gunsinger

I recently upgraded my bow with a Garmin Echomap 93sv UHD and noted that it has an easy way to suspend sonar transmission. That got me to wondering, does the ping put fish on high alert?

As to what this is? I'm assuming some sort of filter. Whatever it is it appears to be leaking and I want to replace it. It's on the fuel fill line.

I’m not looking to rekindle any old debates about why a $200 rod is better than a $100 rod, but I would like to understand the key differentiators. Putting aside use case, what makes one medium/heavy/fast better (or worse) that the next. For example, I recently had to replace the rod tip on two rods; one a baitcaster and the other a spinning reel. Both were relatively inexpensive rods (well under $100). Both had damage to the ceramic inserts (likely from attempts to poke and prod to dislodge hung baits). Are the inserts better quality or more durable on a more expensive rod? Are the blanks better? Do they cast farther or smoother? What about the guides? Speaking of guides, “Are micro guides better?” TIA JR

I did end up using just a lighter. Took just a few seconds for it to slid off (held with needle nose pliers. Got my measurements and will order replacement tips today. Thanks to all that commented.

Thanks everybody. I did watch some YouTube videos on this and it seems like finding the right size and the appropriate tools are the hardest part of the repair. Most of the videos I watched they had a torch that they used to heat the tip. I don’t have a torch but I suppose I can find one of those.

While fishing this evening, I noticed an odd sound while reeling in a jerk bait. I could see that my line was abraded so I cut off the bad section and re-tied. On the next cast, the sound was still there so I started inspecting the rod. That’s when I noted the ceramic was chipped as shown in the image below. So, can it be fixed by a novice at rod repair? Is it worth the effort? As you can see it’s clearly cutting the fluorocarbon line. TIA

I fish the wacky worm frequently. You can use a variety of hooks, both weedless and not. You can fish it weighted or weightless. You can fish it on a baitcaster or a spinning rod. I prefer a baitcaster for precision with casting but I know a lot if guys that can throw a spinning rod just as well. I will typically toss a weighted wacky rig with a 3/16th oz bullet weight but it depends on how fast I want it to sink through the water column. I have taken to using a o-ring on my Yumdinger as the one downside with using a baitcaster is worm loss on the cast as you typically have to fling it harder when baitcasting as compared to spinning rods. That’s been my experience…YMMV. I fish a wacky anywhere from shoreline 10’-15’ deep using a hopping technique and sometimes a dragging action. On occasion, I’ll drop a weightless wacky rig on scrolling bass.

I noticed yesterday that my spool was getting low and, on top of that, the line seemed to be sticking as it came off the reel. I thought, “Man this braid is bad about getting buried.” So I took the rod to my shop for a line change and a cleaning. As I pulled the line off, it got tackier and tackier to the point it was sticking to my fingers. I’m thinking, “What the heck?” As I got to the spool, I saw what happened. I’d read where, if you’re tying braid directly to the spool, you could put a piece of tape over the knot to prevent slippage. My pea brain thought, “If scotch tape is good, Gorilla tape is better.” By now you pros have already seen my mistake in logic; but, for those who think like me, let me tell you what happens, especially down here in southern Mississippi. Gorilla tape has fantastic sticking power. It accomplishes that by making their product with a lot of high cling tape gum. Guess what happens to that high strength gum in this Mississippi heat…it melts and runs everywhere. And apparently braid has high absorption capacity. So, lesson learned. Either stick with scotch tape (maybe painters tape) or back fill with cheaper line.

I have had issues where the pump doesn't prime like it should. Believe it or not but, hitting the livewell switch while backing the boat off the trailer solved that for me. The reverse thrust aided in the priming. Once primed, they play all day.

I wonder how this compares the red and yellow labels.

My beautiful bride decided yesterday that she wanted to go fishing. So, off we went. I set her up with a spinning rod/reel outfitted with a Watermelon/Red Flake Yumdinger rigged wacky style. She did well with casting and pulled in the three below. I caught 5 but i think her three would have won our tournament on weight.

This thread inspired me to give spinnerbaits a try again. Found a bit of success slow rolling this chart/white spinnerbait along the bottom at 10'. Stuck and lost another bigger one later along the shoreline brush. I'll have to keep one on the deck more often.

I bought someone one of the Lews American Hero Camo combos a month or so back and he likes it pretty well but it has an odd noise issue. On the cast, it will randomly make a clicking noise, almost as if the thumb bar didn’t fully disengage. It doesn’t seem to impact the distance; it’s just annoying. Anybody ever seen anything like this?

I have several Lews rods, the latest being a Carbon Fiber that I paid $50 for. It’s a MH, 7’2”. It’s my worm rod. I catch fish with it. That’s the testimony that matters.

Broke two myths today. One, it takes high dollar rods and reels to catch decent fish and two, you gotta spend big bucks on the best lures. The tool of the day was a $59 H2O Express baitcasting combo pre-spooled with fluorescent yellow/green braid and a $2.18 Ozark popper I picked up at Walmart yesterday thinking, “What the heck?” That landed me a new PB of 6.59 lbs. The pic doesn’t do it justice.

My dumb thing I used to do was to have my thumb resting on the thumb bar while setting the hook. The result? Bird’s nest on hook set. First few times it happened, I thought it was the reel. So I bought a new one. Surprisingly, it was broke too! I finally realized it was me. At least the I had 2 rigs. Maybe I wasn’t so dumb after all!

Well, based on budget and input received regarding charging, I will end up buying 2 flooded 27 90ah batteries, a tray for the 2nd one and rig them in parallel. I’ll charge using the same plan I intended to use on the AGM’s. I could only afford one AGM so I figure 2 90ah flooded in parallel is better than one 100ah AGM.

Good to know....

Thanks Tom. My onboard is currently a ProMar1 10amp 2 bank with 5 amps per bank. It's supposed to stay plugged in to charge, then maintain, the batteries and charges my current TM and cranking batteries overnight. I rarely go back out the same day so that charge rate works for me. I've heard that the AGM's charge faster so, right now, I'm looking at getting two group 27 (92ah) AGM's to rig in parallel for the TM. I'll use the existing 2-bank charger on those. I'll add a single bank ProMar1 5 amp to charge the cranking battery. I've got a buddy that owns a Batteries, Bulbs and More store and he's supposed to get me some good pricing.

@WRB Yes, I have a separate cranking/electronics battery.

I’ve always charged my batteries upon return and leave the charger on as it is supposed to maintain them.

The current battery has a label on it that reads 27DCM. So, I’m guessing that makes it a Group 27? The side label says it’s a “Country Creek RV” (which is where I bought it and is now out of the boat business) made by A-1 Batteries. It measures roughly 12”x7”x7” (hard to be precise without taking it out). It’s not sealed. It sits in a plastic tray that is slightly bigger. I would guess that tray can be replaced if I went with a bigger, which there is room for. I believe I could put a second deep cycle of a similar size in the compartment.

Thanks for the question. It's possible and I've considered that. Can I just determine the current battery type and match that or would I have to buy two new matching batteries? I've got a two bank on-board charger. I assume I'd have to replace that with a 3-bank? @Bankc The budget is under $300, the further under the better, recognizing i don't want a POS battery that's going to strand me or reach the end of its usable life prematurely. I will get some more data off the existing battery tonight. I was thinking about a 100AH battery and I think i should have room for it. I'll check on that as well. Thanks.