OnthePotomac

I guess I am fortunate since 99% of my fishing is in/on heavy river grass beds and every reel I have has two brakes on and it has not changed in the last 18 years and "bomb" casting in/on heavy grass beds only results in a lot of lost fish trying to get them up and out and back to the boat.

I use my Sharpie collection to create colors.

Great video A-Jay and I am lovin' that boat. I am indeed fortunate launching into tidal water because the state park where I have to keep my boat and from where I launch has ramps that go on forever under water because of the tide fluctuation of up to three feet some times. Even then the state was smart enough, thank goodness, to paint end of ramp dock planks in bright traffic yellow for those extreme days when the river flow, tide and wind blow the water so far down river you cannot launch. This is really rare and weird when the floating docks are almost sitting on the bottom.

I have lots of Shimanos up to the Chronarch MGL and have been more than pleased with my SLX (just had to try one). It had a husky work out on the mighty Potomac this summer and never missed a beat. It is the same size as my Curado 70's with the same spool capacity.

On the Potomac hair jigs are on for cold water. Not so much in hot water.

I am in 6' on the Potomac off the main channel so it is 3/8 with a Zako (sp?) trailer.

At least on a MG tm the head with the arrow comes off with screws from the bottom of the head. Once separated, align the arrow with head and reattach the top to the motor head.

OOPS, missed split ring part. I don't use one, but don't see why not except for a poppin frog.

Out of the box off comes the split ring (I only fish for fun) and I use the fly fishing snaps from Orvis. They are tiny, strong, feather weight and provide unrestricted lure action. The snaps stay tied on to my crank bait set ups so I can just change crank baits. I do retie to the snaps if they have had a workout.

Pink (bubble gum) is my go to in a Senko for hot summer fishing on the Potomac grass beds. Bass love it. I don't use it though when the waters cool down below 80 degrees.

I change the bobbin on my Mustang every three years or so and now just buy the bobbin because I had a drawer full of gas cylinders. One day last year just for kicks I took out a 10 yr old cylinder, put it in the bench vise and popped it with a center punch....wow, very much alive, but why not they are sealed.

With Forest L Wood now at Vexus they are bound to do well.

I have used KVD since the day it hit the market and have hosed down new spools and again on my reels on mono, flouro and braid. All I know is I have never had a line problem of any kind no matter the type, or size. Is that because of the KVD? I don’t know, but never a line problem.

Mine are on a Rick Clunn 6'6" MH fast tip with 17lb Stren XL mono on a Curado 200E7. Clunn designed that rod for top waters and it has a real flexible tip. BPS carried it many years ago and I bought it on clearance for $80. It has been an incredible cork handle rod over the years and in my daughter's opinion "the most beautiful design on a rod in the sunlight I have ever seen". LOL

I am your height and use a 7' MH fast tip CarbonLite for jigs and really do not want anything longer than that to feel comfortable and in control.

Before braid hit the scene many years agoI was fishing frogs with 20lb mono and it worked pretty well. I have converted to 50lb Sufix 832 like every one else, but looking back on those days I was happy with the heavy mono.

I have mine in Plano 3600's each dedicated to a type plastic labeled (worms, craws, creatures, shad, etc.)and stacked on the end of my fishing bench I take to the boat what ever is in season at the time (usually 8 boxes) in an old gym bag then tucked under an open front step I built to the casting deck.

Excellent and it sure would work on the Potomac right now. The gulls are picking off the craws on top of the grass like crazy.

A fellow in the bass fishing community on the Potomac here runs the Potomac with a 21ft Ranger Intercoastal with a new Merc V8 and has his trailer fitted with a product called Gatorbak (http://gatorbak.com/) on his bunks and has had them on for three years now. The first thing he did was conduct a "hull slide" test with no bow strap and it does not move on the trailer while launching. No hull blisters for you glass boat owners. He really has a sexy deal now since he ran LED lights down the groves on each bunk board for night loading.

The doc who did four lazar eye surgeries on me (not to correct vision but save my vision) told me to wear brown/amber lenses for my eye health.

It is a terrible to live. I see an item and think I need that, get it home and I already have it. What to do.

I like Shimano reels because they get great, reliable performance with longevity without stuffing a dozen bearings in their reels....great engineering design.

Medium fast tip 7’ carbon lite, spinning reel, 8lb mono to tiny swivel, 36” of 8lb mono to 4/0 EWG hook and fluke

I got these at Academy and they are great. Minutes to install with screws, real rubber and not funky plastic. It easily cover 7 rods on my deck. Https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/marine-raider-boat-rod-strap#repChildCatid=12992

I also store outdoors at our state park yard for the last 18 years with the same boat and motor. I always change the lower unit oil in November and check for clarity, my live well is only for storage and I have a 60hp Yammie with 350 hours on it. I use the recommended 1/2 oz Yamalube Ring Free per each 5 gallons of gas each time and never use a fuel stabilizer in E10. I top off the gas to the very top to prevent condensation in the gas. I also pull the prop and cover the shaft with a piece of PVC pipe filled with Yamaha Blue Marine grease. I always keep a Lowes $40 tarp over the boat cover all year secured with bungy cords. It usually sits for 16 weeks and always starts right up in the spring. I do check the boat each month during the winter for rodents. Of course the electronics come home with me always as does the 12V Tm battery, and for winter storage so does the starting battery, both of which go on a battery tender for the period with a desulfinator. I envy those of you with a garage to keep your boat in.