MickD

You guys really think it has 4 wheels instead of 2 for a reason? I think so too.

I am interested in why you do not recommend it. What is the risk?

I had the trolling motor and electronics on the same battery for 18 years on my old boat, but it was just a single 12v battery. Worked fine. But now with a 24 v two battery array I wasn't sure whether I was missing a potential problem. I'm not sure I want to screw with the wiring. I'll put the appropriate low voltage warning into the depth finder and carry a jumper cable with me in case I screw up, for at least the short term.

Anyone know if there are any problems supplying the depth finders off one of the 12 volt batteries in a 24 v trolling motor array. Better to have it go dead than the starting battery.

Best smallmouth surface lure I ever saw was a chug bug my son had that was sort of irregularly spotted white (or bone) and black. If you took a bone one and made splotches of black on it, you'd be close. The lure of his invariably beat everything else. but second place is bone.

Make sure the screw is tight on this one. If it loosens, tighten it. Use Loctite.

I agree with those who think it really doesn't matter. The skirts and trailers get all the attention, and the lead sort of disappears. But, if you want to paint them, Testors model paint comes in tons of colors, is easy to use (buy a bottle of thinner for cleanup when you buy your paint). If you want to toughen them up, Sally Henson clear hard coat works well, dries almost instantly.

I have never heard that this size relationship affects twist. It is a reasonable guideline for rod design, but didn't know it affected twist. You are a fan of Microwaves-the first Microwave guide is certainly not half the diameter of the spool. How do you reconcile this? Not trying to be hostile or anything, just discussing, trying to learn.

I agree that your finesse rod, where sensitivity is of most importance, would be where to put the money, like the Avid. Rods for cranking are not critical for sensitivity. I also agree that ML is not a good power to buy if you are limited in the number of rods. Its value is too limited. But I would not recommend a MH power unless you are going to cast lures in the range that the MH recommends. You want the rod to load properly. Longer rods generally will give you longer casts. You asked about backing. A few things to know about braid. It is very slippery, so if you try to tie it directly to the spool, it tends to slip, causing the whole spool of line to rotate relative to the spool. So many use backing of mono, also with a piece of tape , to fasten the line to the spool securely, then tie the braid on with double uni knots (easy/reliable knot). Keep the knot well buried so it doesn't catch the line when casting. braid lasts a long time, often years. when it gets looking sort of worn, cut a few feet off, then reverse it on the spool and you're good to go again. Two Avids would be great. There is no chart. Keep in mind that power ratings are sort of subjective. As stated by someone a St. Croix medium power will be a little more powerful than most others. I would give priority to the lure weight recommendations. Pflueger reels are highly regarded by many on this forum, and they are smooth, have good drags. I have one and the only thing I dislike about it is that it appears that the spool lip is located farther forward relative to the stem than Daiwas and Shimanos. This is personal preference, but you might want to evaluate this in person, reels in hand. You can easily get by with only two rods. Get started that way, then let your experience guide you as to whether you need more.

Rods are rated by two different characteristics, power and action. Power refers to how much force it takes to deflect it. Heavy takes more than medium heavy takes more than medium takes more than medium light etc. A measure of this is the recommended lure weight and the recommended line pound test. The most important thing is to get a power that is about in the middle of the lure range you plan to use. That way the rod will load properly on the cast and will cast more easily. Action refers to where in the rod the initial deflection takes place. The descriptive terms are fast, medium, and slow, with extra thrown in to describe the ends of the action spectrum. If the initial deflection is limited to the tip and doesn't go far down the blank, that is an extra fast or fast action. A medium fast goes farther down the blank. A medium goes even farther. A slow will show deflection going way down the blank. Traditional fly rods are an extreme of the descriptor "slow action." Jigging, finesse fishing of plastics, spinnerbaits are fished best with fast or extra fast action, with the power dependent on the weight of the lures to get good loading. Treble hook baits, cranks, surface, etc, are fished best on a medium action or medium fast. These actions may be a little easier to cast. But more important than action is the matching of the power to your lure weights. If I were going to cast a large range of lures I would get two different powers in either fast or medium fast, or one of each depending on my lure plans. Since you are fishing from shore with a long line, it would be better to go with faster actions rather than slower in order to get a better hook set. Since you are sort of new, don't bother trying to get a baitcaster to work. I love to use them, but I've been doing since I was a kid, and they are not difficult for me. But to start with BC is not something I would recommend if you want to fish instead of get frustrated. Since you are shore fishing go with straight braid (for distance) at first, mottle the last few feet of line with a sharpie to camoflage it, and stick with about 15 pound test of a name brand braid. You will have to learn a couple good knots for braid, as it is slicker than mono and the right knots are critical . No way around it. Don't go above 15 pound test as it will cost you distance. Stay away from flourocarbon line, too many troublesome variables. Many can make it work, many more cannot. FC leaders are ok because they don't get onto the reel. Double uni knots are easy and reliable for tying FC leaders to braid. With spinning the rod is more important than the reel, IMO. Your first priority should be to get the rod power you want, then the action, then the reel. Don't be afraid of BPS and Cabelas or other companies' combo deals. They are a good way to save $$. I would stick to name brand reels like Shimano, Daiwa, and Abu garcia. There are others as well. Some reel servicers do not service off brand reels. There are many opinions on this, and there is merit in many of them. This opinion of mine is my attempt to take into consideration first and foremost your description of your background and what you are trying to accomplish.

How do you carry them to the water? This really sounds to me like the reels are getting dust/sand/grit in them. And when that happens, it will take a lot more than an amateur cleaning to solve it. Believe it or not, some carry in the back of a pickup, and how they stay in decent shape, if they do, is a mystery to me. If you are not careful about keeping them clean in transit and storage, then that is most likely your problem. This goes way beyond any chemicals in the garage, IMO. Some reels have a characteristic "whine" when casting, but it sounds precise, not irregular/grindy, and there is nothing that can or should be done.

What is at work here is getting the rod to load properly. If you over-line a rod it will load properly on fairly short casts, which is where a lot of fishing is done, and the casting is easy. If you are able to get a lot of line out, the rod may not have enough power to handle it as well as it could the proper line. You will put a lot into the forward (and back cast) cast and the rod will bend but will not throw the line properly. When you under-line a rod it won't load properly until you get more than a normal amount of line in the air. That is pretty difficult for those of us who are not expert fly casters to handle. With a short or normal amount of line in the air, the rod doesn't load well, and you are not able to use the energy of the rod. The rod will feel too stiff and the timing of the cast must be perfect. I'm no expert either, and when I was having trouble with my 8 wt I got a recommendation to use what in effect is a 9 wt line. It worked very well in making my shorter casts easy, and it happens that my rod has the power to get some pretty long casts when I need them. I am not able to make the long casts that experts do even with the 8 wt regular lines. bottom line, get the right line, or even one wt. heavier than recommended. Many fly shops will allow you to try lines before purchasing, an advantage on in-person shopping over on-line.

You will get much longer casts with 10-15 pound braid. Many use 20, but I do think there will be a distance loss with 20 vs. 10 or 15. I use a lot of Power Pro, but also like Suffix Performance Braid when I can get it. A little stiffness is not bad, tends to prevent wind knots and tiptop tangles to some degree. Even the stiffest braid will be much more supple than mono.

Brand of oil is not an issue. Use any decent quality oil, 3 in 1, sewing machine oil, gun oil, reel butter. I do not recommend the red stuff-dries out and stains everything it touches.

It sounds to me like the line is severely twisted. When it is you can usually see the uneven reflection of light coming off the line, but the best test would be to take the lure and snap off and trail the line, all of it, off the stern for a few minutes, then lightly tension it as you reel it in. It is also worth your while to test all your guide rings, including tiptop, for cracks. Use dry Q-tips and gently twist them inside the guides from both directions. If a guide ring is cracked the crack will catch the Q-tip fuzz. If cracked it must be replaced. This is not usual performance, so there IS SOMETHING WRONG. You just have not found it yet.

I think I read in the manual of a former unit of mine, an Eagle, that it's best to store indoors where the winters get cold. Seems to make sense for something called "liquid crystal." I've always left transducers on the boat in cold winter storage, no issues.

Software update to 1.4 solved the defective view problems with my unit. I think everything is working as designed finally, and I'm now able to concentrate on learning to interpret it better and use its features more effectively and efficiently.

First, I think 50 pound test braid on a spinning reel is much too heavy. At least it is for good casting distance, and maybe for this issue too. I recommend no more than 20. The loops will not form if the line is wound onto the reel under at least a little tension. If it is being wound onto the reel while the rod is being dropped, thus creating a "no tension" condition, that will add to the problem. Especially if the line has a twist in it. Also, all braid is not the same. This looks to me like the braid is too limp, not stiff enough. You didn't mention the brand, but I really like Suffix braids, also Power Pro in second place. If using an off brand, try the name brands, especially Suffix performance braid. There is also a braid from American Tackle that is excellent, though hard to find. E-mail me if you would like more info.

I'm going to venture into Forum Heresy here, but IMHO: 1. Balance is highly overrated. I would never add weight to an outfit to achieve balance. 2. When a lure is added to an outfit, it usually overpowers the "balance." 3. With the trend to longer rods balance is increasingly difficult to achieve, regardless of your definition. 4. If balance is important then plan on paying very high prices for the lightest rod tips/guides and the lightest high modulus rods, very expensive very light reels, or very short rods, or rods with such long butts that they hang up on your clothing. I find it amusing to read about how well a rod "balances" without mention of what reel is being used.

I don't know what "remotely close" means. But I think it means you would like to get something close to the performance of the Loomis rods (Loomis does not sell blanks any more). I think you're probably talking in range of $200 for components and $200 labor. Decide on how much priority to give "bling" and how much for function, because you can spend significantly on "bling" with fancy seats, seat thread covers, winding checks, fancy butt wraps, etc. For me function is more important so I would opt for "good" but not necessarily top of the line guides, a top of the line tiptop, and decent $10-15 seat, cork grips (I think EVA and other softer stuff may compromise sensitivity too much, and cork, properly maintained, can last forever) and put the rest into the best blank I could find. This strategy would lead to about $140 for the blank. Go over all this with your builder and get his/her opinion on how to best fit your priorities. For $140 you can get some great blanks. A Rainshadow Immortal will run less than that. A Rainshadow Eternity II will run about $190 for the blank. Point Blanks blanks are about the same price, and wonderful blanks. Think long term, you can find an extra $50, right? Rod should last a lifetime if treated right. Bushido blanks by American Tackle will run less than $100, and are very fine blanks. These would be ideal if you find my labor estimates way off or you want to prioritize the bling more. Think of the Immortals, also, if that is the case. If I were dreaming of a Loomis, I would wait until I could get the $$ for the Eternity or Point Blank or other top of the line blank.

I have owned three aluminum boats, all about 17 feet. My son has a Crestliner, about 18 feet. Of the 4 boats 2 were welded hulls and 2 were riveted, the last one my current Lund. Both welded hulls wander at just above a trolling speed, demanding constant correction at the natural speed for leaving a launch in the no-wake zone. Both riveted hulls do not; they track straight. It is because the welded hulls I have experience with do not have keels. I talked to an engineer from Monark, my second boat, and he said that keels are only used if they feel they are needed, and on my boat, they didn't think it was needed. But its wander was such that I never got used to it. My new boat is a Lund 1650 and it does not wander. The storage execution on my current Lund is far superior to the other boats I had, the structural feel is excellent, its handling is excellent. It has two things I wish were better. Shift-throttle cable effort is a little high. Dealer says it will get better with use. Second, the routing of the cables with a big high loop seems out of line, intruding into the back casting "platform" area. I haven't talked to Lund but the dealer says it's correct. But this is the same dealer who told me I didn't need to know how deep the water is above trolling speed. Too bad one cannot get a Suzuki 4 stroke on a Lund. My old Suzuki was a much nicer, quieter, engine than the Merc that comes with Lund and Crestliner. Considering all I am glad I bought the Lund. Interestingly, Lund and Crestliner are built in the same factory, one on the welding line and one on the riveting line.

I have an old Maxxum which works except that the housing cable anchor (steering) is broken. I don't think that is serviceable since it's simply molded into the housing. However, if anyone needs it for other parts, it's free. Central Michigan

If the prop spins freely when spun by hand, it is not a mechanical "stuck" problem. I agree it's most likely the motor, and most likely the brushes. Which may be serviceable, not sure. I think they have brushes.

If you are breaking rods in the price range you mentioned you will break rods that are more expensive. The more expensive, lighter, more sensitive rods/blanks are more fragile than the cheaper ones, generally. The only way to get this rod custom built for under $200 is if labor is free. Since you have fished a Kistler that you like, just buy one. http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf There are many good flippin/pitching blanks, some telescope if you're interested. Go to Mudhole.com or GetBitOutdoors.com or Utmostenterprises.com, or any other supplier of blanks. Call and talk to them;they are all very helpful on a personal basis in helping to meet builders' needs. They can help with guide selection, too. Good to avoid micros for this kind of a rod; no reason for them. I would use a good two footed casting guide (no need to be bigger than 6mm) for the first two or three, then single foot fly guides for the rest of the way, 6 mm. Since "light" is a priority you might consider Alps titanium for the double foot guides and Fuji SIC titaniums for the running guides. But really, there are tons of options in guides that will work fine.

That's the plan. This looks like a software issue to me. thanks for your help. 1.4 is current software for both 7 and 9 . Just checked. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.