casts_by_fly

same. Its fine when it goes right but when it goes wrong... the most I'll do is pull a side plate and spool out.

it was like an early season September hunt. Except I was in a September stand while the deer were in November moods, aka nada.

It’s is currently 62 degrees on November 17th as I sit in a tree in just a hooded sweatshirt and undershirt. I dont hate the warm but it certainly isn’t right or normal right now.

don’t know about him, but a wall charger is $500 plus someone to install it. I think we paid $1400 total in 2019 and won’t have to change it. We’ve saved that much just this year vs gas. not sure why my time is factored in. We charge at home most of the time so it’s charging while I sleep. Yes, long trips you have to consider charging time but for a 350 mile trip each way, we have to charge twice on the way there and once on the way home. Two of the stops are about 8 minutes- just enough time to get out, go pee, grab a snack, and get going again. It’s about the same as if you get gas. The longer stop on the way there is because we don’t have a good charger at my in-laws so we over charge before we get there so we have enough to get halfway home. there is no extra road tax and some things are free or discounted where an ICE has to pay like HOV lanes/toll roads. In some places registration is cheaper also.

If you’re planning to fish 3/8-1/2 oz lures, why would you want to choose a rod that is intended for 1-4? Something 3/8-2 is a much better fit to go that light but still have a bunch of backbone. Also, a tranx 200 will hold around 150 yards of braid. it seems like your leaning more for a big inshore rod instead of a bass rod. If you need to throw a 3oz lure in the surf for something that can spool 150 yards of line then I think that’s a different rod than you’ll want for bass.

maybe you’ll never freeze in the first place…

@Catt is that a current color on the market? I like that a lot and its very close to what I want to add to my box (I'd like a little orange/yellow instead of red). rick

my answer was going to be similar to Toxic's and TB's. It depends what you want to fish and how. Since you specificed what would I do, then that's easy. I already run a Helix 9 because I think the HBird side imaging is the best going. if money is no object, I'd have two at the helm and a pair at the bow. The two at the helm would be for side imaging and maps. SI would turn into motor settings at speed for any length of run. Up front I'd have 360 and megalive (possibly split with Navi on one screen, depending how I was fishing). At the moment, I use a helix 9 for all but the 360 (which I don't have). When I sit down I have a preset for side imaging and one for SI/2D/Nav. When I stand up to fish I swap into live mode. Its easy enough to swap, but if you're putting one together new then just have dedicated screens (more or less). I'd stick with Hbird because of the SI. Garmin probably has better live imaging, but megalive is still good.

Thanks guys. That's not what I was expecting to hear. So lighter lines for better fall rate and action. Any reason why spinning over a casting rod? My 'crankbait' rod is already spooled up with thin 12 lb mono and a MH/MF which seems like a pretty close setup for a casting rod. I do have a M spinning rod with light braid and leader, i just don't prefer fishing a spinning rod. Is the gist of it- find the fish, drop to the level of the school, rip/jig it up, let it fall, rest a 'minute', repeat?

I would agree with this and also add one thing. The Helix 5 and 7 units from Humminbird use the compact transducer. Its only about 2". It gives good imaging and is definitely better than the Lowrance units my dad has on his boat (an elite and a newer one). That said, the images you see in Humminbird literature are from the larger transducer found with the Helix 9 and up. It has double the piezos inside (hence 2x power draw). On the Helix 5/7 units they have side imaging piezeos only. The down imaging uses the side imaging data and interprets it to make a DI image. That's why they are only Di/Si and not Di+/Si+ imaging. The bigger transducer does give better imaging yet. In a like for like cost point, I would still take the Helix 7 over the Garmin GT54, but if you're getting the 9" with lake maps and at a better price point then it would be hard to pick against the garmin.

I can help with humminbird. If you’re connecting to a trolling motor, you’ll need an ‘N’ model. G3 and g4 are basically the same with minor updates to the 4. from there, you have three levels of increasing price/capability. The first is the gps model. It will have gps, mapping, and 2d sonar. Then you add on down imaging (DI). Then you add SI. Each level will have all the levels below it. So all you have to do is decide what features you need and what you want to spend.

What’s the preferred rod/reel/line setup for blades? I can see benefits of slower and faster. My inclination would be braid for feel but the only time I’ve thrown blades was for steelhead in Erie so I have no real basis here.

I'm similar to Mike, though I downsize to the compact. I normally prefer silver blades in clear stuff unless there is grass around at which point I'll go one of each. Sometimes I might through bloody shad. Sometimes I'll go to a more pumpkinseed and gold if its one of the lakes up here that doesn't have a lot of shad. I'll always have a willow on the back. If I want to fish deeper or faster it will be a willow on the front. If I'm targetting 4' or less then I'll probably throw a colorado front.

I generally agree that having a couple things that you know how to do well and you are confident in them will catch you more fish. If you can look at a piece of water and know that a texas rigged beaver will catch fish there, then when you don't catch anything you can know it's time to move on to a different place because that's not what the fish are doing today. I would add two small caveats. 1- If you fish a broad variety of waters for all three species then you might need to add a few more. A deep clear highland reservoir will fish differently to a shallow weedy natural lake. Some techniques will transfer, some maybe not. 2- Once you are confident in your couple things, branch out a little at a time. Pick one thing that you don't do and have a rod dedicated for it for the year. Keep the other couple rods for your standards. If you don't throw spinnerbaits, then tie one on before you leave the house. Either start with it for the day, pick it up when you hit a high percentage spot/set of conditions when it should work, or when nothing else is working from your standard set.

I start with muck boots when it’s cold and fleece socks. When the water temps start hitting 65 or so and the air 70+ I’ll swap to crocs. I’ll throw a pair of socks in the kayak in case it’s chillier than expected or the bugs are out. Back to muck boots in the fall. I have to wet launch the kayak no matter where I am. I used to use flip flops in the summer but too many places I launch are chunk rock, slippery, or muddy and I like the crocs with an adjustable strap for a little more grip to my feet. They are also super comfortable to wear if you want. I take them off when I’m in the boat as I like to be able to feel the boat and know where my feet are without looking down. That’s for standing and balancing in the kayak. when I’m in the boat with my dad I wear whatever the weather says I need.

and to put a final wrap on this, I now know what happened on this shot. On Saturday evening I turned my light on my sight and something felt odd. I checked it over and the elevation adjustment screw was loose. Very loose. A couple weeks ago my buddy came over to shoot and my bow was hitting just a pinch low so I adjusted it. I never tightened the set screw back up and the front housing was able to move a half inch if you wiggled it. I tightened it back up and will put it on a target tomorrow to double check it. There was certainly enough movement to throw a 20 yard shot 2’ right and it was loose enough to explain the noise on the shot that evening.

I would agree with that assessment. We have a significant infrastructure built up around liquid fuel for cars and less so on electric. The US is about 5% EV so pulling 20x the amount of power from the grid would be a jump for sure. The RamCharger or a PHEV mitigates a lot of that issue until the electric charging network and power grid catch up.

in my autopilot, I lose around 0.4 mph when I swap to the weedless wedge from the standard prop. For $20 that's worth it just to have a spare prop in the boat. If you want to experiment, you could pick up an RC plan prop from APC. The 4x10.5L (I think that's the right designation) gives me an extra 0.3-0.4 over the MKP2. It should work just fine on your powerdrive. If your boat behaves like mine, that would get you somewhere around 0.6-0.7 mph more. Check out youtube videos for how to 'tune' a trolling motor. I haven't done before and afters so can't say it with certainty, but it makes sense what they are showing you. I bet you could pick up 0.1-0.2 there. Lithium batteries will give you a constand speed for the full day on the water and a slight bump in speed at the start. The voltage output on them is higher than lead acid so it gives a little bump there, but lead acid drops voltage all day while the litium won't. Past all that, give a 9.9

On first brush, I have some concerns on the study. The tone seems as if they are trying to push an agenda, not do an objective analysis. Their funding is partly paid by the oil and gas industry. And the $17 per gallon figure is considering a lot of factors to sensationalize the number (that's a LOT more than gasoline!) but that need to be considered in a ICE analysis as well. Its a 20 page study so I'll take a little time to read it before I draw any full conclusions. The model X is a mid/full size luxury SUV depending what you're comparing. Just looking at interior/storage space and performance it is comparable to a full size (like a tahoe) but if you use exterior dimensions its more like a mid-size. In terms of features and performance, 0-60 in 4 seconds, full self driving, full leather and wood trim, premium sound and navigation systems, and the equivalent of a full moon roof between the front window and gull wing door roof windows. Because I know mercedes SUVs (we had 2 before we moved back here) it fits between the GLC and the GLE. The top of the line GLC coupe comes in around $80k I think. That's for an AMG 43 which is pretty close in performance, though the total storage space in the GLC is a bit less than the tesla. Our 2019 also had a third row of seats (our 2022 doesn't). The GLE SUV most comparable in performance is the AMG63 which comes in at $127k. A new Tesla is $120k so that indicates the range they are targetting. I would say that a mercedes is more refined in some aspects and if your goal is the most luxurious car then the tesla wouldn't be at the top of the class- its very good but not the top.

I'm much more of a mono guy. I'll use braid for a frog rod. I have it on my swim jig rod (though I may change that). My spinning reels are braid to leader, though I don't fish them much. I just swapped braid off my heavy pitching stick. I do like it for lipless crankbaits, but moreso because of the rod I fish them on. Otherwise, I fish mono from thin 10 to thick 20 lb and I don't see that changing much going forward.

They have 4 kids so... Enjoy the new ride!

page 43 in the manual gives a chart of thrust level vs current draw at each setting. On full power 78 lb thrust its pulling 48 amps. That's not so bad considering my 43 lb at full blast is pulling around 40. That said, if you were using the trolling motor for your only propulsion and running on full speed you'd only get an hour out of it. In practice, it will depend on what type of motor user you are. I assume you have a gas motor to get spot to spot. In that case you're more likely going to be on half power or less on the trolling motor most of the time as you go down the bank or lock into a spot. At level 10 (out of 17 for the 78 lb thrust) you're getting 25 lb of thrust for 9 amps. That would be like 5 hours of steady use (running down the bank with a moving bait for instance) and you'll probably be going faster than you want to on that speed setting. If you're more like a bump it on and off type of fisherman (like most) then you'll get plenty of time out of a 50 ah. Fishing rivers and tides would change the equation a bit.

3" twister on a cheap lead head. Outflows are usually rocky and you're going to get snagged. Keep it simple and cheap for exploratory trips. Also, every fish in the water eats a 3" minnow. You'll end up with bass, walleye, crappie, and who knows what else.

I can't speak to all EVs, but our 2019 tesla model X was 92k I think (maybe 95k) sticker price in 2019. We sold it in 2022 for $85k by going through a 'we buy any car' type of service, so not even maximizing our sale price. Also, I would like to see the source material calculating the $18-20 per gallon. Using out 2022 model X as an example, the only subsidy we received ouselves was the no sales tax in NJ. The total sales price was comparable to an equivalent size/capability ICE SUV. The per mile cost vs gas is about 1/2 or so on the tesla network when we do long trips. Often when EVs are compared to gas cars for total cost of ownership dissimilar vehicles are compared for the base price. change 'tacoma' to Ram and you've pretty much got us. We home charge most of the time. We take her car on trips up to 350 miles or so providing there is charging. Since we're starting in NJ, there is plenty of charging in the north east and within 350 miles of here. If we're going much farther, we'll take my truck and save the charging time. Even with relatively cheap gas here in NJ its still about 1/2 the cost for electric vs gas per mile when using the tesla network and comparing to a comparable gas SUV. I just found that I can look in the tesla app and it tracks all of our charging and compares it to gas. It uses NJ average fuel prices and NJ average electric costs. They use 22 MPG average for a comparable ICE vehicle. With all of those assumptions, we've saved about $1300 vs a gas car so far this year. 3/4 of our charging is at home, the rest superchargers on trips. Home cost is $0.17 per kWh and the model x is roughly 3 miles per kWh. That's about $0.06 per mile with home charging. The supercharger shows as twice the price, so $0.12 per mile. At $3.25 a gallon you need to get 27 mpg to equal the cost of supercharger network and 54 mph to equal NJ home charging. At $5.25 (current bay area pricing) and the tesla supercharger network prices (assuming similar prices in the bay area as to our trips) you'd have to get 43 mpg ICE to break even. All of this info is for a model X also which isn't nearly as efficient as a model 3. I suspect your new car will be great for total efficiency. Our friends have a Venza and a highlander, at least one is hybrid, and they love them. The ramcharger has my attention. The Ram revolution does also. I don't think we could have a revolution and a tesla to be fully electric, not until the national charging network for non teslas is as good as tesla's network (or the tesla network opens up). That said, the 500+ mi range promised on the Rev is more than enough for me/us. The ramcharger seems like a way for ram to market to people who don't fully trust electric or who are in places where full electric is impractical. Its basically a phEV on steroids. I'm not sure why they would use the 3.6 as the generator though, that seems big. All that said, going from my current Ram with a hemi to an electricified version of it would be an easy transition. We can home charge so the ~165 mile battery range would mean my local driving would be fully electric from the wall and trips would be electric from the gas pump. I'm curious what efficiency the 3.6 will get converting gas to eletrical power. It will be better than gas to the wheels (mechanical systems are highly inefficient) but will it be enough to justify having to maintain both a gas engine and an electrical system.

I was thinking that as I sat in a tree saturday evening. If hawks could hunt by sound they could have a field day.