NBR

Ditto to Jig Man. I have 2 - 22.5 gallon tanks. When the gauge for each is on empty they are really half full.

Sounds like a Charlie Brewer "Whirly Bee" to me. Do a search for Charlie Brewer and you will find pictures. IMHO a grear early season Smallie lure.

For the best battery life they should be charged as soon as you get back from fishing. If he is talking an onboard charger they are very convenient and promote good battery life. I keep my boat plugged in 100% of the time when the boat is home. I do check the water level fairly often. I have never seen any discussion where solar panels are a cost effective solution. IMHO an onboard charger is the best way to charge TM batteries as well as the cranking battery.

IMHO it is not the weight of the motor on the transom but the torque transmitted to the transom from the lower unit when the motor is raised for transport and the road bounces the trailer and boat. Transom savers move the load from the transom to the trailer. I think repair to the trailer is prefered to repair on the transom.

J Francho is right on. Generally what you are looking for is fall rate or a way to keep bottom contact when it is deeper and/or windier. Although I keep my jigs separated by size and when appropriate by color I don't think weight is a major issue. I normally like to start by using the lightest possible. My waters are vegetation free (cover is rocks) so punching through is not an issue. The old guy who figured out that a 1 pound apple and a half pound apple fell at the same rate did not consider the area of the apple. So if you want a jig to fall slower take a pair of pliers and flatten the head perpendicular to the hook and use a bulkier trailer.

Welcome. Where are you from in NH? This is a great site and I'm sure it will become a favorite.

Check with your local Fish and Game (DNR) for what leagaly must be worn. Many states require or suggest a minimum amount of hunters orange. Sing or whistle or talk to a buddy. Hunters that know their quarry don't mind others in the woods or fields. Deer will often bed down during the day so anyone moving might move a deer past a hunter. There are those hunting that don't have a clue but I believe your biggest danger is your drive to the fishing spot.

You will need to store outside with no cover. I'd return and tradde for a bunch of needed baits.

I have an aluminum plate version called the "Edge". I believe it helps my hole shot a lot. No data to prove that.

I have had two for over 20 years. The one for deeper water is a heavy weight with some small chains the chains tangle with the hooks. I bought a carpenters chalk line roller gadget and never put the chalk in it for the retriever cord. Pretty effective but not 100%. The other I use is a telescoping pole from BPS. It has worked 100% for any thing you can reach. Works from the boat to shore, up into trees and for shallow hook ups. I wouldn't be without the telescoping pole type.

I'm with Rambler. I Started baitcasting with no drag,almost no back lash control except for my thumb and windmilling crank. My thumb is on the spool at all times except when I turn it loose to start a cast. Then the thumb goes right back lightly on the spool. I set the drag loose because I have my thumb there to put more pressure on a fish when necessary.

Any of the current midrange bait casters will suffice with practice. Some will require more practice than others. While going to the higher end products might be helpful cost versus performance becomes suspect.

Make sure you get a trailerable cover.

So long as you don't pull with the trannie in overdrive and the vehicule's GVW is equal or larger than your total boat/trailer/stuff weigh you should have no issue. I've pulled from New England to MN and to Alabama many times. Not a problem.

I probably have one of almost every maker and frankly I don't see much difference in them. They all require some learning after using spinning gear and one brand might out last another but that has not been my experience.

I've had my Berkley station for some thing like 30 years and I'll buy another the day the current one craps out. I don't find it is efficient for spinning reels but is sure works for bait casters.

Central PA, I'd say so!

Oops! I didn't say to let the bearings dry before you reinstall and oil. I usually set a plastic tub of some sort over the bearingd while they dry.

Flush - Remove bearing from the reel. Place it in a clean container with some acetone (lighter fluid is a second choice). Let the bearing soak for awhile. Swish the bearing in the acetone(lighter fluid). Set bearing on a clean paper towel. Reinstall the bearing and lube with ONE DROP of bearing oil. I use Rocket Fuel Yellow but there are others. Spinnin on a pencil is okay but I am more concerned that a little piece of wood might get in the bearing. When the reel is back together spin the spool and crank the reel a bit.

For many years I flyfished forbass almost exclusively. Not so much today but in the early to mid summer I always have a fly out fit in the boat in case of a mayfly hatch.

How many times do you think a bass sees a night crawler? On ocassion in a stream or impoundment. Rarely in a natural lake and less on off shore structure, yet bass eat them like a regular food source. No reason except they look like something to eat and are easily catchable. If it looks like something to eat a bass will eat it at least some of the time.

I'm a former release egineer with responsibility for bearings. Sealed bearing are designed to have a flexible member (usually rubber) riding on a rotating part. Shields are not designed to contact any rotating part. Ergo true seals will reduce casting distance to some maybe minute amount. Generall putting shields in a bearing costa a bit more so if the reel manufacturer didn't think they were beneficial they would use an open bearing. This is absent any marketing strategy. If you fish in pretty clean surroundings and clean your reels especially the bearings you probably don't need the shields, But they are there and removal likely does more damage than any removal benefit. As we used to say shields keep out the chunks and low flying birds. While I'm on my soap box I don't care how many bearing are in my reels. My bait casters will cast a bit farther when the spool is supported on ball bearing and the anti reverse is a nice feature but beyond that more or less bearing just reduce the little bit of slop because of the shaft to bushing necessary clearance.

As said they are reported to flex under pressure causing other issues. I would like to see some data on this including load values applied by fishing. I've used graphite frame and aluminum frame reels without noticeble difference in performance. Having said this I prefer aluminum frames but that is a gut feel not backed by any concrete data that I have seen.

Every thing except less than 1/8 ounce, shaky head and dropshot.

My boat is a 19' and I don't have a problem until the water gets over 100'. Distance transduc ers are apart and cone angles would have an effect.