Jig Man

Your bait has to be in the cone for you to see it. The size of the cone is different depending on the kHz that you are using. A 200 kHz transducer's cone diameter is approximately 1/3 of the depth. Smaller numbers make a larger cone.

There was a time when my wife had her own boat. She had a deck boat with a bimini top. I found it to be a pita. Every time I found a place to fish the angle of the sun would be wrong for her to be in the shade. Boy was I glad to see her finally get rid of it.

Like the others said they look pretty good from a distance. I have both of the molds and the PT is my main jig these days.

X2 You can get a fair selection at Hobby Lobby.

If you can raise the deck before cutting it would be a very good thing.

There is no telling what kind of costs you will encounter with a rig that old. Just normal maintenance is lower unit fluid change at least yearly and the water separating fuel filter. Every few years new plugs, new water pump impellor, and new batteries. License, registration and insurance. You may also need some kind of additive for your gasoline. There will always be something popping up what will demand some cash. That is why BOAT actually means bring on another thousand.

slonezp I think they make Swivel Eze also.

Don't throw it away. Who made it and how old is it? Depending on mfg you might get a replacement. Many of them are made by Springfield Marine in Nixa, MO and come with a 5 year warranty to the first purchaser. If it came with your Lund it should be covered.

Check your p2p before you start raising the motor.

Like smalljaw stated that is probably your best option. Be sure to look at the soft plastics cook book. It has hundreds of recipes for all kinds of colors.

From what I read with this model no black box is needed for side scan just the lss-2 transducer. Is my understanding correct? Yes that is correct. With the lss-2 transducer you will still need to run the hdi transducer as well, correct? You will need at least a 2d sonar transducer. Is there any drawbacks to this model? I know gen3 is out but other than that? Gen 2 is slower and not compatible with all of the new stuff out there. You might want to check out some suppliers like BBG and BOE before you buy. I have saved a bunch shopping with them over the years. Those units should be on close out in lots of places.

I have a couple of Stradic 2500s mounted on St Croix Avids. They work pretty well.

You will have to use something like concrete blocks and cable to sink and hold most stuff. Sycamore will sink without any added weight.

If you don't know how to go through the gills and turn the hook around, take the time to look it up and learn to do it. It is easy and saves those for you to catch in the future. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+remove+a+hook+from+a+fish's+throat&docid=608016054638741501&mid=A780E4C3C33CC0B1F974A780E4C3C33CC0B1F974&view=detail&FORM=VIREHT

There are only a very few battery makers in this country. So a lot of what you might hear about are brands made by the same company. Most batteries will get the job done and done well. The main concern that you should have when looking at flooded cell batteries which are those in the price range you listed is RESERVE CAPACITY. Get RC of 180 or more 200 if you can find them. Don't worry about MCA or CCA just RC. I have had lots of brands of batteries and found most all of them will do the job. The second thing to look for is the free replacement warranty. It should be at least 1 year. That is OK because most battery malfunctions occur in the first 90 day.

Paint/no paint it is the fisherman not the fish that considers it an issue. When I first started making jigs it was buck tail for clear water fishing on Bull Shoals. For several years I never bothered to paint them. After I started making them "pretty" I have just kept on but it still doesn't make any difference. A lot of my shaky hand Ned heads have no paint on them and they work just fine but paint them if you want. Rattle can paint won't hold up if you fish any rocky stuff. That takes an epoxy or powder paint.

How much braid vs backing do you have on the reel? I have never had that issue. I have the longest cast possible + about 60' of braid. The rest is backing and I use small diameter backing line.

I take milk, add 1 egg, a good squirt of mustard, mix thoroughly. I let the fillets soak for a few minutes them put the in a bag with corn meal. Shake it up real good then put them in the Fry Daddy when the grease is good and hot.

You can always run a larger tmotor on a lower speed if needed and use less electricity than having to run a less powerful one on higher speeds. In the battery department go for at least a 27 series. A 29 or 31 would be better. The important thing to know is reserve capacity. Get the most RC that you can find.

Here in MO I have been catching smallmouth close to points. We have flooded lakes and they were in about 8-10 fow before the rains. Now they are in about 20 fow which is right where they were. They basically haven't moved for close to a month. We have caught over 300 of them on the Ned rig. They are on the points for a time them move back down the bank maybe 100 yds then back toward the point. They don't seem to be associated with cover or structure at this time and are close to main lake and secondary points. They aren't everywhere but when I have found them they are generally there the next time that I go. The Zman TRD has been the best bait that I have used on 6# fluorocarbon line. Different colors work better on different days so I keep 4 rigged up all the time. The lake I am fishing is a highland reservoir with lots of clear water.

I don't know what comprises "high end" for you. For me it is Gloomis and Falcon rods with Shimano Curado and Chronarch reels which is what I use. I also use good quality Seaguar fluorocarbon line. I have very few baits that cost more than $1 because I make all of my own stuff except for jerks and cranks which I seldom use.

Popsnagger...braid cutter, eye popper, hook sharpener, line threader, pliers all in one tool.

There you go. It won't be long before he'll want his own boat.

X2

I use it a lot. I normally use 5 " baits on it. I have 3 setups for it. 2 of them are 6'6" and 1 is a 7'. I like the 7' best. I use 5.1:1 reels and 50 # Power Pro braid.