@reelChris

If the cart tubes are steel, go with expanded steel or plastic flooring. If they're aluminum, use expanded aluminum or plastic. You don't want to put steel and aluminum into contact with one another because of galvanization. Hell, depending on how much weight you're putting in there, you might be able to get away with fairly inexpensive corrugated plastic sheet from a big box store.

KastKing Royale Legend. Around $33 direct from KastKing Ebay. Surprising quality for the money.

I'm always a fan of backing anything heavy that's on an elevated mount. The jarring forces from waves and bumps while trailering will exert a lot of torque on the small surface area of the ram mount base plate. That being said, I wouldn't use a wood backer, especially that close to the bow. ABS, star board, PVC and aluminum all come in sheets that are fairly strong and impervious to water. Make sure to use stainless bolts, nuts and lock washers and you shouldn't have to worry about the screws ever pulling out.

I can consistently catch fish skipping a wacky rig under docks. I find skipping fun, and it's reliable in tournaments, but I hate going right to it for two reasons. First, It really doesn't take any special knowledge or preparation to find dock fish - you just plow down the bank hitting every dock. Second, although docks produce numbers, I've placed higher in tournaments where I've fished a variety of techniques. Since I prefer learning instead of fishing the same way all of the time, I usually start the day working techniques I want to improve at, even in tournament situations. If those don't get my anywhere by 11 or 12, I'll switch to skipping docks.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going take A-Jay's advice and get the 9510. I have a Ranger 36" fixed handle rubber coated net right now. It's nice, but the handle is too long on the deck and too short when I'm trying to net fish. The 24-48" handle on the Frabill sounds perfect.

Does anyone know of a one-handed deploying telescopic landing net with rubber coated or silicone net material? I know RPM Outdoor Sports made one about 10 years ago, but it looks like they're out of business. I'm looking for something that takes up minimal room on a deck that will give me extra reach when I need it.

I like drop shot fishing, but the rig is awkward to cast under the best of circumstances. If you're trying to maximize casting distance on a finesse presentation, why not try a ned rig? Drop down to 10lb braid and you'll probably be able to fire a 1/8th oz ned pretty far with better accuracy than a drop shot.

NOCO chargers have a recommended operating temperature range. I emailed them specifically to ask about cold weather charging and I believe they said the genius chargers are rated to operate down to about 25 degrees. I'm sure they'll work at lower temperatures than that, but I don't know how well.

I like keeping a light weight one hand opening knife any time I'm in a boat. However, I prefer scissors for cutting braid. I used the Rapala ones for a while, but they don't hold a candle to the $3.75 Cuda Braid Scissors. The Cudas are much sharper and the handles more comfortable.

Awesome, that's what I was hoping to hear. Thanks

I emailed Garmin and this is what they said: "you can share user data by using NMEA 0183 and connecting them thru the wires there. It will not share sonar or charts just user data" I'm not sure what "user data" is. The goal is to be able to mark spots on one unit and have them show up on the map on the other. Can anyone enlighten me on whether this is possible?

The older unit is the non touch screen version that preceded the plus. It has data wires so I assume it will share something.

Can an Echomap 93sv UHD/GT54 and an older model (non UHD) 73SV/GT40 be networked with only a data sharing cable, or do you need a NMEA starter kit? What data can be shared between them? Thanks

If you just need a place to store the bags, these boxes are pretty economical at $1.78 each. They can fit about 25 bags of 5" senkos if stored the long way or 15-20 bags of longer worms stored the other way. They stack and you can add painter's tape labels that last a long time.

1) Find more income 2) Do more with the same income - e.g., get a room mate 3) Buy on credit 4) Shop the used market - just quick looking in the DFW area I found: $14,000 for a 2002 Triton with 150hp Merc & Ultrex $8,500 for a 2000 Xpress 17' with 90hp Honda $1,800 for a running 1977 Glasstron

That is tempting, but I saw one for sale a little cheaper with a GT52HW transducer. Does a couple of generations ago's transducer matter much for a trolling motor mount? And, can that unit network to share points with a 93sv? Disregard...it's an Echomap +. Not worth the loss in capability for the slight discount.

Since the traditional sonar image looks OK, it's probably a setting that's messed up for the down imagery. The first thing I would check is the gain. The amount of noise directly under the boat in your side imagery is unusual. Also experiment with different frequencies and make sure the screen resolution isn't too low. This is what a GT54UHD transducer should provide in side & down imagery over a very rocky bottom

The magnet idea is brilliant

Great ideas all. I have a bad track record with super glue and I've tried plastic bags and they're just too fussy a solution for me. So, I went the soldering route with a $4.99 iron from harbor freight. The soldered dividers won't get a real test until the spring, but they seem to have a decently strong bond. Now I'm looking for something thick enough to make a seal between the top of the dividers and the top of the box. Maybe some kind of foam tape?

I leave mine sideways in the hand muff all of the time and have no issues with them going out with 2 caveats: 1) I rarely use them in the felt bags because I keep them in a muff and I think that moderates the oxygen flow enough. 2) I have two warmers and one is more sensitive to oxygen deprivation than the other. When it starts showing signs of cooling off, I take it out of the felt bag and/or muff and let it sit exposed to the air until it warms back up, then back in the hand warmer it goes. FYI - I can typically get 12 hours of heat out of one complete fill of fuel, to the top (I don't use the little filler cup). Ive been tempted to replace the whole muff/warmer system with a battery powered muff, but I'm on the fence because the zippos are so reliably warm and battery powered stuff is always iffy.

Two things - First, if you haven't used a zippo hand warmer in a hand muff like this one you're missing out. Second, the trick to lighting a Zippo hand warmer is disregarding the directions. You have to fill it with fluid, let it rest upright for about 5 minutes, then turn it sideways and, using a lighter, put the flame directly to the top of the wick for about 20 or 30 seconds. Sometimes a visible flame will erupt from the top of the wick. That's OK, and you can shut the lighter off and let it burn for the 20 to 30 seconds, then just blow it out. In the dark, you can see a faint glow in the wick that will let you know that it's lit. If it's not dark, you can feel the top of the zippo where the wick meets the body of the warmer. It should get hot fairly quickly. After it's lit, leave it upright for another 5 minutes for the flame to spread through the catalytic burner inside the body of the warmer and then add the metal cap. Once it gets too hot to handle comfortably, put it in the felt bag and cinch it just enough to keep it from falling out. You can extinguish the warmer by putting it in the felt bag and sealing it in a plastic bag. It will exhaust the available oxygen fairly quickly and flame out without melting the bag.

Does anyone know a method for sealing the removable dividers in plano 3700 or 3600 boxes? I'm trying to keep very small parts like swivels and light wire hooks from migrating from one compartment to another. I looked into the edge boxes, but reviews say that small stuff can still sneak out of where you put them.

Not for, with. And before I present the idea to a club used to doing small friendly tournaments, I want to know the scope of what I'm talking about.

I'm trying to get an idea on whether hosting a 50ish boat tournament is doable as a fund raiser for a 20 person club that typically has internal tournaments. I imagine you would need: A venue and whatever permits it requires; Insurance; Advertising; Written Waivers; A means of taking entry fees; Judges/Marshalls; A starting boat; A weigh in setup; A p.a. system to make announcements; A means of paying winners or distributing prizes; Social media to distribute pictures; Workers to handle the above. Other than the above is there anything I'm missing? Are there any articles or guides on housing larger fishing events?

Has anyone seen the 63sv or 73sv on sale?