MickD

My Helix 9 has a significantly larger ball than 1.5 inches, I believe. I haven't measured it, but it is very substantial. My Helix 7 is much lighter and I think it has one of the Rams you are showing. A dealer should be able to clarify. But it is clear to me that the bigger units need really substantial Rams.

I have a mega Helix 9 at the helm and a Helix 7 at the front. The 7 is not a mega. It reads the mega transducer, but not at the high resolution that the 9 mega does. They are connected with an ethernet cable. I don't think it is a "Y" cable. The communication is done through the ethernet cable.

I'm no expert, but I think that the answer is that if you have the right ethernet wiring connecting the units you can share the transducer and then select the view separately for each unit. Just a guess, but you rob banks for a living, right? Anyone know where Wayne went? I hope he just moved and didn't have other problems. I learned more from him than from Humminbird.

http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=youtube+fg+knot&s_it=video-ans&sfVid=true&videoId=EF1BE4736FF133DF98ECEF1BE4736FF133DF98EC&v_t=client97_searchbox

With line this heavy FG is far superior to any other knot. It was first developed for saltwater and heavy lines, is easier to tie with heavier lines, is the smallest and arguably the strongest knot. The double uni, if you ever can get it to tighten up, will be huge, with five layers of FC. With this heavy FC the FC will stand up nicely allowing easy weaving with the braid without using the method that requires the braid to be tensioned. I have no doubt the Rizutto finish, done right, will make a great knot, but the chances of my getting it done right are pretty slim. There is a video that shows how to do the weaves without tensioning the braid, and I'll find it and post here. One thing one should do after tying his first FG is to tear it apart. If done right the FC will be mechanically deformed which shows how the braid is captured in grooves in the FC. If the FC is not deformed, the knot is not being tightened adequately.

To offer a little more info on the cork situation these days, there is no true accepted scale of quality for cork. When you see "fluer," or is it "fleur." grade, it can vary a lot and you have no way of knowing whether source A's fleur is even close to source B's fleur grade. Here are two pics of what is called by its source, "super" grade cork. It costs about $25. Look at the first photo and it looks pretty good, but many filled spots are visible. The second photo is the same cork with the photo cropped to allow a closer look. Easy to see the filled spots. Based on my experience with this source and this grip, the filler will not come out and with the coat of U40 I put on it, it will look good for a long time. And be cleanable to refresh it to almost new looking.

I agree with the pro-Lund comments. I just bought a Lund 1650 Rebel XS SS this year, and it's a great boat. Lunds are very popular on the Great Lakes, recently when pulling out I noticed that 5 out of the seven boats visible were Lunds. Mine is very well designed, tons of storage under cover, very high structural feel, tracks well at slower speeds, just above a fast troll, which is something that most welded hulls don't do.

With good quality cork you will not, in my opinion, have chunks coming out in a few years. But, in this case, maybe you will because that cork is certainly suspect. It could be that not many rod buyers have recently seen good quality cork. No doubt it is getting hard to get. Some cork grips, but not this one I believe, are already filled when you get them. Look closely and you can see it. And the filling is solid and does not come out. As I mentioned, the use of cork sealer will keep the cork looking good, cleanable, for a long time, too. If you do fill it with the Elmer's (I didn't notice I was recommending the same product as DVT-better to just buy locally and avoid shipping costs) (fill the whole area of the cork surface while you're at it) and properly sand it, it will look much better than it does now. If you seal with U-40 the color will not change. You can use gunstock oil, like TruOil, for a different, darker, look. If you choose to do that, try it on another cheaper rod to make sure you like it. It will change the feel a little, too. I believe that the problems with cork quality are causing manufacturers to increasingly offer new materials like the Winn Grips and carbon fiber. Custom builders also have the option of using exotic burl cork which is pit-free, totally solid, lasts much better than regular cork, but is heavier. Grips/handles/reel seat structure are the areas where custom rods usually excel relative to even the best factory rods.

http://www.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog/Rod-Building-Supplies/Rod-Builders-Cork-Filler I would contact Loomis directly, show them the photo. For the price you paid it is not expected that the buyer should have to fill the cork. But if you do fix it yourself, be very particular with the sanding,, using a block so you'll sand it evenly and not sand unintended contour into it. Finish the sanding with whatever grit paper will give you the same finish as the new cork. Then, use U-40 cork sealer to keep it looking good. http://www.mudhole.com/U-40-Cork-Seal-2-oz- Having looked at that photo a second time, I conclude that one doesn't get very good quality cork on a $450 Loomis rod these days.

I have not noticed inaccurate depth readings as the batteries get low, but I have noticed the depth finder simply turns itself off. "cuts out." I expect that about anything can happen with different brands reacting differently to low voltage.

I caught about a 2 1/2 pound smallie on my first cast with the Ned. And it has made many days somewhat successful when nothing else seemed to work. I don't agree with the position that the Ned is a small fish bait. I think it catches all bass, not just small bass. There are more small bass than large bass, so we catch more small bass than large bass. I seem to be noticing a fall-off in effectiveness. Seems like the fish are figuring it out. Anyone else noticing this?

Different strokes for different folks. I never considered changing plugs on the water. But I keep a spare set, one year old plugs, in the boat just in case. In 18 years I never had a single malfunction with the 50 HP Suzuki, changed the water pump impeller twice, and the usual winterization and that was it. They are great engines. My Suzuki was quieter than the current engine associated with Lund. Had a more pleasant tone to its sound, too.

I had a Suzuki 4 stroke for 18 years, ran like new from beginning to when I sold it to upgrade boat, changed plugs every year. They may have lasted longer, but for less than $15 a year, I wanted no possible problems. I believe that Suzuki recommended annual replacement. The engine started as quickly and cleanly in the spring as it did in the fall, even with the fogging oil in it. Too bad Lund doesn't have a contract with Suzuki.

Change the plugs, change the lower unit lube (by looking at it you can tell if your seal is leaking allowing water into the lower unit), change the oil on a four stroke, do any other lube/cleaning that might be needed, then fog the engine with fogging oil to coat the cylinders with oil. Some engines may have specific needs above these.

You need mono or mono leaders for surface lures. FC takes the line down and affects the action of many surface lures by pulling them under on the twitch.

Surely it is, but for the best ultra light , go longer.

Just don't use that red stuff. Stains everything it touches, and in my experience, it tends to dry up much sooner than other oils. Seems to me the biggest challenge in choosing a reel oil is the container it comes in. Most of the oil I buy ends up leaking out of the container and I end up with a plastic bag all gooped up with oil. Remember the old Pflueger oil bottle with the little thin wire in it? Didn't leak, hard to over-lube with it, seemed to work fine.

However phony this is, if you cannot get your line to enter the water as usual, and your rod buzzes when you point it up, get the hell off the water. You're about to be struck by real lightning.

There is no "time" when the outfit has to be winterized IF YOU KEEP WATER FROM FREEZING IN THE LOWER UNIT. That is THE ISSUE. Of course it is wise to change the plugs, lower unit lube (this is important because it gives you a chance to see if there is water in there which would indicate a seal problem, probably caused by fishing line damaging it), and fogging the engine (to prevent corrosion when you're no longer using it). These other things are things that should be done with some regularity, but they don't have a deadline. But you have to prevent water from freezing in the lower unit. With most engines, maybe all, simply storing them with the lower unit vertical will do this. My dealer said there is something else on my Merc 60 that needs attention, too, and I haven't gotten the info on that yet, but usually it is as I wrote above.

I agree with the previous posts, but caution you to make sure your engine lower unit is put into the vertical position to drain it of water. That sort of comes naturally with most setups, but if it doesn't, make sure water is not trapped in the lower unit. I've heard recommendations to kick it over with the starter after use to clear the water pump of water, but I believe every water pump has a small hole to drain it. One of the dealers in our area, central MI, requires a customer to sign a release against freeze damage on winterize jobs brought in after Nov 1.

Longer is better. Hook sets will be much better with a longer rod. One thing to keep in mind is that the longer rod can tend to feel a little sloppy if made from a fly blank. If you go fly, 3 wt is about right. The blank below has received a lot of positive comment on another forum, and is not expensive. If I were to build a panfish rod it would be my choice. The extra length even with a fast action will provide some protection if bigger fish are caught. It is a Rainshadow Revelation blank. REVS72UL-SB UL Trout & Panfish 7'2" 2-6 1/32-3/16 0.393 5 Fast UL 1.48

If this is supposed to be a link, I don't know how to get it to work. Seems like simply a photo.

If I am hearing a loud click and feeling it, I worry about it and don't continue fishing with that kind of a setup. It may not be damaging, but I don't like it. Fortunately it is easy to fix. If you use fairly heavy line/leader combinations with small enough guides to cause this, learn the FG knot. It has a bad reputation for being difficult and possibly unreliable, but in heavier combinations it's both reliable and fairly easy, with some practice, to tie. There are many videos on line. By "heavier" I mean like 20 pound leader and up, and 30 pound braid and up. The key is the leader because that's where the knot bulk comes from and the FG is easy to tie in + 20 test, and hard to tie in less than 15 test. At least for me it is. There is no knot smaller than the FG since it does not require a loop of the leader; it works with the straight leader with a braid weave on it, similar to the tubular finger trap toy. Except with the FG's braid weaves pulled tight, the leader is actually deformed to have ridges that really allow the braid to grip well. With lighter lines and leaders, you don't need the smallest knot to go through quite cleanly. A simple double uni will work fine. So on the light stuff I use the double uni, and when I get into the heavier stuff I use the FG. If you are using, for example, 10 pound FC leader and 15 pound braid line, the double unis and most other knots will go through most micros with ease. There are other good knots that are small, but the FG is the smallest. It is well worth learning to tie it. Since it goes so cleanly through the guides it does not get damaged by the guides as do other knots that are "clicking" their way through the guides.

In my opinion , and that's all you're going to get from anyone, they are not worth a $40 upcharge. They are in fact about average for cost for most guide sets, and certainly nothing approaching a $40 premium. They are easier to wrap since their spacing is dictated by AmTac-no design time needed for the first three guides. While they work well, so do other guide set designs.

Custom rods by a reputable builder will be structurally better than any factory rod due to the care that builders take to ensure sufficient epoxy on the reel seat grip construction. Sorry folks, but no factory does as bullet-proof a job there as the custom builder does. Guides will be covered most likely by their good warranty, and I doubt if most custom builders would charge for a simple guide replacement, but one should check before contracting. The warranty rub comes in when a blank fails, and for most quality blanks there is a very good warranty, but only for the cost of the blank, and there may be fee. The labor of building the rod and the parts that likely would be scrapped, like the seat and grip, will not be covered. Bottom line is that one should check in detail what the warranty on a custom build will cover. Some people seem to very rough on their rods while others have little or no trouble. Most blank failures are do to misuse by the fisherman. I just cringe when fishing with many guys as they abuse their rods. They seem to think everything can take it like the old Shakespeare Ugli Sticks. Modern high mod graphite, will not. I'm not a fast builder, but I'd have to increase my speed by one heck of a lot to do a rod for $100 labor. I think that might be low.