kdubracing

I made a couple of jigs in Black Widow, red and black, this winter. I'm interested to see if they work.

Those are nice. Do you sell them? I don't need any now, but I probably will next winter. This winter I'm building jigs. Will probably build a bunch of spinnerbaits next winter. I like building them but don't want to get into making the heads. I like the idea of buying something like this from a member than just buying a bunch from a lure making site.

I bought a frittside just before it got too cold to try out. It was great for about 45 minutes. 3 fish, then the bill broke.

Mine is the opposite. I have a hard time getting the dividers out to move them.

Others may be different than me, but for a new reel, I don't clean anything out. I just add a drop of oil to each bearing and lightly add some grease to the gears if they look pretty dry. Cleaning a used reel is a different story. Then I remove the parts and clean them off. Solvent will dry if you let it sit for a little while.

They weren't new installs, but I just replaced 2 of mine yesterday. One was the center tackle compartment and the other was the left side rod locker. Both were 10" and I replaced with 45 lb. I found on Amazon. They work perfectly.

That's an option as well. Most of the people I have heard about that bought a sit in kayak for fishing immediately want a sit on top. But OP can decide what would be best for him.

If you are willing to save your money a bit longer, you can pick up a Lifetime Tamarack Angler from Walmart for around $300. Great entry level kayak. You'll obviously need a life jacket, but you can get one that is legal and will save you if needed for about $10-20. That kayak comes with a paddle. It's cheap, but works ok, especially on a budget. Built in rod holders work ok. On a tight budget, this is a good option. We have 2 of them along with a more expensive Bass Pro kayak, and I like this one better. Pretty stable, but don't stand. So, again, if you're willing to save a bit more, you can get on the water safely and legally for less than $350. I wouldn't recommend taking it on a large lake with a lot of boat traffic. But you can have a blast at ponds, quarry lakes, electric only lakes, etc.

I usually open all of my new reels just to see if they are dry, too much grease, etc. I have recently bought a Tatula CT and an SV TW, and both of those were pretty dry. With the Tatula CT, I would recommend opening it up and adding oil to the bearings and likely some grease to the gears. It seems Daiwa baitcasters are notoriously dry when new.

It's standard 3700 size. I got one a couple of months ago and love it. I have everything from 1/4 to 1/2 oz with different head sizes, and my chatterbaits. A couple of the larger football heads don't fit perfect, but still fit. If you hold the skirt strands down when you put the jigs in, almost all of them fit great.

I'm the opposite in my kayak. I have a Striker 4 and have the screen right next to me. While I wouldn't hate a larger screen, this one is fine for me. But I pretty much only fish small quarry lakes and electric motor only lakes in the kayak. I use map creation function a lot. I don't have side imaging, just DI and 2D in the kayak. In the boat, I'm leaning toward replacing one of my Helix units at the console with SI/DI first, then replacing the bow later. What I have will get me by for now, especially when I get a Lakemaster chip.

Yeah, that's what I was figuring. Now, if I wanted to plug those to try and keep water out of the bilge since I don't use the livewells, should I plug both of them or the intake only? Not sure if plugging both may have any adverse effects.

2004 Ranger 520vx. Yes, they are on either side of the drain plug. I’ll try and attach a pic, we’ll see if it works. https://imgur.com/a/SgsEBIJ

Need help with a pretty stupid question. I'm getting water in my bilge, and I suspect it's from the livewell intake and/or outlet. So.... 1. I have 2 fittings going through the hull that are not the drain plug. One has a plastic screen/cage around it that has a 3/4" diameter. The other does not have any kind of screen, just a through-hull that is 1" diameter. I'm assuming the one with the screen around it is the livewell intake and the other is the livewell drain. Is that correct? 2. If I wanted to put a plug in them since I do not use the livewells, should I plug the intake only, or both?

Never said it was bad. I like to use 2D in conjunction with down imaging. Rotary phones worked great also, but I sure like my iPhone.

Just got a used boat that came with an older Lowrance HDS8 and Helix 10 at the console and a Helix 7 on the front. Lowrance is side and down imaging, but being older isn't the easiest to read. Both Helix's are 2D only. I'm starting to work through what I want to upgrade first and trying to figure out what I want. The $3k units like 360/Livescope are not feasible. So, my question to you all, is what are your setups? What do you like/dislike? How do you use them? Do you like side imaging at the console or front? Down imaging at the console or front? Just looking for ideas and opinions on how/where/why you use the technology (minus livescope/360, etc.)

I guess this thread is now the “I didn’t get my confirmation yet from TW” thread.

I don’t use football jigs much due to grass, but I do fish with jigs a lot. My favorite trailer is UV Speed Craw.

This is going to be completely preference. I’m left handed, and use only right hand reels. I even move all my spinning reels to right hand. That’s because I like to have my dominant hand on the rod. That’s just what is natural to me.

In my opinion, you're on the right track. I think the MH Fast baitcaster is the best to start with. You can throw anything you want on that while you're learning. The steps after that may change depending on what you figure out you like using the best and what your cover is. But a crankbait rod and a heavy rod are pretty logical following the MH fast.

Haven't tried the new one, but just bought the old one for the wife. Through my research, it seemed like the new one is slightly smaller and slightly lighter than the old one. I never really found anything different other than that. Not sure why/how it's smaller or lighter.

I have the 6'10 MH and it's my workhorse. I've used it for everything from weightless senkos to frogs. I'm a big fan, solid sensitivity, lightweight, good backbone. I would definitely recommend one.

I got a few of the Siebert tungsten jigs early this year. 3/8 oz are a great smaller profile, but not overly small. They have been killer for me this year. I am going to order more this winter. I also like the Bass Pro tungsten finesse jig for 1/4 oz. when I want an even smaller presentation. None of these are much more than lead jigs anyway.

I thread it up on the hook. I used to nose hook it, but you lose the bait almost every fish. Now I catch quite a few on one bait. It doesn’t seem to hamper the action either.

The Brat is on my to try list. It looks like it should be good.