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Ever since the hack attack and the 2 months to alert customers I haven’t bought from them. And everything I would buy they are out of. I don’t expect to be doing any business with them anytime in the future.

Braid is not good on baits with a front prop as it will wrap the front prop. If you have a mono leader ok but straight braid, no way.

Another vote for Bitters Bait & Tackle in Longwood FL. John Bitters, the owner who I’ve known for over 30 years, is a seasoned tournament angler. His brother is Jim Bitters. He knows what works and stocks it. He has colors of plastics no one else has as he has his own brand and has created some unique colors. Tim’s Tackle in Orlando is another but no longer in existence. Tournament Tackle in Hollywood FL was a saltwater anglers dream store. It was run by Don and Barbara Ferguson who won a lot of offshore tournaments in their day out of a 23’ Seacraft. I doubt it’s still there though.

According to Hummingbird you cannot mount a side scan transducer inside the hull and shoot thru. Can I epoxy the Side Imaging or Down Imaging transducer in the hull of my fiberglass boat and allow the sonar to shoot through the hull? No. Side Imaging transducers have beams that shoot out to the side of the transducer therefore they cannot be epoxied into the hull and work properly. In addition, we do not recommend this type of installation for Down Imaging. Shooting through the hull of a fiberglass boat causes the signal to be lost.

Ok but the problem still exists. I don’t use it to read on plane, that’s what the skimmer is for.

Thanks A Jay. That’s what I was looking for. ?

Not for down and side scan. Not sure what you are getting at. This is a Lowrance side and down scan transducer. The one to the right is their skimmer transducer. FYI, The transducers work perfect. The spray is from the large down/side transducer.

This is on a flats boat and from my research is a common problem. Disregard the aluminum metal piece going vertically from the transducer mount. That was an attempt to alleviate this problem but the top part of it eventually broke off.

On my boat, the long transducer on the transom throws a pretty good rooster tail up and gets the motor all wet. Anybody have a shield they use to address this?

Wife’s rod update. Bought the St.Croix that WRB recommended. Found one on eBay for $170 with free shipping. Ordered Friday, got it today. I’m very impressed. Weights 3.5 oz. on my scale. The rod she was using was 5.2 oz. That’s a 50% weight reduction. Very nice action too. I think she will like it. If not, oh well ??

Like Tom said, reels come with drags for a reason, use them. It constantly amazes me seeing people (pros) pulling line off a spinning reel or throwing a baitcaster in and out of free-spool to give fish line when that’s what the drag is for. ??‍♂️ And no it won’t affect hookset, worst thing the drag will do is slip some. Which it is supposed to do!

Deep, I was under the impression you would be moving to different locations around the boat. My mistake. Yes it’s just a 2 knob adjustment to raise/lower and the 3rd knob to rotate. But it will be in the same increments as described.

I had the Ram Mount for my 12” but as you said, you really had to torque it down to get to stay. I changed to the Balz-out Mount and am very happy with it. Solid as a rock. But moving from location to location would be harder with it. If you go with the Balz-out be very certain you have it level and positioned before mounting it. It does not move in infinite increments like the Ram does but moves in predetermined amounts based on the ball & socket design it uses.

I recently purchased (2) Lews KVD 6’8” jerk bait rods and they make working the bait effortless. They are light, perfect tip, shorter butt section so as to not hit you when working the bait and work 78 and 100’s with ease and are priced right at $120. Plus they can handle big fish by the 7-7 I got recently. There’s a reason Kevin can fish jerkbaits all day, this rod is why. You’ll thank me later.

Aaron, most of my rods are mix and match so that won’t be a problem ?

Thanks for all the replies guys. I’m learning towards the St Croix Tom mentioned so far.

Tom, I’m not seeing the 10% off anywhere

I’m looking for a specific rod for my wife. It will be used exclusively for Texas rigged worms. Prefer 7’ or so, MH action and less than $200. Trying to keep her combo as light ( weight not action) as possible. Reel will be a Daiwa 70 series she already has. I’ve looked at a lot of the sticky posts but most are 4-5 years old. Thanks guys.

Way to go Aaron. I know you work hard and put in the time. Maybe you can guide me to one of those ?

As others have said big O can be tough in February and is fickle nowadays. Headwaters is hot right now, lots of reports on FB in the Headwaters group. You can find a lot of guides on the group as well.

For those that are wondering, I live on the St. John’s near Debary, which is the town on the northwest side of lake Monroe I’m about an hour south of lake George. There is very little, if any grass in the river itself from south of lake Harney to lake George. You can thank the state for that with all their spraying. If just ridiculous how much they do. North of George I’m not sure. I know George have eelgrass in it. The river itself is mainly lily pads, lay downs and trees.

Looks like a Norman to me too

Happens to the best.

There’s a few things for me. First and foremost is to arrive back home safe. At 68, that’s is a priority. Secondly would be that I do catch bass based on what I thought would work that day. Third would be did I catch enough for dinner ( even thought I don’t keep bass) if I needed to. It’s part of my survival instincts. Last and by far not least, did I catch the “one” I wanted, that being a particular size trophy for that location, time of year, etc.

Probably 1959 for me when we moved from Miami to Plantation. I was only 6 then but remember (barely ?) fishing the banks of our neighborhood south Florida canals. By early 70’s I was light tackle saltwater fishing but never gave up bass fishing. It’s still my passion today, 62+ years later.