TOXIC

I just wrote an article for Yamamoto on this very topic called “Road Trip Blues” that covers how I rig for backseat fishing. It’s on Yamamoto’s website if you want to read it. It’s frowned upon to put links here.

If I had to guess I would say your reel is overfilled. That will cause the line to jump off the spool as soon as you open the bail with nothing on the other end. Either that or it’s spooled with cheap fluorocarbon. You should never have to put the spool in warm water. The tip you are referencing is to put the line in warm water as you wind it on the spool.

I don’t want to sound rude but if I’m a coangler I’m not there to make the boaters day any easier or harder. I’m there to fish. I know the FOM tournaments require a night before meeting but I’m not sure about other trails. If I get hung up it would depend on what I was throwing. An expensive crank or a soft plastic. If I prefished and had good info, I would for sure mention it and it is up to him if he wants to ask for it.

Yes they are but they double as a flotation device if they turn over you are required to wear a pfd and I can tell you I’ve never seen a kayak running across lake St Clair or anywhere more than 1/2 mile offshore an we have been right in the middle of kayak tournaments. I assume it’s that way on all of the bigger water.

I hate to sound like a dad here but think about whether your life is worth saving a few bucks. My saying has always been.....”Know both your and your boats capabilities and don’t exceed either of them”. Setting aside the fact that you could get caught unexpectedly in a pop up storm. For that reason I would suggest a kayak so that there is no question or temptation to get out in big water. Save your cash and get your big water boat when you can afford it.

My only point of reference is when I was in high school I trained racehorses in Omaha, NE (Aksarben) and when the ponies came to town it brought out a lot of people and some of them had problems with gambling. I didn’t notice any increase in crime. It did increase tourism from some of the closer towns. I have had friends in the casino business so I have heard some of the horror stories but I don’t think it’s the norm. IMHO it will make Richmond a destination point with all of the good and bad that comes with it.

I’m not sure since I quit tournaments a few years ago.

They are thick on the Potomac. You can easily see 20-30 a day.

I’m not sure all of the setup and tweak suggestions even apply when your boat does not have a pad hull. Everything suggested has been tips to get on pad and run on pad. You might make some changes to get more speed by raising and lowering your motor and prop selection but if your running surface is not a pad then your hull is not set up for speed.

Most memorable was early morning on a lake near me and I was the only boat out. Stopped at my first spot and noticed an eagle in a dead tree in the back of a cove. I was on my trolling motor and decided to see how close he would let me get. When I was no more than 20 yards away, he took flight and came so close to me that I could have reached out and touched him. Our eyes met and I felt the wind off his wings. Still get goosebumps when I think about it.

Depending on the trail, some of the co’s are limited to 3 fish.

I found that with twist lock hooks, the first time a fish pulls the Senko free, it rips the head and you either have to bite it and re-twist it which means you have to also re-insert the hook point and the next bite will rip it in half. With a thin wire ewg a lot of times the Senko will just run up the hook eye and be intact on your line above the hook. Just slide it back down to re-rig.

Your original hook is what I use. I use it in 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. I stay away from “heavy cover” or “super line” hooks because they are too thick of wire and cause a lot more damage to the Senko when bit.

I have been trailering from Virginia to Wisconsin every year for the last 23 years and fishing the same chain of lakes. Never fails when I put my 21 foot Ranger glitter rocket in the lake, I get a lot of stares. I see almost exclusively big water deep V’s with kicker motors. The lakes we are on are not big water but a lot vacation there so I think it’s a good cross section of the market. My boat choice was governed by the water that I fish. I chose Ranger because that is what most of the guys that I know that run the same water have. I wish I could drop back to a tin rig that was smaller and easier to tow but it just doesn’t fit the water I run. As for the Johnny Morris ill will, a lot of it is unfounded. I also ran a 21 foot Nitro in the guide service and it was a fine boat. When JLM bought the nitro brand there were some definite quality issues that took years to overcome but the quality of their current offerings is good. Tracker tin boats were always value priced and upgrades usually brought them close to other manufacturers. I watched all of the JLM saga unfold because I was first on their state team and then pro staff for 15 years. Rangers price point used to be for a higher quality and the best customer service in the boating industry. Both of those qualities have come into question more recently. I do not feel the quality has gone down but the loss of sooo many long term employees has hurt them and the pandemic didn’t help. Customer service has had a couple of hiccups with them trying a new computer system and now using a call center and with social media it’s brought a lot of complaints out to the public eye. Bottom line, do your research, ride in your short list of boats and make your choice because most everybody will like the boat they bought when asked.

I will admit that the first time I ever saw a fish hit my lure on my graph was with down scan and a dropshot. There was a noticeable delay (older gen 2 lowrance) but you could see the fish come to the bait. Have seen the same thing bouncing spoons under the boat. The big advantage with the forward looking units is that you can see the cover/structure and if there are fish on it. Definite time savings.

Nice. I “might” be willing to harvest some here in Virginia but I like them when there is still ice on the edges of the creeks.

??. For fun, I looked up some of the formulas and in addition to what you listed there are other factors like resistance and line diameter vs strength, temperature, wind, drag type, and about a dozen more.?. I have to stop, my head hurts.?

Yes it is but there has to be a factor to drag at different line lengths as well. Even braid. Line stretch and rod action play a part as well but the amount of power you can generate at longer line distances even with zero line stretch or rod action has to be a measurable factor does it not? You cannot maintain the same power at longer distances without loss. I know I’m splitting hairs but it’s a fun conversation.

That’s what I thought. I participated in a demonstration at a show I was working where Hackney pulled out 4 foot of line from a baitcaster and had me hold it between my index finger and thumb. He did a normal hookset and pulled the line free. He had me move about 40 feet and he could not pull the line from my fingers. This was with mono.

Just to add, I’m not totally familiar with fine tuning a tin hull vs a glass hull. I am assuming that the tracker is a pad hull.

I totally agree with everything in your post regarding safety cords, etc. Most hotels I have stayed in do not have rows of parking 2 deep. That creates 2 problems. 1. My 21 foot Ranger behind my crew cab 1/2 ton truck is longer than 2 spaces front to back and 2. If someone parks on either side of me even if I could fit in the 2 spaces, rarely is there enough room in front of me to pull through and make the turn to exit most hotel parking lots. Can you tell I trailer a lot??. But I don’t need electrical and I’m just passing through. I can see you wanting to keep your dedicated 6 spots but I will bet that unless you totally eliminate trailers, you will have a lot of people disregard the rules and then you are right back being the bad guy.

Since I flunked my physics class (twice) riddle me this.... is 2lbs of drag when you hook to a scale 3 feet from the rod tip still 2lbs of drag when you have 30 feet of line out? I know line type comes into play like mono vs Fluro vs braid but surely there is some equation to explain it.?

So is what you are saying is that the ice fishermen drill a pilot hole and then scan the area for schools of fish? Do they then move over them and drill another hole?

If your motor is set too low on the jackplate or mounting bolts if you don’t have a jackplate, as your boat gets on pad the bow lift will put your motor too deep in the water and you will lose speed no matter how you trim. Trim is fine tuning, motor mounting is major factor. The proper prop will give your motor the correct rpms at wot which will maximize your speed without bogging or over reving your motor. You have considerations that will affect your prop choice like a 4 blade will give better bite/holeshot/rough water handling but will cost you speed. A 3 blade will give you better top end. Prop pitch and size will depend on what your motor can turn to achieve your goals and top end rpms.

I look at it this way, electronics have always been about locating and seeing depth, structure and fish. Technology hasn’t changed that much from the old 2d sonar. It’s just gotten clearer and more defined. Just because I can see a fish swimming doesn’t mean I can make it bite. I understand the front facing give a different perspective as well as the 360 units but I don’t feel its that much of a “game changer” to be debated as unfair in tournaments and for me worth the $$$$$ investment.