Fish Fast

the power wire seems kind of short. Do I just splice a piece of wire onto that and shoot it over to the cranking battery?

Just bought a new lowrance elite 5 for the dash...which means I am gna move the x125 that was on the dash up to the bow. My question is: 1)Should I run my x125 wiring from the bow back to the fuse control panel under the console? 2) Or, can I just wire it to my plug that is conveniently located on the bow for my trolling motor (or will I have interferance issues with this since my trolling motor will be directly running of this same plug...constantly disturbing the elec. flow? Also, not sure if I can even wire directly to the plug???? 3) this seems like the 2nd easiest option...wire it to the battery in the bow that is used for the trolling motor....not sure if I would get interferance here either since it is also gna have constant "action" from using the trolling motor. Let me know what you guys think....I have a feeling #1 above is the "best" and "correct" way to do this but if it does not matter, it would be easier to do it via #2 or #3.

No not all of them come with Lake Insight. I believe that costs an extra $50 or $100. I too am debating on the above 2 units. I am leaning towards the elite 5 due to cost and the fact that I dont need all of the "overhyped" features of the hds 5. The local walleye guy that runs charters has 4 lowrance 522's on his boat and claims he can see baitfish, sub-surface larvae hatches (mayfly's), thermoclines, etc. If he doesn't need the extra resolution, then neither do I (not to mention the elite 5 has a better gps than the 522's). If you want side sonar or greater networking ability, then maybe you do want to spend the extra money on the hds My deal is, I am not a tournament fisher. I have got to draw the line somewhere. To network a couple hds 5's or 7's, with side imaging....you are looking at over $2000. d**n! I can go buy a brand new 9.9 hp mercury four stroke kicker and have it installed for that much.......ughhh....sorry for the RANT and I certainly didn't mean to HI-JACK this thread!

Good question! i have been wondering the same thing. I have always used mono and had a spool of sufix braid lying around and was going to put it on for flipping around docks and trees etc. but wondered how it would hold up (abrasion, etc.). I will be watching this thread closely to see what people say. since you have used both, how would you compare the two?

Thanks way2slow! I will prob. upgrade to a 24 volt trolling system as I don't think my 12 volt 55# will have enough umffff! to keep my jigs vertical on the detroit river (walleye) in my crestliner 1850 fishhawk. Had I known what I know now, I would have negotiated a bigger trolling motor when i bought the boat. I may try a second battery in-line if my current 55# can hold its own on the river.....just not sure how long it will run on 1 battery or if the 55# will be enough?!? We shall see!

Cool....thats what I wanted to hear!

Is it recommended to put a water separator in your fuel tank at the beginning of the year to help with any condensation that may have occurred in the tank? I run stabil, quikleen and seafoam year round (probably go a little overkill on both). I have a 2006 merc. optimax if it matters (DFI)

Not to hi-jack this thread (great thread by the way!), but If I have a single bank charger on my current 12 volt trolling motor ( with one battery ), and I decide to add a second battery with a paralell connection, do I need to get a dual bank charger or will the single bank charger charge both batteries, just as effectively as it did one, since they are both interconnected?

Just wondering what everyones take is running AMS fully synthetic oil in my Mercury optimax 115hp. It is three years old and up until now I have used the synthetic oil that the manufacturer recommends. I now have a friend who can get the AMS fully synthetic for half the price. Is there really any difference?

Pretty sure im going with the mxf.

I pretty much have it narrowed down to the two mxf and mlxf. It's just a tough call because I would like the sensitivity of the mlxf....but what if I wanna use some of the heavier stuff. I guess the moral of the story is...'you don't know what you don't know!' What I mean is since I have not finesse fished that much I am not sure when I bass fish what my primary jigs for bottom fishing are gonna weigh?? And what if I wanna walleye fish with it too? Is the MLXF to whippy...I would think but the guy above states it may even be a little too stiff!?!?!?!? Decisions, decisions!

Sounds like the AS68MXF might be just the rod for me. Most of my fishing has been with cranks and the AS68MXF should set up as a great rod to learn the finesse/plastics side of fishing that I have SO NEGLECTED TO LEARN! Gonna have to slow it down and be patient! Thanks for the advice and for the link to your old thread, Lard_Bass! I always feel better spending money on something when I have someone else that can give a good honest review on a product they have used, and not just read about!

Anyone out there use both of these in spinning rod (medium lt. application...7 footers). If so, can you compare the two?

Thanks fellas...keep it coming. The citrus sticks sound good but I am not sure I could get my hands on 1.....and its hard to beat the st. croix lifetime warranty with the avids. Do the citrus sticks have a lifetime warranty too?

Is there anything out there that beats the St. Croix Avid for sensitivity with plastics. I am looking for a spinning rod. Will be targeting smallmouths with plastics...mostly finesse presentations. Was fired up to buy a g. loomis but just cant get myself to spend the money on a glx series....dont have the patience to wait for the one I wanted. Besides, i tested a bunch out at gander mtn. and couldn't tell a huge (i.e $250 difference) difference in feel. Let me know what you think!

i truly believe fishing success in all areas is somewhat cyclical in nature.....If the habitat is there, hopefully it will come back. There are so many changes going on with population, environment, introduction of new species, etc. that it's not hard to believe that fishing changes over a 10 year span.

I have been pike fishing in the st. marys river by Sugar Island for a long time. This year i would like to target smallies for a day or two while we are up there......anyone ever fish that river system, and if so what did you have success with? We have caught some monsters inadvertantly while trolling stick baits and cranks! Just wondering if anyone fishes there and what they use

I am looking for a nice spinning reel for a lightweight setup. Price range for the reel is around $120. Throw some suggestions out there. Seems like the pfleuger president comes up a lot. What else?

If you have no preference you might want to go with Right handed reels. Many manufacturers dont offer all models in Left hand retrieve versions >. Me.....well, I learned to reel lefty on my open face when I was a little tyke so I just stayed with it. I will teach my son left so that he can use my stuff and not have to buy new everything! Best of luck. Joe

I bought the berkly line spooling station and so did my buddy. I was hesitant because it got poor reviews. I have nothing bad to say about it. It is simple to use by yourself. He and I can't see why people dont like it. It works fine. I believe there is a $5 rebate on it now too. I was worried about using it on my spinning reels but I did it anyhow and have had no problems. Works excellent for the baitcaster, too! For $20-$25, i can't see how you can go wrong.

Apologize for not seeing the quote.....I was looking at the shimano E series and they do not make their low gear ratio reel in a left hand retrieve. This is frustrating. I am an archer too (right handed). I have friends that shoot left and it too is frustrating to them that the L hand bows are released, quite often, much later in the year than the right. You would think that with the engineering and production capabilities in this day and age they would be able to spit them out either way, without a huge cost increase.

Too bad if you're left handed though. I wanted to buy a shimano low gear ratio for cranking and they did not make one in the Left hand retrieve. They did, the 201DPV. Is that last years model????

If it is that easy, then why doesn't shimano do it then. Sorry, but I aint dropping that kinda coin on a reel that is for my non-reeling hand, only to have to go home and tear it apart and put another gear in it. I'll get a winch or some other high quality reel that doesn't require modification...... Thanks for the info though! Go Wings! Joe

Too bad if you're left handed though. I wanted to buy a shimano low gear ratio for cranking and they did not make one in the Left hand retrieve.

hpbb, i too contemplated where to put the 520 ot hd if/when I do get one. I bass fish a lot of small lakes in michigan. I also do some pike and walleye fishing. For the pike and walleye i would prob. want the better graph mounted at the cockpit ( so i can see the screen and gps while trolling). For fishing smaller lakes/bass fishing i definitely would get more use out of it on the ow......that is another reason I wondered if theye were interchangeable.....if I could swap positions of the graphs without moving transducers. I am guessing not since one has a gps and one does not.