Jig Man

The first time I used a gps it was very foggy and I had 4 miles to go to where I wanted to fish. The gps took me right into the mouth of the cove that I wanted. I have not been without one since and don't ever plan to be. So yes get the one with gps.

It depends on who is selling as to what I would do. I'd be skeptical unless it is like someone on this forum who has been around a while or off Ebay where you might get some backing if it didn't work. I've sold a few here and on other forums to members and so far I haven't had any feedback so I guess they were working when they arrived.

Since this is your first rig, you might be better off if you took it to a shop and had it fixed right before you get hurt.

x2

I like them because of their dependability. I used my old ones hard for 15 years, cleaned them up and sold them for nearly what I gave for them. Not one of them ever had to have a part replaced. I switched to new ones when the Es came out. I may never buy another reel because they seem to be as dependable as the old ones that I had. I never found that with the D and G brands.

I fish a lot of tubes and mostly with the same rigging as you mentioned. There is nothing more important than watching the line. Sometimes I can feel the bottom very well and sometimes not. I get more feel with braid and a leader than I do with mono. Lots of times the bite is only seeing the line jump or move with no thump at all.

I make my own from stainless steel wires. Then I wrap it and coat with epoxy.

It can cost very little or it can cost a lot. You need: a heat source (hot plate and pans or dedicated microwave and cups) plastisol colorant some type of mold maybe glitter a ventilated place to work Go to places like Jann's Netcraft, Lurecraft, Bear's, and Barlow's. Check out what they have to offer and see about starter kits.

What you need is dependant on your motor and accessories. I have had to go to the Sears PM-1 agm with ll50 CCAs because I have a 225 Optimax, 2 hds units, 2 lss 1 boxes and run the aerator. With the draw down 1000 CCA batteries didn't last me over 13 months. If you have an Opti and plan to fish cooler temps running the aerator all day long then I recommend you get a bunch of CCAs.

Seven setups on another guy's boat would be too many. If its your own then stuff them in the locker and go for it.

If you fish in the "cone" of your depth finder you can see the fish and your bait. You can raise or lower it to exactly where the fish are. You can even see them move to take it.

I've had them all over the place in the front. I am a constant watcher and when to the starboard side of the deck I got neck cramps fishing from the port side of the boat. The one I have right now is mounted on a ram in front of my recessed trolling motor tray. I like that better than any other way I have tried.

Amber is the only color that I can use and see my hds sonar screen.

I had mine done at a shop where they install all kinds of accessories. Even then they cut through my wires running from the back to the bow. I'm glad it was them instead of me that had to redo all of the wiring.

Oh yes they will help and he won't have to keep adding plastic as there will be a reserve above the mold.

Are you wanting a one side or a two sided mold? You can go to www.tackleunderground.com and find out most anything you want to know about pop mold making.

The only way to figure the actual depreciation values is to take a boat and check its value over a 5 or so year period. You must use the exact boat with the same features for this to work. Your example of 2010 boats shows what BPS has done in the last 3 years to improve their product.

When you check out how fast some boats lose their value it can become a factor in what is bought in the first place. There is a popular brand which I won't name that depreciated way faster than others because of the quality. It started taking a beating when guys went to trade them in and got very little for them so many of them switched brands to keep from losing thousands. A lot of these guys stayed upside down in their boats anyway so the savings were even more when you considered the interest rates that they were paying.

Yes I do. You need spru extenders in order to help with this problem. You can buy them from places like Bears's but they are pricey when you add shipping. Some guys use sockets. I went to Lowe's and bought copper fittings that are about 1" long and set them on top of the holes. With them and pouring slowly the bait slots fill up and I get a sufficient amount of plastisol above the spru so that any shrinking will be filled up with plastisol instead of air. It isn't perfect but I rarely get voids in mine since the change.

You obviously are not like the normal fisherman/boat owner. I used to be in the business. It is just like new rods and reels coming out and guys wanting to upgrade. It is only on a much larger scale.

You should be able to power the nmea off the 520c. It is the hds that don't power the network.

Good luck on that. That would probably take a machined injection mold. The last one I had quoted to me was $400. I didn't feel like I would ever break even on it so I passed.

Considering your situation I believe MF gave you some very good advice. When fishing spinning gear I like 6.5' MF rods with reels in the 2500 size.

What does it look like? That will depend on the people willing to make it for you. Can you post a pic of the bait?

Melon pepper tubes; swimming or hopping.