsman's Warehouse. You will be missed, even if the wife isn't exactly crushed by the news.

Hey BigRick, Where is that? I'm in Lexington and trying to figure out what body of water that is that you posted. Never mind, I see Cedar Creek Lake there in the caption.

Yeah, definitely not my cup of tea.

I'm new to outboards in general, and really have no reference points that I can draw from. I'm just not sure which manufacturer to consider at this point. Some swear by Yamahas, some are diehard to Mercs. I just don't know how to approach it. One thing I am clear on is the compression test and leak down test, run the serial numbers for the motor history, etc. Maybe I should consider what mechanics are available in my area and what they are licensed to service, maybe that's the way to start this process.

Thanks for the response. In a word - Yikes. So what to do? At what model year do I begin to feel comfortable w/ any of these motors? Is an 03 Optimax light years ahead of a 2000 or 2001 in terms of eliminating all the bugs, etc? I believe the Optimax first made its appearance in what, 1998? When did the Yamaha HPDI motors first appear? In short, how the heck do I find a used boat / 2-stroke DI motor in my price range that I can feel comfortable about? Especially with this being my first outboard experience?

After 18 months of planning and thinking about it, I think I'm closer to pulling the trigger on my first (used) glass boat, hopefully a 19 or 20 footer w/ a 200 to 225 powerplant. Wife is on board (no pun) with it and everything, all I have to do is sell a car and I think I can start shopping. But the more research I do online, the more problems I keep seeing w/ the Merc direct injection 2 strokes from 7 or 8 years ago. Unfortunately, most of the used boats I see in my price range are from that time period and they all have an Optimax hanging off the back. Should I steer clear of the 2000 and 2001 Optimax and try to get a Yammeehaw HPDI or an E-Tek? I've already made the decision to stick w/ a 2 stroke so I don't want to start a 2 vs 4 stroke discussion. I'm just not outboard savvy yet and I was wondering if I could get some opinions here. Thx!

Just. Not. Funny. :'(

I'll second that motion. I just received my Abu 702XL from Reed's this past Friday. I haven't spooled any line yet, but first impression out of the box is the amazing abundance of quality materials. This reel truly is over-built for this price bracket, probably in part due to the intended salt / freshwater application. And at $79.99 at Reeds ($89 shipped) it's hard to beat this deal w/ a stick.

OK - made my decision. I kept running back to that sale page on Reeds' website - at $79.99 plus shipping I figured I better jump on the Abu. Thanks everybody for chiming in on yet another A vs. B post.

I don't find it meaningless at all, RW, I know how solid Shimano products are in general, and that's why this decision is really tough for me. I love my Citica BC's and I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Symetre is a heck of a reel.

Awesome price at Reeds. This may have made my decision.

Actually Hawgchaser, your review was one of the articles that got me in this predicament in the first place. I was all set to pull the trigger on the Shimano over at TW when I read it. Please forgive me if I wait to see what a few others have to say. I must admit right now I could go either way.

OK guys I'm in a bind. I need a new Spinning reel for drop shotting and light plastics since my old Quantum gave up the ghost late last summer. My decision was made toward the Symetre and I even had the green light from the Misses 8-) to go ahead and buy and then I read a couple of nice reviews on Abu's rock-solid Cardinal 700LX. What I'm reading is that the Cardinal has nearly bullet proof materials and assembly, if not quite the silky smoothness of the competition. My price range is right at a hundred big ones and some change. Anybody have any strong feelings one way or the other and why? I've always loved the input I get here so feel free to enlighten me once again.

You bet! I was fishing a nondescript, bowl pond; casting out deep and bringing it up towards shallow water. What I'm jazzed about is fishing them along ridges and over pea gravel on the Tennessee River. 8-) Hey RW, are you throwing these on a spinning rig w/ your Yo-Zuri Hybrid?

Good question. Been wondering this too. I've put lots of money into my tiny little Loomis collection. Last thing I want is to damage anything. Same goes for the spool on my spinning reel.

A purist. You and my brother would get along just fine, Maxximus. Long live the Manns Jelly worm.

I hadn't seen fluoro mentioned much yet. I think that's been somewhat of a surprise. Braid mentioned quite a bit though.

That's OK Triton, I'm looking for opinions on 'generic' anytime - anyplace combos. This is awesome. Thanks.

Has this scenario been covered? Mods please pull this if it's been posted like 20 times. I couldn't find anything. Anyway, here goes. Imagine a day on your typical 1500 to 5000 acre midwestern lake and you can only have 5 rods rigged on the boat. You've never fished this water so the lake is unfamiliar. What do you take? List rod length, power / action, and type of line. Then briefly list what the 5 represent & what they cover - cranking rig, jigs and heavy plast rig, heavier swimbait rig, drop shot rig, etc. I hope to buy my first glass boat this year, and have assembled about 3 good rod / reel combos so far. I've bought a few used Loomis IMX rods from guys on these forums, and just ordered an 09 Citica E. I'm phasing out some of my old fishing equipment I've used for years fishing from the bank and now I'm trying to understand what kind of rod arsenal will be the most comprehensive for me once I have access to the whole lake. Can't wait to hear a few replies.

There is the Vibra-Trap line. I have no experience w/ this bait but it is one of BL most recent offerings.

I'm so glad I started the thread, I'm gettin tons of good opinions. Gotta love this forum.

There's usually a good selection of them on eBay from various Japanese retailers.......I don't believe Shimano markets them to the U.S. Price is usually from $7-$10. Detail is pretty amazing. I'll have to snoop around on FleaBay. Thanks.

I've bought about a dozen Rat-L-Traps in the past year, and at least five of them have felt sticky. The finish is actually soft enough that I can see my fingerprints in the paint, but they seem to go away after they sit a while. They're still sticky, though. :-/ Don't have that problem with my Red Eye Shads, Aruku Shads, Frenzy Rattl'rs, or BPS Tri-Vibes. I wondered about this too. The last batch I brought home did the same thing to me - I noticed my thumbprint on the finish as I was putting them away. Hopefully doesn't affect too much as far as performance, but it sure makes you scratch your head.