Al Wolbach

Not sure which has the best rods, but would like to offer advice. Watch their web sites for sales. If you plan to purchase in the store, print the sale price add on your computer and take it to the store. BPS will honor the sale price from the internet and Cabelas probably will as well. BPS frequently has internet only sales but they will match in the store if you ask and have proof...........................Al

Went to the Fishing Expo last night in Knoxville. Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agengy had a booth to answer questions. They told me Tn does not require insurance on boats. One officer said he did not have insurance on his jon boat. I also got a book on Tn boating safety and there is no mention of insurance in the book, however there is a long chapter on drinking while operating a boat and the usual safety equipment and requirements. I would still recommend insurance............................Al

Disregard the question, I went to the Lowrance extras web site. The power connector and transducer are the same part no. for both units. Should work................Al

I recently purchased a Lowrance LMS332C and mounted it in the console. I would like to install the X75, that was in the console, at the trolling motor. I currently have an X65 at the trolling motor. Will all of the electrical wiring from the X65 conect and work on the X75 or must I rewire? All are flush mounted and very limited space to work......Thanks all.........................Al

I have full coverage on a 20' Champion, including 500k liability, it runs about $375 a year. I live in Tn and have never been asked to prove insurance coverage and do not remember receiving a card from my insurance company on the boat. I have been checked by game wardens many times and never been asked for proof of insurance on the boat. I have been checked for registration and Coast Guard required safety items but not proof of insurance. Thanks for the heads up, think I'll call my ins co...........Al

I use 20lb Vanish floro for flipping/pitching. I do not care for Vanish for casting situations.............Al

Ardent...............Al

The MBR844C in GLX is my favorite rod period but I have never fished the 783..........Al

I gladly support such a project................Al

Be a line watcher, especially during the pauses. Ocassionaly your line may start to swim away. Normally they hit on the first move after a long pause but sometimes during a pause.............................Al

I have had INHIBITOR strips in my 3600 boxes for several years and they work extremely well even after 3 plus years. Someone mentioned using uncooked rice in amother post to absorb moisture and this sounds very good as well. Does anyone know where to purchase the inhibitor strips? I have had mine so long I don't remember where I got them...........................Al

Good point,RW. That alone would be reason enough for serious consideration..........Al

I agree RW, in most cases. When fishing night tournaments leading a fish to the net doesn't always go as planned due to limited sight and especially if pulling almost straight up from deep water. When pitching/flipping you sometimes just don't have room to guide a fish and larger fish don't guide well anyway unless they are exhausted or at least pretty tired. All I'm trying to say is you sometimes need the flexiability to change courses and if the rubber nets are harder to move while in the water some flexiability is lost. Several tournament anglers have told me to avoid the rubber nets for this reason. However I have never tried them so I can't offer a good opinion, I was just repeating what I have been told............................Al

Although I have never tried them personally I have heard that the rubber nets require a stabbing motion to capture fish. They have so much water resistance that you can't use a sweeping motion on your fish. If this is true I would be afraid of them. I try to land my fish while they are still fresh, espesially in tournaments, and I feel I need a net you can move around in the water as fish don't always go where planned to net. Any comments?

I don't know about your Merc but on my Yamaha I use a very small drill bit, very small. DO NOT use a drill, only by hand, rotate the drill bit into the hole until debris is removed. I repeat DO NOT USE A DRILL...............Al

In a word, no. But I do fish the pointers and have a few Sammys...............Al

I had a similar problem a few years ago. I had pinched the transducer cable in the trolling motor mount. The cable appeared intact however must have been damaged internally. Replacing the transducer fixed my problem. Hope it does yours as well......Al

One piece of advice I forgot to mention. DO NOT store that bar in a rod locker when not in use, keep in the tow vehicle. When and if you hit ruff water it becomes a missile. And yes, G Loomis did replace the rods..........................Al

A lockrbar is a dealer installed bar that runs across the boat that prevents opening the rod lockers and lure storage compartments. It utilizes a keyed padlock. The bar slides together when not in use and slides into the boat gunnels when in use. As best as I can remember it cost about $250 installed, a small price to pay for additional security. It will not keep out a determined thief but might make him pick another boat, car etc. My insurance agent actually gave me a small discount on my boat insurance when he saw mine installed. I too, keep my boat in the garage while at home but I travel several times a year out of state and the bar does provide some peace of mind when you must leave the boat unattended..................Al

NBR, it sounds like your older boat had wide angle transducers. The wider (such as a 60 degree transducer) will have cross talk in shallower water than a 20 degree transducer. A 20 degree transducer mounted front and rear at least 12 feet apart should be ok to at least 50' of water depth. There is a chart available that shows different cone angles and water depth. If my memory is correct a 20 degree transducer will show one square foot of bottom in twenty feet of water. As the depth increases the bottom shown will increase as well. At some point (in depth) the two cone angles will overlap, this is when cross talk begins. I don't remember where I saw this chart but I will try to locate one. Lowrance or Eagle websites may provide this info. You can figure this if you know the cone angles and the distance between the transducers..............Hope this makes sense.........Al

Sounds like a great setup. The only additions that comes to mind as cart7 suggested is some type of keel protector and maybe a lockrbar. The keel protecter I would see as a must for the areas I like to fish. The lockerbar is great if you must leave your boat unattended such as motel parking lots or even resturants. At least it gives you some peace of mind........................Al

You can receive cross talk between two units however you would have to be in deep water for this to occur. If you fish water that is less than 50' you should not have a problem. If the water is deep enough for the cone angles to overlap the units can cross talk. There are several variables that can effect this including boat length (distance between transducers) , water depth, cone angle of the transducer and the power of the unit and probably a few I haven't remembered. Generally speaking, if you fish water less than 50' you should not have a problem......Al

Let me start by saying this is JMHO. All of the accessories that have been mentioned so far you will either get now or will want later and is usually cheaper to get now. If the decision were mine I would rather have the accessories than the etec. When you chrunch the numbers if you must cut somewhere, I suggest you consider the Yamaha hpdi and keep the accessories. My first choice would be the etec but don't be afraid of the yammie. Both are good motors, but you will want or need all of the additions that have been mentioned. If I still had to cut, next to go would be the GPS. Great to have but not absolutely necessary and it is fairly easy to add later. Hope this helps, good luck.................Al

Thanks Diz........I'll give it a try.......A;

This site will help you catch up quickly.........Welcome............Al