Further North

I can't speak to lakes way east of here, or south...and it wouldn't be driveable (unless you really like driving)...but if getting away from the weather is a key concern, consider Western Ontario. Lake of the Woods is an insanely good fishery, and at 1,000,000 acres doesn't get full, ever. Other lakes are smaller, but if smallies are a goal, do a careful job of selection - lots of lakes up there don't have them. They will, however, have pike (big pike) and possible musky. Walleye (not my thing) are everywhere. Yeah, the days can still get hot, but it'll cool off at night and the water won't be warm.

All good discussion points. I can't speak to Suffix leader material, haven't used it, and I can't speak to Maxima line that's not leader (haven't used that, either), but I can attest to the fact that Seaguar's leader material is different from their regular line...and you can tell by running it through your hands and dragging it across a fingernail. I use heavy fluorocarbon leader material (50# and up) on musky/pike rigs in some instances where I've had issues with wire. I use either their Blue Label or Saltwater leaders. ...and those are on gear rigs, not fly rigs. I'm pretty much a one trick pony for toothy fish fly leaders: 50# Maxima green leader material to about 18" of Tieable wire. To steal a line from Porshce in the 80s: Nothing even comes close.

Good question. I can tell you what I know, there may be more to it. "Leader" means the line has properties specifically designed for use as a leader. Usually more abrasion resistant, usually a little stiffer. Just so I'm covering everything I can think of, I frequently use line that's not marked as leader as a leader - my BFS rig and my ML spinning rig are specific examples. What I could find om Maxima Chameleon: http://www.maximafishingline.com/products/chameleon/ They appear to treat leader and line as two different products, which makes sense to me.

I wound up with a 6'10" Avid X MLXF and an Abu Garcia LTX for what you are looking to throw. ...I've also got a couple other rigs (both local custom builds) that work well for this, one of which has the Curado 70 reel on it. Works great.

No, you're not. While I can't list myself as the biggest fan of the styling, it's not bad. The G2 E-Tecs are attention grabbers, that's for sure. I'm more a fan of subtlety, but there's nothing about any of the new motors that bothers me.

...and bump up to 24 volt, 80# thrust while you're at it. You'll thank yourself the first time you fish... Sweet! You won't be disappointed!

Maybe a little on the outside... ...nothing like an Evinrude on the inside.

Thanks for the updates, looks and sounds awesome! It's louder at idle than I expected, but that's likely just the recording. ...how was the fishing?

Have never had the pleasure of working with ALX, sounds very nice. I had a similar experience with Mepps back in August. I ordered a bunch of in-line #5 spinners in various colors, and received a similar letter, and great follow-up and turn time on the order. I'll order direct from them again!

You can...but I use a 6.3:1 for inline spinners (#5 Mepps). It's just easier, and I through that bait all the time up here. I tried it on my 7:1, and on a 9:1 Rocket...it was a PITA to remember to slow down.

Fast reels are for baits where you impart the action with the rod...or it happens on the fall. Slow reels are for baits that the action comes from reeling them in. Learning that made it pretty easy for me to decide what I "needed".

As long as it says "leader" on it...yes. If not, no.

Yup.

I'm a long way north of NE PA and I can usually fish into mid November, sometimes early December. Might not catch a lot, but I can live with that.

Great fish, love the colors!

Good for you! Enjoy the day tomorrow, we'll be just fine waiting.

Ah...I get it. ...my bet is he's still out on the lake playing.

Can't. That's a color picture...Hitchcock's best work was black and white.

That's why I use tieable wire leaders...

I agree. Every time I yell at it, it cries. Kidding! Just so i'm actually adding to the topic, the weights I use most often are steel...which is the opposite direction from Tungsten. Mine are unpainted.

Even tiny microguides are OK with an FG knot. To me...a Palomar knot on a crank seems like a PITA - making a loop big enough to pass the lure through while keeping track of all the moving parts would drive me nuts.

The final countdown has started... ?

That'd make sense. I don't run my motor at WOT often. It's happiest at about 70%. Nobody runs car/truck motors at WOT very often.

Help me get my head around that... THat's where I'm landing...I don't buy the 100 hours = 4,000 - 5,000 miles. I do buy into the annual maintenance. Cheap insurance, IMO.

So...back to that 100 hours = 4,000 to 5,000 miles... That means the average speed of the boat is 40 to 50 MPH. I'll bet it's not. Sorry for being semi-obsessive...numbers that look outta whack jump out at me... ?