Tim Kelly

Be fascinating to watch today's action. KVD and Cliff Crochet were pretty consistent, the Lester and Wheeler had a good day. Be interesting to see whether they've worked something out, or just got lucky and whether KVD and Crochet really have something more consistent going on.

Are you tying your knot in the same way you always have? I started using a San Diego Jam knot on fluoro, and it's a strong knot, but I realised I needed to be careful not to pull on the tag when snugging it down too much as it will make a really weak knot if I pull the tag too hard. No idea why, but sometimes you discover these things and they make a difference. Either that or lay off the 'roids and the big weights!

Looking good. Hoping to start framing my new project this weekend. Got most of the stuff ready, just need some time and decent weather.

I refuse to tie anything Matzuo on my line anymore. Just not good quality. There are plenty of other options out there, so I wouldn't even waste my time trying them.

Just back from a trip to my friend Tim's place in Virginia on Smith Mountain Lake. We had a great time, though were frustrated by the fishing at times! Had a half day charter for stripers as well which was fun, though the biggest largemouth and smallmouth we saw all week couldn't resist the trolled shad, stupid fish!

Where I keep my boat there's no electricity. I am happy to pull out my trolling batteries to take them home to charge them, but was wondering whether it would be a good idea to get a solar panel to trickle charge the starter battery? It shouldn't be too depleted as the motor will add some charge, but could probably benefit from a top up. Can solar panels damage the battery by over charging it if it's left plugged in for a few weeks?

I would recommend the fuji K series micros above any others I've used as they are less prone to bending. Most micro guides have just a single flat bend in the wire going from the ring to the foot, and this is a weakness which means the guides are easily bent. The Fuji K series have two pieces of metal going at an angle to the guide foot and are much more resistant to bending. Once the guide has been bent and pushed back a couple of times it is very likely to snap, which is just annoying and means you have to replace it, so I prefer to spend a little more at the outset and decrease the risk.

Other than the handle, nothing looks very Daiwa like about that reel. Even the gear ratio is not a Daiwa one. Suspect a bit of jiggery pokerey!

Well done. I would double check on that fuse for the Garmin. 3amp would be more usual. 30 amps is a lot of draw! Hope the first launch goes well and you get to slime the boat.

New project time!

Spring is like that girl at school who you were prepared to do anything for and who would bat her eyes at you, but never give you a second glance unless she wanted something. Constant disappointment over hope!

Except for the semi final where KVD was thrown a largemouth curve ball. He had a proper bottom lip and came last. LOL

Reels with braid, usually around 4. Reels with fluoro 6-10.

If you know what the voltage is, you will have an idea how much power you have left as the voltage drops as the power is used up.

Your hull is a tunnel style hull, so the measurement to the bottom of the pontoon is less relevant. I still believe it is designed for a short shaft, but if you put a long shaft on it you wouldn't lose much except a little shallow water capability and a bit of efficiency.

Anything on this thread that's any use to you?

Guarantee it's a short shaft, but if you want to triple check, ring the Pelican and ask. A short shaft goes on a 15" transom and a long shaft on a 20" transom, so the transom height is the determining factor.

Poor guy. I felt for him too. He and Evers seemed to be fishing too fast to me too, but what do I know. I remember watching Ike spinning out on the last day a couple of years ago when he stayed on the spot all day that had given him his weight for the past couple of days and the fish had just gone. Looked like Christie and Evers were just stuck on making what had worked the last few day work again. Swindle did well picking up a jig, then going off shore. He didn't get any big bites, but was a good example of how to fish the moment. Great tournament. Hope Christie's alright because that's going to sting for a while. Really hoped Matt Lee would squeak it in the end, but it was a great outcome for his brother. The weigh in was painful, not due to the results, but just the way they hung it out. I nearly gave up on it, but stuck it out to the end despite myself!

Jason Christie's struggling in the classic at the moment too.

Wouldn't that be great. Love the way he's fishing his strengths. The only guy cranking. Go Kev! Looking forward to finding out how John Cox did. I bet he vanished miles up some muddy creek.

Some pictures from my weekend in Holland. The water was between 0.7 and 4c, ice round the edges and the fish were a little sluggish, but we had a great time. No monsters, but some nice ones.

I would try mixing another batch of prokote and putting a thin second coat on the guides. The epoxy might well set the unset stuff underneath, or at least give you a useable rod. Assuming you just have a slightly tacky epoxy coating at the moment. If it doesn't work, you're no worse off, just a bit of epoxy down.

It's hard to understand what the problem is you're trying to solve. Literally taking your hand off the reel is irrelevant as it's no problem to do that, if you want to, as long as you maintain tension and momentum on the fish, so the question is a little odd. What do you imagine would be different if you never took your hand off the reel?

Great start. Good luck with it.

The dogs think they've gone to sleep in London and woken up in Canada!