tkunk

Recently, I've been having trouble with my Lowrance HDS units shutting down after just a few hours on the water. I used to be able to fish for 12+ hours with them on. The voltage readings (which I just learned how to enable) on the units themselves are hovering around 10.3-10.8 when the power goes out. Is that low? If so, is it likely that my battery is shot? What should my voltage readings be? The units are connected to a house battery that's not responsible for starting the engine. I don't know anything about boats, so I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks.

The picture on the left shows a regular reel seat, where you keep your the trigger between your fingers. The picture on the right is a palming reel seat, where you rest your pinkie in front of the trigger. Palming reel seats are supposed to reduce wear on your hands when you're working hard-pulling baits. I really like them and use them on my deep cranking bass rod and muskie rods, but some people hate them. I'd recommend trying one before you buy it. In my experience, it feels odd when you first start using it, but you get used to quickly.

On the WI side of Lake Michigan, I don't think it's difficult to catch 6 lb smallies in the spring. I can, and I'm not a good fisherman by any means. I agree that 6.5+ lbs is very rare.

Where I fish, a 6 lb smallie isn't a trophy. I don't follow professional fishing much, but you'd probably have to average around 5 lbs per fish on smallmouth waters like the Great Lakes or Mille Lacs to do well in a tournament. From what I've seen, that average is a lot lower on most southern lakes.

There's nothing magic about the 50 degree mark. The lake I normally fish turns over at least once each summer because of wind and big waves.

You don't want a ML moderate fast rod for neds and weightless soft plastics, because you'll have trouble hooking fish and possibly even detecting bites. I'd recommend and XF rod for these applications, but F is fine too.

Agreed. Smallies will hit absolutely anything, but it's important to use bait that they can actually fit in their mouths. Last year, I watched 6 lb smallie try to t-bone a 4 lb sucker that I was using as bait for muskies. It was entertaining, but I knew that I wasn't going to hook her.

I get that moving a bait a certain distance requires the same amount of force, but the OP was also asking about fatigue. I use a Tranx 300 HG, which is 7.6:1, for deep cranking, and I can burn baits all day with zero fatigue. I don't know anything about physics, but I'm assuming that the large spool size and long power handle make this possible. I can say from experience that deep cranking with a high-speed 200-sized reel is much more taxing.

Nice 'ski (and bass, of course)! Did you catch it on that small swimbait on the deck behind you? If you don't mind, what are you using to take pictures? I'd love to be able to get pictures of the muskies I catch solo.

I just read here that spool size doesn't affect power. I'm 99% sure that that's wrong.

What size lines are you using for braid and fluoro? I wonder if a big difference in line diameters between braid and leader matters. I have the same problem as you, but it only happens on my tube (spinning) rod, where I'm using 8 lb braid and 12-20 lb fluoro. The FG knot often gets tangled in the guides, and I've had much better luck with the alberto knot. For every other application, I use 6-8 lb braid to 7 lb fluoro with an FG knot or 40-50 lb braid to 10-15 lb fluoro with an Alberto knot, and I've never had any issues.

A 7-pound largemouth in WI is freaking awesome. Congrats, man!

Currently, I run two HDS 12's, and I'm thinking about buying a third. I use separate batteries for running my electronics and starting my engine. I don't know if it's possible, but I'd like to be able to run my electronics for 12 hours/day. Ideally, the size of the battery would be 11" x 6 7/8". Does anyone have any suggestions?

When I contacted them about a spybait that broke after about 10 fish, they sent me three new ones.

I've caught a few fish with lures stuck in their mouths, so not necessarily.

My favorite is the NRX drop shot rod with a Stradic 2500. In summer and fall, I catch 75+% of my bass drop shotting, so I figured I'd splurge. My previous drop shot rod was a flipping stick, so it was a big upgrade!

Ever fish close to somebody who's crushing it but you're getting skunked? It's almost certainly not presentation. Instead, he's fishing an isolated boulder, irregularity in weeds, or some other kind of awesome fish-holding spot. On any lake that's not gin-clear, the only way to find good spots is with a fish finder. If I could do it all over again, my priorities would be reliable boat and motor (e.g., something that doesn't take on water and almost always starts) fish finders: 2 on the bow (one for map and down imaging, and one for side scan) and 1 on the console would be sufficient nothing else matters all that much I'm not good at fishing. But as I improve, the more I realize that it's important to focus on spots on spots. If you fish a big point, but you have no idea where boulders, transitions, or weed edges are, you'll be wasting a ton of time. There are many tournaments on the lake I fish, and the pros are always hammering the best spots. You can't do that without good electronics.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid reeling lures all the way up into your guides?

I mostly fish for smallies, so I rarely go bigger than DT16s. I tried a DT20 once, because it was in a bargain bin, and I promptly lost it to a pike. The rod handled the bait just fine.

I have one. I can cast a mile with it, and it's sensitive for its price point. I use everything from DT10s to DT16s, and it handles all of those baits very well. I use it for spinnerbaits too.

I live on Lake Michigan. Wind makes it much easier, because you only have to fish the windy side of each piece of structure. Don't be afraid to check shallow areas. It's not a super high percentage thing, but if the fish are there, you can absolutely murder them, so it's always worth checking. If they're not shallow, you'll need to fish deeper areas. If I'm not familiar with a location, I'll cruise around the steepest breaks and waypoint any kind of boulder or rock/sand transition. You'll want to drop shot each one of these. If, at any time during this search, you see bait or smallies on your graph, start fishing immediately! I don't bother fishing if it's calm.

A bird lands in a lake with carp and gets carp eggs on its feet. Then it flies over to your pond, lands, and the eggs fall off of its feet. Soon, you'll have carp in your pond. This actually happens.

I have the NRX 893c, which is probably similar to the GLX, and I can confirm that it works for just about every technique, including topwaters. With a walking bait, you can twitch to the side, so the length isn't an issue. The only appications I wouldn't use it for are crankbaits and dropshot.

By far, my most successful and least favorite technique is the drop shot.

If you care about casting distance, you'll want a long rod. Match the power to the baits you plan on using. A 5" senko, which I consider heavy for a finesse bait, weighs about 1/3 oz, so you'll probably want a rod rated up to 3/8 oz. Fast vs. XF is personal preference. I like XF. For spinning gear, I don't think you need to go heavier than 10 lb braid. While bass fishing, I regularly catch 10+ lb freshwater drums and some other big critters on 5 lb braid, and I've never had any issues.