WIGuide

Interesting study to say the least. I'd love to see a shock test though. One where the lines are not maxed out on what they're rated to handle, but rather with a smaller weight similar to the weight exerted by a hooksetr. It'd be interesting to see that data compared to overall stretch.

No, which card is better depends on the lake your on. Up by me there are some lakes that Lakemaster has mapped and Navionics has not. If they've both mapped them it's pretty much a draw. What I'm saying is Navionics isn't owned by any of the companies that make fish locators. Their product won't be included when you buy a locator. The Lakemaster company is owned by Humminbird so they could potentially include it with their locators, but the sales of those chips is what keeps the Lakemaster company going.

That's how they keep the price lower for the consumer. When you spend the thousands of dollars the units come with better mapping to begin with. Most of them have contour lines at that level even though they may not be highly accurate. The cards offer better and more detail maps. With the exception of Lakemaster (owned by Humminbird) they are offered by stand alone companies offering a product to make the units more useful. They aren't made by the companies that make the locators so that's why they don't come with them.

The product works as is when you buy it. The contour mapping is an ad on that is very handy to have but not necessary to the operation of the unit.

I'd be leaning towards fuel pump as well. Had a similar situation with an old Mercury that would just die running across the lake. You'd have to stop and pump up the bulb to get it to start again. Replaced the diaphragm in the pump (same as rebuilding it with those since they were run on vacuum pressure). Once I did that it ran just fine.

There's a possibility that you might have just gotten a dud battery too. I'd still check the charger to see if that's causing it.

Glad to hear you got it out! If you remove it every time you leave the ramp you shouldn't ever have that issue again. I wouldn't bother replacing it as it'd probably be more hassle than it's worth since it'd be a different size hole and I don't think they build in the metal sleeves for those type drain plugs in anymore. If you were going to replace it, I'd go this route https://www.flow-rite.com/products/marine/remote-drain-plug/mpa-rdp-006

Although I haven't used a PQ I've had great luck with all the BPS reels I've purchased. From the reviews, I don't think you could go wrong with a PQ either.

I'd go with the 5". They are still small enough that they aren't going to chase away very many small bass, and they still give you a better chance at catching a bigger one. This bass was only about 12" but he had no problem choking a 5 1/2"

Glad to hear she's doing better!

If I was taking my best guess, there's probably a bit of ice left in the bottom of the boat. Those plugs have a piece of plastic that extends into the hull so when they are unscrewed they can just hang there and you won't lose it. If there's water left in the hull and it froze, it probably froze around the plastic in the hull so that would explain why it twists a little but not keep coming out like it's supposed to.

Yeah it pulled pretty hard. The flowage I caught it on is one of those where you have the chance to catch a whole bunch of species and you really never know what you're gonna get. I didn't get a good look at it right away and I had no clue what I had on haha. We catch quite a few on lipless crankbaits during the summer.

The St. Croix Legend Tournaments with the XF action is where it's at. They've got a modified micro guide system and are just overall sweet rods! You wouldn't be disappointed.

I'd suggest anything in the M/F to MH/F You'd have to look at the recommended weights on the rod you're looking at since int's not an industry standard regarding power, you'll have to check out the individual rod you're looking at buying. Either way though, for an all around rod I'd be looking for something other than the Crankin Stick.

I don't see anything wrong with it. You'll lose a little distance with the shorter rod, but you'll gain accuracy. Depending on where you fish from that may help or hurt you a little bit, but not all that much. I've still got a 6' rod that I use for spinnerbaits mainly, but it'd work for jerkbaits and topwaters as well. Don't let people tell you that you can't throw a bait on a certain rod. You can make just about anything work in a pinch. Granted there may be better tools to complete the task a little easier, but you make due with what you have. If you're throwing a crankbait on a fast action rod you can back the drag off some to compensate for the faster action.

The XPS Static Shad is a good one to use. It's a suspending crankbait that I work much like a jerkbait. That bait killed it on the river in the spring last year for both smallies and walleyes. I caught my PB walleye on it last year which isn't gigantic but it's a big walleye for around here.

My favorite would have to be a St. Croix Legend Xtreme in that category.

For the smaller ones I could only find the 3 year/300 hours online. The G2's might be 500 but they only go down to 200hp for now. I hear you though, I'm not letting anything go that long without at least a few checks.

They fish for 8 hours on a normal day.

Aside from needing a little cleaning, it looks like it's in good shape especially for the year! Congrats on the new boat!

It'd be a little under-powered but depending on your location, that could be ok. I know they are fairly narrow and not much for storage, but again depending on your needs that could be ok. A lot of it is going to depend on your needs on if it's the right fit for you.

I don't know why anyone would flip with a 1/16 oz weight either. I know some brands stop at 3/8 oz in their flippin' style. Maybe they figure people will buy them because they don't know any better? Or maybe there's people out there using finesse flippin' weights? Your guess is as good as mine on that one.

We don't have them around here, but we have Northern Pike and they are in the same family. They'll hit just about anything, but one of the best baits for them would have to be a spinnerbait followed closely by either a hollow belly swim bait or a boot tail. Lipless crankbaits are also pretty high on the list. Their teeth are SHARP though so a wire leader of some sort is a must on anything other than a spinnerbait.

There's probably not much of a difference in how the bait comes through wood, but the flippin' style helps them come through a little better in grass because they're broader to match the bulkier bait. As far as I know though the only flippin' style weights I've seen have been tungsten so I'm not sure if this is also a tungsten vs lead question or not. If it is, there are many advantages to tungsten .

Both are good motors. It's really up to you. I know the pros of the Etec are the 3 year no maintenance and the face that you can winterize them on the water in a matter of minutes without any tools the last time you uses them for the year.