scarter162

In the Marine Corps, whenever we were on the flight deck of Navy vessel, we used something called a 'float coat' (real name is the MK-1 Inflatable Life Vest). While I'm not advocating for the use of float coat, we can make use of some of the gear that was on them. Automatically and manually inflatable Strobe light Whistle Flourescent green dye marker We can also include other features like the PLB and a good flare kit I had a near mishap a few weeks ago on Lake of the Ozarks about 30 minutes after sunset where a much larger vessel coming out of party cove nearly ran head on into me. All nav lights were on, I was the stand on vessel, was going under 30 mph, but that boat just kept on coming at me. It wasn't until the very last moment that the driver of the other vessel veered hard right to miss us... I appreciate Glenn posting about this. It's good to be reminded how important safety is out on the water. We can very easily become comfortable out there and start letting our guard down. Thanks for the info on the PLB Glenn!

This. I've been skipping for a while, but when my confidence is low I just blow up my reel left and right. Which only adds to my frustration and low confidence!

I can't speak to the Johnson, but I can tell you what I did for my 93 2 stroke Suzuki 140: Fuel filler hose: 1 1/2 inch Gates fuel filler hose Fuel overflow/vent hose: 5/8 inch Gates fuel line Fuel sender hose: 3/8 inch Gates fuel line Fuel primer bulb and hose: Attwood 3/8 inch kit I got all the fuel lines at an autoparts store, sold by the foot. Cut to fit with hose clamps. All black (except the Attwood kit which was grey). The old lines were extremely stiff and brittle and definitely in need of being changed.

Aha! Thank you! I'll test that out this evening. Do you happen to know if that applies only to 2D sonar? Or possibly also DI?

I've got a Helix 7 MSI at the console, and a Helix 7 DI on the bow. If I have the sonar on at the console, it interferes with the sonar at the bow, and vice versa. So when I pull up to a spot, I have to turn off the sonar at the console before turning on the bow unit. Does this happen to anyone else? Is this normal?

I started wacky rig fishing with VMC wacky hooks (weedless and open) but have since made the switch to Gamakatsu B10S hooks in a size 1 and 1/0. They are my favorite. They're very similar to the VMC neko hooks.

I broke mine out this weekend for a school of suspended spotted bass. I echo what Fishin' Fool says; long cast, let sink, slow retrieve. I used a 7'2" medium light spinning rod with 15lb braid main line and an 8lb flouro leader. You could feel the strikes super easy.

Yep, that's a good example of a dual purpose battery that you could use for starting the motor and powering everything except the trolling motor. I use flooded lead acid batteries just like this one. My dual purpose is an Exide 24dp I picked up at Home Depot; the trolling motor battery is an Interstate SRM31

Thanks! So each battery should be isolated from one another correct? Yep, 100% isolated/independent from one another. The only thing powered by the bigger trolling motor battery is the trolling motor; everything else the dual purpose

That's not a bad idea. I'd suggest experimenting with that and adjusting as needed. Maybe start with a 25 pack of each (EWG 3/0, 4/0, 5/0; Offset roundbend 3/0, 4/0, 5/0). Keep them in the package at home and just take a few with you on each trip (that way the whole pack has less chance of rusting out on you) In terms of completely barbless...I'm not sure. I'll bet they are out there, but I haven't run across them. Gut hooking sucks and takes some time to get the hook out. I'll usually go through the gill plate, rotate the hook backwards, and the slide it out. Hard to explain, but there's some videos out there to demonstrate. For me personally, I use Gamakatsu roundbend hooks for texas rigging worms. I don't worry much about the "correct" size hook; 5/0 for 10 in worms, 4/0 for 5-7 inch worms, 3/0 for everything else. I use EWG hooks for beaver style baits and other bulky creature baits. For wacky rig, I fish almost exclusively with 5 inch senkos and always use a size 1 Gamakatsu B10 S. I used the Octopus hooks when I first started fishing wacky worms, but I haven't looked back after switching to those B10 S hooks. Hope this helps

Wacky - Gamakatsu B10 S Stinger Finesse Hook

In my opinion, use a single group 31 deep cycle (not dual purpose) for the trolling motor and a single group 24 dual purpose for everything else. I once ran two group 31 batteries in parallel for a 12 volt trolling motor, but only one charging bank for both the batteries. It took FOREVER to charge them and I think I ultimately sent them both to an early grave. You could run a second battery in parallel, but maybe only if you have a dedicated charging bank for both? In short, the biggest deep cycle battery you can afford/fit for the trolling motor, and a single dual purpose battery for everything else.