Seth

Picking it up from Cowtown Taking off for RAW 2018 at Taneycomo

Nice setup! I ended up going with the black/orange decals on my current boat, but was thinking real hard of going the black/green like you did. That Etec will treat you right! Mine have been fantastic! Whether it's -10 or 110, they fire right off as soon as you turn the key.

I have a Minnkota 210 charger, which is what was available before the digital series came out. It says that it can charge AGM's on the charger itself, but the only Minnkota chargers that I have found to be supported for most AGM brands is the PC line up. Those chargers are nice but definitely aren't cheap. I've already decided I am going to just go with flooded cells this time around. If my charger ever craps out, I will then replace it with something that is better suited for AGM's and then make the jump the next time I replace them.

Let me guess, Duracell AGM 31 series from Sam's club? Those are the ones I was looking at. I can get a pair for right around $400. That's the best price I have found.

Same here. I've used two sets of batteries since 2010 and I fish a lot all year long. The first set was a pair of 27 series Fish Hunter flooded cell and the second was the Everstart 29dc Wally Word specials. Both batteries run about $100 a pop instead of $200-300. I guess I just figured since I had to replace them, I would just go with the AGM's. Of course that was before I thought about the fact that I may need to upgrade to a more updated charger....

Do you use those for your trolling motor? It shows that they only have a 55 amp hour capacity, which is only about half of what your typical 31 series deep cycle has.

I doubt many of these school shooters grew up in a family friendly home and suffered abuse, sexual assault or some other issues while growing up. Getting a swat on the butt was probably the least of their worries. They aren't right in the head for one reason or another. How do you keep guns out of the hands of these types though? It's not like it is hard to acquire a gun via private party in this country. I honestly have no idea what it will take to remedy these types of issues. People are just freaking nuts these days!

What do you use? I need to replace mine this spring and am trying to decide if it's worth the expense to jump over to AGM's over the flooded Everstart 29dc's that I've had for the past four years. Going to AGM means I will probably have to ugprade to a better charger. I don't think my Minnkota 210 will properly charge an AGM. A good 3 bank 10+ amp charger looks to be in the $300-350 range.

It only took like 7.5# last year to win the Elfrink. Four fish over a pound with one pushing 2# would be a pretty good start! I've already decided that I will dedicate the first few hours to trolling next weekend. It may not produce a fish, but when you only have four spots paying out and with the rate that the kicker browns have been coming in each tournament, it is hard not to try it. It's hard to beat guys that have one fish that weighs as much as a lot of peoples 8 fish.

I like to think I'm fairly up on my freshwater fish species, but this is the first time I recall hearing about one. Looks like a darker version of a grass carp.

The trick for me with the FG knot was to not pull on the main line too hard when wrapping the leader material. This allowed the wraps to "stack" if that makes sense. This is the video I used to help me when learning to tie it.

I like a dual angle rod holder. Something like 0 or 5 degrees is nice for trolling and then around 30-45 degrees for anchor fishing. I've got Monsters on my boat, but I really like the looks of "The Rage" rod holder from fishbiterodholders.com. Drifmaster Duo Pro's are great too. As far as I know, fishbite and Driftmaster are the only ones that offer left hand threaded rod holders. The left hand threads are preferable for rod holders that are on the portside of the boat since they will be getting tighter instead of looser when spun towards the transom of the boat. I've had mine come loose on hard strikes from catfish and when trolling dipsy divers since mine are all right hand threaded. If you're just trolling little stuff for smaller fish, then the thread direction most likely won't matter.

That's exactly what everybody I know running them says too. I guess that is also why they trade motors in every few years so they aren't shelling out big bucks for repairs. They would rather just have that monthly motor payment.

This is how much fun I had learning to tie it. My fiance took pleasure in my displeasure when I first started learning how to tie the FG. I guess the choice words that I was muttering gave it away.

Are you tying it with braid or Nanofil? If it's Nanofil, I have never used the stufff so I don't know what to tell you there. I've used it with 15# Power Pro and 8-10# fluorocarbon as well as with 100# Power Pro and 80# dacron on my snagging rods.

Practice tying the FG on the couch while you are watching TV. It took me a few times to get it down, but once I did, I found it easier than the Alberto knot. I can't tie it nearly as fast a double Uni so if I have to retire my leader while fishing, I will just use the double UNI and retie with the FG at home and before I go fishing again.

I'm an Etec guy myself, but I am curious what year and model Mercury that you had pop on you? The Optimax engines are the ones that seem to have the most issues. I've not heard of much bad happening on the four storke models. My dad has ran a four stroke 50 for years and aside from a few coils that were a cheap fix, it has been a fine engine. My 2008 115 Etec had a few injectors drop that left me down a cylinder, but never stranded. My 2013 150 Etec has been great aside from it bogging a few times. It hasn't done it in a year and a half though and I've not done anything to it.

They don't call them Optipops for nothing! Sorry to hear about that Derek. Hope you get her back to working order before spring arrives.

Sorry to hear this. I always get a knot in my throat and have hold back tears when I hear of somebody losing such an amazing animal. We lost the most amazing dachshund a few years ago at the age of 12 and it was really hard. We now have two other dachshunds and I love them to pieces,, but they still ain't no Darla.

Good luck on finding a decent jet of any size for $3000. If you bump up to $4000, you may find something worth buying. Of course you never know when you may stumble on to a good deal though. My first boat was a 1995 boat/motor/trailer 1648 with a 50hp jet that I paid $1500 for and then sold for $2500 a few years later. I realized that $2500 was far too cheap when it sold within a few hours.

Pline CX Premium in 2# has a diameter of 0.11mm where as the SOS line in 2# has a diameter of 0.16mm, which is the same as the diameter of 4# Pline CX Premium. For $2 more, you can buy 300 yards of line with the same diameter and twice the breaking strength.

2-4# Pline CX Premium in moss green or Pline Floroclear in clear if I can't find the CX Premium.

When I throw a spoon, I just tie on the smallest snap swivel. I don't know why you couldn't do the same on a spinner. I don't think trout care one bit about that swivel on a flashy bait that is moving at a decent rate of speed. It helps prevent line twist and you can switch baits out in a matter of seconds in stead of having to completely retie. If you don't like the snap swivel on the bait, you can just use a small barrel swivel a foot or two up the line with a leader and then tie your lure on to the leader. That swivel and leader setup also gives you the option to add a bullet weight ahead of the swivel for extra weight. @MoCarp mentioned that in a previous post when talking about using roostertails for trout and it makes perfect sense.

I think everybody needs to make a trip to Taneycomo and thin out some of those 10-12 inchers! I'll give you some recipes to try.

I can still see what he posted before I put him on ignore as well. As long it prevents any of his future posts from showing up then I will be satisfied.