MN Fisher

I'm a fan of 832 Yellow - the neon green isn't quite as visible to me.

Long as it has the AH you want and the connection type (I like top threaded-sockets) any will do As Gim said - check Suzuki's info - and also make sure the charging system is Lithium compatible to boot.

They declared it open this past Saturday.

It's just turning into a sloppy mess here...no real accumulation, just some slick roads and sidewalks.

LiFePo4 batteries have taken over the boat world BECAUSE they're so much safer than Lithium-Ions. You pretty much have to destroy the battery to get it to produce heat that would cause damage in your boat...and that damage would be constricted to basically the battery compartment. Personally - with the prices of LiFePo4 batteries coming down, I'm looking to replace my AGMs with them next year.

Obviously he drank the kool-aid. Study after study proves that polygraphs are inconclusive and regularly give false readings. Reason the Justice Dept has forbidden their use as evidence in court cases.

Ah yes - trust the pseudo-science again. Why don't they just cast chicken bones or gaze into their quartz spheres - it'd be about as accurate.

I know - there's a few of them trundling about around here and I just think they're fugly....

I nose hook frequently, but I 'cheat' a little to make them stay on longer. Get an Owner CPS in small, insert it in the nose of the bait, then run the hook through the bait and the eye of the CPS...voila, baits that can't be stolen so easily.

He's got quite the selection of baits there, including laminated stickworms and contrast-color-tail stickworms. Might be worth a try...

Crazies like that are all over - even before Lake Waconia (a bit SW of me) was completely ice-free, there was a guy out on his jet-ski. Saw him as I was headed to an appt. at the hospital in Waconia.

Personally - since I've had such good luck with my Mighty Max AGMs, if I upgraded to Lithium I'd stick with them. Since you can order through Home Depot with a ship-to-store option, you have carry-in support with them. Only a 2 year warranty, but I've still heard lots of good things about MM's LiFePo4 batteries. https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Batteries-12v-Batteries/Lithium/N-5yc1vZ2fkolatZ1z1bfim

The Bantam oil is a valid choice, not top of the line but definitely good enough. Cals is the only grease to touch my fiber drags, and it's the grease I use where-ever you'd use grease inside the reel. You don't need much - I have the 1oz tin and I re-grease my reels every year...13 casting reels and 7 spinning reels, all with fiber washers, and I think that tin will last me a few more years anyway. There a reason for it? I haven't seen the need to go to ceramics in any of my reels.

Per the MN REGS - https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/fishing/fishing_regs.pdf?v=2025.03.31-10.35.54 "What license do I need to fish border waters? • Minnesota residents must have a Minnesota license." Pg 66 "Can I fish anywhere on the border waters with a Minnesota license? • In other border waters, Minnesota residents or nonresidents fishing with a Minnesota nonresident license, may fish throughout the defined waters bordering the two states." Pg 66 Bass St. Croix River upstream of Taylors Falls Dam May 24 - Sept. 7 5 (14" minimum size) Sept. 8, 2025 - March 1, 2026 Catch-and-release only Pg75 Per the WI REGS - https://widnr.widen.net/s/kxszhwshdl/fishingregselectronic2526 Bass St. Croix River upstream of the St. Croix Falls Dam May 24, 2025 – Sept. 7, 2025 5 in total 14 inches Sept. 8, 2025 – March 1, 2026 0 (catch and release only) Pg77 Looks like you're out of luck until May 24

I do a good soak when I first spool up, then a few spritzes the night before a trip.

I've had to do this - get a bucket of snow, melt it, filter through a t-shirt, then boil...3 minutes of a rolling boil and you're fine.

I use KVD on everything BUT braid. Dunno if it's real, but to me it makes the line more manageable by making it a bit limper. This is true for Siege mono, InvizX FC and especially YZH.

There is that - while I'm tossing wackys; weightless and weighted; all season. Whether it's along weed edges, skipping under docks or tossing under overhanging trees - a wacky and I are good friends from spring through fall.

That's true for weightless, and I use Yama-Senkos for that...but if you're doing a weighted wacky (1/16oz-1/8oz) a lot of the others get back that shimmy just fine. Something about the slightly faster fall on a jig-head wacky vs a bare hook. Steve Rogers shot a vid about exactly that, and he tested 21 different stickbaits. So weightless, definitely the Yamamoto - but if i'm tossing weighted wackys, I'm putting a Yum Dinger on. I also don't use rings but cut lengths of vinyl tubing that I use a $8 'nasal speculum' to rig with....you might recognize that tool as the same one that the fishing tackle guys charge $20 or more for...it's the exact same thing, but they upcharge cause it has 'fishing' in the name. Tubing is $10 for 10', which is enough for 240 sleeves, and a tubing cutter is around $8

They do work well though, and come in different styles for different rigging options. Another is the Gamakatsu Swivel Shot hooks - even more expensive, but for a Gammy hook, worth it IMO. I'm also a finesse tosser for drop-shots. #2-1/0 hooks, 1/4oz is the heaviest weight I use, usually 1/8oz or 1/16oz is what I have on the tag end.

Tonka was officially declared open on Saturday...so Gim and I were both late with our dates.

1: Is it rated as a deep cycle? If not, there's half your problem 2: What's the AH rating of it? I've got an 35AH AGM battery that runs my bilge and LW recirc pumps (intermittently of course), my USB ports (cameras, tablet), my Striker 7cv and my UHD 93sv - I can get about 6 hours of constant run from that battery...more time if I turn off the sonars when not actively using them.

Reminds me of a Bill Cosby skit. "Now I know why they put in seat belts, they're not interested in my safety...the ambulance driver is too lazy to look for the body!" Exactly - it's not the falling out of the kayak that's the danger - it's the wake boat who didn't see your kayak running it and you over.

Been there - done that...

And create a possible fish-kill situation as you raise the PH of the water.