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C'mon guys. It has nothing to do with an actual trailer, just proof of concept engineering stuff. They're having a second vehicle autonomously follow a driven vehicle.

I got my first LMB through the ice last winter, a nice 18.25" one. Was going for panfish when I saw a big red flash on the livescope, dropped a spoon down the hole and it got slammed. Got 2 more after that, must have found their hidey-hole.

Bringing way too much tackle and then using the same 3-4 lures the entire day. Always bringing an entire box of plastics even though I've barely been fishing them this year. I've been paring down as the season progresses but still have work to do on that front. Thinking about the next cast as soon as the current one hits the water. I'm usually river fishing, so I'm scanning for the next spot even on a retrieve. Lost more than a few fish because I was looking downstream for the next hole / rock / log.

Finally got back on the river after taking a few weeks off. Was a little worried about how it was going to fish with the rain Friday night and spotty weather Saturday, and the wind forecast looked brutal. Luckily only one short storm came through and the wind was lighter than the forecast said most of the day. Wake baits seemed to be the trick, had a few hits on top water but they didn't seem to commit to it as well. Biggest was actually on a wacky worm when I wasn't even paying attention. Didn't feel the take, gave it a pop and it took off. About a 19.25" smallie, big one for the year so far. Side note, took a plunge on the micro power pole for the kayak. Worth every penny. It is so nice to be able to stop the kayak with a button. As long as you don't try to use it in too swift of water, it does have it's limitations.

Fished the Mississippi on Saturday.. Not sure what deity I ticked off but boy was it a day. Busted a rod through sheer stupidity, and finally sunk a hook into me past the barb. Buddy got his finger sliced up pretty good by a pike. At least the weather was decent, if a bit windy. Had to pedal downstream in a couple of spots. Caught decent numbers of smallies and way too many small pike, they were really out and feeding. Much different pattern than last week. Not much of a top water bite. Had the most success on square bills and jerk baits. Caught a decent keeper walleye right at the end to take home. Don't usually keep fish but I figured after that day the river owed me one ?

We had some pretty decent fishing last weekend on the river. Of course, my buddy had the lucky catch of the day

I recently made the switch from an Xterra to a Colorado extended cab. The loss of interior storage space is definitely a bummer. I kept rods bungied to the roof in the Xterra, and had built a drawer / sleeping platform. Kept a ton of stuff in the drawers for camping, fishing, mtn biking. Like most others, my rods go in the passenger footwell and diagonal across the cab. No more leaving them in the vehicle, too visible. Easier getting the kayak in the bed of the truck compared to the roof of the Xterra, but tailgate down means I can't put much else in the bed. My fishing crate and cooler at least fit in front of the wheel wells, and the kayak is wide enough that it'll keep them from sliding out. Just have to think more about how I pack things inside the cab, and remember that I don't have drawers with a stash of bug spray and sunscreen in case I forget or run out. Eventually I'll build a storage platform for the cab.

I did once on a smaller lake. Had to use my net as a 'paddle' to push through the weeds after launching, was fine after that. But I usually fish rivers so I don't want to be without it. Few weeks ago I realized I forgot mine after about 30 into heading out of town for the weekend, turned around and went back to grab it.

Nerd rig! I've tried and have caught a few fish on a Ned, but just can't get myself to commit to it. I like covering water and finding active fish, so it's mostly top water and jerk baits for me. Although I've decided to give wacky rigs a try for tomorrow, we'll see how that goes.

Flouro leader material is pretty tough. The 30lb test stuff works really well. I agree if you're talking about normal flouro line, and even 10lb flouro leader doesn't last long.

I'm running 20lb Suffix 832 braid with a 30lb flouro leader, SLX DC and a Bass-X rod. Been working great throwing 120 sized Choppos. 30lb flouro leader is because of all the hammer handle pike that like to smash topwaters. Tired of losing $10-15 lures. Buddy I was with last week lost two ploppers and some other $14 top water he just bought the day before.

Haven't been on the river nearly enough this year, mainly due to how high it was early season. Finally made it out last weekend and picked up quite a few smallies, with a couple 18" mixed in there. Mostly on top water, 120 sized Choppo. Going to head out early this Saturday and try to beat the storms. Yeah, August last year was phenomenal. Did great on both the river and Mille Lacs.

Yeah I think it's my fault. I also took all of next week off in hopes of there being some ice.. sounds like I'll be heading a few hours up north.

That 93SV should come with the GT54 transducer. It works perfectly fine. I picked up the 73SV in the spring when Cabela's had them at $450, also with the GT54. Use it on my kayak and it's been great. I did pick up a livescope for ice fishing, couldn't resist whipping up a quick mount and trying it out on the kayak before the season was over. It's awesome. Never realized how huge some of the sunfish schools can get, and tossing a small jig in the middle of them and watching them chase it was something else.

Minnesotans that don't like ice fishing? What's the world coming to... ? Can't wait to get out on the ice. Picked up a new hub shelter and a Livescope. Camping on the ice is the plan this year, with the goal of catching at least one lake trout. Of course, with all the new gear I have a feeling mother nature will thumb her nose at me and we won't have walkable ice until the end of January...

Like others, I mainly use the NWS to check river levels before I go, if available. There's actually portions of the Mississippi and Rum river up here in MN that are on street view. Someone went down with a canoe / boat and a 360* camera attached. Pretty cool to be able to look at portions I haven't fished and get a feel for how the banks look. I'll also use street view if it's available at any bridge crossing over the river. Navionics has depth charts for a good chunk of the bigger rivers, but best used as a general guide.

I just need to watch out for low bridges when shuttling..

I was getting a great SI image just floating down the river at .5-1mph. I just leave the scroll speed set to auto and let the unit figure it out.

It has been a rough fall. Mid to late August was great, but have been on the struggle bus since then. Floated the Rum on Saturday, got skunked. Buddy got one little Smallmouth. Had what looked like some decent pikes take swings at what I was throwing, but they never seemed to really commit. At least it was a nice day on the water.

Spent Saturday with a float down the Mississippi north of Elk River. Continued the trend of plenty of smaller fish with one decent one, although this time the decent one waited till the end. A little over 17" for the big one, plenty of 14-16" and a handful of dinks. Lots of mid sized fish in the faster current and rocks. Seems like the big ones have gone deep, and with all the shallow water this year I'm out of practice on the deeper water. Also been finding it hard to slow down and fish plastics.. just can't get into it this year. I think the next trip I may need to leave all the hard lures at home and force myself to throw some tubes.. Went up to Mille Lacs on Sunday and got.. a big ole' skunk. Realized about halfway up there that I forgot my Garmin, but didn't think it would be too big a deal as I was planning on fishing shallower anyways. I saw some smallies hanging around the reeds, but just couldn't get them to hit, no matter what I threw. Topwater, wake bait, jerk bait, swim bait, nerd rig.. couldn't seal the deal. At least it was a nice day on the water!

I have a Garmin Echomap 73SV, using the Scotty transducer arm / head unit mount to attach it to the rail on my kayak. I just place the battery in the front and stuff the power cables under the netting. The Scotty transducer arm is a bit flexy, but not an issue in open water and has helped out when I'm not paying attention and run the ducer into some rocks. Surprised how far it can flex without breaking.. Only downside is mainly due to my kayak, Jackson Bite FD. No rail to mount it by the seat, so it's up by the pedal drive. If I'm not paying attention I can bump it with my foot, and it's a bit farther away than I'd like. Also can't quite get the transducer down far enough to fully clear the prop drive, so it blocks out some of the SI on the left side. Planning on working up another mount over the winter to bring it closer to the seat, so that'll solve those issues. I didn't want to run any cables through the hull or use the scupper mount for the transducer, when I'm on the river it would just be added weight.

I've had some pike just teleport to my lure. Always fun to see. One of my more memorable smallmouth catches was casting a ripstop into a section of shallow, clear slackwater. Saw a big smallie, at least 20 feet away, turn the rocket boosters on to grab it. The big tails on those river fish give them some serious speed. Trying to play keep away when the smaller ones are active is always fun, the speed at which they can maneuver in the water is amazing.

Yeah, end of August was really good for me but things have been slow, at least for the bigger fish. Spent the weekend floating the upper Mississippi. Saturday started off with an 18.5" smallie on a top water, then a few more here and there throughout the day but nothing really worth measuring. Same with Sunday, 18" smallie right away then little guys the rest of the day. Smaller fish have been really aggressive the last few weeks on the river, but just haven't been able to find where the bigger ones have gone. River was up at least a foot, probably 1.5' since I was last there two weeks ago. Couldn't measure the exact water temp but it felt pretty warm for October.

I'd only trim if needed. My other baitcaster.. I don't even remember what braid I'm running on it anymore. Been on for probably 5+ years at this point and still fine.

I figure the fading will help for next season - good guide to use for pulling off and trimming the most used top layer. I've been using the Alberto knot for the leader connection and have no issue, even with the tag ends trimmed almost up to the knot.