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One thing to keep in mind about lithium batteries is they have higher voltage. So for auto pilot type trolling motors, they'll use less amperage to stay put or follow a path at a given speed. This will increase the number of hours a battery will run. They also, unlike lead acid type batteries, have a pretty flat discharge curve. When a lead acid battery starts running down, the voltage drops, so the trolling motor becomes slower, and has to run longer or at a faster speed, thus drawing more amps. LiFePo4 batteries tend to stay pretty flat in their discharge curve, so they use less amps throughout their charge cycle, assuming your traveling the same speed. An you'll usually get a bit higher top speed out a lithium battery at full throttle on the trolling motor versus a lead acid, so you'll spend less time running the motor to cover the same distance. Plus the weight savings will help efficiency. Watts = Volts x Amps. Which means if you up the volts, you get the same power at proportionally less amps. Also, while it's true that LiFePo4 batteries don't get damaged as badly as lead-acid batteries when fully discharged, it's still a good idea to not draw them down below 20%. A fully charged LiFePo4 lithium battery will output 13.5v and run down to 12.9v at 20%. A lead-acid will start off around 12.7v and drop down to about 12.2v at 50%. So you can see how you get more power at every step along the way with a lithium battery than you do with even a fully charged lead-acid. Of course, with sonar and other electronics, none of this will matter. But it will make a noticeable difference on a trolling motor.

I'd probably start off with whatever was working before, if that's an option. I find that usually whatever was working before the weather change has a better chance of working that something new based solely on the weather change. I live in central Oklahoma, and it's always windy. And one thing I've learned about wind is that it's not often the most important factor to consider. Keep it in mind, of course. But don't assume that just because it's windy doesn't mean the fish don't want a slow dragged soft plastic. Especially if a cold front just passed through. A lot of the weather changes we experience affect us, living the in air, a lot more than the fish, living in the water, so we tend to overinflate their significance. I would give your faster moving hard baits a try for half an hour or so, and if you don't get any bites, try something completely different. Fish for the wind, then try fishing for the cold front. Let the fish tell you what they want, because they're stubborn and will frequently ignore what you try to tell them.

About three years ago I pulled a reel out of storage that had some Spider Wire on it from when that brand first came out. Back when it was made of "Spectra" instead of "Dyneema" (same thing just sourced from a different company). When I pulled that reel out and cleaned it up, I reused that line on the spool for another year, and it worked fine. So, unless it becomes worn out through abrasion or UV exposure, I'd say it can last at least 20 years. Probably a lot more.

When using heavy, tungsten weights on a Texas Rig (or something like that where the weight will slam the bead), I like to put a plastic bead in between the glass bead and the weight. It helps to absorb some of the impact and prevents the glass from shattering. With lead and brass weights, it's not really an issue for me. But I've had tungsten weights shatter glass beads before.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/differentiating-alabama-bass-from-spotted-bass/156198 It basically says yes, if you want to count 70 scales using a magnifying glass. Or send a sample off for DNA analysis.

Are you sure you're tying an FG? Maybe double check to make sure you're doing it the correct way, and not tying it backwards. I use this same setup often (50# braid and 15# mono and fluoro) and never have had issues with it hanging up, even with micro guides. If you're sure of all of that, then just go for straight mono. The difference in diameter of braided line is very small, and even dropping down to 6# braid from 50# won't change the size of the knot but by a few thousands of an inch. The difference in braid diameters of 6# and 50# is 0.009".

It's probably because you're waiting for someone to tell you contact Glenn about donating it to a BR giveaway.

Differentiating between fish and structure takes practice and a careful eye. A better sonar unit won't really help you there. And sometimes, when the fish are relating closely to structure, you can't see them anyway, no matter how good you and your sonar are. Though, it does help to know there's structure down there and there's likely fish on that structure, based on some of the other knowledge you've acquired as an angler. For me, I almost never use sidescan. It works, but it's not great with detail at slower kayak speeds. And it rarely shows me things I didn't already know. And the sidescan option comes with a crazy long transducer which is a headache to mess with. If I were to do it over again, I'd skip likely that on a kayak, but it's worth it on a power boat. Downscan is nice, but it too doesn't show me much more than sonar. If you know how to read sonar, it pretty much shows you the same useful information, but the downscan just provides extra clarity and fine detail that you don't really need to catch fish. Still, it's nice to have and doesn't really come with a downside of owning. I'm not interested in a touch screen. I have enough trouble keeping my screen clean as it is, and any oil or water that builds up on the screen makes it even harder to read in the sun. What I use the most is the old fashion sonar and GPS maps. I especially like to use C-maps Social Maps, which are user created maps that will often have smaller ponds and lakes that the big, expensive mapping companies don't.

Why are you wanting to upgrade and what don't you like about the Striker 4? What features do you require or are interested in? What's your budget? Do you like the way your Garmin is set up? Some people like huge screens and some don't. Some people use down scan and side scan a lot, and others prefer to stick to traditional sonar. Some people don't care for maps, and others use them religiously. Some people like simplified menus so they don't get lost, and others like tons of options so they can really tweak the unit to exactly how they like it. Some have room for big transducers, and others only have space for small transducers. Lots of factors to consider here. The good news is, you have some experience with one already, so there's a starting place to go from that should help make the search a bit easier now.

50% of my fishing is done at the lake close to my work, and I fish it every day on my lunch break (weather permitting), but only for about 30 minutes. It's a pretty bad lake for fishing, but it beats not fishing for lunch. 30% of my time fishing is at the lake close to my house. It's not a great fishing lake either, but it's a lot better and bigger than the one near my work. I'll fish this lake about 75% of the time I go fishing on weekends. It saves me about 2-4 hours of drive time over the "good" lakes, and I know it well enough that I almost never get skunked. The remainder 20% of my fishing is done at new lakes or a few revolving favorites. There are few lakes that I really enjoy fishing that are about 1-2 hours away and are much better than anything close to me. I'll usually fish them about 2-3 times a year each, when the weather is just right. I also like to explore new lakes that I've never been to before, and I'll usually find and fish a brand-new lake about 2-3 times a year (each time a different lake, unless I like it so much it gets worked into my rotation of favorites). So it's a healthy mix. I probably hit up 10 different lakes in a year.

Only way to tell for sure is to try it out for yourself!

I trust the BPS and H2O brand lures. I can't say if they work better or worse than what they're mimicking. If I buy one of these brands, I'm trying to save money, so it makes no sense to spend more money on an identical lure from a different brand to waste my time in a real-world comparison experiment. However, every BPS and H2O lure I've owned (that I can remember) has served me as well as any of the other major brands.

Maybe up to 10 minutes with braid. With fluoro and mono, if it takes more than a minute or two, I just cut it out. That line will get kinks in it if the backlash is bad, and that'll cause a break off later on down the line. And if it doesn't kink on the spool, it'll kink when I've peeled off a bunch and am trying to wind it all back up.

I gave up trying because my line kept getting tangled in the blades. So even if I could get it to skip, I still couldn't get it to retrieve properly.

I've never used a Catch 120, but some of these questions are kind of general in nature, so I'll give it a shot. 1. Car topping depends on what kind of car and system you have in place to get it up there. My kayak weighs roughly 85lbs, and it's a pain to car top, but I can do it even with my bad back. The trick to doing it yourself is to find a way to lift up the front first, onto the car, and then lift up the back and slide it on. Typically, those kayak roof rack J holder are better for narrow, sit inside kayaks that weigh a lot less than the wider sit on top kayaks used for fishing. And forgoing the J style kayak holders will make loading and transportation easier. I have some tricks to help, depending on what kind of car you're trying to load it on. 2. It's good to follow weight capacities. You definitely don't want to go over. But you can get close to them, however there will be a penalty. My kayak has a weight capacity of 350lbs. All in all, I regularly load it up with about 320 lbs of stuff and myself. It's stable and works well even loaded up to almost 92% of it's rated weight. It does, however, sit lower in the water and it does not paddle as well, track as straight, or go as fast at that weight. If I lower the load + me to 200lbs, it handles much better and travels much faster. But it's not dangerous to use at the higher load. It's just slightly less stable and much less efficient. 3. Standing in any kayak will take some getting used to. It'll always be difficult and you'll feel unstable when you first try it. But eventually, it becomes second nature. Since the Catch 120 is kind of small, it'll probably be less stable to stand in that many other, larger fishing kayaks. How easy it is to stand in any kayak will depend more on how good your balance is. If you don't have balance issues, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it with some practice. You'll have to learn the limits and primary and secondary stability points of the kayak to get comfortable in it, plus gain some muscle memory for how to maintain your balance and the balance of the kayak. 4. Seeking out a demo from a kayak shop is always a good idea. There can be any number of reasons why you may not like the kayak you initially want, or wind up liking a kayak that you initially don't think you'll like. The only way to tell is time on the water, and it can be expensive if you wind up buying and selling a bunch of kayaks trying to find the one that suits you. Plus a kayak shop that does demos will also have knowledgeable staff that can help you with your questions. You might pay a bit more, but you'll lessen the risk of buying a kayak you don't like, which can wind up costing you more in the long run.

A neon orange trick worm on a shaky head jig. I had never tried a shaky head before, because I assumed it was too similar to a ned rig or a T-rig worm, and I thought I could make one of those work well enough in a shaky head situation. But I got the stuff on a super sale, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's been my best producer this year, and by a wide margin!

I use a bunch. In Oklahoma, the weather is notoriously hard to predict, so it's not at all uncommon to get three very different weather forecasts from three different sources. And any one of them could be right, or none at all. You won't know until it's over. So I'll check out weather.com, my local news stations, NOAA, and an app I have called MyRadar, or various other sources just trying to get an idea of what might, or might not happen.

I almost always fish alone. And I prefer it that way. Usually because all of my friends don't really fish, and when they do want me to take them fishing, their idea of fishing is tossing a minnow or worm on a bobber and sitting in a lawn chair under a shade tree while drinking beer. And that's frustrating for me, because it's not really fishing. Also, I'm not a fan of alcohol. I don't have anything against it on a moral level. It's just when I'm about halfway through the second beer I get a headache and want to take a nap, which doesn't make for a fun social mood.

If the pond is not frequently visited by people or animals, then yes, the fish in it tend to spook very easily. Anything out of the ordinary for them will spook them. I tend to favor more subtle presentations for situations like this. So maybe a Texas-rigged worm, wacky rig worm, or a shaky head with a floating worm. The Mepps spinner is also a good choice, as would something like a Rapala Shad Rap. Basically, anything that isn't too big and doesn't cause a ton of commotion. A lot of times, it'll be easier to catch fish if you have a little bit of wind, as that will help to mask your presence.

It is. I once tested out my Minn Kota C2 with a multimeter to see how much power it drew at various speeds. Every speed up the dial was about double the power draw of the speed below it. I don't remember the specifics, because I didn't write anything down, but I was getting something like half the kayak speed increase with every step up in motor speed. It was something like: Speed 1: 0.7mph @ 1.9 amps Speed 2: 1.5 mph @ 3.8 amps Speed 3: 2.4 mph @ 7.5 amps Speed 4: 2.9 mph @ 15 amps Speed 5: 3.1 mph @ 30 amps That's with the motor set off to the side, so it was slower because it couldn't push my kayak straight. Since, I'm mounted it on the stern and switched to a PWM controller, so I now get a top speed of about 3.5 mph. If I paddle as hard as I can along with the trolling motor at full speed, I can get it up slightly over 5mph, but I can't keep that up for long.

This is true. One of the two people I know who have drowned was trying to rescue a little girl from a river. He managed to save the girl, but couldn't save himself. Swimming against the current with a panicked child the whole time wore him out, and it took every bit of strength he had to push her up onto the dock. He never surfaced from that. I remember taking swimming lessons as a Boy Scout (I already knew how to swim, but this was for a merit badge). They taught us how to swim to rescue someone in the water, where you can support their weight and tow them safely. Then they taught us never to do that to a conscious person, because they will likely panic and pull you under with them. They told us to throw them a line or a pole or something instead. Oh! And another weird Oklahoma law: within Oklahoma City limits, you're not required to wear or even have a PFD on you if you're in a racing kayak, racing shell, or rowing scull. They made a little carve out because sometimes the "Oklahoma River" (which is what we call the Canadian river where it's within OKC city limits) is host to the practice facilities and several racing events and trials for the U.S. National kayak, scull and shell racing teams. But the carve out doesn't apply to just that section of river (which is tightly controlled with a bunch of locks and dams), but to any body of water in OKC. Also, it never explicitly defines what a racing kayak is. So you might have some legal jujitsu to get around wearing a PFD in your kayak in OKC, depending on how good your lawyer is.

I can't sight fish, as the water near me is way too dirty for that. But when fishing a bed type area, I tend to prefer anything that moves slowly. If it can stay in place and produce action, even better. You almost have to annoy them into biting sometimes. Though it often depends on depth, bottom composition, and how active the fish are. In shallow water with a muddy bottom (a few lakes around me are almost entirely muddy bottoms) I'll throw a shaky head with a floating trick worm. In shallow sandy bottoms, I'll throw an unpegged Texas rigged lizard. In deeper water, I'll throw a glide bait and/or a drop shot.

It's my experience that spincast reels aren't made as tough as spinning reels and the drag isn't as smooth. Plus, they don't seem to cast as far and the line gets tangled up more easily. Also, they don't seem to like braided fishing line, which is what I primarily use. Though, I do cast more accurately with them than with spinning reels. But if that's what you prefer, then go for it! They've been around a very long time, and if they didn't work, no one would make them.

It's been my experience, that fishing early in the morning is more important in the summer than in the fall, winter, or spring. This time of year, I'd be more worried about how late you can stay than how early you can get there. So yeah, I'd go!

I don't have issues slowing down or speeding up, to a point (at the extremes, it does come into play). To me, anything from a 6 to an 8 ratio are pretty much the same, as far as techniques that are available to it. Everyone's different though, and being a musician for 30 years has probably given me an advantage in this aspect, were a big part of being a musician is being able to keep a steady, comfortable tempo at almost any speed. So you'll just have to ask yourself if these differences really matter to YOU. Because it wouldn't matter to me. But it does matter to others. Everyone, like I said, is different.