MickD

Mostly 5 star reviews on Amazon. Nothing below 4. A little pricey, but it appears, according to the reviewers, to work very well. I think I'll just keep using my "no-tool" method since I'm getting pretty good with it.

I'm betting your tiptop is cracked. Be sure to do what Ktinman86 suggests with the Qtip before making other changes. If it is cracked and you don't replace it nothing else will solve the problem.

20 for inshore, but I suggest 15 for fresh water. Longer casts, strong enough for almost anything fresh.

It looks like an icon for the boat trolling motor battery or depth finder source battery condition. The remote battery condition icon is to the left of it. Not sure, but one thing that might be going on is the setting for low battery on the depth finder may be feeding this icon. If you have that setting quite high the motor and/or depth finder will work fine, and the depth finder might report to the remote that the setting has been crossed. The depth finders may be on your starting battery, so it may be reporting on that battery, which is more important than the trolling motor battery. The depth finder units draw about 3 amps each. Maybe someone who really knows will post.

If using lighter mono and lighter power, hook sets could be more of a problem, especially with bigger hooks. I gave up on a ML Mod rod for small swimbaits on bullet jigs because I was missing too many. I would have them on for quite a while, then lose them. I think with some lures the fish bite them and hold on, and to get a hook set you have to drag it out to where the hook can set in the jaw, and I think in my case I wasn't able to reliably do that until I went to a M power F action. In both cases I was using braid with short FC leader, so line was not an issue. By the way, I had caught a lot of smallies on that original setup until one day when I went about 1 for 5 fish hooked. Did the fish go from "inhaling" to just biting? I don't know. My son in prep for an informal tourney fished largemouths without hooks in the lures and said he was surprised how long he had some fish on with no hook being used. It's not unusual in Lake St Clair to have muskies take smallies, nowhere near the hooks, and hang onto the fish until you force them pretty close to the surface.

Would not damage/bending that is severe enough to damage other parts be detectable by vibration/feel?

Have you changed any equipment, like rod, hooks, or line? If yes, think about whether the changes could have affected hook sets. Like stretchier line or less powerful rod, slower rod? Duller or larger hooks which don't penetrate as well?

A heavy duty cable strap through the holes in the handles will work well, in a pinch. If the handles have holes, like they always used to. But the best solution is a lock that keeps the handles from turning, by themselves or a thief. Man, what a bummer, I really feel for you.

You don't put it over the guides. If the rear grip is cork, try to find a piece that matches pretty well, form the piece into the shape you want, carefully bore and ream it to be just slightly oversize to the blank, then carefully split it. You want as clean a cut as possible, so you may want to practice a little first. Then epoxy it back together on the rod, making sure you close the seam as well as possible. Locate the seam at 270/90 degrees to minimize seeing it. Then sand both the fore and rear grips to the same appearance. The seam will be minimal if you did a skillfull job. Apply a sealer to keep the refreshed cork and the new cork looking good, U40 won't change the color, TruOil will make it darker and bring out the grain some. Not a piece of cake, but if it's important to get a fore-grip, it can be done without re-wrapping the whole rod.

I love the Siebert jigs in general, beautifully done, so many patterns it's like filling you fly box. But I have had trouble with the Owner hook, which has the squareish bend. I've had trouble with hook sets and found one fish where the hook barely got into the roof of the mouth. It appears from this experience that that square shoulder at times touches the roof of the mouth before the point of the hook, and just slides across the roof of the mouth. With that particular jig I bent the hook into a round shape and had no more failures to set. Interesting that some love it and I've had trouble.

Two of the best jobs I've ever had, paper route and working in a small sporting goods store. Got the discount, didn't take a lot of money home. Two of the best jobs I've ever had, paper route and working in a small sporting goods store. Got the discount, didn't take a lot of money home. Brings back the memory of my boss floating a local river and cleaning up on rock bass and smallies, with photos of LOTS of fish. Used an F7 Helin flatfish, silver chrome finish. After that we sold hundreds of them over the next few weeks. Neat post, thanks for starting it.

Humminbird recommends a Y cable and a second transducer when users have trouble getting the mega transducer to properly display depth at speeds over about 5 mph. Supposedly the unit uses the mega transducer signal at low speeds and the other transducer signal when the speeds are higher. I don't know how that happens, and don't even know that it does, but Humm says so. The mega can be properly placed, depth and angle, to read properly at all speeds, but it is not easy to accomplish. I'm talking attached transducers, not through the hull. More detail can be found on Humm customer service, search for depth at speed or some term using speed.

My Helix 9 has a significantly larger ball than 1.5 inches, I believe. I haven't measured it, but it is very substantial. My Helix 7 is much lighter and I think it has one of the Rams you are showing. A dealer should be able to clarify. But it is clear to me that the bigger units need really substantial Rams.

I have a mega Helix 9 at the helm and a Helix 7 at the front. The 7 is not a mega. It reads the mega transducer, but not at the high resolution that the 9 mega does. They are connected with an ethernet cable. I don't think it is a "Y" cable. The communication is done through the ethernet cable.

I'm no expert, but I think that the answer is that if you have the right ethernet wiring connecting the units you can share the transducer and then select the view separately for each unit. Just a guess, but you rob banks for a living, right? Anyone know where Wayne went? I hope he just moved and didn't have other problems. I learned more from him than from Humminbird.

http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=youtube+fg+knot&s_it=video-ans&sfVid=true&videoId=EF1BE4736FF133DF98ECEF1BE4736FF133DF98EC&v_t=client97_searchbox

With line this heavy FG is far superior to any other knot. It was first developed for saltwater and heavy lines, is easier to tie with heavier lines, is the smallest and arguably the strongest knot. The double uni, if you ever can get it to tighten up, will be huge, with five layers of FC. With this heavy FC the FC will stand up nicely allowing easy weaving with the braid without using the method that requires the braid to be tensioned. I have no doubt the Rizutto finish, done right, will make a great knot, but the chances of my getting it done right are pretty slim. There is a video that shows how to do the weaves without tensioning the braid, and I'll find it and post here. One thing one should do after tying his first FG is to tear it apart. If done right the FC will be mechanically deformed which shows how the braid is captured in grooves in the FC. If the FC is not deformed, the knot is not being tightened adequately.

To offer a little more info on the cork situation these days, there is no true accepted scale of quality for cork. When you see "fluer," or is it "fleur." grade, it can vary a lot and you have no way of knowing whether source A's fleur is even close to source B's fleur grade. Here are two pics of what is called by its source, "super" grade cork. It costs about $25. Look at the first photo and it looks pretty good, but many filled spots are visible. The second photo is the same cork with the photo cropped to allow a closer look. Easy to see the filled spots. Based on my experience with this source and this grip, the filler will not come out and with the coat of U40 I put on it, it will look good for a long time. And be cleanable to refresh it to almost new looking.

I agree with the pro-Lund comments. I just bought a Lund 1650 Rebel XS SS this year, and it's a great boat. Lunds are very popular on the Great Lakes, recently when pulling out I noticed that 5 out of the seven boats visible were Lunds. Mine is very well designed, tons of storage under cover, very high structural feel, tracks well at slower speeds, just above a fast troll, which is something that most welded hulls don't do.

With good quality cork you will not, in my opinion, have chunks coming out in a few years. But, in this case, maybe you will because that cork is certainly suspect. It could be that not many rod buyers have recently seen good quality cork. No doubt it is getting hard to get. Some cork grips, but not this one I believe, are already filled when you get them. Look closely and you can see it. And the filling is solid and does not come out. As I mentioned, the use of cork sealer will keep the cork looking good, cleanable, for a long time, too. If you do fill it with the Elmer's (I didn't notice I was recommending the same product as DVT-better to just buy locally and avoid shipping costs) (fill the whole area of the cork surface while you're at it) and properly sand it, it will look much better than it does now. If you seal with U-40 the color will not change. You can use gunstock oil, like TruOil, for a different, darker, look. If you choose to do that, try it on another cheaper rod to make sure you like it. It will change the feel a little, too. I believe that the problems with cork quality are causing manufacturers to increasingly offer new materials like the Winn Grips and carbon fiber. Custom builders also have the option of using exotic burl cork which is pit-free, totally solid, lasts much better than regular cork, but is heavier. Grips/handles/reel seat structure are the areas where custom rods usually excel relative to even the best factory rods.

http://www.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog/Rod-Building-Supplies/Rod-Builders-Cork-Filler I would contact Loomis directly, show them the photo. For the price you paid it is not expected that the buyer should have to fill the cork. But if you do fix it yourself, be very particular with the sanding,, using a block so you'll sand it evenly and not sand unintended contour into it. Finish the sanding with whatever grit paper will give you the same finish as the new cork. Then, use U-40 cork sealer to keep it looking good. http://www.mudhole.com/U-40-Cork-Seal-2-oz- Having looked at that photo a second time, I conclude that one doesn't get very good quality cork on a $450 Loomis rod these days.

I have not noticed inaccurate depth readings as the batteries get low, but I have noticed the depth finder simply turns itself off. "cuts out." I expect that about anything can happen with different brands reacting differently to low voltage.

I caught about a 2 1/2 pound smallie on my first cast with the Ned. And it has made many days somewhat successful when nothing else seemed to work. I don't agree with the position that the Ned is a small fish bait. I think it catches all bass, not just small bass. There are more small bass than large bass, so we catch more small bass than large bass. I seem to be noticing a fall-off in effectiveness. Seems like the fish are figuring it out. Anyone else noticing this?

Different strokes for different folks. I never considered changing plugs on the water. But I keep a spare set, one year old plugs, in the boat just in case. In 18 years I never had a single malfunction with the 50 HP Suzuki, changed the water pump impeller twice, and the usual winterization and that was it. They are great engines. My Suzuki was quieter than the current engine associated with Lund. Had a more pleasant tone to its sound, too.

I had a Suzuki 4 stroke for 18 years, ran like new from beginning to when I sold it to upgrade boat, changed plugs every year. They may have lasted longer, but for less than $15 a year, I wanted no possible problems. I believe that Suzuki recommended annual replacement. The engine started as quickly and cleanly in the spring as it did in the fall, even with the fogging oil in it. Too bad Lund doesn't have a contract with Suzuki.