J Francho

Anyone notice it’s never, “the body was found floating in such and such cove,” when there is a drowning? It’s always a dive team, which I imagine involved quite a bit of logistics and personnel. Sounds expensive, and maybe dangerous. My friend is a forensic archeologist. You know what they call bodies that have been submerged for some time? Gooey. Wear the vest. At the very worst, your family will be able to have an open casket, and no one else was put at risk. At the very best, you’ll learn to get comfortable with it on.

The only standard I care about is my comfort, and how much line I need on the spool. The rest of the numbers are either marketing or specs. I’d look at capacity and IPT before the “size” designation.

Any tournament I’ve been in, it’s immediate DQ for not aiding a boater in need.

If you use inflatables, get one of those cheap three packs of PFDs. They’re bright orange and fit in storage just fine. Then you don’t have to worry about the inflatable and being legal. Every boat I owned had them for how many occupants the boat held.

Jealous of you guys. Been stuck inside at Strong Hospital with an 8 pounder

I have some nice land for sale in Fla.

Those cheap ones are what you put in storage so you’re legal, should you be fussing with your inflatable. You’re paying for comfort and reliability when it comes to a good auto inflate.

It’s a bug. Should be all set.

The person that shared it with me was using it on an aluminum rowboat.

The terminal rigs on my float rigs for trout are as long as the water is deep, plus some. Landing a double digit trout on a 6' leash with anything shorter than a 10' rod, bent in half is pretty impossible without help, unless you walk it back up to shore, which leaves leaves release as not an option. It also acts as a shock absorber, but I'd say that can be accomplished with around 7' of rod. Most of the extra length is all back bone. My longest UL for trout is 15'. My preferred length is around 11'. Terminal rig can resemble this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/814377545089061989/

I spun a hub in a tournament once. Not sure what would have taken more time, changing the prop or going 5 mph to the weigh in. My last two boats I had spare props and cotter pins. Obviously, you'll want a prop wrench as well.

I'm with you. The boxes included with the bags are not what I prefer to use. I can use them for other things around the house, but I don't need to pay for them. I'm thinking I might order this bag. Not sure if I need it though.

Size, and that is relative.

Thread is four years old.

Man, I'm so sorry.

Yes, I think it is, but only sometimes. Other times, it could be the previous cast, or several casts may have had some triggering effect, igniting the bite. Maybe you stirred up some critters, that attracted some bait, and now you have a totally different situation than when you made your first cast.

I fish for other species, when the time is right.

This is by far the nicest spincast reel. I have one, and it's a tank.

You can rig a second one in parallel, but it's best to buy the two together. You'll only have as much capacity as the weaker battery allows.

^10 This version is clean.

I started running my finesse reels dry a few years ago, and it's working well. Before that, I went dry with my cranking reels. It's a toss up for those. I like everything smooth on a cranker, and even grease the knob bearings. None of my drags are hammered down.

I used to run Cal's on my Carbontex, because I liked the smooth feel, but dry lets line out just as smooth, never sticks, and requires no regular cleaning or maintenance. It also is always smooth regardless of temperature. Wet drags can get sticky in the cold, if that's a concern. Some like that silky smooth feel, and that works too. No harm in greasing, just know there's some maintenance involved. If you go with grease, only use a vapor thin layer of it. Any more, and it squeezes out and makes a mess.

Some people also jump off bridges. Not recommended for optimum bass care.

I have a show demo rod that is pre IPC tapers, no Alconites, and has a hand written date from 2000.