Jig Man

Me too, but I have been at this for years.

It needs to be taken all the way down to the fiberglass to see if it is just superficial or structural. I don't have the guts to do that kind of stuff myself. I have a stress crack that just appeared on my Champion. It is on its way to the shop at 6:30 this morning to get fixed. It is a Y shaped 10" crack and I am figuring at least $200 and probably more. I'll post back after I get the estimate.

I spray braid with Real Magic to make it quieter. I wouldn't use any cooking spray on it. You can get some spray silicone and it will work.

If you use the collar, plan on them rotting. You might try the collar and a tie from a loaf of bread. It will hold them in place for years. I think you are starting in the right place by buying heads and skirts. Moving into lead pots/ molds/ lead/ hooks/ skirt materials/ etc. may be your next step.

My rig came with a Dual Pro. After 5 years of hard use one bank quit working. I checked around for another and couldn't believe the price. I finally called Dual Pro and asked if they could repair mine. I was told no but they would give me a $100 trade in. So I have a second dual pro. I am quite happy with that company.

This is the closest to a weedless weight that I have found.

If you buy a boat from a dealership, all of this should be explained and even practiced before you take delivery. If you buy from an individual, you for sure will want to get on the water before you buy. Have the seller do an unload by himself and check it out.

I used to use Daiwa but got rid of all of them and only own Shimano.

7' MHF for jigs 3/8 oz and under 7' HF for 1/2 oz and larger

I like the modified Albright or Alberto's knot. It is small and needs no glue. I had failures with the uni, J, and stren knots just to name a few but the Alberto has not failed yet. http://www.stripersonline.com/Pages/Articles/article_arby_albertos_knot.shtml

That is the way prorated batteries work, unfortunately. Keeping those wind nuts tight with pliers should keep that problem from happening again.

It wouldn't be a home repair thing at my house. I'd have to take to someone who makes his living off people like me.

Pull the prop and look for mono behind it. As stated check the connections. It may be time for a new set of brushes and a good lower unit cleaning.

The need to upgrade is purely based on how you use or plan to use a depth finder. If all you want is to know how deep the water is at the boat, then any unit that shows depth will work for you. If you plan to find suspended fish or bait fish and know what you are seeing or be able to tell if there are fish in brush piles, then you need to upgrade. The first consideration for me is pixels. I want at least 480X480. If you upgrade and color is in your budget then pixels and color. Color makes target seperation easier. If you do a lot of casting toward the bank, a trolling motor upgrade probably makes more sense as Trackers usually are way under powered in that category.

Take time to visit NADAGUIDES.COM and check out the unit. It may surprise you at the net value of that rig. It won't show with that much motor. You will have to look up the motors and add for the 70.

I have tried a bunch and the best and easiest is the modified Albright or Alberto's knot. It is a 5 wrap up and 5 wrap down very small knot and needs no glue. http://www.stripersonline.com/Pages/Articles/article_arby_albertos_knot.shtml

You might buy some Spinnerbait R wire forms and bend them to suit yourself if you have a mold. If not then you can buy spinnerbaits with R wires and make them like you want. The pic looks like a tandem that has been converted.

They are asking $2800 more than the average value of the unit ($9,110). Contrary to what many buyers think, cash customers aren't as good as credit customers. Dealerships make lots of money getting customers financing. If I were interested in it and it all checked out, I'd make them an offer of $7500 and wait for their response. THEN LET THE DEALING BEGIN!!!!

On the jig inserts only use 4/0 hooks. Trigging I use 3/0 and 4/0 EWG depending on which fits best.

Like RR stated I'd like to see you start with one good setup and go from there. I'll go one step farther on the recommendation. Get a Shimano Symmetry in the 2500 size and a St. Croix Avid rod if those fit into your price range. It will be a lifetime combo if you take care of it.

One of my friends kept a Lowe Jon going for 25 years with JB Weld.

Get you some black, gray, brown and green tubes. Rig them with jig heads or fish them weedless Texas rigged. Learn to catch fish on them then branch out to other plastics.

Go to the lake with him and run the thing for yourself. If you don't like what you see, don't buy it.

It only takes a few seconds to set.

I fish 4" tubes with 1/8 and 1/4 oz jig inserts. Most of the time I use a weed guard that I attach to the jig head.