Sk8man

They can be good late season when aggression strikes seem to play a larger role than feeding responses. The Silver one with a red nose has been a good choice.

In offering the spreadsheet Mark has presented a way to figure things out in a thoughtful rational way as contrasted with the pure "guesstimation" and trial and error methods many of us have been using right along and I for one commend him for taking the time to do so. There can be many variables dealing with this stuff that no matter how conscientious someone is in figuring there will always be some things that come into play which can affect results. One of the things I discovered long ago in dealing with ss wire line is that it makes a difference whether you start out putting it on the spool straight with the level wind vs. starting randomly on the spool. Possibly things like letting your wife apply the tension to the spools vs. using a line minder type input device could make a difference as well . The assumption of .22 for the 30 lb test might be a potential factor because manufacturers may use different processes to make the line some giving potentially smaller or larger diameters for their particular 30 lb mono. The point is that these calculations and the spreadsheet are meant to help in the "estimation" process and rather than looking at the spool of copper and of backing and saying " Geez maybe all this s#$%t will fit" it is instead a starting point to get a good idea closer to the result you might want. Using 65 lb braid or 30 lb is going to give radically different result on how much copper will go on a reel and deciding on how much backing you actually NEED will also come into play. For my Finger Lakes setups I can get away with 450 ft of 30 lb braid backing without problems running a 300 down the chute but on Lake O I have a different setup with 900 ft of backing for the same 300 ft of copper and it is very important whether you intend to run the setups off boards, what type of boards or as "chute" rods as the amount of line you HAVE to let out is different.

OR buy a 32 pack and take your chances estimating after going half way through it and when you look at what you did the next day say "DILLIGAF" Great advice Mark. Thanks for taking the time to do it and putting it up here

You might want to give the folks that make EZ steer a call to find out what the exact tension is supposed to be set at.

I'm with Brian., I gave up bass fishing years ago because I was totally burned out on it for the reasons he stated. After watching those videos in this cold drab weather I found it pretty exciting feeling as though you were right there in the competition and looking forward to getting out there again this upcoming season. The basic lack of a decent ice fishing season has made it even more poignant. The thing about fishing in general and trout and salmon fishing in particular that is exciting is that you never know what may be one the other end of the line, whether it is fully hooked, whether you will be able to get it to the boat or be able to net it or how big it will be. That part of the equation is the same for most of us whether in a tournament or not. After doing this many tens of thousands of times (or in the case of charter guys maybe 100 thousands of times) we may become a bit desensitized to the process...sort of like the compulsive gamblers pulling the lever on the old style slot machines time after time and not being impressed by the results even when they win substantially on a given pull All you have to do to judge the true excitement value of trout and salmon fishing is to turn on a kid or someone brand new to it and watch their behavior when they get onto a big king. Even seasoned fishermen who aren't doing it day after day as their living find it exciting. Admiral Byrd and I had a neighbor of mine (serious walleye and bass fisherman) with us after kings this Fall who had previously caught large fish of other species (e.g. 58 inch Musky etc.) and we thought he was going to pizz his pants for sure with a 26 pound king which he decided to have mounted I think a lot of the difference in $$$$ in our sport vs. the bass tourneys etc. is the level of extensive support of sponsors and the highly organized nature of their tournament circuit that reaches across many states appealing greatly to national sponsors. The salt water tourneys are a whole other dimension as they involve things nationally and multi-nationally so they attract huge sponsorship and the entry fees are on a different level as well.

Congratulations Devin. You guys sure earned it with that weather. The trophy should also read " For hardcores only"

Matt you have a PM

The only time I even touch the motor is when I am launching or getting ready to move or quit and I just lift it up with one hand and the shallow water drive lever keeps it there....never have had a problem with it in 14 years. The bracket is located exactly on the transom so that I never have to make any other adjustments at all. As far as the EZ Steer goes (which I don't need to use on mine) they are supposed to be installed and adjusted such that the kicker should raise right along with your big motor if the tension is set right on the connector rod.

Had to move one of the tow eyes on the transom but the bracket has never budged over the years and the lower unit stays totally out of the water when going full tilt or under way.

Shade of Grey brings up a very important point in my opinion and that is the ease with which you can access the various functions on the screen in addition to being able to see screens in bright sunlight. The non touch screen units have "nested" menus so you have to hunt for things and some of the desired items can be hidden within them sometimes several layers down and it can be a real pain and waste of time trying to access them when on the water and especially when you are in a hurry. Not all of these options or items are very intuitive either and although I am a Lowrance and Vexilar guy in terms of personal preference and experience but the Lowrance manuals (if you can call them that) totally suck. The touch screens may offer a better experience in terms of quickness and ease of use but I have not used them (yet) but this issue is certainly worth looking at closely in my view. Because the competition has been very keen in recent years all these major companies have been putting out good quality units ( e.g. Humminbird, Lowrance,and Garmin and at a somewhat higher end the Furuno's)) and you need to closely look at exactly how you will be using the unit you select and the specific transducer selection will be as important as anything too.

If it was your blue one you wouldn't need a pole to go fishing

Good idea about the snaps ....two of mine were out on the road someplace

Did you take your medication today Mark?

:lol:

It probably isn't far off for many circumstances. Back some time ago my wife and I took a course on starting your own small business from the Business College (evenings) at FLCC. She did hers on Social Work Private Practice and I did mine on chartering as I was close to retirement and had thought about getting my captain's license etc.. We had to develop a thorough business plan and then present it at the end to the class with a breakdown including earnings on an hourly basis (which I knew from experience would be a problem ). I presented my findings and cost breakdowns etc. and got to the hourly wage part at the end and it amounted to something like $2.79 per hour. I could see right there the only benefit for me would be the potential write off for my addiction Florida, California maybe a different story where you have the whole year to make money but there you have all the competition too. You really have to love to fish and these guys earn their money too. Additionally I got to thinking do I really want to take a chance on getting burned out on something that I love so much dealing with all the potential issues without being able to actually fish myself all that much.

Is that the 20 inch shaft model?