Where would you put your NEXT smart money

[Mojo]

Your starting equipment is:

Basic 19 ft 150 hp boat, 

Trolling motor only 70

Rods BPS $60 rods

Reels spinning shimanos (no Stradics), BPS $70 baitcasters

10 & 12 & 15 lb mono - 8 & 10 lb flouro only no braid - no co polymer

BPS tubes, senkos, some spinners, cranks, jigs no specialty lures

Used Lowrance with basic GPS

What is most important to upgrade and why?

[bshaner]

You didnt put what I would suggest as a voting option.

Put time on the water.  You will learn from experience how to put more and bigger fish in the boat.

As a side benefit you will learn what it is that YOU personally figure out that you need.

Someone could say you need better rods when you might get out there and find out your trolling motor is crap and needs replaced or reworked.

Or someone could say you should upgrade to a better GPS when really your GPS does what you need and what you really should have had is lighter line or a better reel.

Am I painting a clear picture? 

And after all is said and done, none of that will help you put bigger and more fish in the boat.  Not even if it were functioning at 110% effectiveness.

The old adage comes to mind... you can't catch fish that arent there.  The only way to find where they are at is by time on the water.

Hope this helps you.

Oh and one more thing... upgrade to shimano baitcasters 

B

[Revtro]

I gotta say I agree that time on the water is #1.  But in answer to the question regarding equipment, it sounds like a decent setup you described.  My personal belief is that expensive rods and reels don't make you a better fisherman.  Example: I was fortunate to fish with Art Furgeson a few years ago.  At the time, I was not able to hold my own on St. Clair.  I had junk for equipment and a cheap boat.  But when I fished with Art and he put us on fish, I cleaned house.  (got great pics by the way)  Equipment had nothing to do with it except for the few fish I broke off because of cheap line.

So I guess if I had the setup Mojo described, I'd put a few bucks into better lures.  But not all types.  Mainly, I'd upgrade to Lucky Craft Jerkbaits because they really do seem to work better than all others most of the time.  Who knows why... they simply do.  And I'd buy decent spinner baits with quick change skirts to help adjust to changing conditions.  Maybe then you'll catch a few more because you aren't re-tying every few minutes.  I'd probably by premium tubes as well because on St. Clair there are a couple of specific kinds that just seem to perform better than the cheap ones although with tubes it generally doesn't matter who makes them.

70 lbs thrust of trolling motor is enough most of the time.  My boat is 19.7 and I have an 85 which holds the boat just fine in the St. Clair River.  150 HP is fine for a main motor and it's just not affordable to upgrade the gas engine these days.  BPS rods aren't the greatest, but if they're one piece graphite, you'll feel things just fine.  Use braid and a leader and you'll feel even more.  Senkos - USE THE REAL THING.  They just plain work.  Although some of the new 5" Xtreme stick baits are very nice.  A used Lowrance: Hey, if you can see the bottom and not get lost with the GPS, the rest is just window dressing and luxury.  But a mapping unit can be quite helpful for finding stuff you might not see on a paper map. 
Just my opinions for what they're worth. 

[Dan]

I would ditto what bshaner and Rev have said. Very saged advice. I might add that just being on the water is definitely good, but try and have an advance plan. Look over the maps and have a plan of attack even on new water. I always feel that with a plan even a bad one you are working a strategy. If it doesn't work that can be helpful and directs your next trip. Sometimes just floating around doesn't really help you pattern fish and you need to pattern them. Seasonal knowledge, map work, lure selection, and then letting the fish dictate how you change up is spending time on the water imo. I also believe that you can really learn important aspects of the game from listening to seminars or programs. For instance, after listening to Joe Balog this spring I learned some things about big fish on Erie. Joe doesn't just hit an area, his game is tailored right down to fishing specific fish. He uses his sonar to locate big fish and fishes directly above them targeting them. He prepares ahead of time with buoys that are painted black so they don't stand out to others, and he marks each one after he puts on specific lengths of cord. Not string mind you cord with some pretty heavy weight. He also always uses round end buoys. The square type flop to much and don't let the weight drop as fast and causes the buoy to drift to far past the spot that he wants it. He also compensates his buoys for waves with additional cordage according to wave height. He then positions his boat to target those big fish. No random drifting hoping to run into one. I have been doing too much random drifting over good areas and have to learn to use the electronics better. Go to iTunes. Once there, you can download for free a podcast called Bass Edge. Check out the March 21 podcast and listen to Mike Webb describe how he does the same thing with his electronics. He can tell his clients he takes out when to set the hook just by watching the electronics in deep water. Starting to get lengthy but found it interesting and it meshed with your thread.

[Mojo]

Yup er dudes ..... Time = $money, and time on the water is the only brain food that grows your skills.

The poll is probably just a straight money question - Actual coin getting pulled from the pocket - If the bones are limited - of the equipment you own, what is your opinion on where to put that money ?

These polls always bring the brightest conversation forward so I hope everyone who votes will chime in !