ABC123

I'm cheap when it comes to hooks, I use the same X-point 3/0 and 4/0 EWG hooks for everything but dropshot.

Wow, all I did was make a post backing up what Burley said, and I created a living breathing monster....cool. ;D

FWIW, I know of two Ranger owners (mid 90's trucks) that had put many miles on their trucks. Both were mainly used as commuter vehicles, with very little towing/hauling. My Parents have a '93 Explorer that has seen a lot of work, 200,000+ miles, with piston slap starting at about 185,000 miles. If they (the new Rangers) got 2-3 MPG better mileage, like the older ones (pre'95), I would have bought one instead of my Focus, and used that to pull my 16' run-about too. The bigger tires and higher stance really killed the mileage on those vehicles. My parents usually got 22-24 with their '93 Explorer, new Rangers are rated at 16-21???

1) Motor displacement has NOTHING to do with towing. The only thing that matters is low end torque for breaking the load loose and gaining momentum, and mid range hp for keeping the load moving. I could go on for pages, but... 2) Stopping is a very important factor. Never overwork brakes, they will go on strike, and not work, when you need them the most if you do. Wheelbase and vehicle height also factor in to stopping. If you have a short vehicle and need to avoid something and stop, you will run ito problems with your trailer trying to take control of the rear of the vehicle. Same thing apply's to vehicle height, but the leverage the trailer puts on the vehicle is a little different. 3) A very important factor that is all too often over looked is the frontal surface. Just becouse a boat is lighter, like comparing a 19' aluminum V hull, to a 16' glass Bass boat, doesn't mean it will tow better. This is where mid range hp helps keep the load going. Frontal surface effects the vehicles power and handling at higher speeds. The effects could be felt as low as 40-45mph depending on how mismatched the vehicle and load is. 4) When at the ramp, rear wheel drive is good, AWD and 4WD could be better in some cases, front wheel drive is bad. 5) Auto vs. Manual shift. 15+ years ago, if someone even considered the thought that an auto could pull as good as a manual, they would need to step back and set the crack pipe down. Today, there are some truck/suv auto transmissions that pull almost as good as a manual. Their (auto tranny) efficiency is up in the 90 percent range. Years ago, modified autos made it into the mid 80 percentile, stock was in the mid to lower 70's. Make sure you get a tow vehilce with an auto that is designed to pull. DON'T ask the salesman!!! Research on your own what type of tranny is in what vehicle. Some suv's and smaller trucks have car tranny's. They are not good for pulling. 6) The original question....A lot depends on the actual boat. Are you talking a fully rigged V- hull open aluminum boat or a Tracker Jon boat style bass boat? If yes, then I would say the Colorado would be ok. If your thinking a run-about type 16-17 footer or a Tracker fiberglass boat, you might be pushing it. Good luck and enjoy your new vehicle, I wish I could say that about my new Focus.

1) 6-12 oz on a LP reel??? My opinion would be I wouldn't do it. That's round baitcaster territory, IMO. 2) I wouldn't worry about monetary imbalance, I have a $100 reel on a $355 rod.

Think of it like this. "Daddy I need some way of making money and I don't want to work hard like you did to get my cut. Can you do something for me?" "Sure son. I tell you what. I will let you sell some of my baits under your own label but you have to put fewer baits in each package." "Great dad. Thanks a bunch." I haven't went indepth on who sells what, but I do like the looks of the Nories bug, and have not seen them in the GYCB package. I could very well have missed it though. I only buy certain color Senko worms and SwimSenko's.

Whew, my memory isn't a total loss...yet. Taken from the Kinami website: "Tournament Tested, "Fish Approved". The name "Yamamoto" is nothing less than legendary in the multi-million dollar sport fishing industry, and Derek Yamamoto has drawn upon that heritage to found KINAMI BAITS® company young in years but wise with experience, KINAMI BAITS® is built on the knowledge of generations of fishermen and determined to maintain the family tradition of producing the highest quality, most effective soft plastic baits available. KINAMI BAITS® features unique, tournament tested, "fish approved" designs and formulas. These affordable, premium quality, salt-impregnated plastic lures are so irresistible to denizens of the deep that success is a foregone conclusion! Derek Yamamoto's love of all things fishing began while sharing time on the water with his father, Gary Yamamoto. Inspired by his dad's ongoing legacy of quality and commitment, Derek has sought to provide even more fishermen with greater access to some of his favorite, most effective products. This has led Derek to develop KINAMI BAITS®. In Japanese, "KI" refers to the spirit or heart, and "NAMI" means wave a perfect moniker for a line of products that recognizes fishing as not only a sport, but as a way of living, thinking...and breathing."

Kinami is produced in the same factory as Yamamoto. Now, there is no doubt I could be wrong about this, but I thought I read somewhere that Kinami is Mr. Gary Yamamoto's son's line of bait???

Don't hold me to this as fact, but I think Daiwa and Abu baitcasting handles interchange. Get ahold of a Daiwa handle and find out.

Weight is as important as you want it to be. For me, it was high on the list of important features, but was not a driving force. Keep in mind, a spinning reels weight effects the balance of a set up much more than a baitcaster. The center of gravity on a baitcaster can be 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches from the center of the rod, whereas a spinning reel's can be upwards of 3-4 inches. The impact is much greater with the spinning reel. Now, factoring in weight can get tricky. You have graphite, Mg, Ti, and various other alloy's that can make reels lighter. It comes with a price though. Either you give up quality to get a light weight graphite reel, or you give up lot's of $$$ for light weight materials and/or weight reducing machining. Some makers, like Pflueger, offset the cost of the materials by building their reels in remote jungles in Asia for pennies a day. It may sound like a jab at Pflueger, but I do own 4 of their reels, and I would buy them again if I had to replace them.

I don't know if I'd put the Avid in direct competition against the IMX. The Avid lineup is nice, but it isn't THAT nice, IMO. The GL3 is more of the competitor to the Avid, although I like the Avid more than I like the GL3. I wouldn't, but you never know what salespeople will say to make a sale. I don't know what the 2008 models are like, but I wouldn't even put a Legend bass rod in the same catagory as an IMX for the simple fact the Legend rods have or had, such a bulky blank. I'm thinking that A.R.T took care of that, but I would like to see a new one up close.

I'm not sure if people know this, so I will explain. Mann's makes a lure series called 1 minus. In this series there is the standard/plain/unnamed 1 minus, mid 1 minus, baby 1 minus, and tiny 1 minus. The standard/plain/unnamed one is 3 1/4" long-5/8 oz The Mid one is 2 3/4" long-3/8 oz The Baby one is 2 1/4" long and 1/4 oz The Tiny one is 1 1/2" long and 1/8 oz The name comes from the size (Baby, Tiny, Mid, ect...), and the fact it dives 1 foot or less (1 minus).

I have a Mann's baby and like it, but it has not see enough water time to judge longevity. Rapala countdowns. Cast it out and crank it in. It will run about a foot or two. Cast it out and wait a second or two and it will run 2-4 feet. Shallow Shad raps and Fat raps can be run shallow.

I boycott the airline industry, I'll drive down south to fish their "world famous" lakes, and try to shop at Erickson brothers companies as little as possible (Gander mountain is one of theirs). Storm makes a few good products, like the hot-n-tot, but their line in general leaves much to be desired. I already posted about Mercury and Berkley in the brand loyal thread. In general, I don't hold it against a company for making a bad product or two. It happens. What they charge for their product is what ever they want. If I see a reason to pull out the $$$ to buy something, I will, otherwise I will pass, and that is what makes the freedom of choice in America so great. Trying to create a monopoly, or limit choices is my main beef with company's. This is where Mercury/Lund/Brunswick/ect... and Berkley make the top of my list, and why the airline industry and E bros. are on my s__t list too.

Ok, let's put this all in one place.... Legend Elite...SC-V blanks. A.R.T and I.P.C tech. SiC concept guides. DNPS seat and Select cork. Legend tournament...SC-IV blank. A.R.T and I.P.C tech. Alconite guides. SKM seat and Select cork. Avid rods...SC-III blank. Alconite guides. I.P.C. tech. ECS or TCS seat with Select cork. A.R.T is St Croix's acronym for using carbon fiber. It is ONLY found in SC-V and SC-IV blanks!!! Disclaimer....the only info I have access to is on the 'Net. All the above info is from deep inside St Croix's website.

Both have their good and bad. Transom mounts will be just like having an outboard, but you will be able to turn sharper, run nearly silent, and not have to worry about the motor starting. Cost is low and instalation/removal is a snap. On the bad side, it will be just like having a gas outboard. You will have to use a hand to drive the boat if you plan on moving while fishing. You will be stuck in the back of the boat fishing too. Boat control is not as good as with a bow mount. Bow mounts have their good and bad points too. Bow mounts will allow you to control the boat better when fishing on the move. You will be able to move around more with the foot control, and move anywhere with the wireless control. On the bad side, cost is much more. Dealing with the cord on them might not be a good thing all the time. It is a tough call IMO. If keeping the cost down is important, just get a low cost transom mount. If you want a really great set up, and puting out the extra cash isn't too much of a concern, go wireless bow mount. I know some of the Minn Kota's have 18' cords, so puting the wired control where you want it shouldn't be a problem.

50 or 60 abu's ? Lemme know when you find one you like, or on second thought........buy a Daiwa 8-) LMAO

I like the value of my Flewgrrr Supreme spinners, but I chose the solid feel of my Daiwa's as my favorite brand.

Air tool oil. Sewing machine oil. Abu Garcia oil. Shimano oil. Daiwa oil. It's all the same.

They are for jigging. You tie a jig to one end of the line, and the other end of the line to your finger. You move your finger to get action out of the jig. ;D

My OPINION is, unless you have a burning desire to take the boat up on plane and shoot across the lake at 20mph, or what ever you would be able to go, you would be much happier with a nice higher powered/thrust electric motor. Much more versatile than a gas motor, excluding top speed. A good one with the newer power monitoring system will go many hours on a small boat just trolling along. The more you run the motor at the lower settings, the longer the battery(ies) will last on a charge. I have a Vantage that I put on my 12' V-hull boat. 8-) I wouldn't recommend the Vantage though, I'm not impressed with it. I think a nice wireless, hand held remote, bow mount would be really cool.

G Loomis rods. Becouse I would rather spent the day in my 1956 12' Larson/Crestliner V-hull boat, fishing with a Loomis rod, then stand in a $20,000 boat fishing with a $15 Wal-Mart combo. ;D Heddon and Aborgast. Becouse I grew up catching fish on their lures, and I still do today. I do like the value of the Rapala's, but I don't use their product exclusively. Company's I am no longer loyal to. Mercury. While they do produce a quality product, I do not like what Brunswick has done to the sales portion. Berkley. They have taken over too much shelf space, and leave little room for other choices.

I vote the CK662MT. I think the 6'6" rod is a good balance in length for distance and accuracy. IMO, the CK662 would be a great rod for throwing #5 Shad Raps, 3/8 and 1/2 'Traps, and other smaller to mid size cranks.

I noticed that the rods seem to have a "standard" rating. ML=1/2, M=5/8, MH=1, H=1 1/4 or 1/2. 6'+ spinning rods seem to have a "standard" rating too. At first glance, the spinning rod ratings seem to be inline with the Loomis SJR IMX power ratings. Hmmm... Wonder if they are rating them in direct comparison with the competition????

I'm a double uni user right now, but have seen some other knot's that I might try this year.