snapshotmd

You do. I joined up back in March as a non-boater and have done 4 tnx so far. I'd say my knowledge and skills have increased 4 fold. The way we're set up is we draw boaters each tnx and we can't fish with the same boater twice until I've fished with everyone. You get exposed to different fishing styles and bodies of water.

I used to be a firm believer in the improved clinch, but after moving to braid, this knot slipped and lost a lure the first day using this line. Been using the palomar with no problems on everything for about a year now.

If you could possibly get a pic that was in focus??? : that would probably help...

The gear ratio is 6.3:1

I've got a Pflueger Contender low profile, wide spool baitcaster reel. This reel line capacities are: 155yds/17#, 170yds/14#, and 200yds/12#. I would like to work this in with my bass gear, but I don't know what to use this reel with; what rod type, fishing style, etc. My initial thoughts were to match this up with a MH, or H rod and use it on grass or heavy cover. I'd appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.

MIB - According the my Merc manual, there maybe a 20 amp fuse leading from the ignition to the starter solenoid. Probably a good place to start.

I used to stress over it, but it's just a fact of life now.

I asked this question last year about my Minnkota Endura used in the Bush River. The answer was that it should hold out and that it was rare to see a Riptide being used.

I mixed the fuel 50:1 and put in Startron to deal with the E10 gas. The motor does pee That's one of the things that I already knew, but thanks for the heads up. I was just surprised at how much smoke came from the engine and the amount of oil that was in the water. I ran the motor with the choke on for about 5 mins... maybe a little more. So I guess since the choke was supposed to be cut off right after starting that that would explain all the oil/gunk on top of the water. It was coughing out oily smoke for a good amount of time. Thanks for all the replies; I feel better now. ;D

I bought a 1990 Mercury 25 hp outboard motor and started it for the first time today. This is my very first outboard/boat, so I'm not sure what to expect. Anyway, I noticed that a few things that seem out of place but not sure if it is normal for a 19 y/o motor. When I first turned it over, I had the choke on the motor out, high idle on the remote controls. There was A LOT of smoke. I put the motor choke back to run and the majority of the smoke seemed to stop. It looked like whatever smoke was coming out was from the exhaust and in the water tank. It looked like it was blowing smoke out under the water. In addition to the smoke the exhaust was also blowing out water droplets. After shutting the motor down, there was an oil/gasoline slick on the surface. Is this normal, or is there something wrong?

Holy Sh**!!! The driver looks like he's running from the boat? How is that possible?!?!?

This is exactly what happened to me. I lost a lure on the cast thinking that it was the clinch knot coming undone. I wrote an email complaint to Stren. That thing that ticks me off the most is the box advertizes low to no fade and excellent knot strength. I normally use Berkley line, but saw the Stren on sale/clearance for half price. Clearance or no clearance, the product should perform as advertized, or at least close to it. Let's see what their customer service does.

I've gone down this path before and here is my take on it. I put a 30# thrust TM on my Coleman canoe. Built a removable transom and an anchor attachment for the bow, and used a fishfinder. I would ultimately recommend trailering this rig upright. This way you could permanently mount stuff and forget it. I used to cartop this and it was a hassle due to the setup and teardown. I had a problem with trimming the canoe (the forward end would be considerably higher than the rear). The battery really needs to be completely on the front end of the canoe. I had the FF transducer mounted on the TM. As far as the anchor, I had one self-locking pulley mounted on a removable platform on the front end. The anchor line needs to be contained somehow, perhaps use a hand winch or something. Anchoring in the front worked well for me, except for the line management. I just tried coiling the line in a bucket. I would also recommend guides along one side for the anchor line to keep it out of the way. Once everything was setup it worked rather well. I no longer use a canoe as I bought a used boat. Much happier fishing with this than the canoe. Since you haven't gotten your canoe yet, I would highly recommend getting a used jon boat, TM, and trailering it. The main point is if you put a TM, anchor system and FF, set up/tear down is going to be an issue. It will grow old quickly. If you're going to leave it on a trailer, you may as well get something more stable, like a jon boat.

The rod that I'm looking at is a blue, 1pc, 7 ft, MedHvy, IM7 graphite casting rod. It retails for $50. I've noticed that MedHvy has different meaning between brands All-star MH rods feel like my Quantum M rod. But this F&S MH rod truly feels like a MH rod, i.e. stiffer than my Quantum rod. No innuendo comments please ;D

I just started using braid line as well. I'm spooled up some green Stren Super Braid and I noticed the color is bleeding off the line. My entire rod would be coated with green by the end of the day. I'm still trying to wash the green off my thumb! That's another way to get a green thumb I guess. ;D Is this normal? Or is this why I bought the line off the clearance rack?

Does anyone know if the F&S brand is its own company, affiliated with the magazine, or just a Dicks brand? I kinda doubt that its affiliated with the mag since the logo is different. If it is just a Dicks brand then who actually makes their rods? I'm interested in getting the 7' MH casting rod. Seems like a nice rod for the money.

Ok, so how about this? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90599 9x more powerful than the 5W version. Cuts the charge time down to 15.3 hours. I read somewhere if your batteries are down 50% (6.5V) that this will do damage to the battery. I think most accessories stop functioning under 10V, or 77%. So that would mean that it would take an 8hr day to charge a "dead" battery. Dead meaning the battery can no longer power a 12V rated accessory. If you attach these panels to your battery while fishing, the panels may or may not power your trolling motor with just a little help from your battery. The problem is the panels are kinda big, 1' X 3', and there are 3 of them. Then again, for the price, a generator would probably the way to go.

How about a solar powered charger, like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41144

I've been using 8# test in my baitcast set up for about a year. I'm not sure what the difference is in using 8# in spinning and 12# for casting. What is the reasoning for this?

I have the following rod/reel combos and I wondering how you would use them. M action rod/4.1 ratio spinning reel M action rod/6.2 ratio baitcast reel MH action rod/5.1 ratio baitcast reel Right now I'm using the spinning set up for plastics and hard to cast lures. The 6.2 combo for everthing. I just got the MH/5.1 and wondering what to use it for. I'm looking for what jobs each of these combos do best.

The reel poll got me wondering. I have reel/rod combos which would mean I own equal # of rods and reels. Do you all have more reels than rods? or vice versa? Interchanging reels with rods to tune to a specific application?

.... but with a smaller diameter line for equal line strength, one could cast further and/or lighter rigs.

I've just started noticing that some bc reels don't have the magnetic braking adjustment. Why is this? Is there a advantage/disadvantage to having the mag brakes?

Hey, CONGRATS! What motor do you plan on putting on this? Gonna deck it out?

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing at this. I really like how it's car-top-able. Only problem is seeing where you're going to get to the pond.