Boomstick

Definitely. I would imagine there might be times you throw your T-Rigs on a heavy rod simply due to all the cover you guys have in Florida, where up here we can use a Medium power rod most of the time. I would also say it depends on the rod. For example a medium rod that runs light (usually rated for 8-14lb line) might be able to handle some weightless soft plastics in open water on non-finesse hooks, but a medium rod that is a little heavier (usually rated for 10-17lb line) is going to do it a whole lot better and can handle light cover too.

Simple: Medium heavy is a rod power that is stronger than medium and not as strong a heavy. Now do you expect to be able to translate it into a practical application without mentioning a specific brand or even line of rods? Well I'm no rocket scientist so I'm out. I thought cigar ratings were Cuban, Equadoran, Dominican or Honduran?

I'm usually slow. If I find a spot that should hold fish, I'm going to work it good. The only situations where I'm fast is when I know the fish are holding largely in one area, but they just aren't biting anything, but I've got a few in nearby shallower water, so I will work that area usually fairly quickly.

They do have a green. I find the green very good in darker light.

You can d/c the transducer and run it in simulationmode and set your color scheme.

One thing that might help but is not always practical in a real world situation is to only run sidevu on the left or right side so you get more pixels on one side. Like if you're going near the bank that's a dropoff, sometimes you may be more interested in the bank side than the other side. I would try this if you're using a lower sidevu frequency for maximum visibility.

Great to see everyone tonight. So for the in season calls, I'll keep them going, join when you can make them but I realize more people will be out fishing, so the turnout might drop. We can either make them monthly or continue bi-weekly and if people commit to one and not two make it the first one of each month or something. We can also make them a hour, but if we schedule for 2 and people have to drop out, that's fine too.

Tonight's call info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83450736734?pwd=UmtZVTczVEhVTWpFaEROREt1dERHdz09 Meeting ID: 834 5073 6734 Passcode: 961670

I haven't got the yak out yet since I got it, but I'm aware the AGS guides basically break instead of bending. I generally don't abuse my rods in my yak though, so I should be fine as long as I'm wary of low hanging trees and low bridges etc.

Yeah, shoot me your email and I'll send out the notice. I will also post the zoom call link here shortly before 8pm EST tonight as well

Oh I didn't realize that the Predator was included in the rebranding.

I don't think that's right. Typically the Sportsman has a flatter hull design which makes it extremely stable where the Predator is specifically designed to sacrifice some of the stability for extra speed. It's possible the 132 is different, but I'm pretty sure it shares the Sportsman hull design, and as a big guy myself I prefer that. I believe it does share some of the features of the Predator, which is a slightly more upscale model.

It's worth a shot. You could even try 15#, but 17# really shouldn't be a problem especially since Invisx runs fairly thin in diameter. Also try some KVD line spray. It may be just retraining your thumb for different line. If I switch rods or reels, sometimes my first couple casts throws me off a little as they cast a little differently.

The new CT, like the new SV is built on the more compact Tatula 100 frame and is a little lighter and narrower. I'm pretty sure the spool is narrower. I have no experience with the new CT, but bought my youngest son the new Tatula SV. I have three older ones. The thing about the new one is the drag star is a little plasticky, but overall it performs very well and is worth it imo for the lighter weight and more compact design.

Oh my bad, I have no experience with P-Line 100% fluoro but yes fluoroclear is a copoly. A 1/4oz weight on a T-rig even with a lighter plastic usually casts pretty ideally for me on a MH/F rod, especially a 5" senko so I'm at a loss.

Given that you mentioned medium cover, I would think the heavy would be fine and would be less of a broomstick, thus a little more versatile.

Welcome

I have no direct experience with the Lews Mach Crush combo, but I can't imagine it's any worse than an Abu Garcia Black max which I have used successfully. What rod are you using, including power and action? And what were you throwing? I'm thinking if it's a light lure on a heavier rod, the difference might be noticeable but I just can't imagine it being as bad as you describe. I have heard about breaking issues with Fluoroclear, but my issue was it was the absolute worst casting line I have ever used and had horrible memory as well. You can use quote to specifically reply to one statement. You're doing it right.

You have the 12# mono on the slower reel which is good as you'd use that for crankbaits. The 15# fc on the slower reel would be good for single hook moving baits. 30# braid is kind of good for anything, so I figure you could go with anywhere from 10-15# mono or fluorocarbon on the faster reel. I like a faster reel for things like t-rigs, jigs, poppers, jerkbaits, spooks, frogs and sometimes spinnerbaits and chatterbaits depending on the time of season or how fast I want to fish them. So I guess first figure out what you want to throw with that reel.

I have direct experience with the Topwater 120 (Sportsman with a different seat) which my youngest son has and the SS127 (my personal kayak). I outweigh you and I have no issue standing in either kayak. The Sportsman 120 is a great buy for the price. It's almost as stable as the SS127, but the way it sits on the water it rocks you in choppy water less than the SS127. And it comes well equipped off the bat, three rod holders - one is designed to hold your rod when you change baits but you can't paddle with it. Add an anchor trolley, a Blackpak or Wilderness Systems kayak crate and it's ready to fish! If you go this route and add a fish finder, I saw a pretty cool mod someone did on Youtube where they made they own side handle and mounted their fish finder right on the handle on the side of their seat. The SS127 is probably harder to flip, but the rudder or at the very least the flex wings are an absolute requirement otherwise a little wind will blow you all over the lake. If you don't put a motor or power pole on the back, go for the rudder which is an aftermarket part (you will want the one made by YakAttack, there's some cheaper ones but they're not nearly as good). The best thing about it is the customizations you can do with it, but of course that means you're spending extra time and money to get it how you like it too so there's a trade off. The center mounded dry pod lets me comfortably run a 9" fish finder without getting in the way at all and places it dead center in front of me and when I'm done, I take my dry pod and lock it in my truck. The seat in the low position is maybe slightly higher than the Sportsman seat in high, but the SS127 seat in high position sits you really high. I usually use the low position because I cannot find a paddle long enough for the high position, I would want at least 280cm but I think more like 300cm would be ideal. 250cm works perfect in low (I'm 6'3").

I think you should be okay. I have a 6.5' bed and I can fit a 12' kayak in the back without a bed extender, either with the tailgate open or simply propping it over the tailgate. You might want to look at a rack that you but in front of the bed that lets you put the kayak in the bed and on top of your roof as well. The ATAK 140 is one of the three I would suggest for a bigger person along with the Bonafide SS127 and the Old Town Sportsman as well. I have the SS127 myself.

Maybe a better question - do you have a rod that it's paired with? You said you have M and MH rods, do you have two M rods and one MH?

Most of my reels are Daiwa Tatula reels. I also have a Steez SV and a Pflueger Patriarch.

You're supposed to get about 100 minutes of recording at 1080p at 60fps and 70 minutes at 4k at 60fps and going to 30fps gets another 10 minutes. I got my oldest kid one for his birthday and bought 4 batteries with it which should cover a day on the water. Then I have a few external power cells that should get a few more charges we will try on camping trips. I've seen a number of complaints about GoPros overheating, but some of them were defective units. Another common reason for overheating is a slow old memory card that essentially makes the GoPro work harder, sort of like running something on your computer with high CPU usage for an extended period of time. Likewise, recording in 4k, 5k or at high framerates have the same effect. Also direct exposure to sunlight on a hot day can cause problems.

17lb Invisx should cast fine, so should 20lb or even 25lb as it runs fairly thin. Thinner line does cast better, but not that much better. While it's not likely that you're throwing a baitcaster designed for only 10 and 12lb line, I have to ask what reel are you using?