Jim Elam

Agree. Love that about my Xi5. I’ve had to replace the board once in 7 years. The pedal is terrible. But the FOB works and the spotlock is great.

Ulrich is friendly. They have parts in stock that are sometimes hard to find elsewhere. My experience with their service leaves much to be desired. Have had multiple negative experiences there over the past 8-10 years. Some here seem to have had great experiences, which is why I used to drive from Springfield to use them. No more… Sadly, I don’t know of a great alternative at the moment.

So sad for this forum and for the family, kids on the Cassville fishing team. RIP sir.

Have an old HB 998c unit and need a LM chip. Old is fine as long as it works.

Late start at noon today. Launched at State park and ran up long creek. Water stained Past 86 bridge and found a decent wart bite this afternoon. WT 48-49. 3 keepers nothing over 3 lbs but fun. Water cleared a lot moving back up toward the dam, bite got tougher there. 1 keeper deep on a Keitech near the take out. Nice weather, not much traffic after 3 pm.

Congrats Larry. I didn’t realize you had already ordered your new Reata when I posted above. You are gonna love fishing in it. You are a lucky man to have a wife who enjoys fishing and a new Ranger! Jim

I Purchased WalleyedMike’s 210 VS and it is a great boat. You are certainly welcome to meet up with me sometime this spring or summer and give it a whirl. It fishes well, but there are rod storage issues with all of the Reatas. Additionally, They don’t easily accommodate large screen electronics or 36 V trolling motor systems. That’s OK for me, but it’s a dealbreaker for some people. I bought the Reata because I have a wife and kids and I want the boat to serve two purposes. If I were simply fishing, I would’ve looked hard at a Ranger FS 620 or 621, or even a nitro ZV 21. Both of those platforms will handle rough water very well, and have ample rod and tackle storage. I have owned DEEP V tin boats in the past and they are OK. The deep V glass boats are far superior in terms of rough water handling and dealing with wind IMO. Jim

Ditto. Would love to have a Stella or Steez as Bill mentioned, but hard to justify when my Pfleuger Supremes, Presidents, and Abu Revos for around $100 perform so well and last so long. The Lew's bait casters also work very well (Tourn MB, Tourn Pro, Tourn Pro G, and Super Duty). I don't fish enough anymore to be able to justify the expense. But if you can afford and justify, you cannot go wrong with the advice Mr Babler gave. That said, I recently lucked in to an Aldebaran on the cheap and it seems to be fantastic, but have not fished with it long. It is nice to fish with a setup that weighs less than 8 oz total. Its not necessary, but it is fun!

Nice fish!

Own the older Presidents, Supremes, and the new President XT. Only issue I have had is a Supreme that felt a little rough during a heavy rainstorm last spring, Lasted a few minutes then self resolved. Drags on all of these are okay, adequate for freshwater fish on light gear. My oldest President is close to 10 years old and good as new despite serious abuse. The President XT reels are okay, but don't seem as well built as my old wooden handle Presidents. Own a few Summits I got on sale and have used as backups. They have pretty thin bail wires, but are fairly smooth. Drag is okay for a cheapie. No data on how they hold up to abuse. Owned a few daiwa Lexa 2500's. Only reels that sucked so bad I actually destroyed in order to spare anyone else from the issues they had. Never again... Have owned Shimano with good luck, but pricey and rarely go on sale. Never issues with reliability or build quality. Never used Stradics though, always the lower end stuff <$100. That said, I have switched over to Revos. Mainly because the drag on the Premier, STX, and SX are pretty good. Can usually find on sale. They are well built and have had no issues through 2 seasons despite heavy use.

Final update. Ulrich Marine updated the software and it works perfectly again. That simple. JE

Teaching moments for your nephew. Guessing there will be an abundance of teaching moments to choose from if one were to fish this next Saturday in the mid lake area LOL!

+1. Gliss has a place too, especially for the JB setup.

Thanks guys I haven't tried to recalibrate yet. If you see some fool driving around in circles one of these days you know who it is... Jim

Fishing Stockton a few weeks ago and TM suddenly stopped responding to pedal or fob. Unplugged and restarted, and thereafter the unit would operate normally but there was no gps lock. Repeated attempts to reacquire sat reception unsuccessful, so all spot lock features etc gone. Had basic operation, which got me through the day, but I am missing spotlock. Anyone experience this before or have knowledge of a fix? Thank you and Merry Christmas Jim

Glad you were able to get out, thanks for sharing your story.

Naw, that would never work 3.75 inch streakz in mud minnow and the deal wouldn't either... JE

Try FG knot with nano

Open water Nanofil Brush power pro Twist issues nearly disappear when combined with hand closing the bail as mentioned by others. Casts are much farther, sensitivity and hook set ability far improved. JE

Amazing to me that a guy that spends so much time and energy on the water to benefit his clients is willing to make public so much of his valuable recon. Time and time again people post about how valuable the info has been for them when on the water. Above and beyond, Mr Babler.

Great story BH thanks for sharing. Great advice. BTW, don't let anybody evaluate the spot on your mom's lung. At 88, much more likely to harm than benefit. I'm sure you have already figured that out... Prayers for her speedy recovery sir. Jim

Prayers and condolences to loved ones and friends. Life is short, seize the day...

A few weeks ago I am by myself at a 4 wide ramp with courtesy dock in the middle, only 2 rigs in the whole lot at 530 am. I tie up on one side of the courtesy dock at the end after launching. Rig 2 launches on the same lane right into my boat. 4 wide, dock in the middle of the ramp, and launches into my boat on the same lane. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up...

BB2SHZL $79.99 and Custom speed sticks 1/2 off today

Wrench, you might consider learning to strip set. Fly rods are casting and fighting instruments, but linear force is needed to set the hook on bony mouthed creatures and the line has very little stretch, is perfect for strip setting. Jim