Tim Kelly

That'll work.

It looks like it's a piece of metal for the magnets to act on for the magnetic braking. Usually the magnets act on the spool, but that seems to be done a bit differently. I expect someone had a cunning plan in the design department.

It was probably glued on in the first place, so I would just glue it back on. Should be fine.

What was the problem?

Inactive curious?

Do you have braid on the spool? If so, it really needs to have a couple of yards of mono on the spool first, then the braid attached to that before winding it on. If you don't the braid will slip on the spool and appear that the reel's drag is not working. If you have already dome that, then it must be a mechanical problem and needs fixing.

I much prefer the open cockpit. From my point of view, it seems to make much more sense. If you fish with a friend, he'll bring a bag and a pile of rods with him. That stuff never fits anywhere in a conventional bass boat layout unless you leave empty compartments in your boat. With the open cockpit there's plenty of room for bags. Even better, the guy at the back's rods can lay on the back deck with the tips pointing forward along the deck that runs along the sides of the boat. Whoever thought that stupid rod rack slope thing in a conventional bass boat has obviously never fished out of the back. The rod tips are sticking up in the air in front of you, if you're fishing off that side of the boat, where they are in constant danger and in the way. 10/10 Lund.

I'm amazed at the gear a lot of these young you tube guys have. They all seem to be driving immaculate new trucks and fishing out of big glass boats. Presumably they have rich and generous parents? Totally unimaginable to me, but it must be amazing to be as young as these guys with all the opportunities they seem to have. Fair play to them.

Great review A Jay. You have my dream rig, though I'd prefer the other seating option, and I love the little extras you added. The charger cord point is a great idea and I bet Lund will pick up your idea on the oil tank positioning in future, it just makes sense. Enjoy the boat.

522D?

That's very true.

Possibly, but I don't imagine UV light travels far through murky water. Even if they could see into infra red it wouldn't help them as most fish are cold blooded (some sharks seem to have a semi warm blooded system) so there would be no heat signature for them to see.

Thank you for your thoughts Makelures. As you say, it doesn't entirely answer my question, but it's food for thought. I fish a lot of places that hold pike, perch and zander (walleye). It's very noticeable that waters which are usually dirtier usually have a better population of zander, where clearer waters are usually more populated with perch and pike. It appears that the zander are able to do better in the reduced visibility that the pike or perch. The pike are interesting though as they have all the usual fish senses and also a special set of pores (Noromyer system?) on their lower jaw which are believed to pick up electrical impulses from fishes muscles. On the face of it, you'd imaging they'd do better than the zander with the extra sense, but apparently not. They out compete them in clearer water, but not in murky water. It's interesting to note as well that waters which have become murkier over time tend to have a change in the balance of species with the pike and perch declining and the zander becoming more prolific and bigger. The cormorant thing absolutely amazes me still. I can't imagine they're using any instinct other than sight to find their prey, but they still manage to make a living in muddy water. Nature is cool.

Makelures, before you go, can you explain how fish like walleye can see well enough to make a living in very dark water that has a lot of suspended mud in it? I've never understood how they survive as there must be a physical barrier of all the suspended, opaque, mud withing a few inches of their eyes, which to my mind must eliminate any object the other side of the mud wall from their view. Cormorants seem to be able to dive and find fish in the same turbid water that we can't see a lure 3" under the surface in. Seems like magic to me!

Colour is always pretty low down on my priority list. Bright or dark is about as much as I consider it, but like everyone else I pick up different baits because the colour appeals to me! It's complex in a fisherman's head. LOL

Presumably, when the colour is no longer visible the fish can still see the silhouette and the lure appears grey (to our eyes) to them? Does making the lure black or white make the silhouette stronger?

Front wheel drive is pretty poor on steep slick ramps. You may find it difficult sometimes, but only one way to find out for sure.

I really enjoy Uncut angling. Aaron seems like a genuine fun guy to be around and the fishing shows are always entertaining. The guy with the funky hats, mikeybalz or something makes good films too. I like his offshore approach and that he's a genuine fisherman working it out and filming it as he goes. Lake Fork Guy is getting a bit too commercial and I hate the getting together with other youtube "stars" thing. really? Backslapping.com! Most of the other guys are getting less watchable as they get more taken up with their own importance and debts to sponsors. It's a shame. I suppose there will always (?) be new guys coming along who make good films, before they get swallowed up by corporate nonsense, and I will keep seeking them out. The others get less and less of my attention.

If you can afford to bulk buy rods to have in case you break them you really don't need to be jacking up the prices of rods by sending them in whenever you break them.

If you broke your rod after a year, it can't possibly be the manufacturer's responsibility. Why on earth would you expect anything other than having to buy a new rod? Seems completely bizarre to me. The cost to the manufacturer of subsidising new rods for people who broke them inevitably puts the price of rods up for everyone. The world has gone mad.

I wonder whether St Croix will be releasing a new avid/avid x range as they've now put their SC111 graphite in their cheaper rod ranges and it's harder to differentiate between their lower cost rod ranges.

No, but they both use the same size case, it's just the display area that's smaller in the 9.

That would be great if you hold the rod with your hand in front of the reel. I have two fingers either side of the reel stem, so I build mine with the seat downlocking and no foregrip. That's the beauty of custom building.

I don't use their jig heads as the hooks are too brittle and snap easily. Pour my own with VMC or eagle claw hooks and they can be bent and straightened as needed. Much better.

Contraception?