haggard

I bought my first pair last year when meeting up with @LadiMopar & her hubby at our local shop. I had no idea what to get and she insisted on green mirror outside with brownish/amber inside. I suspect it's one of these personal preference things but after using them for one season I liked them so much I bought a spare pair (at this $30-$40 price point, the coating wears easily). I use them for driving, too. Can't stand bright sunlight in the eyes. On the fishing side, all I can say is they definitely work for seeing through the surface glare on the water. It's like magic. I'm thinking the polarizing is what actually matters (and quality too - say plastic vs glass lenses, or thickness of the coating), and colors are just secondary or personal pref. Don't sweat it.

Given weight and height, if you're going the yak route look for a sit-on-top with max stability (width of 36" is a good place to start). For a jon, lots of options, maybe a 14 x 48 or 15 x 48. I found the mod-vee hull plenty stable on a 14x48. For other boats, many more options.

A friend of mine has the cot you pictured, or something very similar (Teton Sports). We brought it camping a couple times and I tried it out; it's great. Very light weight, comfortable, gets you off the ground. If you're hiking a long way or on tough terrain before getting to camp, the tent option might be easier to carry, but the cot does fold up small. Personally I'd prefer to be off the ground.

I've got a few baitcasters including the Curados 201K (6.2:1) and 71 (7.2:1). The 201K feels like a heavier duty workhorse which has it place, but the 71 is my favorite due to its more compact size and greater comfort (smaller, more palmable). Hand size will play a factor. I don't need tons of line capacity and haven't run out yet. It's my general purpose / go-to baitcaster, though I'd prefer a slightly lower gear ratio if they had it.

Why are you replacing the bearings? If you've found wear on the rollers there's a chance they transmitted wear to the races.

If you opt for the Shimano Ultegra 1000, check the for flea market forum later today - later tonight I'll post my ULT1000HGFB that I bought last year and it's probably seen no more than 50 casts, if even that. I had it paired with a travel rod which I sold to a forum member because I barely used it. Reel is in top condition. I'll figure out price (will save you some $) but will save that for the approprite forum.

I bet it's fine. When you cast, just don't whip it out there and overload the rod; give it more like a gentle lob.

I too have fished mostly freshwater SMB/LMB but dabbled in salt. Only two years of experience here. When I went to get my first and "only one combo" salt water setup I ended up with a StC VIS70MHF (7'0, line 10-20 lb mono, lure 1/2 to 1.25 oz) paired with a Shimano Stradic C5000 spinning reel. Sounds like this might be a little light for your intended uses (up to 4 oz lure) but I have to say for schoolie stripers (and hopefully larger) I'm absolutely in love with this combo. The 5000 size reel sounds big but is actually reasonably compact. Your application & species may differ slightly so take it for what it's worth.

CI4+ 1000 on a 6'6 L/F is my dedicated panfish combo. Feels just right. Tried it on a 6'6 ML/F but found the 2500 more comfy. *aria-multiline="true", aria-label="Enter your text; hold ctrl and right click for more options"*

If it was your go-to then, and if you're already familiar with the brand, consider just getting a modern version of the same. Maybe a 7'0 Avid M/F 2 piece with a current Stradic CI4+. (Opinion) I wouldn't go down the finesse baitcaster rabbit hole. Almost did that once and unless you have $ to spare or really enjoy the fine tuning experience and experimenting, stick with a spinner for light techniques. For weightless worms how about a 7'0 Avid medium light with Stradic CI4+ 2500. My personal pref & rec is an Avid 6'9 ML/XF with Stradic CI4+ 2500 and light copoly. Disclaimer: I haven't fished it yet. But hoping it's going to be a favorite this season for light techniques including weightless & wacky worms (also neds, drop shot). Avids won't help with your split grip requirement though; I think they're only in full grip.

Line capacity is generally greater but not sure that explains the entire price difference. Build quality? I have one round baitcaster and the only reason I bought it was because my local shop had it on sale for 33% off its original ridiculously high price (Calcutta Conquest 101 leftie). After using it for a season I find the build quality is unmatched compared to my other BC reels. It's solid. And far better at throwing lighter lures compared to my others. I'm sure there are low profile baitcasters that have these traits too but I haven't found them yet. I still find low profile reels more comfortable. The Calcutta is now dedicated to topwater & cranking (low gear ratio). It's a bit of an enigma to me but definitely has a place in the lineup.

Mono is cheap and easy and works. I used it exclusively for the past couple years for topwater to bottom and everwhere inbetween. 6 lb for lighter techniques, 12 lb for heavier. Your choice of 8 should be just fine as an all-arounder. Other line types may be better for specific applications (ex: fishing deep with a heavier lure, mono may have too much stretch to set the hook, or may have so much line out you won't feel the bite as well), but mono may excel at other applications (ex: topwater with lighter hooks/trebles - floating line and the slight stretch can help absorb shocks and keep the pressure on the fish.

Congrats! Great choice, looks really versatile and just right for your needs.

Trying... but weather in Maine says otherwise

If you're going to be fishing it multiple times, maybe get a friend to help you lug the boat out there and just leave it there if you feel it's safe enough. Or get a kayak that you could leave on site. Even lugging a yak a half mile is challenging. I get winded just bringing mine 100 feet from the launch to the parking lot

Not sure if you're comparing the Hook 4 to the Garmin or if you mean you were looking at a Lowrance before. In any case that Hook 4 is a discontinued model so not sure what you'll find for availability. But the price seems right. I bought a Hook 4 with GPS and maps for $229 on sale about 2 years ago and use it on the yak. It was basically the same unit but with Navionics maps instead of Insight maps. I love this model for the yak especially for the price.

I did this on a 1448 jon. I'd rather have to put the top down to fish than go without the top on a sunny day. But even with the top deployed, it came just to the seatbacks of the front and rear pedestal seats, so you could sit and cast without it getting in the way (mostly). Gotchas & tips: Measure twice. Or more. They typically come in several beam widths. The bows have some adjustment; mine could cover a range of about +/- 6 inches, but obviously get as close to your beam with as possible. My kit was relatively cheap so fabric was thin and finish on the bows was a little sloppy. Some kits have single-piece bows, others like mine had three-piece bows. Given the boat's narrow beam, even with the narrowest kit I still had to cut down the middle section of each bow (couldn't do that easily with a single piece bow). This also required drilling new holes for the spring clips to pop into. Long story short, it was a little tedious so measure carefully before buying. Having a gunwale track system, like a C channel that runs along it, is convenient. Instead of mounting the pivots permanently to the gunwale I mounted them to an L bracket which was in turn mounted to the channel with a carriage bolt inside the channel and a nut to tighten it down. Similar L brackets for the tie-down pad eyes. This lets you slide slide the entire top forward and aft to adjust it for best coverage, or to not interfere with pedestal seating positions. Shorter lengths (say 4 ft instead of 6) give you more clearance for casting and may look like they'll give you good enough coverage but depending on the angle of the sun you may find the shade isn't where you want it, and the longer top may help there. Another benefit of the top besides protection from heat is relief from eye strain. Hours on the water squinting in bright sunlight can be headache inducing. The bows aren't grab rails. It's tempting but no. Biggest downside to the top is it limits you to certain fishing positions. But even if you deploy it to just take a break a few times during the day it can make the day of fishing more comfortable.

One of my winter projects is tearing down and rebuilding/painting my trailer. I can't say this is the best way but for what it's worth this is what I've tried. I think the best way would be some kind of bead/media blaster (you might be able to rent one). A guy I used to work with went that route when he sanded/painted his trailer and swore it worked the best. Fast and very effective, but it's messy. First the stuff that didn't work so well: Random orbital sander: Did okay but not great. I thought it would save me lots of time compared to sanding by hand. It's okay on flat surfaces but doesn't do well on irregular surfaces, and inside corners are almost impossible to reach. All purpose sandpaper: clogs Coarse or medium emory cloth: better but slow And the two techniques that worked best: "4 Row x 16 Row Soft Grip Carbon Wire Brush" for $6 at HD. This is a heavy duty bristle brush that strips loose paint and rust and it's what I'm using the most. Gets into tight corners too. "4 in. Drill Mount Quick-Strip Wire Brush" $16 at HD. Use it with a power drill. Similar to above. Keep in mind I'm trying to just remove loose rust and paint; not trying for perfection down to bare, rust-free metal. If you want to go that route you might consider a chemical paint stripper. After the brushes remove the loose stuff, wipe the surface down with mineral spirits on a shop rag to remove the rust dust. You'll need a few passes as that rust dust really wants to stay. If you're working outside consider just spraying it off with a hose then dry thoroughly, and maybe do one pass of mineral spirits (and let it dry thoroughly) before applying primer. I'm using self etching primer from a rattle can followed by a coat of enamel (rattle can). I can't stress enough when sanding and priming/painting have good ventilation, or a fan blowing that stuff out the door. The rust dust is nasty stuff and won't do your lungs any favors. Primer/paint stinks to high heaven and can't be good either. Good luck with the project.

'What if' is the enemy of catching fish. Recognizing that is the first step to recovery. Like you, I'm a minimalist (or minimalist wannabe). Haven't got there yet but still trying. A guy on the lake told me about pink/red lures, especially for trout, he was catching loads of fish on them. So I bought a bag of pink & white crappie lures, caught nothing on them, so then rarely used them. I've also tried pink and orange for dink fish on an ultralight setup but had noticeably better results using the same lures in greens/blacks. Pink & orange work for some, but so far, not for me. Until I get better at fishing, going to stick with greens, browns, blue/blacks. Your mileage may vary.

Sit on top doesn't necessarily mean you can stand in it - in fact I'd guess most SOT yaks are not stable enough for standing. If you rely heavily on sight fishing, or techniques like pitching and flipping, then a stable stand-up-able yak makes sense - but otherwise, you can really do a lot of fishing just fine from the seated position.

I have a heavyweight (105 lb hull). During yakking season I store it in "normal" position, horizontal, sitting on top of two milk crates at the stern (one slightly starboard, one slightly port), but between each crate and the hull is a thick, folded up blanket (about 10 inches worth). At the bow end, I let it rest on the floor, but with 2-3 pool noodles between bow and floor. During the off season I flip it upside down but use the same method. The cushion of thick blankets at the stern conforms to the hull shape and spreads the load out. Bow is light and pool noodle cushion seems to work.

I should have clarified - I was thinking more like a stray ember getting blown into the vicinity of a vented portable gas tank, not really about what's happening in the immediate vicinity of the stick. Murphy's laws apply. I still toss a flame into a gas doused fire pit on occasion to get things started quickly, and each time it reminds me of how volatile those lingering fumes are. Kids don't try this at home ?

Yo-Zuri Hybrid 12 lb copoly.

Fish #1 7/30/17, went to camp, slept in the trailer, set the alarm for 4:30 am to be on the water by 5am. At that point youtube had taught me everything I knew about fishing, which wasn't much. Had not much idea what I was doing or where to fish, but luck worked that morning and 17 minutes later just after sunrise landed the smallie. Hands were shaking I was so excited. 4 inch green pumpkin worm, TX rigged with 1/4 oz bullet, 3/0 hook, PC66MF2 with a Caenan 151 baitcaster, 10 lb test Trilene XL mono. I know it's silly but I deliberately keep that setup exactly the same and plan to never change it, sell it, trade it or forget it. I suppose it'll wear out some day but hopefully long after I do

One small cooler, ice, couple bottled waters, one half sammich (PB&J for keeping it simple, or a roast beast for fancy), an occasional beef jerky, an occasional additional beverage can. Reason for the half sammich is because by tradition the first half gets eaten on the way to the launch. Tried the cigar on the boat once but between the wind and the thought of combustible gas vapors, it made what should be a relaxing process anything but. Now I save that for back at camp in the evening while remembering how I caught a PB that day. Well, some day anyway...