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I carry a box with a 1.2 ton floor jack and 4 way wrench along with a extra hub and bearings,grease and tools to change em.

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x2. Not a bad idea to carry a hammer, chisel, file and sandpaper should your bearings get welded to the spindle if you blow one out. If that’s the case, you’ll more than likely end up having to replace the spindle or the axle, but in an emergency, you should be able to clean it up enough to get you back on the road. I also started carrying fix a flat and a small portable air tank when I’m on the road too. Don’t forget the rubber gloves and a roll of shop rags

a good pair of small side cutters cuts through braid no problem.

Ideally you want to prune when the tree is dormant, but as long as it’s not in the process of leafing out, you won’t hurt the tree. I say that because the tree is expending a lot of energy in the leaf out process and makes it more susceptable to pests and disease. As far as pruning goes, you want to open up the middle of the tree and encourage lateral growth to allow for sunlight penetration and the reason is twofold. A)to ward off apple scab, a fungal disease which thrives in moist conditions and B)shaded branches have a tendancy to not bare decent fruit.

$2500 for an 04 sportsman that hasnt been beat to crap is a good price IMO-regardless of the miles (as long as it was well maintained). I also wouldn’t consider 3100 miles to be a lot on an ATV. If you’re looking for a comparison to truck mileage, I’d say it’s a lot closer to 50 than it is 150, but again, if you don’t change the oil 1 time in 50,000 miles, I’d rather have one with 150,000 that’s been maintained properly

17-20lb. Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon. That stuff is as tough as nails and the stiffness of it lends itself well to a presentation such as flipping. You may not want to listen to me though since I buck the trend when it comes to line as I seem to be the only person on the face of the earth that HATES Power Pro. and I also really like Nanofil (for certain applications)

Flippin switches are nice, but I can’t seem to find a reel with one that I don’t completely destroy. As far as a rod goes, I think 7′ might be a touch short, but should get the job done until you get something a little longer and stronger. 7’6″ is pretty much the standard size, but I go anywhere from 7’3″ to 7’11” depending on what I’m fishing. Tighter quarters=shorter rod. As far as line goes, you can’t deny the great feeling of a hard bite with braid, but I’ve been relying more and more on fluorocarbon. On a heavily pressured lake, I definitely think you get more bites with fluoro and about the only time I use braid is if I am punching through a milfoil mat or flipping in brush. Even then, if it’s not too thick I’ll try fluoro first. Plastics 99% of the time.

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Fluorocarbon,Mono,Braid? I fish mostly Bass so I’m thinking maybe Sunline Shooter FC?

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If your reels look like that, I’d maybe consider some sort of eagle claw or shakespeare line from the bargain bin. That sunline gets a little spendy. However, I can’t say I haven’t been there and done that. I’m a big fan of Trilene 100% fluoro

they’ve been putting those stupid things on rods for years around here. For that reason alone, I refuse to purchase a rod from them or even look at one since there’s no possible way to get the feel of it. I can understand them not wanting someone to walk out with one, but 100% of the time they have somebody at the “kiosk” right at the front doors watching to make sure people aren’t walking out of the store with goods.

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When I open this, the only image with color is of the eastern coastline. How do I see Minnesota?

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go to the previous day… and funny. Not 5 minutes ago was I on this website

interesting…mine did the same damn thing. I figured it was better that I couldn’t turn it off than turn it on though.

Check out the Bridgeport in Sturgeon Bay. Stayed there a couple times and it’s a pretty nice place. If you don’t need anything special for accomodations, The Chal-A motel on the north side of Sturgeon bay is decent and reasonably priced. Never stayed anywhere north of there, but I think the lodging might get more expensive the further north you go as it becomes more “touristy” with all the little shops and such. If you’re in the mood for pizza, try Sonny’s just south of the bridge in town. Otherwise, Door County is famous for their fish boils. Most of the Salmon fishing is done on the lake side of Door County and Algoma is one of the more popular ports/areas for that.

I never understood all the love for power pro. I’ve tried it and tried it again in a pinch when I need some line and that crap constantly breaks on me. Granted, in the manner of which I am using it is nothing shy of shear abuse, but I never have the same problem with regular Suffix. Tuff line XP is some pretty decent line as well. Nanofil isn’t braid, but I like it on spinning gear.

“Always wondered why bass fisherman need 50+ pound braid? Is it so they can water ski after being hooked?”

eye crossing hooksets on fish in the pads with a super stout rod requires heavy line. I’ve dropped down to 40 on occasion, but 50 is about right. Anything more is overkill IMO

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Wow, I suppose if you have the money…..why not! It’s not the rod that makes the fisherman, however.

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When the wind is blowing hard and the fish are finicky, the extra sensitivity of a high end rod is an absolute must when trying to feel for a bite. I spend money where it’s necessary and there are situations where a lesser rod just isnt going to get it done.

The Armada will have more towing power than the others, but it comes at a cost with reduced gas mileage. I’ve got a Nissan Titan which is basically the same platform as the Armada and love the thing, but it’s wretched on fuel. However, I don’t think theres a full size truck that gets great gas mileage. Tows a 20 footer great though and the 5.6 has some get up and go. Outside of regular maintenance type things, It’s been relatively problem free. Average 11 mpg towing the boat or city driving-16 on the hwy.

“Can’t afford new boat prices, and would like to keep cost below $60K.”

I’m not directing it towards the OP, but there is something seriously wrong with that statement.

“I’ve been mainly looking at the 400 to 500 Polaris Sportsman, but I get a lot of guys saying that anything less than a 700 is no good as a “working” ATV. Fine for trail rides, but not for food plot work, etc.”

In line what a lot of others have said, a 400 or 500 sportsman will do anything you need it to do. You’ll run out of traction before power.

I had a 400 sportsman that I used a ton for work purposes-dragging trees and plowing snow and was always amazed at the pulling power of that thing. To give you an idea of the type of torque they have, I once pull started a 1 ton dump truck with a chipper behind it – up a hill. I also had a 2300lb ice shack I drug around the lake with. It squatted pretty bad, but there was more than enough power to get it on, around and off the lake. That machine never skipped a beat.

funny. it censored out diksportinggoods. LaCrosse would be an awesome spot for BPS. Close enough to the cities, Madison and Eau Claire to generate some traffic.

I felt the same way about Madison until I heard we were finally getting a Cabelas. Gander is a complete joke unless you’re a woman looking for clothes. I’ll trade you 3 Ganders within 45 minutes of my house for 1 Bob’s. I wish we’d get a Fleet Farm here too since they always have a decent selection. Out of all the big box stores, Sportsman’s Warehouse was by far the best for fishing stuff. not even sure if they exist anymore. Scheels ranks right up there with [censored] IMO. Not worth walking into.

I’d say 3 pounds is sort of the benchmark for a quality fish. Anything over 5 is huge

I wish!

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From an accuracy perspective, Lakemaster is better, especially in the lakes that are listed as HD. T

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I disagree to some degree. HD Navionics are just as good, in some cases, better than Lakemaster. I find the Navionics to be more up to date for the waters I fish, the St. Croix river.

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X2. I don’t fish the St. Croix, but travel to various lakes around the state and am usually amazed at how accurate the Navionics HD maps are.

ohh and if your wife and daughter like to shop, a trip to Gurnee Mills shouldn’t be too hard of a sell. and while you’re there, you can go browse around bass pro shops. If you take 94 down to Chicago, you’ll drive right by it.

I think Kalahari is the nicest, but it’s also the most expensive. They also have a nice indoor theme park (for an additional cost). Wilderness is the biggest and it’s nice, but as mentioned, the walk from waterpark to waterpark gets old. We usually go to Mt. Olympus since it seems to be the best value and also usually the cheapest (sometimes by a significant amount). They have a single indoor waterpark and the indoor theme park is included with your stay where they have a roller coaster, bumper cars, go carts and a couple few other things.. If you stay there, opt for the hotel since it’s attached to the waterpark. While you’re in the Dells, check out buffalo phils. Your daughter will get a kick out of the train delivered food. Guessing a lot of the tourist attractions will still be closed down for the winter so there won’t be a lot of other things to do.

The latter weekend would be a good time to hit the Wisconsin River right in the Dells for Walleyes.

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Glad to say that a very happy guy picked it up and took it back to the Mother ship, (wisc).

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If I had the cash, I would have bought your boat in a heartbeat, but instead I turned my buddy onto your boat. It was definitely worth the drive for him..

“I see it on gear. I see it on TV and in magazines. And I see on websites and forums. Suddenly almost everyone (or so it can seem) has declared themselves to be a “long range hunter”.

I’ll be the first to say I’m no long range hunter and I think 90% of those guys will grossly overestimate range when they tell you they shot whatever at XXX yards. In my opinion, a 100 yard shot at a deer is a long shot with a standard scoped deer rifle. Those critters look awfully small in the scope at that range and in the midwest, I think it’s a bit of a rarity for the opportunity to present itself to shoot at a distance much greater than that. Obviously on a flat field in parts of the midwest there are places where a guy could shoot 400 yards, but 99.9% of the hunting community (including myself) couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn at that distance and if they do, it’s shear luck. If I gotta aim to the sky to compensate for bullet drop and other factors such as wind and not have the crosshairs of my scope nowhere near the animals vitals, I personally have no desire to take that shot.

X2 on the berkley 100% fluorocarbon. It’s not nearly as limp as seaguar (at least not in the heavier weights) but it’s tough stuff. For what you’re using it for, I would imagine any of the fluoro out there with the exception of Vanish will work just fine.

Was out last weekend and drilled appx. 30 holes through ice varying between 8 and 12 inches with 20 Volt DeWalt coupled with a 6″ HT Velocity (although it looks more like a 5″) using 1 battery. If you’re a panfisherman, it’s the only way to go IMO. Unless you’re dealing with extremely thick ice.

check out the Lethal Bug made by Lethal Weapon. I don’t think he makes that color, but you might be able to get them to do a custom color for you if you order enough.

I don’t believe the older Skeeters were known for their strong transoms and saw many failures (mine included) which is why they now built what they claim as being the strongest in the industry. If you’re going to do it, I’d recommend the minimum amount of set back needed for the brackets. Guessing that to be a 6 inch plate.