Michigander

I'll also second Garmin. However, I think my next unit is going to be a Raymarine Element or Axiom.

Never liked Crystal. Used regular Fireline for about 15 years and it was always reliable. It isn't glamorous line, and it's loud on your rod compared to others but it did everything I asked it to do.

Gliss was ultimately abandoned for me too. The heavier stuff stands up better. I can see why it's popular with saltwater anglers but it's not well suited to my fishing. My tourney partner was field testing Slick V2 this year and we were both really impressed. I also tested the Hitena braid and I found it to be too fine for my tastes. It was hard to see to tie knots and kept slicing through my FC leaders.

@kayaking_kev if you haven't epoxied the G2 split grip and butt on one of those, I'd love to get a weight so I can add that to my notes.

Great for open water. Not abrasion resistant, so bad for cover situations.

I also saw that deal and passed on it. Two red flags about it: A ) It's not sold out yet.... B )There's more horror stories in the reviews than glowing recommendations...

Rage Craw or Rage Bug if I want action. If I want a more subtle trailer then it's a Berkley Powerbait Fight'N Bug. I usually rip off enough of the bait so the claws are just far enough out to not be obstructed by the skirt. Amount varies from jig to jig.

You can call Mercury and discuss with one of their techs. Often it's one of their engineers that gets on the phone and historically they have been very helpful and love to get into the mathematical weeds with you.

I usually buy them in person every other year when I'm around a BPS store. Haven't ordered online in ages.

For general Trigs, I usually use 30lb test with a 12-16lb FC leader.

Other than Stik-Os I don't bother with Bass pro anymore.

No worries. I did look into making my own but I have enough projects to keep me busy, lol. Just hoping you knew a guy. ?

Second. Give me that sweet knowledge. I'll settle for a PDF too. ?

You got a line on pork trailers? I missed that boat because I hadn't figured jigs out. Other than that startup guy that stole my money the other year I haven't found any to try

I think that's why it's successful. It looks close enough to a lot of things that are food.

Yeah, fire don't care what the air temp is. ?

Cool, I'll give them a call in the morning. Thanks!!

One time I was reeling in a jig and it felt a little funny, when I got it back to the boat, there was a second jig attached. Didn't catch the line, just interlocked hooks. Doubt that will ever happen again. Another time we were under a bridge and I was bouncing a trigged worm off the concrete sides about 20-30ft away into the water. After several casts, I did it again and my bait disappeared when it should have made contact with the wall. We took the boat near to figure out why my line had bonded with the concrete. Turns out there was a little 3/4" diameter pipe end sticking out and I had perfectly rocketed my weight and worm right into it. No way I could make that cast again if I was trying.

Is there a reel shim shop online? Or do you get them from a hardware store?

The back has a lot more real estate, and you don't have to drive while fishing, or worry about stepping on rods But I love the front because I am turbo obsessed with boat position. And if I can put the trolling motor deep enough to be out of the way, killer.

Ok, thanks! That's enough to close the Diawa tech tree for me. I'm unwilling to pay Zillion prices but I'll keep an eye out for a used deal in LH, lol. But I will consider a gear upgrade. Which do you recommend? And my Fuegos are still in excellent condition but I would love to remove the slop in the handle grips. Is there an easy way to do that?

The wind is constant in Kansas. Awful in winter. And in the summer, that was where I learned that wind can be hotter than the ambient temperature. I had been living the lie up until that point that a breeze was always cooler.

Oh ok. I get confused by all the variants. So the Tatula CT is basically a Fuego with TWS, but a Tatula 100 is a totally different reel then, correct?

When I was in the army, obviously I got to live a few places far from home. Other than a proper German winter, everywhere else was.... Wrong somehow. And Kansas just sucked, cold wind and ice.