haggard

Old thread I know but I was just about to post asking if anyone else finds their Curado 70/71 spool tension adjustment overly sensitive. I bought a Curado 71 (7.2:1) earlier this season and it's quickly become my favorite bass baitcasting reel. Spool tension star does click on mine. Slightly small reel size fits my hand so comfortably. Less line capacity than some but so far never found it to be a problem. Only complaint is the spool tension (star) adjustment is extremely sensitive. It's still my favorite "go to" reel for general purpose freshwater bass fishing, paired with a PC66MF.

If you happen to know someone who has the soldering skill, a suitable iron & tip, and the time to do the job, that should all be doable. If not, replacing the transducer is probably less painful in the long run, despite the up front cost. Assuming no actual wire material is cut (just their insulation), you might consider electrical tape on the affected inside wires then adding a waterproof jacket around the outer jacket, and see how long that lasts. Then buy a replacement transducer only if this one fails. The key is really making it waterproof, not with electrical tape, but something more robust. That blue wire looks like it may have been wrapped in a silver foil shield. Was some of that removed? If it was shielded and that shield is now broken (not continuous), it could affect the signal, and a full replacement may just be the best option.

Nicely done, both of you.

The southern Maine smallies really made me work for it today. 6 hours in the yak with not even a nibble, and in the 7th hour three of them finally connected after a change in lure and technique. Apologies to the one I deep hooked. Got everything removed but she swam off slow I'm starting to really love this feisty species.

I bought that same yak as my "last resort" option - not saying it's bad or anything, just meaning it's obviously not as comfy, convenient or stable as the powered boat or bigger fishing yak. But you can't load those easily into a truck bed; they're more expensive; hard to launch from a bank with no ramp; light enough to carry; etc. It gets you on the water. I find it pretty tippy compared to my bigger/heavier yak. I much prefer sit-on-top over sit-in for any yakking, fishing or not. Yes you're a little higher but I like the idea of being able to bail out quickly if needed. I love mine for its intended purpose (cheap, easy to handle, can keep it in the truck bed at all times in case I find water and want to fish it). Anchor with optional trolley is a good thing to have, and a paddle leash - if you're fishing in a tippy yak, you stand a chance of losing your paddle when you're dealing with a fighting or floppy fish. If you don't want to leash your main paddle, strap a spare to the other side of the boat (I think the Journey has two paddle holders). I use one of those square marine flotation cushions on the seat - much more comfy and keeps the butt dry. I don't plug the scuppers because I want them to do their job (drain water). Back support: not much... so I don't do 8 hour days in this yak. It's a great boat for the price and I think it fills a niche that other boats don't. Enjoy it. I love mine.

Three of the biggest choices to make are 1) do you want GPS and 2) what type of sonar do you want (side scan, down scan, etc) and 3) screen size. GPS units will cost more but will open up features like seeing where your boat is on a map, boat heading, logging coordinates where you caught a fish, mapping the topography of the lake, logging the route you took, etc. As for GPS, it adds a lot of features and capabilities to your finder. If you're fishing a tiny home lake 90% of the time, GPS might be a waste. But if you're fishing lots of different/new waters, or if your home water is huge, GPS may add lots of value. As for scan type, basic sonar will let you see what's directly under the boat (bottom structure type, fish, etc) while other scan types can show much higher resolution details/images of objects around you. Some units show what looks like old school video game displays; others look almost like photographs of underwater objects. As for screen size, consider how far your eyes will be from where the finder is mounted. Also, sure you can zoom in and out but even when zoomed in, you don't see the surrounding context. Like computer monitors, bigger is often more comfortable on your eyes and also better in terms of you processing the information that's presented. Going "too big" is diminishing returns; unless you're sponsored or made of money, a 12 inch panel for recreational fishing is questionable (opinion). Most important is spend some time (before buying) figuring out what you need. Keep in mind that what you need is based on what you're most likely to actually be doing, not what the marketing material says you could be doing in some perfect scenario.

As safe as you can try to be, someone will out-do you. All you can do is be extra vigilant, think ahead, see what's coming before it's on top of you. Glad you did. There's a jack-arse for every seat.

I got you all beat. Last Sunday landed this, no wonder they call these things "smallies" ? In all fairness, I did land a PB smallie estimated 3-4 lb later in the day. No photo as I deep hooked her and had to focus on hook-free recovery/release ASAP. Thank you, through-the-gills method and @jbmaine for the tip on where to find her

That is some stellar customer service. File that under "above and beyond".

Can I change my answer? On the last few outings the black with blue metal flake 5" paddle tail worm, TX rigged with 1/4 bullet, as landed more fish, especially smallies, than any other lure this season. Today landed a whopper of a smallmouth, guessing about 16 inches long and nicely chunky. It jumped out of the water a ways out, and as soon as I lifted the net I wished I had a scale. Deep hooked, and it took a while to get it out but managed to get it. Fish took a while to recover but finally did and swam down. Apologies for no photo (only an out of focus one in the net); I thought getting her back in the water ASAP was more important as she was out for a while.

For me not crucial; I can do without it especially on the home lake I'm somewhat familiar with, but when I bring the finder I do find it helpful, glad to have it. I just use a basic model with small 4 inch screen (plug GPS). The features I rely on most, in order of importance, are - bottom type (ex: mud vs vegetation) - water depth / locating bottom transitions (humps, slopes) - GPS coordinates (logging location when I land a fish) - GPS & contours (boat's current location relative to where I want to be) I fish purely for recreation; tournament/pro anglers of course may consider the finder one of the most basic and indispensable tools in the box. Even with the finder, I tend to find spots first by scanning visible features with my eyes, then use the finder (secondary) to hone in on the spot. Not saying it's the best approach; I still don't catch a lot of fish I love the finder, but if I had to do without it, it would still be a great day.

Office supply places have "milk crates" but I say that in quotation marks because they're just cheap and flimsy. Nothing beats a real one. Problem is those warnings on the side saying property of milk company, you will be prosecuted, etc.

Fishing and outdoors life, Morse code ham radio, Fishing and outdoors life, single action revolvers, Fishing and outdoors life, pedal steel guitar, Fishing and outdoors life, fishing and outdoors life.

Woah. Galaxy? GTO?

Foot pedal is perfectly doable from seated position - The key is to have the pedal control securely bolted to the deck. Mine was not, so I used a grippy mat under the pedal control which helped. Not ideal but it got by and I adapted to it. Without the pedal being securely mounted (non moveable) you lose some leverage - it works but takes a little more effort. No slip grip or bolted down will really help. Recessed pedal tray probably even better. I think the seated position always gives you a slight disadvantage over standing, because the pedal is set out in front of you instead of more or less directly under you - you lose leverage - but weigh that against the comfort of sitting vs standing. Everything's a tradeoff. I'll take sitting all day...

Triangles are strong and rods are built to bend. Assuming you see no visible damage to rod and eyelets I bet the rod is good. Packaging is designed to take hits and protect what's inside. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. Go fish

I hear what you're saying, but I think the value added by youtube unboxings and tabletop demos is that (for the most part) the marketing is filtered out. Nothing against marketing, just saying you get to see something perhaps a little more real, raw, less processed, not shot in a studio, sort of like what you're saying with your well used boat compared to the scratch-free shiny ones. The hands-on video also offers perspectives you don't necessarily see from the highly processed, one dimensional still shots you see in catalogs and websites. I don't think the actual unboxing footage adds much value, other than anticipation.

Assuming you mean rod alone (without reel) for $70-$130, I'll suggest the StC MJC71MHF (Mojo Bass series) at $130 MSRP. I have the 6'8 version (MJC68MHF), but seeing as you're a bank fisherman you might benefit from a little more length. The blank (SC3) is nicely sensitive, one step up from their "premiere" (SC2) series blanks, but it's not getting into "exotic" territory. My 6'8 is marketed as jig & worm rod but I think a MH/F like this could cover a wider range of applications. I admit I haven't used it a lot, as I prefer a M/F, but the MH/F is the go-to rod for slightly heavier duty freshwater fishing (larger/longer lures, fishing deep, fishing into structure or cover). The MJC71MHF is rated 12-20 # line, 3/8 to 1 oz lure.

That's a fish and a half!

Welcome to the forum. It's as addictive as fishing.

They have teeth and slime and wig out after getting landed and they somewhat resemble eels or snakes. But with fish grips and a net, I can't wait to catch the next one. Their chain pattern is just beautiful.

How are you liking the new Compass?

The basic idea is that instead of connecting the device (trolling motor etc) directly to the battery, you want to insert a fuse that will break and cut off power before the cable overheats and catches fire. You just want to essentially cut the positive cable to (between battery and trolling motor) say a foot from the battery terminal, and insert a fuse between the two cut ends. Right in line, in series. Various ways to make the connections - solder them, crimp them, bolt them down, etc. Depends on the fuse housing. There are lots of different models out there. If you go to your marine shop and tell them you need an inline fuse to mount near the battery, that should be enough for them to steer you in the right direction. You will need to the recommended fuse rating for your TM. You should be able to get this from your TM specs. Once you've put the appropriate fuse holder inline, just make sure you use the recommended fuse rating. If your TM says use a 20 amp fuse, don't use a 30 (cable could overheat). Connecting any power hungry device directly to a battery without a fuse is Not Good. All fine until something goes wrong, and then it goes very wrong, very fast. I'll dig up the info on the circuit breaker I installed for my TM. I just bought the breaker at my local marine shop - probably cost $30+ or so, and I just had to solder ring lugs on each of the cut cable ends (you could also just crim them), then bolted those ring logs to the circuit breaker, and installed the breaker through the sheet metal on the boat. I might have photos somewhere... will check.

Fresh water wasn't in the cards this weekend so tried salt from the yak at around high tide, and for the first time landed a salt water species, first striper. These guys fight hard. Landed 3 more before going home.

Turns out the owner was insured, thankfully. I was surprised at how quickly the insurance co. is processing everything. Truck fix is delayed for 3+ weeks because the shop is busy but it's drivable in the meantime. Boat is declared total loss and check should be cut this week. I was fine with resigning myself to using the kayak for the rest of the season, until my son says yesterday he'd like to try fishing. Wahoo! Wait, no boat... so I take him to the rocky beach to learn on the salty shore. He did great on spinners and baitcasters. No fish but this was really just an intro to the gear and techniques. But the lake setting in a boat would have been far better than learning on slippery rocks with waves coming at us. So we got home and I see my original boat (now totally stripped, as all the parts went to the now dead jon) sitting in the shed, along with the donor/parts motor that also contributed to the jon. Boat, motor and trailer are worn and tired but there may be just enough left of them to put together something that can get on the lake for the rest of the season. This will have to be tiller steer; need to make a makeshift tiller handle, mount the throttle control at the stern; convert long shaft motor to short; somehow tighten the mount to the transom (bolts are seized, motor was used in salt). Project begins tomorrow. This could be good.