MickD

I have the same boat, 2017, great boat exc for the exposed cleats which I find way too many times with hands and clothing. I cobbled some covers for mine, but recessed cleats would be very much appreciated.

I know, but I've had so many failures when I thought I was tying it correctly that I gave up on it. Maybe I'll try again this year. thanks,

Try cutting it off to the length you want. While smallies do hit big baits at times, they also shun big baits at times, and I think the smaller 3.5 and 4 inch swimbaits are more reliable at getting fish to bite. IMO

I know this, but I think at times my knot gets so messy the right way through is not obvious. I've pretty well mastered the FG , so have not spent much time trying to figure out my Albertto problems.

But some knots are easier to reliably tie than others. And the FG is easy to screw up. But I understand what it takes to do a good FG. The double uni is not easy to screw up. It is easy to tie. Its problem is that it can get too big for easy , clean , passage through small guides. The Alberto, for me, is in never never land where I don't understand why it doesn't work reliably. But it doesn't.

I think the trick with the FG is to keep it very tight as you are doing the weaves, then it will draw tight without even adding any half hitches. I'm not saying to eliminate the half hitches , only that if the weaves are kept tight then the knot will draw tight every time, deforming the leader and creating the deformation of the leader that is necessary for the knot to work. Then the half hitches will keep it from loosening and failing. And the best way to ensure that is to NOT to try to tie it with the braid between your teeth. How do you mushroom the leader? It sounds like a way to put something right at the end of the leader that will prevent the knot from slipping. If you keep it tight as you are tying it , it will draw tight along its whole length and not have to depend on an "interference" right at the end of the leader.

I've experienced the same thing with the Alberto and thought it was because I was not going back through the loop the right way. But it always happened during aggressive snapping a 4 in swimbait off the bottom. So that may be it, instead. I gave up on it and use the double uni where line sizes and guides allow it and FG for heavier lines or smaller guides. The FG is a great knot, but it too can fail if you don't do it right. My problem with the Alberto was that it unravelled.

That color works very well on Sag Bay and St Clair. But there is one in the coffee tube line that's even better. From my experience.

Best color tube? If you had to pick one.

Will last a lot longer than a couple years if you used the wrap epoxy on them, which it looks like you did. You might want a second coat on the ones like the upper that show the texture of the threads. Not for longevity, just appearance. If appearance is not an issue, go fishing; they will not fail because the texture is showing. Nice job, A-Jay. I think there is one you need to impress, and keep impressing. IMHO

Me too. But it is so rewarding when the project is over and I see that beautiful rod completely done and ready for action.

usually

The weight shown is the weight of the product, not the package + product, not a big difference, but to be precise. . . I find myself with a lot of time to nit-pick. ?

Best way to check a scale, IMO, is to buy a gallon of water, take it to the meat dept and ask them to weight it for you, then test your scale against it. Will be a about 8-9 pounds, it's well into the scale range, about even with all the bass you catch. :-) I use a Rapala which tested about a tenth of a pound off, forgot which way, close enough.

I had a finder problem, and in the process broke my flimsy Lakemaster micro SD card (why Humminbird would use only micro slots in their newer finders is beyond my comprehension), so wanted to get opinions on whether to replace. I didn't think the Lakemaster was much better than the base map. There is a hump in Lake St Clair that was the only thing that it had that the base map didn't have, IMHO. I'm thinking I will not replace it with anything and rely on Auto Chart + the base map. thanks to all for your comments.

Is there a better mapping card to get than the Humminbird Lakemaster for a Helix?

I have never found it necessary to trim a blank, and would never trim a tip, because with the thousands of blanks available, I've never had to risk trimming. Just doesn't seem prudent to start cutting a $100+ blank that a company has spend many hours of highly talented people's time to perfect. I know it has worked to your satisfaction, but wouldn't like to give newbies the idea that the process is without risk.

I've settled on some 2.75's, too. Sweet spot , I think.

Somewhat true, although I have experienced having to go down from a 3 inch tube to 2 1/2 to catch them. Just didn't want the bigger tube.

Why would I abandon the rig that caught my PB smallie in 2019? Not I.

the only guides I have ever had that grooved were cheap ceramic tiptops. So I use premium Fuji SIC tiptops on all my builds and replacements now. No grooving so far, and it's been quite a while since I switched.

There used to be lakes in MI, probably still are, where it's illegal to use scent. I believe it works, but most of the time forget to try it. I plan to do a little "rigorous" research on it this year.

For some reason, the pin was still out or the cylinder would not have gone off. Is the pin accessible to feel or see what its position is? I found on one model that the shear pins were so weak I couldn't get them to work, finally used the rubber tapered pins that are used to pin bullet weights in place. Has worked for years, still will shear as they should (test the system before trusting it blindly).

Sometimes the fish is just too quick/fast to respond by back-reeling. But I use the switch often to get my lure to the keeper without using the drag, which if used creates too much tension to do the job easily. I do both back reeling and drag fishing, depending on many factors. I challenge someone who thinks he can back-reel for all situations to try it on bonefish, barracuda, and most other salt water fish.

It doesn't matter with a baitcaster being filled from a rotating spool whether it comes off the top or bottom. just not the edge of a stationary spool.