MickD

Yes, it often happens. Consider how many guides a dealer would have to stock to have everything in stock. Most dealers get orders in weekly from the manufacturers, so delays longer than a week from order to ship are a little unusual with most dealers. If you're seeing that often, then you might want to try a different dealer.

Nice. I've tried the finger slot but I prefer conical front ramps because they can be used in any orientation and still be comfortable. On the Aero that ramp will be pretty large, and very comfy. there is an EVA part available from Mudhole that fits the Aero perfectly and can simply be ordered, not custom made. Do it in carbon fiber, with carbon fiber butt knob and small ramp off the back of the seat, and it's really ergonomically sound and as sensitive as it gets.

With double unis and something like 20 pound mono (backing) you'll see and feel the bump under the line unless there is a lot of line over it. At times the line on top can actually hang up on the tag end of the mono. This is where the smaller knots like the Alberto shine over the double uni.

Are they fugly? Thanks for the detail, just what I asked for.

Buy a good rod at a reasonable price and fish with braid. The line is worth hundreds of dollars of rod cost when looking for sensitivity.

Get what you want now because from now on your wife will tell you that you already have a boat, why do you need a new one? Then. . . Lund Rebel 1650 ss, if you can find a used one, good for you. But a new one can be had for less than $20. Do it now, discounts run out at the end of the month. I'd go 60 HP. 50 with this boat will be a little underpowered.

Some conclusions, as I interpret the responses: The double uni is strong,reliable, easy to tie for everyone. But not close to the smallest and most streamlined through the guides. The FG works for some, not for others, and is the most smallest and most streamlined through the guides. If you can make it work reliably, lucky you. I've tried the pulling it tight for every set of weaves, and it helps. . . but not always. The Alberto/"double" Albright is reliable, easy to tie for everyone, and small/streamlined enough for almost any guides and pound tests. And a couple other knots that people have found good, but are not universally known, like the surgeons knot. Take your choice; I'll stick with the double uni for small line diameters, and the Alberto for the others. Having said that, I still do have a couple rigs with FG's tied last year. I like it, but don't fully trust it.

I would recommend putting something on the crack to seal water out. If it gets in, in time, it will deteriorate the wrap and the integrity of the current wrap epoxy (not hardware store epoxy!). The best material is, as mentioned, wrap epoxy sold by rodbuilding suppliers, but not having anything else to buy, the shipping will kill you. The best nail polish to use, I believe, is the Sally Hansen clear hard coat designed to protect decorated fingernails. It may provide some UV protection, not sure. But it is clear and strong. I'd check on it occasionally to see that it's holding up well. If the wrap becomes foggy looking, water is getting in.

Uni-uni is easy to tie, reliable, but it is big. It has five layers of the leader, so if you use leader of about 20 pounds or up, it gets so big that it won't work with micros, and it will make noise going through regular guides. It is my knot where it will work with the guides I'm using. I've learned the FG so I can tie them quite efficiently, and for a really heavy leader, they work very well. It is the smallest knot that works, only one layer of the leader. And it tests as about the strongest knot. But. . .For some reason I've yet to understand, when I tie them with leaders of about 20 pounds test and below, I often have the knot slip when testing it. It is not reliable for me in the lower tests. I've concluded that the Alberto, with about 6 wraps up and 6 back is small enough to work with just about any guides (only two layers of the leader), is very strong, is easy to tie, and is reliable IF YOU UNDERSTAND that putting the tag end out the same way it came in (think of a door, the line comes in, winds around a lot, then goes back out the same door) is critical to the success of the knot. Put it through the loop from the other side, the wrong way, and it will fail. But once you understand this, it's easy to do right.

This looks very good for ergonomics. I've done a simpler version using the Am Tak Aero seat uplocking with a big carbon fiber "ramp" off the front. The threads are at the back and out of the way, and it works very well, as I'm sure yours does. I think most builders underestimate the virtues of uplocking with the Aero and the regular seats. In both cases uplocking allows a smooth transition from the seat to the ramp, which can be about any shape you want, can be a hard material so that it provides very good sensitivity, and is still very comfortable. Great ergonomic design, and it looks better than mine. But a bit more complex.

Can you elaborate on which REC guides were used and why they were such a problem? The workmanship on the rod looks great. I'm not a fan of all the fancy corks out now, but this one with the "wave" is nice, adds interest without going nutso.

A lot of statements of brands, not a lot of whys.

No, not snap swivels. Snaps.

Sounds like it's been there a while, so not likely to "snag" the owner. I expect with proper cleaning the reel will be fine, and the rod, I'm almost certain, will be OK. Worst case the grip or grip to blank epoxy could be degraded, but I doubt even that. Use it, and if the blank fails, save it for use as repair material for other broken rods. If the grip fails, come on back and get advice on how to repair that. If you don't find the owner there is no reason to not take a chance on it. If you do decide the reel is not working properly I suggest sending it to a pro servicer, like DVT.

Looks iike a display a friend showed me on his unit. He was going nuts over all the walleyes down there, couldn't catch any. When we turned the fish ID off we found there were no walleyes down there. He's now convinced to keep them off. There are occasions that the fish symbols are fish, but even then there isn't a heck of a lot of info of value with them. But everyone to his own liking.

Fish symbols do NOT always mean fish. In fact most of the time they do not. All it means is that there is something in the water that reflects the signal, and it could be weeds, could be anything that does not appear to the "brain" to be attached. Even the end of a twig, with the rest of the tree out of the cone will appear as a fish symbol. With the symbols turned off, as mentioned above, you can accurately interpret what is down there. With practice you will become very adept at telling fish from other stuff. Bite the bullet and leave them off.

I think the Terrova has spot lock. I would not consider upgrading without getting spot lock. As for cable vs the Terrova system of what I guess is "electric steer," i would also not consider going back to cable steer. With the Terrova with spot lock you have a remote control so the boat may be controlled from anywhere in the boat and the ergonomics of the electric steer are far better than cable. If you are considering going without the spot lock and electric steer with remote (I think Motor Guide has a system, too) you really need to try the new system before buying. The Terrova has a built in transducer which is compatible with most if not all Hummingbirds, but not with most Lowrances. At least that was the case two years ago when I got mine.

Any of the rod kits from Mudhole or Get Bit or other dealers will work fine. I'd go spinning since the guides vary more in foot size than the casting guides, although casting will offer a couple two foot guides. So I guess that's up to you. The most challenging guides for me are micros-hard to get them stable on the blank for wrapping. Use nylon thread because it stretches more than other materials and is easier to keep tension on. If you want to keep teh color of the thread from changing with the application of wrap epoxy, use color preservative, two coats IMHO. For a beginner I would propose Flex Coat medium build wrap epoxy (has to be WRAP epoxy, not hardware store structural epoxy) I suggest Flex Coat because it doesn't take a couple days to get really hard and dry like Pro Kote does. Use the Utube videos from Mudhole and Flex Coat for tips on how to do things. Any more questions, come on back.

Thanksfor all the comments; I knew when I posted it would be interesting. I'll go with Doug Hannon; I think he is probably the most expert on the subject. I really didn't expect to get a comment that was that definitive. Thanks especially to Bass Turd (you gotta do something about that name :-) )

Once when Ford used individual letters for their name I saw a "FROD."

Any opinions on whether boat color would affect the smallmouth bite while fishing 4-8 foot rockpiles in clear water? Like red vs black hull color? I've been told that it is better to not wear a bright shirt as it can spook fish. What about a bright boat?

Any opinions on whether boat color would affect the smallmouth bite while fishing 4-8 foot rockpiles in clear water? Like red vs black hull color?

I suggest a larger reel, like a 2500. I see no disadvantage, and usually they have a larger diameter spool and will handle more types of lines better. And make sure you get a fast or xfast action (not power, action). Some of the less expensive rods are pretty "whippy." Medium power, like all the others are recommending.

I'm interested in finding out what you bought and how you like it. I personally would never trust Evinrude after all the problems Johnson/Evinrude have had in the past. I have a Suzuki 50, and it is a great engine. 17 years old and runs perfectly, starts perfectly. Parts easy on line, all mechanics work on them.

I'm done with plastic brackets, too. In MI the plates are so thin that they can become damaged too,so I glue (gorilla glue) an old plate onto the trailer plate to double its thickness and use many zip locks to hang it. Redundancy!