bryand82487

I’ve been looking at the elite and agree it’s prob the better buy. I think I may end up going that route. I just have to figure out a good way to mount that transducer to a kayak.

Thanks I looked at that one and a few others but they are out of stock Bass Pro now unfortunately.

I'm looking to get a depth finder for my kayak and am struggling to make a decision. My main requirements are GPS, DI, SI, and a screen size no smaller than 7". I'm willing to spend up to $800, but I really need to be able to justify it. I had it narrowed down to Helix 7, but then started looking at the Lowrance Hook2 and Hook Reveal models. The Hook2 models are heavily discounted and the Hook Reveal model has a $100 rebate currently. I love the idea of the 12in screen model below and everyone always says get the biggest screen you can afford, but I'm thinking 12 might be to big for a kayak and run small batteries down quickly. My gut is telling me that even though I'm willing to spend more its for a kayak and it's a no brainer to get the Lowrance HOOK2-7 TripleShot Fishfinder/GPS Combo that's $399. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions. Lowrance HOOK2-7 TripleShot Fishfinder/GPS Combo- $399 regularly $599- Link Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 TripleShot Fishfinder- $550 with rebate regularly $650- Link Lowrance HOOK Reveal 9 TripleShot Fishfinder- $699 with rebate regularly $799- Link Lowrance Hook-2 12 in TripleShot US Inland Fishfinder- $799 regularly $999- Link Humminbird HELIX 7 CHIRP MEGA SI GPS G3 Fish Finder- $699 no sale or rebate- Link

It’s a 2500. I put some Yozuri Hybrid on it today. If that doesn’t work out I will give braid a try. Thanks I never realized it twisted that much. I’m going to give the Yozuri Hybrid a chance before going to braid. The older ultra soft never let me down so maybe the regular won’t either.

I think I might give that a shot. lol it turned out to be more like dumb.... Thanks for the tip!

I've got two spinning reels that I've ran yozuri hybrid ultra soft on exclusively for the past 10 years. I finally ran out of it and since they don't make it anymore and I figured I would try flouro. I use Seaguar Invizx on all my baitcasters so I went with 8 lbs invizx on my spinning reels. I took the line off both reels within a month of use due to spending so much time dealing with line twist tangles and issues. I do use line conditioner but I hadn't used it on those yet. Do you really need it on line that's brand new? I'm thinking about trying the regular Yozuri Hybrid unless someone convinces me i should try flouro again. Any suggestions?

I bought a Curado 200E5 the other day for $130 and a Core 50mg7 for $180 you just have to look around or put out a WTB listing. Like several have mentioned the Japan equivalent of the Core and the Curado E series can be had for a lot less. The Curado E’s go for anywhere from 180-250 on eBay from what I’ve seen and the Scorpion equivalent around $130. I just bought a Scorpion off eBay in excellent condition for $130 including shipping from Japan. I bought it on the 16th and it arrived today the 19th.

I don’t like to catch them either while bass fishing. I’m not sure what to tell you though. There’s only one pond I fish that I typically catch some while bass fishing. I’ve caught them on plastics, crankbaits, and top water. I’m not sure what makes this pond different than most.

I have this box and love it. Like someone mentioned earlier Daiwa has came out with one like this now.

How do the new ones compare to the originals that were not the “+” version? I have three of the originals and love those.

Got it. I think I should be okay. I take good care of my stuff. Thanks for the help and info!

Thanks! I ended up finding a 200E5 in excellent condition and recently serviced for $130 so I went that route. Any parts I should try to source now in case I need them later when they are no longer available? I’ve never had any reels break so not sure how common or what the chances of it happening is.

Will definitely check out the K’s The Bantam looks nice! I’m trying to stay under $200 for this reel. It’s one of those deals where I have a nice rod laying around that needs a reel, but I don’t really NEED it so don’t want to go all out. The Tranx doesn’t look bad either. These gear ratios are getting crazy. That’s good to hear coming from someone who works on them. The 200E5 I thought I was going to be able to get is on hold for the moment. The guy wants to try and sell it locally first. I’m first in line if he decides to ship. Any experience with the K reels?

Hey guys I’m needing another crankbait reel. I never got out of fishing but I’ve been out of the gear game for about 10 years. After I got my Cores and Curado E series back then I’ve never had a need for anything else and they are all still running strong. I’m planning to try and find another Curado 200E5. I’ve skimmed through some of the new reels but nothing really stood out or impressed me like the stuff they used to make. Anyways should I stick with what I know or am I missing out on some new awesome reels?

I completely understand where your coming from and your right there's no safer way to go about it then to release them immediately. I normally do that and had it been any other time of the year I wouldn't have even considered keeping them for a picture and I wouldn't have done it if I would have had to leave any of them in there all day. The day started off slow and we didn't start catching them until around 1:30 that afternoon. We boated all 4 between 1:30-3:30 pm and were taking the pictures and releasing them probably around 4 PM. I put 1 in the live well with the plan to leave it in there for about 15 minutes to bring out the markings on the fish for a picture and while that was going on we kept catching the others. I clean my live well really good after each trip and continue to put fresh water in it and keep it aerated. I also put a few ice cubes in there from time to time to keep the water temp down since the water that's used to fill it up is water from the surface and not the same temp as the water the fish are caught in. They were closely monitored during this time and released one at a time to insure they were okay before I let them swim off. Smallmouth also don't travel far from the area they live in so it's not good to take them far from where they were caught when you release them. These were released within a few hundred yards from where they were caught. That may not be true for other lakes where smallmouth inhabit the entire lake, but for the TN river I believe that they mainly only inhabit about a mile or two of tailwater below the Dam.

Thanks Roadwarrior! Time has flown by. It's hard to believe it was 7 or 8 years ago when we got together and you showed me the ropes on catching these smallmouth! I fished them hard for a year or two then with school, getting married, and starting a family i haven't made it down there but maybe once a year for the past 3 or 4 years. We will have to get together soon and try to make a trip out of it. Are you fishing down here much anymore?

They were all released. I never keep bass of any size whether it's largemouth or smallmouth. Those fish probably range from 3-7 years old so I completely understand the significance of not putting them back and would never do that. No I caught them from a boat. Thanks it's a fun area to fish for sure. I've actually never eaten at the Catfish hotel, but I need to give it a try sometime for sure!

Had a good day fishing last Thursday below the Dam. The flood gates were open and the water was rising! I haven't gone in about a year, but decided it was time to get back out there. My buddy caught a 5 lb PB and I caught two that were around 3 lbs and one that was about 3.5 lbs. We fished from daylight to about an hour before dark. We caught those 4 and another one that was prob 1.5 lbs. We had a great time and I really enjoyed getting back out there again. They were all safely released!

Thanks Kent! Do you still fish below Pickwick and Wheeler anymore?

Hey guys I haven't been fishing as much the last few years due to a job change, but have just recently started to try to get back in the swing of things. I took a buddy of mine fishing last Friday for smallmouth below the dam at Pickwick.. We only caught 4 or 5 smallmouth, but the first one I caught of the day made the trip worth while.

If I remember correctly this time last year the temps were in the single digits for about a week. This caused a shad kill that really hurt the fishing. I believe there was a bad shad kill the year before as well. Fingers crossed we have a warm winter and the fishing continues to stay great!

Nice Fish Kent! Friday looks to have been a good day for big brown fish down there! What month was it again you caught the 2 fish in your profile pic? January?

Something I found really interesting was that the pretty fish that my buddy is holding is the same fish he is holding in the picture with us both in it. The picture of us both holding a fish was taken right after that fish was caught and the picture where all the markings stand out was taken about two hours later after it had been in the live well right before releasing it. I remembered someone on here saying to try this to make the fish prettier for a picture so I wanted to try it. I believe it was Dwight a while back? Anyways it worked and made a night and day difference in how the fish looked. I wish I had done that with my big ugly one. ha

Jeff we caught these on the boat ramp side right past the point that runs out with the small boat ramp where people are always fishing from the bank.