Elkins45

Just made it, so no data on durability.

I made an open top version from some outdoor canvas I bought at a different store. It was more expensive and not waterproof, but I bought it first. I should have just started at Walmart.

Flambeau will sell you one of these for $18. I decided to make my own from some material Walmart sells called Pro Tuff Outdoor Fabric. It's a waterproofed heavy canvas that is $4.97 per yard. For less than $10 in materials I made two of these: They hold six large boxes and keep the rain from getting into the boxes underneath the lid lips. Other than the two hours of diagnosis/adjustment I needed to get the sewing machine working, the hardest part was working out the correct dimensions to cut the cloth pieces. If someone wants to make one just let me know and I will post the dimensions.

My grandpa died in 1977 and one of the things he left me was an Ambassadeur reel. I still use it as my Muskie trolling and big giant carfish reel. I expect it will still be getting used 100 years from now. Do the level winds disengage on the newer models?

I wet down a folded paper towel or piece of cloth and pinch the line with it to maintain the desired tension. No finger cuts and the line gets packed under tension but with minimal friction. I have never had a twist problem filling a spinning reel from a rotating spool. Maybe I’m just lucky?

I do. It was a flattened oval in cross section. I used it once. It was sort of like casting with zip ties.

I fish a couple of small local lakes where casting an unweighted floating worm on a light 3/0 Hook is the absolute killer setup along the weedbeds. 30+ years ago I fished this combo with a Daiwa minicast spincaster, but with such a whippy rod and 6lb line a decent sized fish almost always ties me up in the cattails and gets away. I’m willing to devote a rod/reel combo just to this purpose. I prefer baitcasters but my experience is that a skinny little 6” worm and light hook is just too light for any of my current reels. I don’t have much experience with spinning gear but I’m willing to try. I assume a big part of the equation is having a long rod to give leverage when casting? Maybe braid so I can still get a decent cast distance and still be able to yank one out of the weeds? Thoughts?

I’ve eaten them, but not in several years. They aren’t nearly as tasty as crappie, and I hate to take them out of the ecosystem except for maybe in the local small lake with a slot limit. I would still keep and clean one if it was obvious it wasn’t going to survive, such as being gut hooked.

My BIL gave me a Shakespeare spinning rig for Christmas. It’s a two piece rod and I assume it came from WalMart, so it’s probably not an expensive rod. The only other two piece rods I own are a fly rod and a crappie rig. I remember back in the 70’s my grandpa looked down on sectioned rods as being weaker and less sensitive than one piece. Of course, this was also back in the day of metal ferrules so maybe things have changed. Would it benefit the strength or sensitivity of the rod if I were to glue the sections together with some epoxy, or would this just make the rod more inconvenient with no real benefit?

My old PMA1000 instruction manual mentioned something about having to reset the magnet if you fiddled around with it while the sideplate was off. I seem to vaguely recall having something similar happen to me, but it was 30+ years ago so it’s pretty fuzzy.

So I have way more rods/reels than I need or can even manage. I’m making a focused effort to do a better job and keep my boat less cluttered. What I have finally settled on is an approach that I am finding works well for me. On my my last trip I put the 4-5 casting rods I like best and my two best spinning rods in my small rod locker. These are just rods, no reels. I then fill up a pistol case with a big assortment of my favorite reels loaded with a variety of different weights and types of line. The reels stay in the truck or hotel while traveling, so that has the added advantage of minimizing loss should someone break into my rod locker. Once I’m on the water I mix and match reels and rods as desired to give me the ideal combo. I’m sure others have done this but it’s new to me and so far as haven’t found a down side.

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.

Why is that? Why would I need a faster retrieve for worm fishing? My reasoning is that a fast reel has a tendency to make me work them too fast, so a slower ratio helps slow me down.

I finally got a chance to fish with my new reels and I can’t say enough good about them. I’m thrillled to have gotten them at such a bargain price.

I bought a Zebco Omega exclusively to use with unweighted floating worms. I used to use a Daiwa Minicast but I wanted something bigger to handle larger fish. I don’t love the slow retrieve.

Bassmaster ranked it in their top ten last year, so that probably has a lot to do with drawing the crowds. I went over the summer but it poured down rain the entire time I was there. I only caught one fish that might have went two pounds.

Just based on history, if you could pick one week to fish Eufaula (Alabama) what week would you choose? I’m going next week although I know it’s probably too early. I might be able to go back for another week in March, April or May. Just to plan finding lodging, what week would be your choice? Thanks

It would really suck to put that much work into a project and see it ruined after only two months. I only hope someone’s insurance compensated you for all the effort.

My first bass boat had an 85 horse Johnson V4. I think it was a 79 model. For some reason the starter would occasionally overheat and stop cranking for an hour or so until it cooled down. It was so cantankerous that I kept a screwdriver with a knotted rope tied to it in the boat at all times. In the six years I owned that boat I’ll bet I pull started it at least 75 times. Once you’ve pull started an 85 HP V4 then a little tiller steer motor isn’t much of a challenge. Plus, there’s always ether if you need a little help.

There’s a lot to like about this. I’m getting ready to add a similar front floor section to my 1648. Having seen this I now want to do the middle as well. Nicely done!

If you’ve ever used clear blue Stren then you’ve seen it. It fluoresces blue under UV light, but since the UV is absorbed by water it appears clear a few inches down. I’ve been using it since the late 80’s and I think it’s pretty good mono, especially for the price.

Finding a place to stay on short notice would have been the problem.

I had scheduled a five day trip to Rodman Reservoir, tent camping at Rodman Campground. It’s a 12 hour drive at least. I was supposed to leave on Sunday but when I saw the forecast I changed my reservation to later in the week. Sunday afternoon at around 2:00 pm my phone rang: it was a recording saying that due to flooding the campground has been closed until February 15 and my reservation has been cancelled. If I had left on my original schedule I would have been towing my boat somewhere in north Florida about the time the call came through. I can’t even begin to imagine how ticked I would have been!

There’s also the issue where you might have two or more identical rod/reel combos and need to be able to tell them apart.

My two reels arrived today. They feel super slick and the build quality seems excellent. Both were made in Korea, which is probably a step up from made in China. I’m looking forward to trying them out in a couple of weeks.