OnthePotomac

Some times getting the plastic out of the way is more work than getting the hook out I keep long scissors to cut it away so I can see what I am doing and if I am fishing with my adult daughter it happens a lot LOL.

solutions to gut hooks: 1. Crimp down the barbs on your hooks and no, you will not lose fish. 2. Carry one these with you and there are variations in length, but they do the same thing. Reach in, lock on to barbless hook, turn it gently and just back it out. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/rapala-hook-remover Been doing it this way for 15 years and saved a whole lot of bass.

Always 17lb XL mono on my buzzers for years and no problems.

Nothing but salt. Taste one.

Did you try WalMart? Ours has bunch on a peg board.

I have a KVD spinner bait rod and a Rick Clune top water rod, both 15 years old, that have laid on my deck all summer each year in 85-90 degree heat and there is no difference in them.

I am biased since I use all fast reels for my style fishing (8.0+). If I was in a kayak I go with faster back, faster back out.

Last year i was up in a Potomac tributary fishing lay downs on an out going tide and used a white chatter bait with no trailer. Didn't make any difference to bass in the laydowns.

Mizmo makes a good tube.

Seagaur stopped level winding their bulk spools quite some time ago. My latest 1000 yd Invizx is not, but comes off the bulk nicely.

If you have a dealer near you look at the G3 boat line. MY Pro175 welded hull is 19 years old and going strong. Carpet is in good shape the the seats are like new. But I work at both to keep them that way. I believe they have a boat about my size that comes with a 150 Yammie now (new hull design) and wider beam. I only have a 60, but the hull is rated for 75. I like the storage lay out and the center rod locker for long rods.

I can only add that I had a 2500 Exceler for 14 years and when I traded it on in a new Sahara 3000 HG last year it was still in perfect condition after hauling a ton on LM out of the tidal Potomac grass beds. I used BPS Excel 8lb mono on it the whole 14 years. I thought it was a great reel. I bought it and a Daiwa 2500 Capricorn within 30 days of each other. I still use the Capricorn and it is going strong. As I recall they were basically the same reel except for the digi gear feature.

On the tidal Potomac when the massive grass beds kick in baits with an exposed hook stay in the box and it is either Texas rigged plastics, or frogs. If you can hang on the outside edges you get more opportunities for a little variety of baits, but not a lot because under the surface off the grass edge is usually a thick sub surface growth. Not uncommon to fish a half mile of an edge with zippo, especially on an incoming tide.

The high speed Hedgehog SS ZR spool bearings made a world of difference in the performance. Nice effortless distance and very smooth.

Fill you spool to within 1/8" of the lip and you will be fine.

Cover them with FlexSeal.

Try Z-Man Turbo Crawz. It comes through the water looking like twin props spinning.

Just remember that whatever you put on a chatterbait you do not want it to compete with the purpose of the chatter bait, but to complement it. With regard to using a boot tail trailer, a large Keitec with the tail down will not not end up performing that way, but will will go tail up as a result to the chatter bait action, so it is best mounted it upside down to maintain the correct trailer action. An A-Walker size 100 is a good boot tail for a chatter bait since it is stiffer and provides a good complementing action.

Heck, I have a, 03 Ford Ranger two wheel drive with a 3.8L V6 engine and tow my 17'6" G3 Pro 175 every where like it is nothing and it has a 21 gallon gas tank I keep full.

Just reading this discusson on transporting kayaks reminds me of my wife's good friend who volunteered to pick up two custom set up kayaks for her husband because he was too busy and upon returning home forgot they were on the roof of the car as she went zipping in to the garage. he was not a happy camper when he saw the damage.

I just use children's serrated edge school scissors. Works great for braid.

You might find this interesting

I know 65lb braid is a popular size, but I have never felt the need to go beyond 50lb and I tie direct to the frog.

I only have the Chronarch 150 MGL XG and after three years of heavy use on the tidal Potomac can report that it continues to be a flawless, very smooth reel. It has only had flouro carbon on it. Lovin' that reel.

I have to store the boat in the nearby state park storage yard, so it has always had a decent general fit regular cover and over that I have always had a Lowes $40 tarp bungied down. I keep mouse blocks on the deck (TomCat) during the winter and this arrangement has kept the deck and bilge totally dry for the last 19 years. Yea, I get about 18 months out of the Lowes tarps. I do a monthly inspection during the winter storage. The general fit cover is still like new stored this way.