T-Billy

Welcome aboard fellow Buckeye. I'm over in Tuscarawas County.

Ahhh..... Thank you for clarifying. I have sooo much to learn. ? Now that I'm done derailing the OP's thread... I like a TRD Bug on 6# mono for beds in open water, and a T rigged UV Speed Craw, or 3.5 Beaver on 30# or 40# braid if the bed's in cover.

Now I'm confused. @A-Jay told me it's critical to have a RED swimbait on the front hook.

I kill most of my deer early season with a crossbow. Hanging isn't an option in the fairly warm weather. I get it off the bone and packed in ice ASAP. I leave the drain plug out of the cooler and let the ice melt out taking lots of blood with it. Young doe or rutted up mature buck doesn't matter much as far as flavor, but young deer are more tender. Never cook past medium rare.

Congratulations!!!

You're correct on the labeling, but I'm in agreement with NavyToad when it comes to feel. A 5 power dobyns feels like a MH to me, with the exception of the flippin sticks. They feel true to their ratings IMO.

We have several 10hp lakes in my area. Everyone cheats with 15 carbs on the two stroke Johnsons and 20hp computers on the 4 stroke Suzuki's. Expect mid to high teens with a well balanced 17' welded boat, and low 20's with a riveted. 20hp Suzuki pushes my riveted 1648 with two batteries and a bunch of tackle at 23 by myself and 21 with a second person.

The fact that I'm always carrying has helped me to mellow. I've never been one to shy away from a fight, but the fact that now if a situation goes south it's probably gonna go WAAYYY south has caused me to check my ego and consider the gravity of the situation. Say whatever ignorant crap you want to me. I don't care. I'll probably get a chuckle out of it. Cut me off going down a bank, or in traffic..... I won't say a word. There's not much that's worth fighting about when the fight's likely to end up with someone in the dirt.

Not all skin mounts are created equal. My taxidermist regularly repairs mounts done by others that didn't stand the test of time. I've seen mounts of his that are 20+ years old and still look great. He's in his 70's and has been doing it a long time. His work is outstanding. That said, all replicas aren't created equal either. Some look very good, yours does @gimruis, but they cost twice as much as a skin mount, and in my mind it's just not the same. It's not the fish I caught, and as I mentioned, the meat doesn't go to waste. I'm not a dedicated musky fisherman but I catch 'em while bass fishing. I've caught and released dozens up to 46". If I get one over 48" it's going on the wall. I've caught and released thousands of smallmouth. I eat a few small ones now and then and I've put one 6+ on the wall. I've caught and released thousands of largemouth up to my PB of 6lb10oz. I eat a few of them too occasionally and if I get a 7 pounder it'll go on the wall. Same story with eyes. I don't feel a bit bad about it. The DNR allows me to harvest FAR more than I do.

Sorry to hear. My condolances and prayers for all his loved ones. May he RIP.

It'll be interesting to see how both the anglers and all those shallow fish adjust to several days of high wind.

I agree, but my buddy likes em. He's a fan of canned muskrat too though, soo...... ? I put them all back with the exception of eaters and once in a lifetime kinda fish. I figure they've been passing on their genetics for a long time by that point, and don't have long to live anyway. To each their own.

Lol. I know. Just stirring the pot a little. ?

Lemme guess....... Flourocarbon?

I This^ I use several different powders for jigs and bullets. I follow the manufacturer temp and time recommendations and have never had an issue.

Cheap and tougher than the best flouro made. I will also add, if you're not feeling bites on braid and mono, you need to do a better job of controlling your slack. That's right. I said it. Let me have it with both barrels. I can take it. ??

No trolling. That's exactly what will happen if I catch a musky big enough that I want to mount it. That's what happened to the smallmouth on my wall. They're fish, not sacred cows.

40# 832. Forget the leader.

For some reason the title made this pop into my warped mind. ? OP I'd use those trailers.

Thanks for mentioning this. I didn't think of it, but I do the same. Yep. Tough to get them perfect while wrapping, but they will fall into place as you SLOWLY cinch it down.

Dunno. I've always used 7 with up to 40# braid to 20# mono. I've seen guys use less in videos but 7 has been perfect for me. No sense trying to fix what ain't broke.

Congratulations!!! You just made the nice list!!! Santa Monkey loves you!!!

35" musky with fresh wounds from being T boned by a bigger fish.

Woulda been dead for sure if I had caught it. I'd have got a skin mount and my Hilljack taxidermist buddy would have ate it. We'd have both been happy.

Just a light, durable, sensitive blank material. I'm about to sell two lightly used Dobyns for half the cost of new to fund another ARK. A Kaden and a Sierra. I like the ARK blanks much better. OMMV