wasabi_VA

I bought the HF 4x8 trailer today, using a coupon it was $259. Should I use a single sheet of plywood for the trailer deck, or the individual 5/4 decking boards?

Got a pic? What is 5/4 decking? how do you secure the boat to the trailer?

My 8’ BassBaby fits perfect in the back of my pickup but nagging neck and back issues make it riskier for me to be lifting it up like that. I think a small utility trailer, maybe 4’x8’ with 12” tires would be nice as I could easily lift one end into it, then slide the rest of it in with little effort. Anybody use one of these with their 8’ BassBaby or Pelican style boat? My BassBaby has wheels so all I need to do is stop by the ramp, pull the boat off the trailer, then go park. I don’t need to fool with backing it into the ramp like a traditional boat trailer. In fact I think a utility trailer would really suit me better than a traditional trailer (and I can haul my riding lawnmower to my Mom’s easier too!). Any Harbor Freight models cheap good? I would only use this for local lakes where I use side roads to get to, maybe 10 to 20 minutes from the house. Anything further or needing highway travel would have me putting the boat into the bed of the truck.

Yes, I do power my sonar. Guess I assumed that consumption was negligible but maybe not. I don't know...the thought of handling/managing 2 of these smaller U1 batteries sounds like more effort than just dealing with one 24 series.

I'm gonna need a new trolling motor battery by the time next fishing season rolls around. I'm powering a 40-lb Bulldog motor in a little 8' Bassbaby so I'm rarely using any of the faster speed settings. Usually I get a 27 series battery but this year thinking of downsizing to a smaller 24 series battery, mostly to save weight. I find I'm fishing less and less the past few years, but each time I go to get a new battery I am always surprised some new battery technology isn't offering me an improved option. I always get a Walmart deep cycle battery and they work just fine for me provided I keep them recharged (which I am religious about doing). Just surprised we don't have an economical or smaller lithium battery option worth considering. I see those Optima ones are still outrageously expensive without offering might in terms of space or weight savings. What's a good 24-series option to consider for my next battery?

Does the canal level ever fluctuate? If so, maybe you can search when it is at a lower level. Maybe you can run a drone over it with a camera pointing down, review the footage and just see if you spot it. Use polarized sunglasses when you search as that is what us fishermen do to reduce glare while looking at the water. This could help you see deeper into the water. Maybe some kind of net. I doubt you know how to throw a castnet if you are not a fisherman, but this is a circular net that can pop open into a circle anywhere from 10 to 20 feet in diameter and sinks to the bottom. Not sure how much room you have to cover but someone could throw one randomly and possibly luck out and grab it. Also you can use a seine type net where it's long and you drag it through sections and see what shows up in the net. When I was a kid I also shot up cheap rockets. All of them had a pointy cone that popped out for the parachute. Did yours blow the cone out? If so I am wondering why that would not be floating since they are usually secured with a cord of some sort to the main body of the rocket. Just some ideas...

If LT is Daiwa's newest technology I kinda want one of those reels over the BG. The BG does have stellar reviews though. My go-to reel has been a Shimano Sahara but feeling the urge to try a Daiwa. shopping sucks here though. Only one or two big box stores with mostly clamshell products. Who has good reels reels at good prices? Everbody tends to sit right at MSRP.

It's been 2 days, right?

I'm scouting for a new trolling motor to be bow-mounted on a 14' Carolina Skiff J14' . Motorguide has an Xi3 55lb variable speed unit with a wireless footpedal. Any feedback on how well these wireless footpedals work compared to the standard cable foot pedals? I will probably sit further away than 5' so my options are tentatively the Motorguide wireless foot pedals or the Minnkota Powerdrive unit with with the pedal that uses a long thin cable.

Greentop sales guy said Shimano is discontinuing the Clarus fishing rod line, which could be why I can't find a replacement for the CSS-60ULB ultralight rod I broke and want to replace. Anybody know which Shimano rod line is replacing the Clarus?

I was at a fishing store today and was impressed with a Daiwa Tatula (LT 2000D-XH) reel a rep was showing me. But he didn't have any in stock to sell. I don't even see them listed on Daiwa's website. Is this new? Is it old? I'd like to know the different reel sizes it comes in but the Daiwa website doesn't list them. Hard to spend the money that way. OK, guess they had different pages for casting and spinning. Finally found them, and had to add "Tatula LT" to find folks selling the spinning models. Holy crap - $189. No wonder I liked it. I'm thinking I'll just go back to my usual Shimano Sahara 1000 for around $79. Dang, had an itch to go back and try a Daiwa as my next reel.

My smaller Shimano Sedona and Sahara reels haven't been used for several years and I want to give a few easy-to-reach bearings a very small drop of Shimano reel oil. The oil I have is in one of those small, free blue Shimano tubes but it has a fairly blunt tip that isn't precise. Is there a cheap but effective precision oiler I can transfer my Shimano oil to?

A number of my coworkers tell me they have progressive lenses so it sounds like maybe something I should pursue in my fishing Rx sunglasses. How would that work at a place like Costco then? I am set up for an appointment with the optometrist next door to Costco. Will Costco be able to order the progressive Rx lenses?

I have been too lazy to go get a prescription, but now that I know they will;l help with fishing then maybe I'll take care of it this week! I'm a Costco member - do they do the eye exams too?

My original request in this thread was just for non-Rx glasses and I ended up buying another couple pair of Flying Fishermans off Amazon for a really good price. They worked great before, will do just fine again. But I need to stop procrastinating and go get some eyeglasses and then figure out a prescription sunglass solution. I now use readers quite often around the house to read fine print, remove splinters, see little things but also have worse vision out at fishing/casting/retrieving distances. So perhaps I need a pair of these progressive lenses. Starting to sound expensive...

You make some good points about Rx glasses. And in fact, I am woefully tardy in getting prescription glasses as my vision has gotten worse these last few years. During that time I wasn't fishing, so I know as soon as I hit the hit water and start fishing again this season I am going to be struggling to see my line twitch. I need to go get a prescription soon and get some standard and sun glasses. How do i go about getting decent prescription sunglasses? Previously I recall the eyeglass places offered frames, and I guess they send out to get the prescription glass to go inside like you said. Is there a way to buy the better quality fishing sunglasses without being bled by a local eyeglass place? Can I go get a moderate or higher end pair online if I know my prescription? If so, any suggestions on places to do this?

How do you store it in your boats?

Folks - please stick to sunglasses under $30. These threads get out of control when the guys who like expensive sunglasses start in on thier $100+ sunglasses.... I've been well served over the years with value priced polarized sunglasses - I'll call it $30 and under. If I buy more expensive sunglasses they ALWAYS get destroyed/scratched/lost within 1 season. GUARANTEED! But if I stick to my value lines I have much better luck getting 3 seasons or so out of them. It's time again for a new pair. My last pair was Flying Fisherman brand - perfectly adequate, good polarization, not the best but I have no complaints. Anybody seen any great deals on higher priced stuff or good sale going on right now for 'decent' sunglasses?

Any suggestions on how to store this emergency paddle in my small Bass Baby ?

I did that, but still have the same need to secure it down. I had the double-sided tape square things holding it in place and those fell off too.

My 8' Bass Baby has the battery in the back and trolling motor up front. I ran my wires along the side of the hull and used a plastic tab with double-sided tape to secure the wire with a zip tie. The double-sided tape doesn't always stay and I'm tired of replacing it. Anybody seen a slick way of keeping the wire out of the way? I don't have good access to the inner hull - prefer to not go that route.

This is the trickle charger I use. Calls itself both a trickle charger and maintainer

Is what Bass Pro lists the microline, or just regular PP? Isn't their regular line still considered a "micro" line? Hard to tell what's what the way they list it.

I'm having a problem finding more info on this Power Pro microline in 3 and 5 lb. test...?

Is it truly thicker than other similar products?