Further North

Why do we take a cab, ride a train, get in a car, get on a plane...

Wait...there's a "Tackle Debate"? I'm doing something wrong...I thought it was a "Tackle Accumulation". ?

That's what I was referring to above by a starting pack. I am "off the grid" enough that I really like the idea of redundant systems so that if I have to I can limp through a trip if something goes Tango Uniform on day one.

I had my boat set up the same way...until a short in the charging cable for my TM remote left me with a dead battery about 7 miles from camp...up on a Canadian lake where wed not seen another boat all day. Got back on the trolling motor...but it was a long haul, and a little tense. Installed an extra battery, charger and wiring dedicated to the electronics the week after we got home. It had the unintended consequence of delivering the cleanest SI and DI images I've ever seen on my electronics. Would jumper cables work? Sure, but they'd be a PITA (my TM batteries are below my rod locker and a darned tight fit, that's a lotta stuff to move, disconnect and re-connect once I've got the big motor running. Would a solution like a starting pack work? It sure would, and I've been considering it, but it'd still leave me with a dead system for the day and a problem to diagnose on a dock at a Canadian fishing lodge...When it's 5 hours to "town" and 6 or 8 hours to anyplace that'll have a new battery, I want redundancy.

@Brad Reid Thanks for the post, and the thoughtful detail. I've been on a quest for some kind of water craft for our skinny-water musky rivers in WI and have not settled on anything yet. This is another entry in a list of possibles. I need to be able to go up and down river and return to where I started without another vehicle, I need to be able to carry 9 ft fly rods and musky casting gear, depending what my mood is for the day, and I need something stable and solid enough to be able to stand up and huck 14" fly if that's what the day calls for. Canoes and kayaks are out, I can't and won't spend that much time sitting. I'll check this out a bit and add it to my list. I wish I could try 'em all out...

Interesting discussion. I wandered a ways down the center console route a while back, and I came away from it with a few impressions: Tall center consoles are a complete PITA. It's not a matter of if you're gonna catch them on your back cast, it's when...more impactful in fly fishing than gear, but it's gonna happen... Another indictment of tall center consoles: Like vertical rod holders, the will restrict your back cast at some point. Again. more impactful in fly fishing than gear, but still a factor. Even a low center console puts an angler moving front to back, or fighting a big fish that needs to be walked 'round the boat, out on the gunnels rather than down the center. I like that idea on calm days...not so much in late October with 50° water and a pitching deck. I think this even more as I get older and I'm neither as quick, nor as well balanced as I usta was. The worst possible configuration for me is a a boat with a tall windshield across the boat with a narrow opening to walk through. Had a BAMF musky zig when I zagged a few year back on a friend's boat at just the wrong time and I caught the top corner of the windshield in the ribs. Hurt like crazy for a coupla weeks. People will buy what they are used to rather than what works better...or has the potential to work better...until you prove otherwise to them...and you can't prove it by force feeding them.

Nope.

Good year for you, congrats! It was fun watching you pick out your boat and talk through all that...and to see the "follow up" here caps it off nicely.

That's kinda where I was heading... Our experience is so tainted by preconceived ideas that there's little hope for objectivity. Not that we need it, it's OK to just have fun catching fish.

Getting back on track...and keeping in mind that I believe the smallies fight harder than largemouth... Do we have any objective data to support that? Or is it all subjective? I guess what I'm asking is: Has anyone developed an objective measurement for how a fish fights? I can't find one, but my Google Fu is weak.

Man...since we're both in WI, I'd sure like to know where you fish... A six pounder up here is a heck of a fish...the only places where that's going to get exceeded...and it's going to be rare...is maybe Door County, or Lake Superior near Ashland.

Nope. Not his pike and musky guy anyway. Mine too, they will cut 50# and 80# just as fast. I seldom fish bass water here without a leader, 'cuz odds are good I'm going to get a pike, most days.

Happy to provide experience...I don't know that that I'm 100% right (I can always learn something) but I'd sure debate it... To me, it's not so much the bite offs as the fact that with bigger lures, you're going to snap that line at some point...you get a backlash with 20# mono and a 3 ounce lure, and that lure will still be going up when it clears the lakeside trees. ...and sooner or later, you're gonna tangle with a fish that exceeds that rating by a considerable amount. I don't want to be standing on deck pouting because a four footer broke me off when it hit my lure like a freight train right at the boat when I've only got 18" of line out... I had to think about it a minute...and I don't think I know anyone chasing teeth using straight fluoro or mono anymore. they mostly use 80# braid. I mostly use 50#, but I don't throw big lures often...I do have 80# braid on my one dedicated musky rod...but I don't throw that thing more than a few times a year. It's a complete PITA, not worth the hassle to me.

It won't sink a musky sized topwater. Very good leader material. Take a look at Tiger Leader too. Good stuff. ...and yeah, I'd debate 20# main line unless you like donating lures.

...and get your hands wet first.

Good stuff above. One thing I didn't see is that with a few exceptions with fly fishing we're most often matching the rod to the fly, not to the fish. If you're after trout, a 5 wt. is a perfect place to start. It'll never throw a big bass popper or streamer, but will work for just about any trout fly. That picture you shared...ain't no one gonna be able to lay out a long overhead cast there. That's roll cast water at best, water loads flipped upstream, or maybe (if you can find a long enough open spot) a side arm cast. The problem isn't going to be the length of the rod, it'll be the length of the line you have out. That's short cast water; your leader and tipper are going to be 9 ft. long, the most fly line you'll get past the top will be another 10, maybe 11 feet. Long casts look pretty, but there's not a ton of trout water in the eastern US where you'll be able to use them. I prefer bass over trout on a fly rod, and that's part of the reason. BTW, the best advice I ever got about fly casting: the line follows your rod tip. If your casts are doing something weird, look at what your rod tip is doing. 2nd best advice: keep your line speed up...but let the rod do the work.

The 10,000 casts thing is a wee bit of an exaggeration. I've got 6 this year, all but one caught while chasing pike. My best day ever was six in one day, river fish, North central WI. The folks that are dedicated to musky make those numbers look like nothing.

I wish this year was going like that. Not so much...

Yup, that'll do it. I seldom throw big stuff (it's a PITA) and while I might not catch the biggest esox on any given day, I tend to catch a lot of them. I've got the opinion that if a pike or musky is gonna eat, they'll eat a 7" plastic, a # 5 Mepps or a one ounce spoon just as much as they'll eat a 12", 6 ounce bait that kills my shoulders and back to throw...if I put it in the right place. Seems to work out that way a lot anyway.

You mention windy and river (current). With those variables, I'd go 36 volt trolling motor, every time. I run a Helix 12 SI G2N at the console, a Helix 10 DI G2N at the bow and an Ulterra 112 with Link. I use all the features above at one time or another; by staying with Minn Kota, Lakemaster and Humminbird it all integrates and I spend my time fishing and not screwing around with boat control. You could easily swap the Ulterra for a Terrova or Ultrex depending on your preference. Follow the contour is awesome...there are places where I don't touch the remote for a half hour or more as I work a mid-lake hump, reef or shallow bay...I set the speed with cruise control and I...just...fish... I caught two three foot pike, a three foot musky and a 22" bass doing that two weekends ago in about a half hour. Never touched the foot pedal or remote other than to stop and restart the TM when I caught a fish. Other brands are great too, don't discount them...but at the end of the day, this or that gee whiz feature doesn't catch any more fish than any other brand's. Pick what you like and what makes the most sense to you...there ain't no "best", but there is a best for you.

...or...if you just like Humminbird...and because they are great units, just like Lowrance & Garmin... ?

MLXF here, for those kinds of presentations. You'll want the sensitivity and the hookset.

Dude...I hope the reason was that you weren't' fishing for them...? If you were fishing for them...and went 16 years...I greatly admire your dedication... Seriously, I catch most of mine as a by-catch chasing pike. I'll take similarly sized pike over musky all day, every day, any day. Until a couple weeks ago, you had me beat by one this year...then I tripped over 3 in rapid succession...but it's been weird...all three footers...along with pike the same size. I dunno what's up. I've never quite figured out why that happens...some of it is that bigger pike go dormant when water temps get too warm...it's like smaller pike and larger pike are two different species.

Is this the same video? Thanks Mick. I keep a few of those in the boat already, will try it out tomorrow.

No kidding. I've often mentioned that I hate tying the Palomar. I understand that it's a great knot, and I understand that most people have no problem with it...but I do. Dunno why. I use it anyway, but I hate tying it... Any chance you can take a photo and post it? Sounds like a great idea. ...another trick is to tie a quick loop in the tag end of the braid, loop it around the reel handle, snug it up and then you can tie the knot with the rod in your lap, or where ever it works best for you. Don't get it too tight though, that creates its own problems.