desmobob

I've been out on the lake with my fly rod, fishing for lake trout and landlocked salmon. Things have been slow but the trout have been cooperating. I got skunked yesterday and it was looking like I was going to get skunked again today. I put on a full-sinking line and an old-school streamer (Wood Special) and stumbled onto a nice concentration of smallmouths. They didn't put up their usual fight in the numbing 44˚ water, but they were still fun to catch. They were outside a bay where the smelt run up a tributary stream. The smelt run was a couple of weeks ago but judging by the bellies on the smallies I caught, they might still be in the area...

My Tracker Pro170 also suffers from sticky steering. In my case, it seems to be in the Safe-T-Helm unit behind the steering wheel. When I spray silicone lube on the area where the shaft comes out, directly behind the steering wheel, it frees up fo a while. I tried to remove the steering wheel to get better access to the problem area, but I couldn't get it off... a steering wheel puller is required. I tried to cob something up to do the job and failed. After I get really irritated with it, I'll spend more time and get it resolved. It's a real pain... it steers smoothly and easily until you don't steer for a while. Then it sticks when you attempt to make a small adjustment. It has done this since the boat was new (2014).

Best choice for small and light is a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. Even though a small lead-acid battery is rated at 9 amp-hours, that's to full discharge. Fully discharging a lead-acid battery damages it. A LiFePO4 battery rated at 9 amp-hours will provide that much juice before reaching a damaging level of discharge, so it actually provides a lot more usable power than a similarly-rated lead-acid battery. And the LiFePO4 batteries are much lighter than the lead-acid type. You could use a small, light 5 amp-hour LiFePO4 that will probably run the sonar at least twice as long as a 9 amp-hour lead-acid battery. My figures are probably off a bit, but if you look for some YouTube videos comparing lead-acid to LiFePO4, you'll get the correct story. I can run my Garmin Striker Plus 5cv for a week on my 9 amp-hour Bioenno LiFePO4 before I even have to think about recharging it.

I've had my older non-CHIRP 93sv for years and still find things I can tweak. One thing that helps me is to keep a printed manual handy on my nightstand. I like to read for a while when I get in bed for the night. Reviewing the manuals of complicated devices helps me get the most out of them. I know some folks don't like to read instruction manuals but when you have a device with this kind of capability, you'll never begin to be able to use it to its fullest unless you learn how. Also, if I'm out on the water and things are slow or I'm having my lunch, I'll start navigating through menus and experimenting or just browse. The ECHOmap can do a LOT of cool and useful stuff! Take the time and make the effort to master it and you'll get a good return on your investment!

I know I can run Quickdraw Contours on a multiple screen view while also viewing sonar views, but is there a way to run it in the background while viewing a full-screen sonar? I'm using the feature in the little Striker Plus 5cv on my float tube to map areas I'll be ice fishing in the winter while using the 5cv in it's portable ice fishing case. When I was out in my float tube yesterday, I started Quick Draw Contours from the GPS chart screen, then switched to a full screen conventional sonar view. When I switched back to the chart page later, I found that it had stopped mapping when I had switched to the full sonar screen. It continues mapping when it's showing on a split screen view alongside sonar views, but the screen is small and I'd prefer to use a full-screen sonar view while I'm fishing. Thanks for any ideas, Bob

I'm thinking that' probably not it. I'm in the Adirondacks in northeastern NY. We have very little limestone in our area and that's why our mountain lakes and ponds have been harmed so badly by acid rain in the past. Areas with water running through limestone have lots of calcium to help stabilize the pH. That said, I must report that the highest level of chemistry I studied was in high school, and I passed by the skin of my teeth. ? You might be absolutely correct.

There is no battery in the boat and no power at the dock. The lake is AAA quality clear, clean water with no chemical treatment in that area of the lake (Lake George NY). I've seen the same issue with a boat I used to keep docked in that lake. Thanks for your help, Bob

Thanks. I did some searching... Aluminum oxides have some interesting properties, one of which is that it can act as an acid or a base. I found that aluminum oxides are soluble in weak citric acid (which I have a bunch of). I'll try that for dissolving any remaining residue after some wire brushing.

I take care of a small aluminum boat for a couple of female friends. The boat (14' Duranautic w/15HP Suzuki four-cycle) doesn't get used much. Last season, it sat in the water under a covered boathouse with the engine tilted up part-way so that the sacrificial zinc block on the motor was out of the water, but the prop and bottom of the lower unit were in the water. The prop and skeg ended up with white powdery corrosion of some sort on the edges and bubbling up through the paint in some spots. I'd like to remove it and repaint the aluminum prop. Should I use something acidic or basic to remove the corrosion? Or just the wire wheel on my grinder? Is there a specific paint I should use to repaint the prop? Is a special primer needed? If it was my boat, I'd just wire brush it off and hit it with a rattle can. These two gals are perfectionists/neat freaks, so I want to try and do the best job possible. ? Thanks for any advice. Bob

Nice... I have a PX Type R on a Majorcraft Volkey and it's a ton of fun.

^ +1 This is a common phenomenon. I just watched it happening this week at a local lake. The water is absolutely crystal clear because the ice just recently went out. I was standing on a dock, wearing my Costas and looking into the dead-flat, shallow water with a smooth sand bottom and I watched several of those fast v-wakes zipping by. There wasn't anything under them. I chuckled to myself, thinking about the past when I used to think this just HAD to be caused by a fish or aquatic insect or something.

I bought one of the St.Croix Panfish series rods a couple of years ago and thought it was a great value. I immediately bought a second one. I use them a lot. I also have two of the Kuying Teton rods that I enjoy very much. If you're looking at those rods, also take a look at Ace Hawk's UL rods. I have one of those and it's a very nice rod for a little money.

I guess I should clarify things a bit... I'm happy with my PX Type R and Alphas SV and 6lb. test mono or light braid for finesse bass fishing. I'm looking for a light mono that will perform well in my Chinese reels (Tsurinoya Spirit Fox and Fishband GH100) for "ultralight" use for panfish, etc. that I encounter when I'm bass fishing or that I turn to if bass fishing is slow. When casting BFS reels with really light lures and light line, do you find it advantageous to use mono that tends to be stiff for its diameter, or limp? Is there a specific mono that seems to perform best for this use?

A modern BFS reel with an ultralight spool can certainly be damaged by too much pull, especially when the line is coming of the side edge of the spool. Many of the very light spools are supported only by one disc of aluminum in the center, not by both ends as in a normal spool. Hence, they are susceptible to bending. Having a drag that maxes out at low poundage and using low pound-test line prevents this from happening. Some braids rated at single-digit pound tests actually have much higher breaking strength. I have never (yet) been spooled on a bait caster; even a BFS model with a very shallow spool and very low line capacity. I can see where it could be a possibility with a big fish hooked at the end of a long cast, but as I said, I think it's slim odds. I have been spooled on a fly reel though, and it's a bad feeling when you get to the end. My favorite lake, Lake Champlain on the NY/VT border, is home to some pretty monstrous northerns! They are a lot of fun but on a good weekend of bass fishing, they might cost you some money in lost lures. I usually land them on the heavier bass gear and thicker leaders, but the darn small ones and pickerel that hit the BFS stuff with light line and leaders usually swim off with the lure. It seems like their teeth always cut the line just as you're about to reach for them or net them!

You must have missed the "wink" emoticon... lighten up. Everyone fishes their own way for their own reason. It's about having fun. Why not use cast nets or gill nets to catch your fish? Boil it all the way down... if you're fishing for any other reason than providing food for yourself and your family and you're doing it in any other way than in the most efficient way possible, you're being silly and irresponsible...

If you have to ask, you'll never know...

I was always a little leery of using braid because the typical BFS reel's spool is so weak. I guess the drag would prevent any damage... unless you got spooled by a big fish. And where I fish, that's a possibility. I've hooked some bruiser sheephead (freshwater drum) and big channel catfish while Ned Rig fishing, for example. Another surprise bi-catch are bowfin, a larger one of which could easily spool you if hooked at the end of a cast. The lake I usually fish is also full of big Northern Pike. Slim odds, I know, but I'd rather be safe than sorry...

What is your favorite 4lb. mono for bait finesse use? Are there any that you've tried that were NOT a good choice?

I have, and enjoy, Daiwa's PX Type R and Alphas SV. I also have a trio of the budget Chinese BRS reels: the Tsuinoya XF-50, The Tsurinoya Spirit Fox, and the Fishband GH-100. They're all fun, but the Daiwa reels are obviously much nicer. And very likely much more durable and reliable; but that is yet to be proven. My money is on the Daiwas...

I'm curious because my boating season is generally about six or seven months versus the 12 months I'm using the battery in my car. I guess I'm wondering if the battery should last five or six years of age, or five or six years of use, which would work out to about 10 years at seven months use per year... that would be nice!

I bought my boat new in 2014. The Interstate brand starting (actually labeled as deep cycle/starting) and trolling motor batteries were still working fine last season. They will be six seasons old this year and I'm starting to worry about when they might fail. I keep them charged at all times and keep them on a maintainer in the long off-season here in upstate NY. I don't think I've ever had a car or truck battery last six years. Should I consider replacing them this season, or will they give me some kind of a sign when they're at the end of their life span?

Frozen Lake George, NY Tight lines, Bob

This Spring is really starting to bug me... There is a Winter Weather Advisory for us through the weekend: snow and ice storm. Wonderful. Tight lines, Bob

You can find all those features you need in that price range, for sure. But do you want pot metal, aluminum or large or small drive gears --cast or machined-- for your money? Do you want high-wear parts to be plastic or metal? Do you want effective water sealing? And so on... In the same price range, some reels are better than others and, usually, one is better than all the others, at least for particular applications; a "best buy." If I'm going to spend my money on a reel, I want to get one that offers the best quality for that money. I think Tackle Advisor's tear-down comparison reviews are invaluable for finding out exactly what kind of quality you're getting for your money, not just what features. Tight lines, Bob