Shimano_1

I've got an 08 Triton 20x2. Dont know how urs is configured but I've got 2 trolling batteries on the left and one trolling and 1 cranking on the right. I'm OCD about weight distribution lol. If u dont have room tho I'd say wherever you can fit another tray. You'll be glad you upgraded with more power I'm sure.

I like what garmin and humminbird has to offer. For me...if down imaging was the main thing is go with a bird. For mapping and 2d sonar plus value I'd go garmin. Get the biggest screen size with features u want. Several online stores sell em at great prices. Good luck

I feel like if you will actually put the time in to learn the unit u buy and get great use out of it...its the most important thing you can have on the water. A guy in a 16ft boat that's effective with his electronics will beat the brakes off the guy in his 60k boat that has his electronics because everyone else does but beats the banks all year. I've caught a lot of fish using mine that I would have never knew were there without em. Plus mapping is a huge deal if you fish any type of bigger water. Good luck

I'd recommend 2 of the 7's or put the 5 on console. Ur closer to it than standing up front. They're great units I ran them on my boat last year.

I'm running garmin's currently. Have a 93 SV at console linked to a 73dv up front that I use only for mapping then I have a 73sv up front also. Love the units. Mapping and traditional sonar are great. The down imaging is horrible tho. I have my ducer mounted on my jack plate. Even without engine running the down imaging is blurry and just not good. Is this just the nature of the beast with these units? I'm aware of the transducer woes and all that. Mine has the CV transducer. I dont use the down imaging much but this has me wondering. The 73 seems to be a little better but still not great. Any advice? I've played with the settings with no luck. I'm not that knowledgeable with these things. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I use my traditional sonar more than anything else followed by my mapping. For this reason I run garmin's currently. 93sv and 2 73 sv and dv. If side and down imaging is important the humminbird mega imaging units have no equal from my experience. Your price range will allow you any of the above. The birds with mega you may have to sacrifice screen size to keep it under 1500. The garmin's are nice but mine leave a lot to be desired when it comes to down imaging. All in my humble opinion of course.

I'm running a 93sv chirp as well. Love the unit but the down vu imagining isnt good at all. The side vu and sonar are awesome. Maybe a setting I'm missing? I've got it linked to a 73dv I use for mapping so maybe interference? I agree with the above tho use traditional to find fish then see how it looks on ur down vu.

Different rod actions will handle the casting motion differently. A heavy action flipping stick is going to act differently than a medium action cranking stick. The heavy action isnt goin to have much bend where the cranking rod is much softer and will have quite a bit of bend. This kind of requires you to make adjustments to how you cast. Hank parker says to bring the rod all the way back then stop before you throw forward instead of one motion back and forth. No clue if this works but it seemed to help the kid he was fishing with lol. I would try a daiwa with the mag force braking these reels are just super user friendly. Tighten things up on your reels til you get really comfortable with your form then loosen slowly til you get desired distances. Good luck itll be worth the effort when you get where you wanna be with casting gear. Some reels are just finicky by nature. I've used baitcasters for 30 years and have had several that I didnt keep simply because they weren't as easy to use as I thought they should be.

It's all a personal preference thing. No one is wrong to want more than 11 lbs of drag. Personally I dont even notice that on a reel cause I keep mine looser than most. If I was flipping nasty stuff with heavy braid and big sticks I'd want a lot of max drag. The curado or tatula sv would be a solid choice

Just practice a lot lol. I use all 3 all the time. Braid on frogs and spinning rods. Flouro on the majority and mono for cranking and topwaters. Just have to be aware. Treble hooks I just sweep the rod a little. Jigs and frogs I drop the hammer. After a while it becomes second nature but ur always gonna make mistakes a lose a few.

The older hmg rods were great in my opinion. The newer ones I dont much care for tho they may be great as well. In the 100 range the shimano slx, dobyns fury or bps carbonlite are the ones I'd be looking at.

If you know u like the 7'3 u already have I'd order another identical then u can do all the above with either rod. I prefer a 7'3 over 7 for most anything besides jerkbaits

I have both and they're both fantastic for the money. I much prefer the tatula myself. Mine just seem to feel a little better to me and I like the looks a little better. Have no complaints about either!

The curado k is an excellent choice. My buddy has several and I've owned a cple. The braking system on the daiwas is far superior in my opinion. I honestly think the tatulas are a little bigger than I'd prefer but for some reason I just really like em. I honestly prefer the tatula ct over the sv as well and I know I'm in the minority. Really cant go wrong with any of the choices as the lews bb1 is a fine reel as well! Good luck

Any of daiwas tatula or fuego reels should fit your needs nicely. The shimanos are nice but the daiwas braking system is superior in my opinion! Really think everyone should try em just because they are so easy to use

I've always used rod gloves with good success

The deal above on the pflueger president is where my money would go. I've not paid over 50 for any of mine and they're just plain tanks. Use and abuse and keep asking for more

Lews customer service is excellent. Get up with them and explain the situation and they'll get you fixed up! Love my daiwas but still waiting on a response from them from a week ago...

The fuego is hard to beat for that money and the breaking system on the daiwas is amazing imo. That shimano slx combo is sweet tho my buddy has one and it feels like a 300 combo

Everyone has their opinions and several nice reels for that money. I use 2 pflueger presidents that I've used for several years. They're cheap, smooth and do the job. Any rod in the 80 to 100 range should work and I also prefer med light for spinning rod duties. Good luck

Never said I didnt still use shimanos. He wasnt asking if a shimano would cast light lures was he? I gave my opinion on the daiwas. And yes things change lol. 5 years ago I didnt think anything existed besides shimano. My last several reel purchases have been daiwa. I like the direction daiwa has went more than shimano

I'd go seaguar red label 15 lb. I dont fish topwaters much so that would cover most of my duties! Great line on a budget

Those pro qualifier reels are nice especially for the money. Just picked up another. Any of the aluminum frame newer daiwas would get my vote. The new tatula 100 really impressed me. Love the tatula and fuego ct reels as well!

The Berkley is far superior in my opinion. I'd give seaguar red label a try tho. Cheaper than the Berkley and everyone I know is impressed. Half price right now at cabelas I believe

I've used big game for years with great results and its usually cheaper. Win win