S Hovanec

And you're dealing with 2 different agencies, PADOT for the trailer and PFBC for the boat. Both can be quirky and quite frankly, a real pain in the tuchus at times

And when I got my 17' Lund, I had a 20hp kicker hung on it cause I thought I could still fish my limited lakes. It got a whopping 8mph.

You will regret a 20hp on a 17' boat. I had a 16' Sea Nymph with a 20 and it topped out at 15mph and struggled to get on plane. I had no choice in the motor though because I was fishing many 20hp limited lakes at the time. Most people equate speed with big motors. It's not always about speed. Sometimes you need the power of a big motor to control the boat, to get you out of a situation that a smaller motor cannot do.

I repair rods. Won't touch a reel, even my own. Too many moving parts.

It is. It's quite versatile. I could see it being a big water DS rod too, but I really don't need another one if those.

It broke and at that time, I started building my own rods. I bought the blank, but never rebuilt it I replaced it with a Rainshadow. Recently, built a Rodgeeks 7'3" MH to fill the slot.

I used to use my 68mxf for dragging tubes for smallies.

Imo, every one of those is pushing or exceeding the limits of a half-ton truck.

Don't own any but they have made me lots of money with all of the guide replacements I've done on them over the years.

I've seen similar issues with grooved guides, but shredded line is a giveaway in that situation.

No secret, just practice. And maybe having the supports pretty close together to minimize flex.

Don't look down or at the floor when tying knots or fishing. Hold the hook and line up so you're looking out of the boat at the horizon. I'm the opposite, I get queasy on dead calm days. I prefer some motion.

No lie there. I've already built more rods this year than the last 4 years combined. I'm trying to clean out our old house cause we have a buyer. And, I really, really want to get insulation and drywall up in the shop, at least on the dirty room side! Sleep is for the weak! Lol

When Erie is blowing, I go back to camp and drink beer! Not familiar with Dunkirk, but have always wanted to take a drive over and check it out. I fish the PA waters, mostly from PI Bay to the NY line. Occasionally I'll go west and fish towards OH.

I'm very familiar with Erie and I know for a fact, this won't happen!

Yep. Get the longer one. I went the 17' route instead of the 18' and wish every day I would have gone bigger.

Now it needs reassembled! Well, that and some insulation, drywall and new lighting.

I used my 76mlxf for dropshot.

I just bought her a Stradic 2500SHG-L so I could get the MgFB back that was on the SCV.

My wife had an Avid. She used my SCIV. Never got it back. Then she used my SCV. I had to build myself another one cause I lost that one too!

Yes. SC tends to be a tad more powerful than other brands of similarly labeled powers. I've caught 10 - 15# cats when dropshotting for smallies on the mlxf. It handled them just fine with 6# line. Their MLXF is my benchmark DS rod.

I could never sell my boat for a yak. I fish too far off shore on Erie for that.

I sold my 3S76mlxf 1-piece to buy the parts for a 5s76mlxf 2 piece. To me, the 2 piece has a bit more power than the 1-piece. The wife has a 4C69MLXF built as spinning and a 5S69mlxf and I have the 5s610mlxf extended to 7'. I have another 5s610 on the rack to he built once I have time. Did I mention I really love the croix MLXFs? Lol

MLXF is a special beast in SC3, 4 and 5. It's my absolute favorite power/action in St Croix's lineup.

Casting: Chronarch 101SF - AmTak Classic 6'8" MXF - jerkbaits Chronarch 101SF - NFC MB703SM - topwater Chronarch 101B - 3C70MM - crankbait Curado 301DSV - NFC FS764SM - flipping stick Spinning: Catana C3000HG - house brand DS610W - dropshot Catana C3000HG - house brand DS610TC - dropshot Catana 2500HG - gen 1 MHX HMDS-8515 - dropshot Catana 2500HG - gen 2 MHX HMDS-8515 - dropshot CI-4 2500 - NFC DS610-7 IM - dropshot TwinPower 2500SHG - 5S610MLXF-B ext. to 7' - dropshot Vanquish 2500SHG - Eternity ETES610MXF - dropshot Stradic 2500MgFB - Rodgeeks C4610MXF ext. to 7' - spybait Stradic C3000XG-L - Rodgeeks C473MHXS - tubes Stradic 2500FI - 3S70MF-2 - travel I think I have a dropshot problem. Also have a box full of other Stradics, Saharas, Sustains, Chronarchs and Curados with no rods.