casts_by_fly

My grandmother owned a bait show in her basement for as long as I was a kid and she was alive. My dad did the inventory and ordering. She ran the shop. He picked worms in the spring for hours and nights on end and I ‘helped’ sometimes. He had a pair of wooden boxes that were 2’x18”x12” deep and I know of some all nighters where he’d fill both on a Friday night after working all day. He’s get in to grandmas as she was waking up, around 4-5 am. I’d usually be sleeping in the truck if it was a night I got to go. My dad would keep a good inventory on of powerbait (or zeke’s before powerbait came out), rooster tails, hooks and sinkers, some carp bait for the river, and plenty of worms. That’s what sold so that’s what they stocked. My dad was a bass fisherman but he still ordered from Bass pro and others. Id love to have a local shop that stocked tackle warehouse’s goods. I’m lucky that I have some shops that carry bait for when I take a kid fishing.

If you’re not networking them to each other or another piece of equipment then the only real consideration is user interface. Some people prefer mapping on one, side imaging on another, etc. my dad runs lowrance on his boat, I have humminbird on my kayak. I prefer the HB imaging and I’ve played with both of them to optimize as best possible for each. I like his touch screen, but I like the customization of my helix.

The specific guide may influence your decision too. A 5 with a thing ceramic ring will have a bigger hole than a 5.5 with a thicker ceramic ring. Like mick said, we’re splitting hairs here and if you already have something I’d try it and go from there.

If you’re around a stream bottom there will always be worms, grubs, and other natural bait. A 10’ length of 30# braid and a couple #8 hooks would be plenty. A couple split shot for good measure. Pick a limber branch and you can catch fish. Use an overhanging branch and leave a set line while you go do something else essential.

for monofilament nylon, use diameter as your guide. Printed test strength is just wait the manufacturer chooses to print on the label. For ‘test’ rated lines it just means the line will at least take that much force before breaking. Go compare big game with sunline supernatural in a given rating and see how much difference there is. I I wanted to simplify to two lines I could and would catch fish just fine. I’d put 8 lb supernatural on the spinning reel and 17lb elite on the baitcasters and be done with it. There isn’t much you can’t do with that set. You might prefer to throw smaller cranks on the spinning rod then or you might bump to the next depth class on the baitcaster if you really needed to hit a depth. For everything else though I’d have no issues. For the most part, this is my baseline mono for a baitcaster. 50 lb braid for frogs and pitching heavy weeds is the next addition and worth it (though not mandatory) outside of that I have a couple other lines but I could easily just use the three above (and I could ditch the spinning rod entirely personally)

The yak attack omegas would be great for this. Very adjustable, built well. I have two that have done various things for me over the past two seasons. If you have front tracks left and right, two at the rear and two at the fronts of the tracks should spread you out just fine if you’re only fishing four.

im an engineer and a bit of a math head so when we were going to lease my wife’s glc back in 2016 in the UK I built an excel spreadsheet that calculated the lease payments down to the penny. We knew we wanted that specific vehicle and what options she wanted after two visits and some test drives. I then went myself after work one day to make the deal (she just wanted to pay the full price after the second test drive). I flopped my computer right onto their desk and was calculating the payments faster than they could. I let them keep the extended care package, kept the downpayment low so their financing was better, and had all of the goodies in the car. I had them price each of the add ons up front before they figured out what was going on. Once we beat the price of the car down, I stripped out all of the margin adders and bumped the downpayment up by £10k. Three years later when the lease was up the sales associate (Sarah, who was actually a really awesome person) told us that they were still telling that story to new associates.

Does 8 lb of food count? This summer my wife fed the dogs and jumped on a call. I came down about 15 minutes later to find our two year old lab had gotten into the food bin and bloated her stomach to the size of a basketball. She weighs 55 lb, so it was 15% of her body weight. She threw up a couple times but couldn’t get it all so it was a $400 bellyache after the vet sorted her out. our wirehaired vizsla had IMHA when she was just over a year old and was on heavy steroids. A side effect is insatiable appetite. We had packed for a weekend trip and had a loaf of bread on top of a bag on the floor. She managed to delicately open the bag, eat 90% of the loaf, and not leave a crumb anywhere. We had no idea so the bag went into the car, two dogs on the backseat, and down the road. We made it about 15 minutes before we smelled it. It took another 5 minutes of driving to realize it wasn’t a dog fart. She had painted the backseat with bread induced doggy diarrhea. The red leather was no longer red. We stopped at the next gas station and the other dog jumped out the window before we could open the door it was so bad. The blanket they were laying on was immediately in the trash. We wiped what we could but there was no fixing that. We drove the 20 minutes home, loaded up my jeep, and just left the car until we got home on Sunday.

abu Garcia revo STX. Gen 4. A favorite of mine.

so in the interest of put your money where your mouth is, I bought the cara eye crosser today. I got a used-excellent one that looks pretty clean. I’ve been considering them a while and finding this one basically a third off was too good to pass. I have a spare stx without a home that already has 50 lb braid on it so…

The autopilot motors are only available from Old Town as warranty replacements or if you already have an Autopilot and broke yours. You can't just order one directly, so that's why they are never for sale. Someone would needed to have broken their boat or had it stolen to have a spare motor unit. Or, as you guess (and I suspect) there was a warranty replacement but the old one is still serviceable. The biggest challenge will be where to mount it. The mount in the autopilot that is attached to the boat is very heavy and bolted down tight. It has to be because it is a lot of force to deploy the motor. I also don't think the PDL hole is big enough to fit the AP unit so you're probably looking at cutting down the AP unit and adding an adapter plate of some type. Nick at Navarre would be a good resource for this. He does all kinds of custom work.

If the foregrip is okay for you, you could strip the rear grip and seat and replace from the back end. You might need to shim the front end of the rear grip but that will be hidden under the reel seat. A 4" short SCV is a tough one. They have such nice light tips that you're losing most of the best bits. Two breaks in 4" is realistically one sleeve to fix it and it can be done, but I'd instead just throw a tip top on it and keep it as a loaner or a casting out with a bobber in a pond rod.

I had to read this twice because it sounds almost identical so something I've typed before. I'm also in a kayak and my rods tend to do double duty depending where I'm going. I'm leaving my amistad with straight braid. I run straight braid to plastics and jigs (and of course frogs). It makes things simpler and I don't see any issues for the jigs and plastics I would be throwing on that rod and where I would be throwing them. Mostly it is heavy cover, heavier weight, and faster falls, aka reaction bites. In that case, I then have straight braid for frogs or A rigs in the spring (before the grass is up and I'd be fishing the rod with jigs and frogs). The regular Amistad with 50 braid is a great rod to pull multiple duty in a kayak. One top of the above you can load it up with a 110 plopper or big buzzbait, it will throw 3/4 oz and up spinnerbaits pretty well, and its not bad for dragging a carolina rig if you like that sort of thing (I do not).

I was speaking specifically to the boat I'm in (autopilot 120) and why I'm not recommending it. Its roughly double the price of a PDL equivalent. I wholeheartedly recommend the autopilot, but not if the budget is $2k.

I've always wanted to tinker with vehicles, things like basic lifts/levelers, fun wheels and tires, etc. You know, the things that add a little bit of function and a little bit of cool. Very quickly you learn (or don't) that you either have to do it right (which costs 4x the 'easy route') or just don't do it. I'm now too old to want any of that. I value reliability now more than anything. I need to know that my truck will start, run, and get me home no matter the time of day, air temperature, or anything else. I'd rather spend the money on routine maintenance.

Agreed.

1- Noco genius. I run the 5 because I also charge a 30AH battery. If you're only using it for a 100AH or similar then get the 10. 2- Depends on how much you're using it. My kayak has a 43 lb trolling motor with 80 AH lithium and you can drain it completely in 2 hours if those 2 hours are on top speed constantly. Check your motor's amperage draw specs and consider your own usage. If you're using the boat to move from spot to spot and then slowly moving around that spot, then add up the time running between spots and multiply by the amp draw on full speed. Generally if you're launching the boat and starting to fish on 50% thrust or less, then you'll have no problem with a smaller battery. If you're fishing lakes where you run from spot to spot at full speed (spot hopping) then you'll want more. Given the price differential, I'd say just get the bigger battery to start and never worry about it. 3- That's the million dollar question. Outside of youtube reviewers, there is basically no one that runs multiple brands of the same battery AND has done so for 5+ years where a warranty would be a question. Off grid and solar people will have more experience. The guy on youtube mentioned above also does full tear downs of batteries. Typically the cells inside are all about the same. The differences are in the quality of wiring and the BMS. Some of the cheaper ones are definitely cheaper inside. I have Amped because they've had a good reputation for a 'long' time. Dakota and BB are also well known and you pay for it. I look at it this way. If Rebel is giving a 5-year warranty on a 100AH battery for $500 (for round numbers). That's $100 a year if it dies at the end. If you're going to use lead acid batteries you're not going to be much cheaper.

I'm sure I do. I have a topwater addiction and a moving bait preference. I'll almost always have a topwater of some type tied on and its usually the first thing I pick up even if I'm pretty sure the conditions aren't conducive. I prefer moving baits also, and I know there are times when I stick with them too long when I know I should slow down and pick apart a cover. Some days I make the change, and some days I don't care and want to fish my way.

Where do you live? There are lots of dealers around the country that have trial days or even have ponds behind the shop to try. For two rods and a light backpack, there is plenty of room in a 106. the 106 has the rear well, but there is also some under seat storage I think. The front hatch also offers storage for things that you want to have but not need like spare line, spare propeller, etc. For two rods, I wouldn't even do much to the boat. I'd use the rear facing rod holders, probably one of them for the net and one for a rod, throw the backpack in the rear tank well and a little tool pouch on the front of the seat (I love mine). It keeps it light and mobile.

While that's true, its not something I'm worried about. The vast majority of teslas on the road have not had battery failures. Especially the higher end batteries from the model S and model X (what we have) which are NCA, there are few reported failures relative to the numbers sold. The NCA batteries in the model S starting circa 2012 are rated for 300-500k miles and those numbers are born out in real use. We also change out her car on a 3-4 year rotation so there is never an issue with any type of long term wear. The bigger worry for me with that car is tires. It doesn't come with a spare (no place to put it) and you can't realistically put run flats on it. Given the size and type, no one carries them in stock so if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere, its a 2-3 day fix for a new tire. I carry a repair kit which will work for some things, but not everything. I am considering buying a spare tire (not rim) and having it at the house for just such emergencies (we'd travel with it under the floor if I can squeeze it in)

i picked up the amistad as a heavy flipping and frogging rod. Overall it’s a great rod. If you’re pitching 3/8 plus rubber, or even better 1/2 oz plus rubber, it’s got great feel and power. I fished it with 50 lb braid mostly but also a bit of 17 fluoro. As a frog rod it is okay. It’s great for bombing and will cast a frog a mile. It has power for days and sets a mean hook. I have two issues in using it as a primary frog rod. The length is a bit much. If you’re hopping it tip up, it’s tough on a wrist and tiring. Fishing it tip down, it’s a bit too long for me. The other issue is that the length and heavier tip is just a bit too much for accurate casting a 1/2 oz frog. A straight half ounce is enough to pitch or bomb, but a sidearm or roll cast it isn’t quite enough. i don’t fish frogs enough to have a truly dedicated frog rod, so I picked which rod was throwing a frog this year based on which lake I was in and the cover. For bombing on bigger mats I kept the amistad and dealt with the size. The extra reach and ability to set the hook a full 100’ away with no qualms was nice. For smaller grass areas or throwing around mixed cover I used the 6’10” head turner (bucoo sr) with 50 braid. It was enough for those instances. If I were to get a dedicated frog rod (and I’m still considering it) it would be the cara eye crosser. Similar butt and power, a bit shorter, and a lighter tip.

rebel have a good reputation. Here is a 100 Ah for $479 https://rebelbatteries.com/products/smart-lifepo4-12v-100ah-1280wh-bluetooth-enabled-rechargeable-lithium-iron-phosphate-battery

There are a couple hydrofoil boards around here. I was fishing last summer and a guy was screaming down the lake on one at 630 am. He was doing a solid 15-20 mph too.

your preferences determine it. For me, I want as physically light as I can get while getting the job done. Then again, if you had a 4000 sized reel that only weighed 4 oz it would still be too bulky for me personally. If you go too small you run into the issues of a small diameter spool (lower line pickup, more tendency for line curling, overall capacity) and I also have big knuckles so some smaller reels will crack my knuckles when the bail comes around. A 1000 is about the right size for me for lots of things.

An Old town PDL will run about $2200 last I checked. You can get a used one for that or maybe a little cheaper but it will come with more stuff, often a fish finder and battery or some other ancillary gear. How much gear do you plan to take? In my 120 I carry 5 rods, a significant tackle bag (5x 3700, 1x 3600, some plastics bags), and a net on every trip. Then depending I can also add on some smaller 3600 boxes laying loose, a rain jacket, sometimes a 6th rod, etc. I stand to fish so stability is no problem for me. Standing to fish in a PDL would be tougher if you have wind or current.