Comfortably Numb

I admit it. I am a Senko addict. I use other lures but still end up going back to my crutch for my fix. Last three days I have been throwing nothing but a jig. Same basic prespawn location and pattern and I am sure each bait would work equally as well. Water is 50-52 and fish are moving shallow to brush on the shore and especially under shallow docks. I am using a light 1/4 jig with a baby Rage trailer and skipping it with a 6'6" med spinning rod. Fish hold on well and my hookup percentage is very good. Getting confidence is key and right now that is sky high. I hope to carry it on through the season in different applications as the fish move. I also used a Dropshot this winter in deep water and did prettty well with that

Abrasion, not impact. That is the word I was thinking of LOL. I still say that IME for the 99% of the anglers who dont have to worry about zebra muscles, braid is very abrasion resistant and moreso than any other type of line.

LOL. I knew someone would bring them up I have never encountered them and dont plan to. I would think the average fisherman does not deal with them either and should not be a reason for giving braid the bad rap.

Got tired of going through crap digital scales so I bought myself a birthday present. Got the 315 15# for $110. And it comes with a free float Anyone use these?

Who started the rumor that braid is not impact resistant. I use 20# powerpro pretty much exclusively on spinning and baitcasting gear for over 20 years. I rarely change my line or retie. I dont see it fray or fuzz like others state (although the old Fireline used to). I can honestly say I very rarely have it break, and if it does it probably is a pickeral as I feel no weight and just get my line back. I fish rocks, trees, brush, and especially rub docks with jigs, senkos, worms, etc. I have tried flouro (seaguar red) and it nicks and breaks really easy.

Get her a spinning rod and reel. The baitcaster is going to be a disaster and make you both miserable. Then she can use those lighter lures. 6'6" medium action graphite. MH is overkill for where you fish and once again womt cast the lighter lures well. You both should have spinning setups and who ever told you to get baitcasters is totaly wrong. Learn how to FISH first. That is tough and frustrating enough than to worry about getting the bait to the fish without difficulties and time spent picking out backlashed. I can and have taken newbies fishing and given them a spinning rod and a Senko. They learn to cast and catch fish in 1/2 hour. If I gave them a baitcaster with the same Senko it would take weeks to learn and they would still backlash. The Fin S fish is a jerkbait and not a swim bait and should be used weightless and probably with that 2/0 ewg hook.

Go spinning tackle. You will be miserable and frustrated with baitcasting gear and will be limited to heavier lures, thus eliminating lighter and weightless baits that may produce besy for you.

Looks good.

Way2slow is correct. You want 2 bats in paralell for the TM and 1 bat for electronics/cranking. Put all 3 in rear and run 4 ga to the front for TM. That will fix your runtime prob. If still not happy with power get a 24v TM and run the 2 TM bats in series for 24v.

Actually it really does work, but it has to have purple polka dots too.

They are not available yet as far as I know and what Raymarine tells me. Or are you refering to the Elite?

No Wayne. Just taking a chance on it. I dont love my HB 898c si and cant afford a HDS.

Ya. I had to use Google Chrome to see them too.

My buddy has an HDS5 with the LSS. Di is excellent but IMO the screen is just too small for the Side imaging to be of much use. He just added an HDS8 and that is really impressive. Much better than my Humminbird 898c si.

Base model Dragonfly has GPS but no maps (maps are not available for most lakes I fish). The Di on the Elite 7 is crappy, very similar to my Humminbird di. The Di on the Dragonfly looks comparable if not better than the Lowrance HDS series. I agree that a larger screen is nice but mainly for Side image or split screen.

Worms can be made to be more durable, but the side affect is that they will senk like a Senko

If you dont want Side imaging, this new Dragonfly from Raymarine coming out in April looks real nice. Just under $600 http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=6855

I started drop shotting this winter and did much better after taking Ike's advice and not moving it so much. 4" Robo sculpin is a great bait.

Tough as in more durable?

Looks like still a couple more weeks till available

Agreed. I always use clear mode.

http://www.fishtrack.com/video/featured-clips/raymarine-dragonfly-demo_93506

These look really good. The down imaging especially. Guess we will see. Found the base model for $572. http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=6855

Small shallow ponds warm up quick on a sunny day and fish usually turn on. Try a senko, suspending jerkbait, light jig, worm etc. Move the bait but slowly.

IIRC from over 30 years ago, pop rocks only last a few seconds. Twin tailed hula grub (no salt) is a favorite C-rig bait for me. Looks like a lil sunfish swimming along.