Capt.Bob

There really is nothing right now. Patience, I have set standard for what I am willing to pay for them. They will be restocking soon, but if you have it now, supply and demand dictates price!

You won't find much better for that money.

N Noise and floatation, I didn't have a picture when I got the foam all in (14 can's) I didn't want to handle the camera and wanted the floor plates riveted down quickly to assure they were tight against the ribs on the outside and the stringers to eliminate any rattles. I also wanted to replace the large volume of foam I eliminated out of the center seat. It is the largest seat when the boat is made and holds almost half of the flotation. I am pretty sure I have enough flotation in it to keep it from sinking if anything were to happen. It seems by adding the battery up front and the weight in the floor, you can walk around in it without it being so tipsy, and with the heavy Deep Cycle up front it planes out super quick. I have a thread in fishing trips forum (4 weeks a year,,,,) with a video of me and my grandson walking and changing places as he is reeling in a fish, while I video him catching one of the smaller cat's, and it is amazing how stable it is at anchor.

I spent a lot of time on a 12' Sea Nymph 12R this spring, getting a boat rebuilt to get me around for Bass, Walleye, Pike and Musky, on the many lakes in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. I also had to be able to get it up and down a couple rivers I fish for Smallmouth in very shallow water. Then finally I had to be able to take the grandkids on the Catfishing trips they prefer. They like to fish for Catfish, Channels and Flathead's because they usually catch several nice sized ones when we go (5 to 15 lbs) big fish count over kind of fish for them. I made a couple trips Crappie fishing up a big creek this spring and was very happy with how everything worked out, I had no trouble running in 1.5' to 2' of water in the little fish'n machine, you have to take your time maneuvering around rock's and boulder's in shallow run's, but did it under power between the 2 motors with little effort. I have also had it on a couple good size lakes and it took the waves of big boats and heavy chop well. This is one of the isolated spots I wanted to be able to navigate to that only gets bothered by canoe and kayak traffic, so it gets very little pressure from fisherman and is excellent fishing. Few travel to fish it as the closest portage is over 5 miles in either direction. These are the types of places I wanted to get to with this one boat in the heat of summer, July and August. There is one property that runs up to the river and it is over a mile away, the only property for about a 5 mile stretch. The clearing on the hill side is an older gas pipeline. Nice and quiet with no one around. Here are a couple initial pics getting started, some have been posted when I started this project,from removing the original interior and transom, to starting fabrication, the one with the foam being applied is the only one I have, but the space was completely filled with foam from hull to 1/8" aluminum floor to assure enough floatation, and keep everything quiet,,,,it worked well! There was is an angle riveted to the rear seat support, and one joining the two channel stringer in the front (not shown) that was added before final foam was installed to support the floor front and rear. With the brand new sealed 1 1/8" transom, it has turned out very good, and functional. The cable from the battery tray (the only wood used in the makeover other than the transom) was for the rear trolling motor and accessory power plug. The 2 1/2" sleeve was taped off to the floor to allow drainage to the rear of the boat. The floor plates installed ready to fasten the seat and floor support in the final pic, as you can see the first idea was changed to a more ridged 90 degree angle from floor to seat riser, this made it very stiff and gave solid support. The seat covering wasn't used but the piece on the floor is now fastened with 7 large round head screws with flat washers. Once the seat was fastened most of the the seat access hatch was installed, it is a floor hatch capable of supporting foot traffic. When finished I want to be able to travel 5 to 10 miles when I need to in a hurry, and with the 15 hp. Johnson on it I get about 10 MPG on these harder runs at a max speed of 22 MPH, and usually back down to 18 mph to run any distance, not to shabby for 12' row boat. This was figured by a two day trip log from the GPS at 28.9 mile and a consumption of 3.2 gal. of fuel, I'm happy. It is topped on on H.P. for it's rated factory Maximum with this outboard. I have it rigged with a Garmin Vista HCx GPS, with Inland Lake Maps installed and a 180 degree triple beam Humingbird fish locator, a far cry from what I ran on my two big boats I had on Erie,,,, but they get the job done. I just wish the card for Inland Lake maps showed the river contours like it does the lakes, and if it showed public access sights, that would be nice also. But on lakes it makes it easy to run straight to points, flats, and breaks and is spot on! The main reason I wanted the middle seat put back in against the front seat was to use it for battery, lights, and life jacket storage, and the battery out of sight while fishing. With the front and rear Minn-Kota plugs, I can hookup any 12v accessory in an instant, from fillet knives and lighting to ,,,well,,,,trolling motors, which I made a nylon wedge 6"x 4" and 1"thick at the top to 3 3/4 tick at the bottom to mount my transom mont Johnson to the front! Oh ya, and I couldn't forget the beverage holders!! Plus I needed the floatation left in the front seat, and gives me room for the BIG fish basket ( hillbilly live well) and porta pot (2 lbs plastic coffee can) and mooring lines. The full pic shows there is enough room to store all this stuff completely out of sight, with now worry of blowing out on the road, and out of the way till needed, as shown here. The 6 ga. wire run's behind the rear seat with a Minn-Kota plug for the 55 lbs Minn-Kota Endura Max (very efficient motor) and other 12V needs. Then for power for the electronics, I use the dri-cell, (the aluminum battery plate will get a rubber pad also like the fuel tank support has). I have this small battery but have 2 bigger batteries I use with my Vexlar and I think it will run well over 100 hours using the GPS and Locator on it with some interior light use. I use the small one mostly as it will run the locator and GPS for days, and I always have the 2 bigger dri-cell's ready if needed. The fuel tank sets on a rubber padded 1/8" aluminum plate that is fastened to the floor ribs also, I used such a large battery tie down plate so I cane mount 2 batteries side by side and have enough power to run at least 2 weeks of heavy use on a trip, and have enough power to run a small L.E.D. interior light in early morning and night time fishing. The front and rear Minn-Kotta plug can also be used for the exterior lighting using 12V auto backup lights on each side of the boat below the side rails. It should last a couple days of night fishing without needing charged with normal day time trolling motor use. The lights are the only thing left to build, but they won't take much. Well the last to weeks we have been using it a lot and the grand kids think it's perfect, that's all that count's and this is really why I built it!! Here is a couple reasons why!! Plus when they tell you this running down the river, what else could you want!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_6hSEUmQbM

Very Very!! NICE!

I pulled a 21' Sylvan center console with a 1990 F-150 and a 6 cylinder motor, 5 speed manual, 355:1 limited slip 2wd, from the Ohio river to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and never had a problem, in, out, running County, State, and Interstate speeds, and ramps from low and shallow to deep and steep,,,,, there were a couple times I would spin the tires on sandy lake Michigan ramps, but never was in question coming or going, could not have done it any better with anything else. I also averaged 16-17mpg, and was quite happy with that. Before that I pulled a 17' Sylvan ELIMINATOR, to the same places with a S-10 V-6 automatic, 4wd. The S-10 did just as good and never failed me. Those were my Lake Erie Smallmouth and road riggs, in 1996 I decided to start pulling my 25' Sport Fisherman (6800 lbs.) to other Lakes and used our F-350 Power Stroke Diesel (we already had to pull our over 15,000 lbs. 36' 5th wheel) , but I could have used a Full size V-8 with a small block, but I am sure it wouldn't have delivered the 14mpg I got with the big diesel. You should be fine with any truck you choose. From mid size to full size, I would prefer at least a 6 cylinder engine, and limited slip rear axle, or 4wd,,,,,your choice. That "06" F-150 is more than you need, and will be very happy with it!!

absolutely love both spinning and casting, they are each the best of choices for different uses. If you can't use both, there are types of fishing you will miss out on.

Nice fish,,,,,,and RIDE I'm sure!!

well not a bass but in a strong current and more fight than bass if you are questioning the ability af landing fish with spinning gear, 18 lbs. of Golden Coho!!

Another variable to accuracy is rod length, are both these rods the same length, or is the one that is more accurate a shorter rod???

Creek Chubs 3" to 5"mostly with a few small Green Sunfish 1 1/2" to 2 1/2", we catch them on 1/4" piece of Power Bait "Sand Worm" and #16 wet fly Trout hook, tiny little spit shot and drop it down from the culvert, you loose more than make it to the bucket, but the Cat's love em!! Some buy gold fish, but I try and teach the kid's, you don't have to spend a lot of money on bait to catch fish. Night Crawlers invite to many Carp Suckers and Freshwater Drum to the dinner table, you catch far better Cat's and fewer fish your not targeting with this bait. We sometimes take sweet corn and go after big carp,,,,, they love that battle also. Nice to be a kid, don't matter what your fishing for as long as their bigger fish,,,,,their on top of the world!!!

That is very high prices for a Lew's TP, even though it doesn't come in 5.4:1, I have never paid more than $175.00 for a Team and as low as $160.00 for the Team Gold. I gave $125.00 for my TP, I think at over $175.00 after shipping, I would go elsewhere and buy the Team Gold for less money, or a 5.4:1 TP for considerably less.

Well after the first week of fishing with the 2 oldest grandsons, I had a week to recoup. They wanted to take the "Metal Miss Fit" up river for a Catfish trip. Well they can only go one at a time so after a week and a half of daily storms and threats of severe weather, we got out Tuesday morning. Me and the younger of the two headed out and made the 10 mile run from dock to fishing spot upriver. We start are day at 6am catching creek chubs and small green sunfish in the local ditch, 10 or 20 minuets and we have enough to assure I get back home by 6pm, if you know what I mean,,,,,,to much bait can be a very long day! So when we get to the ramp we have about a 10 mile run upstream to get to a run that produces nice Chanel Cat's and a few Flatheads. With the little 12R at 20mph it doesn't take long but there are 2 boulder stretches I have to run trough that are about an 1/8th to 1/4 mile long, and takes some real alert maneuvering and slow going to avoid damage to the lower unit. But once we get there, it is fish on, and one happy grandkid,,,,as you see by the smile on the face. The icing on the cake came with the double, He had the bigger one in his left hand on, when the other rod went off. So we had to boat the bigger one in a hurry so he could land both, he's a happy fisherman and ready to go again,,,imagine that!! His brother couldn't get out of bed so we did it again Thursday, same results but had 7 good Cat's like in the picture's instead of just 6, gramps forget the camera,,, We caught 13 the first trip and only 10 the second, but not as many little cat's as the first trip. These aren't big cats but for they are good number's, of good cats, for a 12 year old, and that is what this month is all about for me,,,you couldn't have made him happier, and he is becoming quiet the fisherman!! Now after two trips in a row his older 13 year old brother is expecting the same result's,,,,,that might not be as easy, as I need a break, and by next Monday or Tuesday when he's finally ready, we need to find new water. With no rain in the forecast, and falling river depths, we can't even get the "Metal Miss Fit" the last 2 miles to get there anymore. We have much better temp's and we will see how it goes with the other Grandkid next week. But for now, I have created on happy Grandson!!!

Yes as R.M. stated it is a lot of work. Here is what I haev done with two St. Croix Extreme's, I got them for an Excellent price, but I don't like the 2 piece cork grip's, (just a grumpy old man that ain't ready for that kinda change). So I got with my rod builder, and had them redone with full cork the way I wanted them,,,$50.00 but that included having them precision balanced where I want them, I was told the real seat would be an additional $10.00 plus the cost of the reel seat, if I wasn't going to furnish it. You could have other materials and there are many, from exotic wood's, neoprene, and various other synthetic materials and configurations. It was a steel for me as I had a better rod, customized for me, and a one of a kind made perfect for me, than if I had bought an Legend Extreme or a Legend Elite, and cheaper with the total cost I had in the work and the rod, and doesn't void the warranty!! This is kinda like being a reel Tech,,,,,they don't get paid much for their time either!!! But most do it as a love for their art! But if it is a quality rod!! (not a "rack rod" to begin with), and you want a configuration a certain way, the cost should be less than $75.00, and if it is,,,,you can't buy much in High Quality Rods,,,,for $75.00, and even harder to get exactly what you want from any rod for $75.00. So it may be well worth it for you, and it could be less or more, just depends on the custom rod builder you decide to go with. I would find someone that does the work that you want to done, and they will give you an up front estimate for what you want. You can get as wild or mild as you want, I chose bi-colored cork for my custom grip. The other rod was done in the same two colors of cork, just in a different combination, both well worth the $42.50 for the handles, and $7.50 for the balancing. Now I have it MY WAY!!

ONE WORD,,,,,Avid, My only other choice in that price range! ENJOY!

Ten pounds of drag will cost you more fish than it will save you, 90% of the time for Bass! The heavier you set a drag, the less room for error,,,,

Unless the pins on the centrifugal break are bad, this can't happen, and if you are sure you are hearing the audible click (even with these poor old damaged ear's) when turning them off (all the way down), then you need to return it and let Lew's replace the brake!! I have never heard of this with any centrifugal brake, and as DVT stated earlier, the brake has absolutely nothing to do with setting a hook or reeling, the spool has to spin @ extremely high rpm's for the centrifugal brake pin's to do anything, no way a human can crank that fast!!!

Most don't! I just go by what feels appropriate to me,in time you will know, if I need a little more or less I will adjust when I get a fish on, I always start loose. You can use an electronic weight scale and measure the pull coming straight off the reel. Once set with 10 lbs. of drag you can more than double that using the rod the way it is meant to be used. the farther you point the line guide away from your fish (lure or hook at the end of our line) the more you increase the resistance at the lure, without adding drag at the reel. This is why most of set a drag aprox. 1/3rd to1/5th the desired rod rating (or line, whichever is lighter). You should use your rod rating as with most baitcasters now day's people use 20 to 50 lbs braid, and most rods are rated for less LBS test than the line we are using on them. I use 20lbs test braid on my Medium power rods that are rated for 15lbs to 17lbs max, and 30lbs test on my medium heavy which are rated for 17 to 25 lbs max. with the over 15 lbs that my lew's are capable of (they all test a tad higher than that) I can easily use the rod to create over twice that, and put much more strain on the rods than they are designed to handle. I always use a leader and never use a heavier lbs test than my rod is designed for, it is always my weakest link and what I set my drag to account for when I add that power with my rod!! This is what makes the use of a tuned drag so important to those who use their drag the way they are designed to be used. I install carbontex drags using carbon washers and I prefer to run them wet (just my preference, I think it is smoother) But for extreme cold I run them dry. This will assure when properly set you never loose a fish because of broken leader (line) or have to little resistance to set the hook properly, and if it is a big fish the SMOoOTH'st drag to tame it possible!!! I never tune a reel without starting with the drag!!

If it is working properly yes, that is an awful lot of drag, and when you add the proper use of what the rod can add to that, it is ten pounds at the reel, and much more at the hook!

That would be a casting rod, and I would put an ambassador on it, a 5000, 5500, or even a 6000 or a 6500, any of them will handle any catfish, and can easily be had used for less than half of that. Auction sights are full of them and parts are a dime a dozen, they are tanks, maybe not the smoothest thing around, but inexpensive and just keep on going! It will work great with any casting reel you put on it, but those are classics!

I think you mean you have a spinning rod, if it was a spincasting rod it has the same handle and eyes as a casting rod. If it is a spinning rod I would put a spinning reel on it, If a casting rod,,,,I would use either a casting reel or a spincast reel. My catfish setups are an old bionic blade 6'6" casting rod and a 6'6" old Abu Garcia Gold Max, both MH with 30 year old 5500c Ambassador's, and one old 6'6" Bionic Blade spinning rod with a Stradic 4000 FI. All these rods are the older IM-6 rods and still catch'n fish.

Yep! I always use a leader and it is always no heavier than the rod I am using is rated for! It is my weakest link and I only put new braid on every couple years or more, the only braid I ever loose is what I trim off from time to time, a foot or two when it needs it. I usually use 6 to 10 foot or so, I can retie several times before adding a new leader, mostly mono, but in open gin clear water I will use fluorocarbon.

X2,,,,, locked down drags, horse'n em in and lift'n fish in the boat, not only ruins reels and rods, it cost more fish than it catches, and usually rip's hooks loose. I think "most", use more drag than there rod is rated for, and on a lighter drag you have the option of pointing the tip at em to keep from rip'n hooks loose, or lifting back and putting more backbone into the fish and adding drag just by using the rod the way it was intended to be used. Most times I've experienced that fish big enough to have to stop, don't head for deep water, but quite the contrary, most of the ones I have hooked head for the heaviest cover around. I agree with DVT that drag was designed to "work for you"! ,,,,let it!

Oh ya, the old "XHS" Extra High Speed at 5.0, ,1, or .2 somewhere in there I don't really remember the exact speed, but that was Shimanos answer to the 4.7 the Ambassador and Millionaire called high speed, that was in the early or mid 80's then late 80's or so, I thought I had reels that would catch on fire they were so fast, when Shimano came out with the "Super Speed Master's", then the Diawa 7-1 as .RM. stated and that has been a standard for high speed today. I have heard there is talk now of of a 9:1,,,,???? I have a couple 7:1 I use for deep water and plastics or finesse, but I rely mostly on 6.4 to one gears for 90% of my fishing, I think it is the best all round gear ratio for Bass and Walleye, as Blubasser stated for spinners traps med divers, T' and C' rigs from moderate fast to slow, an excellent gear ratio. But, for the deepest diving over 15-16 feet, divers and dredges, or jigs in very heavy weeds and pads, I do appreciate the 5.4 to 1 and it's smooth power & torque free, if there is a 9-1 I doubt I ever own one.

They built so many of these reels Anniversary or regular production,,,,there just what they are, and likely always will be, use it or if it has sentimental value,,,,find a place in the man cave to enjoy it!!