Bdnoble84

Haha I know, I ran out and havent ordered more yet. They still catch fish. Some things eyes give me confidence on, spinnerbaits im not sure are that important since they are generally more keyed on on the blade(s). Just my two-cents. Atleast thats how i justified being lazy and not painting some on.

smallies (nothern pike as well) sit at the lip behind that chunk rock or boulder lurking, waiting for something tasty to swim between them and the bank. They use the bank as a trap point. The prey can only go forward or back. These fish are built to hunt and they maximize their surroundings to do it. Not sure if this matches anyone elses experience, but in rivers by best spots are areas with a rocky shoreline thats drops off quickly (only a foot or 2 is adequate). Run my baits horizontal to the bank within a couple feet. I would guess 50% of my smallmouth (or more) have came on this pattern.) spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and buzztoads are the goto’s.

Smallies love white.

How durable would you consider them. I found a used 70lb for 250. Definitely been used based on some of the scratches on it. But i definitely would have more play money then compared to jumping into a new one for 800-1000$

I have a transducer mount currently. For trolling motors that dont have gps/spotlock. Are there attachments to upgrade to later.

Thank you. That all makes sense.

I use pine or aspen.

Im talking like size 2 or 3 ec snaps. .25 g might actually be high. Just ballparking from what i remember. 430 grains equals 1oz. 28.34 grams equals 1 oz.

I dont think there is a right or wrong answer here. Every moment fishing presents new variables that increase or decrease the odds to catch fishing. It may or may not matter. Use your best intuition. If the fish are active and aggressive. Probably wont matter. Slow and sluggish, it may??? Or who know. Maybe they just thing that little black thing is something hanging out of a fishes mouth

Having made hardbaits. A small snap adds 1/4 of a gram, maybe. It really depends on the bait whether affects balance or not. I ve made small jb’s that were already very close to neutral buoyancy and a small snap was enough to make them slow sink. Or it can change the pitch of the bait which is some cases can alter action and diving depth.

Walking popper. Think i got the action down. Had to adjust weight a couple times to get it right. i broke the needle on my airbrush so this got a spraycan job. The Krylon hobby paints are good for this. They have some cool metallics.

Thanks. Ive always ran off the same battery, but ive always thought there was more clutter than there should be on the screen and i was only using 1 finder. I saw the lifepo’s. I wasnt sure if 10ah was enough, but sounds like it is. Thank you.

?? woops lol Is it going to cause problems though tapping two units into one of the batteries in series. Ive heard that it will cause issues with depthfinder performance.

You me battery to motor? Im getting another lowrance reveal when i pull the trigger on that.

Not sure on premade frames but you can buy the coils and make your own. I use the brown super stainless personally from Barlows. Obviously if you are going to make a ton of spinnerbaits in that config it might not be desirable but if you want to all you need is a good pair of roundnose pliers.

Love to, but im not sure its in my budget. I’m going to be buying Lithium batteries as well and im wanting to get another depth finder w/sidescan.

For you guys that own these models. Is the maxxum worth the couple extra hundred. If not whats every ones thoughts on the entry level options.

We have very similar boats. Mine is a t14 i believe.

I have a small 14ft boat i am slowly working on building out with a /deck. So far ive put in a casting deck. Currently i have a 50lb thrust minn kota ttansom bracket motor on the front alond with a lowrance hdi 4. And in the back i have a hook reveal 5. I have one deep cycle battery for everything, although i an looking at options for a dedicated battery for the locators. i predominantly fish a river with strong current and my trolling motor really struggles to move into it. I am considering upgrading to a 65-70lb 24v trolling motor. Im concerned with added battery weight though. a. What is the lightest option for batteries i can go with? b. Can i run electronics off one of the two batts or do i need a dedicated accessory battery still? (Probably get a small 30ah powersport type battery) c. Am i really going to see that large of a perf gain jumping up to a 65 or 70lb tm over upgrading to a 55lb 12v tm?

This story is a big part of what got me hooked on smallmouth at the time. One of the first writing assignments I ever had I wrote about my grandpA and i catching the state record and topping hayes world record smallie, all in the same evening. It clearly made quiet the impression on a young 9 or 10 year old boy that loved fishing with his grandpa in a little stream loaded with snallmouth.

Whats your go to search lure when targetting smallies in deeper dirty water. Particularly area im hitting hard is 3/4 ml below dam. After a riffle run, the channel drops to 20ft. It drops off quickly from the bank and is composed of a mostly rocky bottom.

Northern pike are absolutely insatiable (unfortunately somedays) i caught this pike 20 minites after he bit off another guy. Smallmouth certainly are aggressive. I caught one once 6 feet from my swimming lab. Dont know if they will be biting a lure with another lure hanging off it though.

All knots can break. Im good with the odds of it happening or not happening. For me, braid matters when it comes to sensitivity, managability, convinience, and the leader gives me confidence that i can break out of snags while adding a small amout of shock absorbsion and stealth. Ive had 10 lb northern roll up in the leader as i tryed bringing them to shore and still managed to pull them in. For me, its what works. Everyone has their preferences but i like braid to leader. On my really light lines i will go straight braid or if i am fishing dirty lakes from a boat.

I will say my cost for like has gone down dramatically simply for the fact i do not have to change my mainline out with braid. I can get a couple years light use or a full year hard use. And i can adjust leader type based on conditions texhnique. I havent had an fg fail since getting proficient with it. So sure braid costs more but it lasts even longer when compared to braid or fluero. It doesnt take long to junk up mono fishing in rocky rivers with jigs and other bottom options. Plus i loose less jigs because of the sensitivity and lack of stretch. So i save money.

Not to mention i fish in rivers that are very rocky. The idea of snagging 20-30 lb braid off the bank is not a pleasant thought. But i much prefer the feel and sensitivity of braid.