J Francho

I went with the 6.2, and couldn't be happier.

I think you'll be fine with the ML power. Bonus is, if you end up hooking a beast, it performs fine for that too. Here'sa smallie I caught with an Avid ML.

The only racing I did was 1/8 mile brackets, SCCA Auto-X, and many weeks behind the wheel of a Formula Dodge in driving school. I drive like an old lady now, lol.

Been thinking my next truck will be diesel, also. 40 mpg is like dream to me, lol. Currently around 18-20.

How big are these Swiss perch?

It depends on the knot. Palomar, I pull both until snug, then cinch the tag. Uni, I cinch the tag, but slide the knot tight to the bait. Same for an Alberto. Cinch, I pull the both tag and main, but it doesn't seem to matter which. Like T9, I don't wet the knot. With any knot, if the main line isn't kinked, and it passes the pull test, you should be fine. You can get really scientific process oriented like me, and test actual strength of the knot when practicing by attaching a spring scale to a vice and pulling until it breaks to be really sure.

My boss has a Tesla that drives it's dang self. Gets to 60 in 2.3 seconds. Has nearly 400 mile range. It cost him, though. My buddy had a Volt, and loved it. He has a Bolt, now and loves it too. I'd go EV in a heartbeat if it was economical.

I had a Jeep Cherokee Chief with a Pontiac 2.8 V6 that went almost 500K. My Maxima went for over 280K, and stillran, but kept throwing various codes.

EVs blow the doors off most "muscle" cars from that era, and they run on batteries. If nostalgia is your thing, then sure, I definitely want a 1970 Chevelle SS. If getting from point A to point B faster (on a track, of course, lol) then that wouldn't be my choice. My favorite engine to work on was the LT1 in my '94 f-body. Truth be told, I was basically in the way when we were wrenching. It was still fun to soup that thing up. As far as general maintenance and repairs go, the 6.2 in my GMC is pretty easy to work on. I did have the shop deal with the drum brakes when it came time. I'm old enough, and make enough now to let someone else do that job.

I added a little trick - but BE CAREFUL!

You can replace the pinion, but if you repeat the activity, it will happen again. There's nothing to fix - it's a fail-safe to avoid stripping the pinion or damaging the spool pin. you *can* try stretching the yoke springs, if it's happening a lot. This will put more pressure on the pinion when the spool is engaged.

I think you'd have a much easier time removing a console from a used aluminum boat than trying to add a console to something that is likely out of production. For a glass boat, the chances of doing this are much slimmer, unless it's already a feature. Both my dual console boats (both Bullets) this would be impossible without a saw, lol. The consoles are part of the top cap.

If by Texas Rig, you mean a bullet weight on the line above a hook, with a plastic bait rigged weedless, then yes. Any rig that doesn't include those elements, is not a Texas Rig. This rig was shown to me when I was around 12, and it opened a door to all sorts of new fishing - in the weeds - that previously I avoided. Imagine that, fishing for bass where weeds were sparse?

I've never really found the winning baits to be super relevant. They're either a bait I already use, or it's a seasonal thing, and that season has passed. It's more interesting to hear a pro breakdown their progression on how they got to that bait.

The only difference between single and dual on my friend's Xpress was that there wasn't carpet on the vertical step up to the deck once the port console was removed. If I didn't know it was removed, I'd have assumed they just left that spot painted.

Nothing wrong with the reel. It's a fail safe design. If you look at the pinion, there are two "ramps" where the spool pin seats. The action you took is not a normal fishing action, and the spool pin slide up that ramp, and spin in the wrong direction, making a pretty horrible sounding clicking noise. Do it once, no big deal. Do it a lot, and you wear out those slots for the spool pin, and your reel will fail early due to misuse.

The wheel is old technology.

I think your post refers something that was referred to as hockey, and ancient sport, played on ice.

Slobs like that in a small craft are a blast! Nice one!

Holding the rod at anything greater than a right angle or perpendicular to what you are pulling against.

I don't fish my most expensive rod and reel together, but if I did, it would be a JDM Zillion and a Champ Extreme, so around $700ish.

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It's an attempt to put an objective description to a subjective measurement. In other words, replace opinion with data. It's helpful for a side by side comparison with a rod you've used, but if you've never handled either, it's a little nebulous.

I would have had a hard time time not eating it. Nice catch!

I might snip a section or two off the tail, and use them as a jig trailer, or T-rig them. I might also do a Neko rig, with the weight in the tail. A little tip for that: bury a CPS pin in the spot where you'll hook it, and run the hook through the pin. It helps add durability.