Koopster

Hello all! My 16yr old son has a bass fishing tournament this coming Monday. I’d like to pre fish the lake a bit this weekend but I don’t know where to begin. Anyone have experience at Clearwater and could offer some suggestions on where to go and technique? I hear it’s a good lake! thanks!

Switch from O-ring to heat shrink. When I did that I found that the baits last MUCH longer.

I'm an idiot.. I even remember reading about this in the manual. The excitement of using the TM wiped that all out of my brain. This will be VERY VERY helpful! Thanks!!

Thanks for this great info! I'll get a pic as soon as I can and also look at "tuning" the bunks as you suggest as well. I'm not sure if the bunks have been replaced.. they have an odd looking carpet on them though. It's not what I believe is typical. I could be wrong though. It's pretty riduculous honestly. lol We've run the trolling motor all day and when I recharge the batteries, it only takes a couple hours. The one issue I'm having is that when spot lock wants to correct our position, it tends to use what feels like power 10. When it decides its drifted too far off of the spot - HANG ON! I wish it had a setting for max power applied, or at least to ramp it up slowly.

Understood regarding the pic.. I'll see what I can get tonight after work. No abnormal scuffing or wear on the bunks or carpet that I can tell. I put the trolling motor on immediately, so I don't know how it behaved prior. I'm guessing that the weight of the Ultrex (heavy!) pretty well counters the weight of the added battery. I could take the battery out and and see how it impacts the balance.

Trailering it has been trouble free so far. Since the whole setup is new to me, I can't comment on tire wear yet - the previous owner did put new tires on it. The trailer is original and I don't believe it has been adjusted in the past, but I can't know for sure. I can certainly get some pics of the trailer with the boat on it. Thanks!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I did also post on *** forums and got a couple replies. I am on this site far more so I thought I'd ask here also. I recently picked up a new (old) boat. I'm not new to boats, just never owned one. I got an '03 G3 HP180 with a 100hp Yamaha 4-stroke motor. The boat is in great condition for it's age and runs well. I've attached a pic of the boat for anyone interested in seeing what $8300 gets you in crazy covid 2021! It came with a Helix9 DI G3N and I added the Ultrex, which are also impossible to find! I ended up finding a 112lb 36v with Link and SI, so I switched to 36v. The Ultrex is a BEAST on that boat! My question is around the trailer. I noticed that when I release winch and let out the winching strap (what's the right terminology here?? lol), the nose of the boat will naturally rise about 4-5". Is this normal? I have a couple options here - I can pull the boat further onto the trailer. Right now the transom is about even with the bunks. The eyes on the back of the trailer are just forward of the boat, so the straps are nearly vertical when secured. I can raise the tower at the front of the boat so the front eye of the boat gently rests on the roller. I'm concerned here with the front roller being too high when loading the boat. (btw, the winch is on it's own tower, not the same one as the roller). I can look at adjusting the bunks - I haven't looked, but I assume they can be adjusted? Raise the front or lower the back? This is likely done when the boat is in the water and done via trial and error? Thanks for any advice!

It's really not that complicated. You can use any shirt that's of the "performance" type - ie, not cotton. If you can get to stores and handle the shirts, hold them up to your mouth and blow through them to get an idea about how breathable they are. I have T-shirts that I wear that are 50/50 cotton/poly which are a lot better than 100% cotton. I also have polo shirts for work that I use that are 90% poly (nike/adidas, etc). "fishing" or performance shirts work great too.. just look at the labels.

I set my SLX and Curado up the same way. I followed the directions in the manual and set the spool tension until the side-to-side play almost disappears. For braid, set the brake to 2. Setting it to 1 will get you into trouble. After setting it up, I don't make any changes when I switch lures - just tie on and go. That, to me, is the biggest benefit of this reel. Also, if this is your first BC, or your only one, don't cast it without thumbing the spool. While you can cast the DC without thumbing, you're going to teach yourself to not do it.. which will cause major issues later if you buy more non-DC reels, or have to borrow one from a friend. I cast with my DC just like all my reels.

Since you've got a MH/F, having a heavy is a great option, especially a H/F. As I've fished more and acquired more rods, If I had it to do over, I would have mixed up my rod variety a bit more. For your 2 BC rods, having a MH and H is a great pair of rods, in my opinion. You'll be happy you have a Heavy/Fast if you fish frogs or jigs in heavy cover.

Funny.. we were comparing them and I swear they are VERY similar in action - so what am I missing with an actual fast action? Or is the St Croix more of a fast action??

Thanks for all the help so far! I'll likely end up returning the rod, unfortunately. I've already blown my budget on reels so I need to focus on the one rod. Cabela's has an Abu Garcia Veritas that is the 7 or 7'3" MH and fast, with micro guides. For $100 is this a suitable replacement rod quality-wise? Any other rod suggestions? The pickings were slim at Cabelas, but I could go to a different fishing shop that has a better selection for St Croix, Diawa, Shimano and some others. I was looking at a Dobyn's Sierra for $170.. tons of options out there!

Good morning all! Getting back into fishing after many years off! Now that my son is finally showing interest (just turned 15), we're gearing back up and have been going out with friends and on a little 14ft boat we adopted from family. Most of my gear is OLD, with the exception of my Mojo rod purchased a couple years ago for a Canadian trip. I have a Diawa Tatula 100 on it, and just purchased a Curado DC and SLX DC for updated reels - the idea is to put the curado on my "main" rod and the SLX on his (Diawa AIRDx 7'3" MH F). I've fished with this rod a bit and really like the action and would like to get one for me, in the same range 7' - 7'3" MH F. Last night my son and I were at Cabela's shopping for the new rod for me and I ended up buying a St Croix Premier 7'0" MH M.. moderate! ugh! My mistake was in that I THOUGHT I had a fast action in my hands! I didn't realize until I got home. I did get a good deal on the rod - was $30 off, so it was $129. Thoughts on if I should fish with the moderate or return? I am wanting it for jigs/creature/worm - T-rigged weighted and weightless. I also intend for it to be a multi-purpose rod. Here's my rod selection.. Bass Mojo 7'6" MH MF 12-25lb 3/8 - 1 1/4 oz (bought 3 years ago for a Canadian trip for pike and back home for bass) Thorne Brothers custom 6'6" Heavy - no lure range marked. This was my main rod in the late 90's Fenwick Legacy 6'6" MH 10-20lb 3/8 - 1 oz (action not indicated - probably moderate - my secondary rod in the late 90's) Diawa AirX MH F 10-20lb 1/4 - 1 oz (Son's rod) I also have two St Croix Premier PC66MF 6'6" M Fast that my dad gave me. They currently have spin cast reels on them from his walleye bobber fishing days. The rods are probably 20 years old now but in brand new condition - I'm not sure what to do with them. Also - what are good applications for the two 6'6" MF rods? I suppose they'd work for throwing Senkos with the right reel? I do have a G Loomis Walleye 7'1" ML F spinning rod I've been using for Senko fishing. Any help would be greatly appreciated! We're just getting going here.. the lakes we're focusing on so far are smaller lakes in the Twin Cities Metro area - Lake Beebe in particular, in St Michael. We're up for any an all techniques. Thanks!

If the reel is too full, it's barely too full. Read the DC instructions - they state that for the reel to operate properly, the spool must be filled to 95%. The instructions say "when wnding the thread, please use the amount of thread winding that matches the edge of the tapered surface of the spool". In other words - put it on to the bevel. He's got the line right about there, maybe a tad higher. I just bought both a Curado and SLX DC and filled them to about where his is at.. it casts like a dream. For this reel, you want the spool full so the DC can do it's job. If you under-fill it, the speed of the spool can get too high and it won't work properly. 3/16" of sidewall showing may be ok for other reels, but not this one. Fayt, what does your casting motion look like? even if you stop on the back cast, it won't cause backlash if you follow through properly. I was just working with my son this evening with his casting - it's important to not suddenly stop the rod on the forward casting motion. Smoothly cast and point the rod tip to where you are casting. My son kept casting and finishing with the rod tip at about 45 degrees to the water. By following through more he was able to reduce the backlash issues he was having and cast way farther.