stk44

What would be considered an adult size bass in the NE? Like 2-3 lbs?

A couple hours before work once or twice per week for a few weeks should give you a good idea of its potential and it won’t be a pressured. I fish a pond by myself that has some big fish(biggest I caught went almost 6 lbs) but they are few and far between. During the Covid years I was fishing like every morning before work and I had like 12 fish over 4 lbs that year. Last year I don’t think I got a single bass out of that pond over 4 lbs. so frequency matters, too. Good luck figuring it out.

I saw rapala released their DT-50 as well.

I try to give a new pond at least a few hours on multiple occasions if possible to get a sense of how good (or bad) it might be. It’s really hard to figure anything out in 1.5 hours, but it’s always worth a shot. I would recommend taking notes on weather conditions, time of year, what baits worked, location the fish was caught, etc. You oftentimes find patterns and can use these observations as a starting point on your next outing.

I guess that would make it come of the spool easier and come through the guides better. I just never thought it was necessary. Definitely worth trying out.

How does it help when using braid? I have never through to try it.

I always coat each bulk spool of flouro with KVD line conditioner. I feel like that really helps spooling, ESPECIALLY on a spinning reel. When I remember between fishing trips I may spray a spinning reel that’s already spooled up. I generally use invisx line which is pretty limp so I don’t feel the need to condition my line as often on bait casters. If you use something like Berkeley trilene flouro or a stiffer flouro, the line conditioner is definitely useful.

All I can say is WOW, to those fish. I don’t think I’ve ever caught a SM on a bladed jig. I’ve caught a ton of largemouth though on both the original and mini bladed jig. Not sure why that is. I told myself for years that I don’t want to buy jackhammers because after using them I won’t want to go back. Well… I got a few on sale over the holidays and plan on trying them out. Your videos have me wanting to take a sick day tomorrow and get the boat out…

@A-Jay man that’s a great looking bait. Have you ever tried the regular bladed jig mini? I’ve been using them for a long time with good success. While the fit and finish leaves much to be desired, I generally break them off before the rubber skirt holder dry rots. However….the larger hook might allow me to put some beefier trailers on, so now I’m tempted to pick up a few on my next TW order.

I bet Fothergill wins by at least 5 pounds. It would have been close if he wouldn’t have got his limit. Edit: I’m also a big fan when they cut to a new scene and there is no sound. I never know if it’s intentional, my device froze, or audio has failed. They definitely are working their issues out, but I know that can’t be easy to manage all those cameras, audio devices, etc. It’s still awesome that we can watch any of this live.

What is going on between the live feed on Bassmaster.com and on Fox? I’m watching Deon Sanders, Zona and Sanders on FOX have the same interview they had on bass live over an hour ago? It’s kinda annoying having to stay tuned into both.

@casts_by_fly if you don’t mind me asking, what is your setup for your electronics battery? I’m trying to figure out how to have a standalone electronics battery that runs to a fuse box. I’m thinking I will connect the battery to a switch, run the switch to a 30 amp breaker, and run that wire to the fuse panel. Do you have a bus bar set up, and if so do you have a positive and negative bus?

Sorry for the confusion. I was thinking I could replace my on/off switch with the switch you sent me a link for. I see now that wouldn’t make sense. I obviously have a lot more to research, but if I understand correctly, I need: - battery -breaker between battery and switch (do you know what kind and how many amps? 20?) -switch -fuse panel Is my thinking correct here: 1. positive lead (8 ga) would go from the positive battery terminal to the battery side of the switch. with a breaker in between the battery and switch 2.power wire for fuse box (10 ga?) would go back to the switch 3. ground wire for fuse box goes back to negative battery terminal thanks for your help

Thanks. I’ve thought about that and that’s a great idea. Now that I have mega live and only 1 10” screen, I won’t have a need for any side imaging that I share from my console unit. I’ll keep the console in standby and see what I can do about the brightness on the bow. The bow graph is flush mounted and I have a tinted graph glass, which might complicate things. Yes that is the one I’m referring to. Hmm, so if I rig it this way, I would have to constantly switch between batteries, right? Maybe i’d better stick with two switches.does it matter if i rig the switch in the battery compartment at the back of the boat or run it all the way up to a rod locker?

Is it possible to have a standalone electronics battery hooked up to the same on/off kill switch that my starting battery is on? I was thinking if I bought a new switch that has the option for both batteries off/on or 1 off, 1 on would work. From there I would run 8 gauge wire up to the starboard side rod locker which would connect to a fuse panel to power my 2 graphs, 5 port switch, and ML1. Does that sound like that would work?

You are saying 5amps for the other accessories to cover an 8-10 hour period of time, right? When I was guesstimating, I thought 1 ah sounded conservative to run all my other accessories.

Do you happen to know, generally speaking, how many amps the “other accessories” draw? The livewell pump is on a timer and the nav lights aren’t on all the time, etc. just wondering how much more I really need? Also I thought I’ve read elsewhere the mega live 1 was more like 1 amp? Thanks again! Wow. That’s way cheaper than I thought. Thanks! Ah okay, got it. I can probably go for the $239 one then. I’ll probably limp by with my current battery until I either A run into issues or B have some time free up where I can install the battery and wire everything the way I want it. thanks!

Thanks for the info. Im not sure I saw an option for a non heated one, but I likely won’t need it. I live in pa and my unheated garage likely will not go below freezing. I think I will go this route soon, but now I gotta figure how to wire everything lol. I’m thinking a perco switch and want to run a fuse panel to the starboard rod locker to run the graphs and ML1.

With the deep discounts on mega live 1 coupled with mega live 2’s lack of compatibility with my helix fish finders, I decided to pull the trigger on a mega live 1. Currently I have an interstate AGM group 31 dual purpose 100aH battery. I will be running everything other than the trolling motor on this battery( 2 helix 10’s, ML1, bilge/auto bilge, nav lights, livewell pumps, etc). Questions #1 is, will this battery be able to handle the accessories for 8-10 hours? Question #2. I’m looking for a separate house battery. Does anyone have affordable lithium battery recommendations? I was looking at the “LiTime 12V 100Ah Self Heating LiFePO4 Lithium Battery”. It’s less than $300, but does anyone know if this is comparable to any of the big names like Dakota or similar? Is there anything I should look for/ start away from in my search? TIA, steve

Honestly my goal this coming year is power poles, then mega live the next year. So realistically I’ll probably be just fine with my helix units for another couple of years. I guess I could technically go apex for my FFS unit and have some networking functionality with the helix units. The helix units are awesome, but my I think processing is a bit delayed and the buttons are a little cumbersome like you mentioned. No real complaints on my end though. It’s still more than I need.

I have two helix 10’s that I picked out for my boat when I bought it 2 years ago. I’m pretty bummed about this. Now I will eventually need to get an xplor unit and will only be able to use it for FFS, when the time comes to get it.

If I’m not mistaken. The 7’3 xh is there flagship frog rod. I’ve heard great things about it.

I agree with you even though I still do not have a dot on my EDC. Now that they are so small, it seems like a no brainer. I’m hoping to get one soon.

What about 3/16 oz weight with a rage punch bug, tube, or senko? Is that still a little overkill?

Thanks! In your opinion, would a tube or other soft plastic with a 1/8 oz or 3/16 oz sinker fish well with the 7’2” heavy?