fishnkamp

I have had some dual braking reels in the past, a couple of Curados and a Chronarch. Once I started using some Daiwas I got rid of all of the Shimano's and I am getting rid of my Bass Pros. I much prefer the Daiwa breaking system, which is very similar to your Lews. You may just need to send it back or sell it and get another Lews.

Big Bait Fishing What my eyes failed to catch was a misprint. I was offering to meet him half way between his home and mine. I wanted to let him cast my Powell Powell 683CEF and a couple other rods that might help him. Also we have been discussing some different reels. I have switched to mostly Daiwas tatulas in all of their flavors. He owns a Cabelas Arachnid which is a Tatula/Fuega morph that Daiwa makes specifically for Cabelas .I wanted to let him try out my new Tatula CT. I guess play missing the "L" is sorta confusing!

The Tatula CT has a few less bearing ( four bushings instead of bearings in the reel handle knobs.) which amounts to nothing. The CT is available in a left handed 6.3 and 7.3 to 1 for $129 retail. I know of only one place offering them for $100 shipped to your door. My 2nd CT arrived yesterday, it is a 6.3-1 lefty. That makes 7 Daiwas in the arsenal.

Cool. What is yopur opinion on the Cabelas Arachnid reel you have

Would you be interested in meeting me in Reading PA for a chance to pay with some gear?

How far are you from Reading PA? It looks like about 1 1.2 to 2 hours? Is that to far away to meet up and cast a few rods and reels?

Daiwa is my go to. There are two series of reels for you to take a serious look at. First Daiwa has a feel called the Exceler/ It retails for $99. It is available online for $70. I fish one and I have a friend that fishes at least 4 days a week. He is "TOUGH" on equipment and he fishes a bunch of them and they seem to hold up fine against bass, stripers and big snakeheads. Even better pick up a Daiwa Tatula CT. They are terrific. You will find Daiwa Tatula, and Tatula Type Rs as well as Tatula CT and CT type Rs. The difference between a standard tatula and Tatula Type Rs is the R replaces one regular bearing with an extra corrosion resistant (2 instead of 1) and some cosmetics. Save the almost $50. The sane goes for the two versions of the CTs. Again save your dollars. I own some of each, fish them hard and love the smoothness, the T wing line winder, and the silky smooth drag. The Tatula CT is the newest piece in the lineup/ It has a bit narrower body and sits a bit lower so it palms a bit better. If you want to get a Tatula CT give me an e-mail at fishnkamp@comcast.net and I will send you a source where you can get one shipped to your door for $100. They retail for $130. If you live anywhere near MD I would be happy to meet you and let you cast one of mine.

Well I have owned a Polar Kraft 15 .5 foot stick steer boat and it was great. I had a merc 25 on mine. That boat was all I wanted in a stick steer. They handle different than any other boat I owned. By the way that was just one of 11 bass boats, canoes, and jon boats my wife and I gave owned, everything from electric to a 200 hp rocket ship. Take a good look at an Alumacraft Crappie Deluxe, or a G2 Eagle 160 PFX. There are others out there but both of these make nice boats.Also check out a Lowe Stryker SS

Check out my e-mail I sent you. That is a beefy rod If you were punching heavy vegetation it might be good but for ordinary jigs around docks and more open targets it is overkill.

Driving the boat down into the waves should allow your boats V to cut the waves thus stabilizing it rather than wildly hopping over it. Running more level will be safer at slower speeds ( the bow won't be riding high so you will not need to add throttle to bring it down. That should be an advantage. As for digging in on a sand bar, if I understood correctly from the video, it is mounted basically even with the bottom of the hull and then adjusted so that the rear edge is angled slightly downward. We are talking maybe 1/2 an inch. Your lower unit will be way below that. I expect your outboard requires at least 8 inches below the hull to run and still circulate water.

I was thinking of the more expensive adjustable trim tabs but now that I look at them I really like the idea of using the smart tabs in your circumstances. I watched this video and I think they would help you the most. I also like them because you drill and mount them to the hull instead of drilling and mounting them on your lower unit. Check out this video

I am totally impressed. You and dad are going to have some fun next spring! Wow.

Which rod model is it? Is it one of the ones that you can add weight to the butt to adjust for balance. I assume it has their humpy style rear grips. You could find a custom rod builder. He can remove and replace the entire grip and reel seat and install whatever you want so it is exactly the way you want it. I just did this to a couple of G Loomis rods. I broke one and the replacement had a plastic reel seat, hood and locking rinds. The reel kept loosening up. It is sad the garbage G Loomis is using since Shimano bought into them. Anyway we chose a nice American Tackle comfort grip, and went with a set of Winn split grips. The rod is lighter, and much more comfortable. I liked it so much I had my other rod done the same way. It cost me around $40 per rod. Sadly I had to do it to a brand newIMX rod that retails around $250.

The hydrofoil is less expensive, but is in use all of the time, good or bad. It offers no adjustability. i think your tabs are more effective, can be raised to have no impact and give you the ability to adjust for changes in boat weight, ie another person, more or less fuel, different amount of gear etc. The obvious downside is they cost more. If I lived down in an area where there were a bunch of boats like yours in use, I think I would look around some marinas and see if I could find someone who has your boat and has the tabs installed. I have never met a boat owner who would turn down an offer of a good seafood dinner or juicy steak in exchange for a 15 minute boat test drive. See how it performs before you make any decisions. A local dealer may have a boat to demo also. Most will be happy to help if they truly believe you would pay them to install a pair on your boat assuming you liked them. The problem for me is I only have experience with bass boats, so I have no real world knowledge of how well they work.

She is gorgeous

By the time the alarm lets you know there is a problem the engine has already suffered damage. I know a Sting Ray Jr hydrofoil would eliminate your porpoising. I have run either a jr or a standard sized Sting Ray on several of my bass boats. I currently run one on my 17.4 foot bass boat with a 75 Merc. It costs me a touch of speed but also allows me to gain a bit since I can take advantage of wot and a bit more trim. Overall I like it because I can trim down a bit and run smoother in rough tidal water without porpoising or wave hopping. It is much more comfortable, i sorta like my kidneys to stay intact.

Do me a favor. Send an email to me at fishnkamp@comcast.net. Include your home address.I will slip a can of that stuff in a box and send it out to you. Maryland is the home of theMcCormick Spice Co and they churn out tons of that stuff and we blue crab eaters devour it.

Consider this economically. I use Daiwa Tatulas, they are my favorite reels. A Tatula 100 series reel will hold 150 yards of 12 pound test. That is one and a half times a football field. It is 450 feet of line you would need to purchase to fill one reel. Two of the most popular braided lines are Power Pro Spectra and Suffix 832. Power Pro Spectra from Tackle Warehouse ( I use them for comparison I realize we may find it cheaper on sale somewhere) costs $16 for a 150 yard spool. It is the same for 832 and about $14 for a similar size spool of Spiderwire Stealth. This gets much worse when we spool with Fluorocarbon. P LIne Halo is about $20 for 200 yards, FC Sniper is almost $30 for a filler spool. Now lets see what mono costs, not junk but name brand good quality mono. A 330 yard spool of Stren Clear Blue is $8.00, Berkley XL or XT costs the same $8.00 for 330 yards. The best deal going for this use is Bass Pro Shops Excel. 12 to 17 pound test will rin you $10.00 for a 1200 yard spool. So if we spooled 75 yards of say Stren it would cost less than two and a half cents a yard or around $1.80. Add to that 75 yards of Sufix 832 for roughly $8.00 and the entire cost for spooling you one reel is $9.80. That is worth it. Now fish your braid for a while. Remove it turn it around and fish some more. Either way you have 75 yards of braid. Do you regularly cast that far? If a fish runs hard and spools that 75 yards of line there is 75 yards of high quality say 14 pound test mono to be pulled out. Remember too the mono measures .14 for 14 pound test ( I usually use 14 pound Stren myself.) You will need more than 150 yards of pure braid because the reel is speced for normal mono and most 30 pound braid only measures about .011 which means the cost would go up. Save your money. Use 14 pound test high quality mono for the first half and then top off with your main line. In ten years of bass and striper fishing I have only had one fish pull the knot, joining my lines together, out through the guides. It was a 18 pound blue catfish that ate a rattle trap intended for a striper.

Daiwa Tatula CT

Definitely the 734 if you are throwing bigger jigs on deep ledges type stuff. The 733 is the typical mh 1/4 to 3/4. Definitely my preference for lighter jigs and plastics. Either way if you want to put one in your hand, we have a dealer that stocks them here in Hunt Valley MD. They are located off I 83 about 30 minutes below Route 30 (at York PA). Anglers Express carries Dobyns, Powell, Cashion, Shimano, Duckett ,Irod and some others I forgot. If you choose to walk in there, I doubt you can walk out without finding something that will work for you. Also the Dobyns Fury series runs $110. So it is in your price range.The Irod Genesis II rods are really nice too, but they run a little more at $149. I would consider a IRG 704C or the IRG744C.

Take a good look at a Dobyns Fury FR703C which is a great rod. Its a 7 foot mh 1/4 to 3/4 or a FR733C which is a 7'3" MH 1/4 to 3/4 version.

I think you are on the right track. Demo the Tatula Type R and buy the Daiwa tatula CT Type R for $175 retail ( may be available for less online) Now take a serious look at a Dobyns Champion XP model DC734C S/H or DC734C F/H. The difference is one is a split cork handle and the other is a full cork handle your choice as per your preference. This rod is awesome. It specs as 7'3" hvy fast. it is a bit lighter than that. It specs 1/4 to 1 ounce and lists for buzzbaits, horney toads, jigs, sencos,small swimbaits, andspinnerbaits. As a secondary use it lists chatterbaits and spooks. It retails for $260 which would make your combo less than the reels you were looking at. Nwe that was my recommendation if you were thinking of doing it with only one combo. if you were thinking of two different rods than I would suggest a Dobyns Champion XP DC703C (7' mh 1/4 to 3/4) for spinnerbaits and lots more and a DC 735C which is a great frog, pitching,flipping , swimbait rod that rates 1/4 to 1 1/2.

I would agree with your thoughts on raising it up a 1/4 inch at a time but there are four components to making test runs. First is knowing where your measurements begin at. Measure the height before you change anything so you have a baseline. You need to measure top speed (easily done on a gps/fishfinder.Next the tach reading and this box may do that well. Lastly you need to have a water pressure gauge to protect the motor and visually see if it changes from going to big with your adjustments.. I would call Turning Point and get their opinion. I think a 10 x 11 might be a hot prop. Take a few minutes and do some research on Turning Point Propellers and the Hustler in particular. The hubs are specially tuned and they also have tuned vent holes for quicker hole shots. I really like mine. It is on my 2010 Lowe 17.5 foot aluminum bass boat. With it it comes out of the hole strong and level and top end increased about 5 mph at wot. The boat goes over and just sticks nice and level running down the lake at mid to full throttle. Best of all it runs around $100 so it is not like I am running any expensive prop of I hit something. In tidal water that is not hard to do, since there are literally tons of stuff to hit just laying on the bottom. Four times a day the water level is either dropping or raising about 2 foot or more depending on the wind direction.

It sound like you are familiar with Tackle Warehouse's demo program. Let me make a couple of suggestions for a better option to your BPS Pro Qualifier. I am not putting them down per say. They are popular. I never owned one but I do own 2 of the Bass Pro purple Rick Clunn series reels that had a lot of the enhancements that were done to the PQ before the PQ became what it is. They discontinued the reel because it came out a bit cheaper than it should have. It was one of their first to have the dual brake system. Those reels work fine. just too heavy. I have been systematically changing my reels from BPS reels and Shimano Curado Es.Chronarch E7s etc to Diawa Tatula Type Rs and Daiwa Tatula CTs. I know you will find they cast very well, are very reliable, have really smooth drags and just work. Now I own 1 Exceler ( a $99 retail reel), 3 Tatula type Rs ( a $199 retail reel) and 2 Tatula CTs. They retail for $130. None of these are a "super light" reel, but none are as heavy as he PQ. I have spent between $100 and $150 for these reels ($60 for the Exceler). The Type Rs are supposed to have tiny bit lighter spools and 1 more corrosion resistant bearing inside. Really I can not tell any difference in casting distance between a $100 Tatula and a $200 Tatula Type R. I know all of mine perform flawlessly and I am continuing to replace my other reels, one at a time, as I can afford it. If the $400 reels did not knock your socks off ,try these reels at a much more reasonable cost. So far my favorite version is my 2 Tatulla CTs. Tackle Warehouse does not offer them in the demo program, but if you demo the Tatula Type R you will essentially test the CT. The difference is a bit narrower body that palms a little nicer, it weighs a bit less. Really can you tell the difference between 7,4 and 7.6 ounces? I doubt it. Anyway demo the Tatula Type R. Then go local and put the Tatula CT in your hand, mount it on a rod, they do not feel much different. Give it a try.

Okay so you added a manual jack plate or hydraulic one? What prop did your dealer set you up with. The tachometer is important, but you will need to build a custom panel to even use one. Here is my suggestions. First park your trailer on level ground. Next raise or lower your trailer jack till the entire trailer is level front to back. Now tilt your engine down till it is straight up and down, not necessarily tilted all the way down where it would tuck under. Now there is a measurement known as the pad to prop. Measure from the ground or floor to the bottom of the boat in the center of its v. Now measure from the ground to the center of the bullet or nose cone ( actually where the center shaft is for the prop. This is easiest to do by taping a yard stick to the bottom of the boat. This height difference tells you is the prop shaft above the bottom of the boat or below the bottom of the boat.. Knowing this plus knowing the exact prop you have will help you discuss your set up with the boat factory. They should know what that boat needs to work well. If you are running am aluminum factory prop check out the performance props made bu Turning Point Propellers. They are called Hustlers. They helped me dial in my Lowe bass boat. Stainless would offer me the best option but I did not want to run one in the Chesapeake Bay, too many things like crab traps and junk in the water to run one in my 75 hp Merc.