K1500

Regardless of your position in wearing PFD’s at all times, the auto/manual inflatable PFD’s are a game changer as far as all day wearable comfort is concerned. I will sometimes recover the boat and be stowing gear and pulling the drain plug before I remember to take mine off. They may not be as ‘good’ as a foam PFD in the water, but an inflatable you wear is far better than a foam jacket you stow.

My dad had alpha gal. It’s no joke and it can kill you through anaphylactic shock if you don’t know you have it. No cure and you can’t eat any mammal meat.

I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever from a single bite that I caught fairly quickly. It wasn’t any fun. To make it easy do the following if you bank fish regularly. 1. Have a dedicated bank fishing outfit that consists of a pair of long legged pants, long socks, shoes, and long sleeve shirt. Keep them separate from your regular clothes. 2. Treat that outfit well with permethrin based tick spray. Follow the directions and do not treat while wearing. Let dry fully. 3. Every time you fish, spray your ankle/shins/boots with a quick spray of DEET when you get out of the car. The permethrin spray lasts a long time on clothes, so there is no need to treat every time. After your first treatment dries, your fishing outfit is just a grab and go deal. It even lasts through washings. You can also buy some clothing that is pretreated by the manufacturer, if that makes you more comfortable. You should also treat your backpack/tackle bag with permethrin if you set it down in the weeds a lot, to prevent hitchhikers. Again, it lasts a long time so once or twice per season is probably enough. Finally, doxycycline (the preferred antibiotic for tick bites) can make you very sun sensitive, so be sure to use lots of sunscreen and cover up.

You can wear a HPG chest pack under an Onyx A/M inflatable. It is one of my most used pieces of gear when hiking, riding 4-wheelers, or kayaking. I don’t use it on my bay boat, but it’s perfect those activities where easy access to all your stuff is paramount.

The Hill People Gear chest pack is the answer to your problems.

I’ve had 3 PQ2’s limited/special editions and they were the some of the worst reels I’ve ever had. Maybe they all came from the same run of lemons.

O.K. I won’t, because they aren’t equal. I believe a case could be made that C&R fishing is ‘worse’ than hunting. With C&R fishing you are purposefully playing with an animal purely for hedonistic joy. While you revel in the joy of catching a fish, the fish fights for its very life at the end of your line. In the process you injure and kill some of them, all for 100% pure sport. Tournaments are even worse, as you bounce the fish around all day in a live well just to ‘beat the other guy’, thus commodifying wildlife. Hunting is conducted with the goal of cleanly and quickly killing an animal that will be consumed. Even so-called trophy hunters typically consume or employ the useable portions of their harvests. There are usually no hunting tournaments where the sole goal is to ‘beat the other guy’ at the animals expense. I have absolutely nothing against fishing or hunting. I participate in both frequently and with great joy. That being said, I am not deluded by the idea that C&R fishing is somehow morally or ethically superior to catch and keep fishing or hunting. They all rely on exerting human dominion over a wild animal.

No offense taken. There are a number of incredibly reflective essays and books on hunting and why people feel the need to hunt. It is a deep spiritual connection with nature, the web of life, the DNA sharpened by years of our ancestors relying on hunting to survive. It’s not much different than fishing in that regard.

Fishing undeniably injures and kills a proportion of the fish you catch, even with 100% C&R. It’s just the way it is. A fisherman isn’t in position to judge someone who hunts and eats their quarry while ‘playing’ fish for fun knowing full well that some will swim off and die, all in the name of ‘fun’. Nothing wrong with either sport (I participate in both) but fishing doesn’t hold the moral high ground by any stretch.

Oops, I didn’t read close enough on the first pass about arcing. Is one of the jump boxes like the Noco a safer solution for jumping a truck or boat when sensitive electronics are involved?

Why not just carry a short set of jumper cables and jump off of your TM batteries in the unlikely instance that your cranking battery dies?

Trolling motor with spot lock/anchor mode.

I have an Xi5 with pinpoint gps. It isn’t networked to anything, but it works without being networked. It is what allows anchor mode, heading lock, cruise control, memorized spots, and memorized tracks. I’d sure networking would allow it to do more with the waypoints on your sonar, but I don’t know if you can network a hummingbird to a motor guide.

That awesome and good for you. The reason has already been stated. Instead of draining your bank account with a debit card (even temporarily) they are accruing charges on a credit card. The difference is draining your bank account can cause all sorts of other issues, such as bounced or declined payments, while racking up a temporary charge on a credit card costs you nothing. You can read more here if you wish, but it sounds like the your mind made up. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/credit-card-vs-debit-card-safer-online-purchases

It seems like a horrible idea to load money on a prepaid visa to use online to prevent fraud. It usually costs a fee to load money on a prepaid card. In addition, it is akin to using a debit card with fewer protections. They can empty the card and it’s your cash that is gone. If you load ‘just enough’ on the card that you can make the purchase, you are now making two purchases (loading the card and buying the merchandise) for every buy. Credit cards have built in fraud detection and prevention, and you are not on the hook for fraudulent activity. Don’t use a debit card. Don’t use a prepaid card. Don’t use PayPal or any other goofy mechanism. Just use your credit card and track your purchases.

Common courtesy seems to be a somewhat uncommon trait it appears. That being said, if you have ever been steelhead fishing or shore fishing in a tail race there is no way the above works. It’s sometimes nearly shoulder to shoulder.

6 years tops. Goodyear endurance (NOT marathon).

Sounds like a good way to turn fun into frustration for me. That being said, I don’t find casinos fun either and I don’t fish tournaments.

Invest in a small 2,000-2,200 watt inverter generator. Honda is the best but $$. Some of the harbor freight ones get pretty good reviews. Then you have electricity anywhere you need it, including power outages , etc.

Yes. Had a hula popper hook bury itself up to the bend in a knuckle. I tried to push it through and it wouldn’t go so I yanked it out with pliers. Has a Kastmaster bury 2 of the trebles all the way in my lip. My daughter broke a rod in half with a flying Zara spook. Numerous other instances. Always wear eye protection.

When I sharpen, I triangle sharpen all types of hooks with a small diamond file (like Glenn describes for a Trokar). It works fast and gets them sticky sharp. I like a thin diamond hook file with a continuous surface. I have also used the hook groove on some files. It works fine but doesn’t feel as sharp as the triangle method.

Many states require you to pull the plug before transporting. If you own a boat long enough you are likely to forget the plug. Bring an extra and perhaps practice reaching down and ‘pretending’ to install it on a warm day. Have a pre-launch routine that includes double checking critical things (like the plug, motor support, rear straps, safety snap, etc.) are all squared away. Same goes for checking those things before you leave the launch area to go home.

Overpaying sucks for sure. But sometimes, getting exactly what you want vs something ‘close’ that was a better deal on paper is worth paying a bit more.

May want to call a Dr. about a rabies course. As mentioned, a guy was in the news recently who woke up with a bar on him and contracted rabies and died. It’s has the highest mortality rate of all viral infections but can be treated if done early.

If it’s like the three Pro Qualifier 2’s I had, you would be time, money, and bonus friend points ahead to replace the reel with something else. Sell the reel for parts on eBay.