Jig Man

I like 20# braid.

It's not like you would have them on all night. Here in MO we only have to have them moving and the anchor light on if we are more than 50 yds off the bank.

If you are not fishing at night then you are missing out on some of the best fishing that there is. The ride arounds are home, the jet skiers are gone, most of the pontoons are tied up. That leaves the lake for only those of us who are fishing. Sometimes I only see one or two other boats all night long. I use a hat light for tying, have led lights in the boat boxes, and use my gps to keep in the middle of the lake while moving about. Black lights are fine if you have some hi vis line. It will look like a rope. Like Catt stated (same baits, same places).

Right now is the time to contact your insurance company and check your coverage unless it is a new policy. I have my agent review all my policies every year and we see what replacement value they will pay and adjust the policies appropriately. My rig was insured for $35,000 initially and now it is $17,000 as that is all they would pay if the boat motor and trailer were totaled.

If it were the wrench that made the connection it may have a chunk burned out of it like one of mine does.

Not one thing. I like new stuff.

Especially with fluro.

Take a stroll over to www.tackleunderground.com There is a ton of stuff over there in hard baits.

I'm running 2 Low HDS8 and 2 lss1 units. I have had no starting problems. The Low units will tell you if you voltage drops as they will shut off when you crank up it the voltage drops much below 12V. The best cranker I have found is the Sears AGM with 1150 CCA.

I recommend that you learn the Pitzen or 16/20 knot. It is all that I use. It works on any line. I can even tie it in under 12 seconds in the winter with gloves on. I do 5 wraps. I hold the loop in my left hand and the tag end (6-8") in the my right. I swing the bait around over my right hand 5 times, pass the tag through, pull it down, cut it off. Make a cast. http://videofishingknots.com/pitzen-knot.html

I had an indash flasher but did not have room between the gauges for a different unit. So I put a plate over the hole and mounted an HDS8 with the regular gimble mount it is right in my face and I don't have to be looking around because I can see it while I am driving.

W2S is dead on with his info. Since you are opting for a 12volt system you should get the larger battery if you have room for it. It takes more juice to run 12V than 24V. Like stated reserve capacity is the key. In wet cells I like 180+.

Take it for a test drive with the boat hooked up behind it then you will know.

Superglue gel is all I use.

I've ridden in a few. I would not want to own one if they all porpoise like the ones I've been in.

That is a good place. I sent you some pics of my install.

Besides the screen size, the 8 has a 4 screen option that the 7 doesn't. I use it a lot when viewing recordings to see what I have missed and mark wpts (sonar, down, side, chart). The 8 also has the soft keys which allows 1 button control instead of menus. The soft keys also allow programing of quick ways to get from one page to another without going around the world with the pages and mouse.

I regularly fish with a friend who owns a Bass Cat. It is a great boat with a ride almost as good as my Champion. It also has a lot of room in it. There are lots of good used boats around and any major brand should do you a good job on your first boat. It seems you have a pretty good budget so get at least a 19-20' boat for the extra room, storage, ride, and stability. And yes I recommend a good used glass over a Tracker any day of the week.

I asked the same question a couple of years ago and RED was the big answer (cranks and traps).

I didn't have a 7:1 so I bought one. Since then I have sold most of my 3.8:1 and 6.3:1 and replaced them with 7:1. I don't ever plan to go back to slow reels. Get the 7.

Color of weedguards matter a lot more to the fishermen than the fish. I mostly use clear but sometimes black or green if I think the jig will look better.

Either hobby is great but only get into one at a time unless you have really deep pockets. I do it for color control as much as anything and to kill spare time. Like many ventures, startup can be costly. To get into jig making you have to have a lead source (free to $5 per pound), melting pot (around $50), at least one mold ($30), hooks ($25/100), paint ($10-50 per pound), skirt material $20-80/100). So in the best case scenario you'd have about $135 in your first jig. The production costs would go down but it will take a while for them to get down to you saving money unless you use a lot of jigs. It is the same situation with plastic. You have to have molds, plastisol, glitter, coloring, softner, hardner, heat stabilizer, a way to melt and a way to pour. My first injected tube had an initail cost of over $400. I haven't made enough in the two years of injecting them for the cost to get anywhere nearly as low as I paid for the last ones. I'm not trying to discourage you as I love making baits and have done it for so many years that I only buy a few jerks and cranks. The rest I have made. I'm only giving you a heads up on starting.

What do you call a bunch? I don't have a mold but I can get one.

How bout a bit more info? Is this an internet publication or a mag? What is your target audience? What kind of contribution are you wanting; how tos, pics, articles, etc? Where are you located? More info please.

Here is a list of repain centers. Maybe one of them is in driving distance for you. http://www.waltreynolds.com/motorguide_factory_authorized_se.htm