TOXIC

Nice. No more keypad it looks like.

If the seller cannot offer the factory warranty, it would have to be really cheap. There’s a lot that can go wrong with a new TM and they are not cheap to fix.

Funny story, 3rd day of a week long trip to Michigan, I ripped my only pair of lightweight fishing pants. The weather surprised us and was 75-85 every day. I had jeans but I really didn’t want to wear them because I knew they would be hot. I had cargo shorts but I hadn’t really worn shorts yet this summer and really didn’t want to get a sunburn. There’s no way I was going to put sunscreen all over my legs either. Sooooo, I start going through all of the clothes I packed and there were sweat pants but I knew they would be way too hot, then I ran across a pair of under armour pants that were lightweight and had zipper pockets. I thought why not and gave them a try. Pretty nice, but then I realized that since I packed for more cold than summer, they were my long underwear. I fished for the last 2 days in them and they were comfortable.????

It’s also so that if you get hung up, you only lose the weight and not the whole rig. Tying a knot in the tag line defeats the purpose. If you are going to do that then just buy cheap bell sinkers instead of dropshot weights. I used to alternate between teardrop, cylinder, and hex style weights depending on the bottom composition until I discovered QuickDrop weights. They work in all conditions and they are teardrop style only. I swear they put some magic in the lead.??

I consider it one of the best. Honestly, we fished all over the American side. We stay on Harsens because it is so close to both big and small muskamoot bays and we can get in there no matter the weather. This year we probably spent 2 hours in muskamoot because the weather was so good and there was no wind so we could go anywhere. We honestly didn’t spend much time on the mile roads either but that is where I caught a 5.5. We fished the Salt all the way to 9 mile.

It’s tough for me not to.?. I really enjoy looking at them but when we were catching 50-75 every day from 3 to 6 pounds, it got downright ridiculous.

I have a buddy that supplies all of my Ned heads and he never has paint in the eyes. He must hang them by wire or something. For some others I have bought, I use a small hook like tool on my fishing clippers. Using another hook put too many holes in my fingers. ?

Usually the Senko follow up works because if a fish hit a spinnerbait or crankbait, and they didn’t succeed, then they double back to see if they stunned the prey and it is now an easy meal. A slowly sinking weightless Senko mimics that perfectly. I get so many pecks and hits on a Senko I wouldn’t know what to throw if it was the other way around. ?

Here is a little pic of some lake St Clair beds that are in a hidden away bay off one of the channels. You learn pretty quick which ones are just starting, in the middle of, or finishing the spawn. If there is a pair then they are in the first 2 of those stages. The female leaves after depositing eggs. If there’s a particular fish I really want to catch and it won’t hit anything in the bed, I do a couple of things. I will first throw a dropshot with a short tag line and leave the bait in the bed. If that doesn’t work, I will actually try to drag my bait into the fish pushing it off the bed and then repeat the first step with the dropshot. Scaring them off the bed sometimes kicks in their protective instincts.

Sure would like to know if that is impact or delamination.

Plus I learned something. We have all heard about a “Shadow Box” but does anyone know the story behind it? I do now. ?

This year on our annual trip to Michigan we spent an extra day so that we could attend the retirement Ceremony for a friend who is/was a Coastie. He enlisted in Michigan and then did alternating duty stations in Alaska and Michigan serving in each twice. Pulled his Ranger center console to Alaska and fished there. He had the ceremony in this specific hanger on Selfridge USCG Base because that was the exact hanger he was sworn in at. I felt honored to be in attendance (thank heavens my clearance was still good) and got to witness a time honored ceremony that included the Commandant of the base and multiple proclamations in honor of his service. Some from the Admiral of the Coast Guard. The flag presentation ceremony was awesome and speeches from his crew and academy mates were awe inspiring.

We have them here in Virginia and it can be a pain if it gets wrapped around your line. I always say it’s like feeling in somebody’s underwear stuck to your line. ?

Electronics. I have 2 units on Ram mounts that come out after every trip and before I cover the boat.

I’m not sure they are either. Someone can clarify, I was just talking plastics in general.

When I was guiding a trip was a trip and we had a standing rule that we only cancelled at the ramp. That was because you never really knew what the weather was going to do. When we go to Michigan for our annual trip, we are fishing no matter what and we have the clothing to deal with whatever the lake wants to dish out. Fun fishing.....I just stay out of the extremes of temp, wind, rain, etc. I can handle most anything that doesn’t impact safety.

And to top it off, one of the cheaters was on either the local high school or college fishing team if I remember correctly.

I’m in the camp that scent is used to mask other smells/tastes that may be present on the lure or to tempt the fish to hold the bait a little longer but I have reeled in a lot of fish who bit Yamamoto plastics, which have no scent, and held on all the way to the boat without ever getting stuck by the hook. I don’t like the power bait and other plastics that have to be stored in their magic juice or away from other plastics.

I don’t like night fishing. Never have. I’ve done it and caught fish but not my preferred way to fish. The chain of lakes we have been going to in Wisconsin for 20+ years has decided to spray the aquatic vegetation and turned every lake into a night bite. You know what else bites at night in Wisconsin? Mosquitos. Big nasty blood thirsty mosquitos. My thermacell can only do so much and then add in every other insect trying to get in my mouth, eyes, ears or up my nose and it’s not a fun time. I can still scratch out a few fish early in the morning after they have moved up shallow during the night but it’s not worth dragging the boat 1,200 miles. Makes me sad because the lakes used to be a fishing paradise with 50-75 fish days pretty common.

If you are not experienced enough to diagnose any problems with the boat, motor and trailer, my suggestion would be to take it to a good mechanic and pay to have it gone over. I could tell you all the things I look for but if you are new to the game, you would probably miss a lot. Things like lights, switches, compression, bearings, tires, steering, hull, transom, etc., all need to check out. Good luck in your search!

Tom covered it well. I’m a little more of a purist when it comes to Senkos. I don’t want anything interfering with the action. That includes snaps, swivels and braided line. I only throw mono for most all of the applications I mentioned. I use fluro for cranking only and never on a spinning rig.

When I was guiding more frequently, I didn’t have an option. I knew where to go to get away from most of the boat traffic but my biggest concern was always safety. Now that I am retired, I have options?. I was invited to a one owner 200 acre private lake for tomorrow but I have a repair scheduled for my addition Hvac heat pump.

As has been said there are some methods to reduce line twist but some presentations twist up on the retrieve or are just more prone to twisting. I am 100% against swivels and snaps except for Carolina rigs so I have to deal with line twist all the time. First....don’t over fill your spool. Second ....once you have filled the spool, prop your rod, open the bail and walk out as much line as possible. Walk back to your rod and pinch the line in front of your spool with your fingers as you wind it back on to the spool. This insures you are starting with your line properly laying on the spool. I don’t wacky rig but I can tell you that neds, dropshot, flukes, t-rigged Senkos and a bunch of other spinning rod techniques will spin your line. When it does happen, I cut the bait off and feed 2 casts worth of line behind the boat and reel it back in the same as my initial spool. Or if you are bank fishing just walk it out. It is really compounded if you are overspooled.

There are still deals out there depending on how hard you are willing to look or how far you are willing to go for a deal. But in all reality it’s no different than any other time selling and buying. You got more than expected selling and are paying more than expected buying. Nets out to the same deal as before prices went up.

Never leave home without it. And the tools to change it. And a TM prop and pin. You can’t use it if you don’t have it. ?