Thun

A beautiful striper there! My son and a buddy caught and released their first stripers of the season yesterday too. They towed the boat to CT and fished the Quinnipiac River and caught a ton of small ones, the biggest being just legal. Way to go luke and chief! I'd rather have that one nice one than the 40 schoolies they caught anytime!

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I keep a ring with an aquamarine stone in it on board. http://www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encyclopedia/aquamarine

Back in the 70's I used to bounce cowbells off the bottom with monel wire, 2-3' leader and live suckers. With a very long baiting needle, I'd tie one end of the leader to the needle and a double hook on the other end. I'd insert the needle into the sucker's anal cavity up through the body and out of the mouth, then tuck the shaft of the double hook inside the suckers body so only the two hooks were exposed.

For diver rods, I love Down-East Salty's. I like the way they release, just grab the rod and lift straight up...simple. They're not pretty like some are but they're solid and sturdy. And they can be tilted all the way down to put your rod tips in the water when trolling around those floating weed beds while Musky fishing. Best $40.00 I ever spent. http://down-east.com/website_007.htm

Sorry for the confusion RSF, it's that offensive lineman thing again! A circuit sends current from the positive terminal on your 12V battery to your 30A rigger via a red positive wire. The black negative wire on your rigger completes the circuit when connected to the negative terminal on your battery. So to determine what gauge wire to use, we have to measure the total length of wire run from the battery to the rigger and back to the battery. So if I need 7' of wire to get to my rigger (red wire), I need another 7' (black wire) to "get back" to the battery. The total length of run is 14' to complete the circuit and that's the number you would use to find the correct gauge to use. I hope that helps explain my thinking and please do feel free to correct my post if I've erred. I was just trying to make the point that determining the right gauge wire is important for safety reasons and trying to explain how to figure that out.

Cannon's STX manual states 10 gauge wire is used if the run is 0-15'. But...when measuring that run we have to measure the run from the battery to the load and then back again. So for example, if you need 8' of wire to get from your battery to the rigger, you have to double that number for the return trip from the rigger to the battery. 16' would call for 8 gauge wire per Cannon's manual. http://www.cannondownriggers.com/uploadedFiles/Service/Product_Manuals/3397130rh_Magnum_Combined.pdf The manual also states to fuse the riggers at or near the battery so I went with Blue Seas ST Blade Battery Terminal Fuse Block Kit https://www.bluesea.com/products/5024/ST_Blade_Battery_Terminal_Mount_Fuse_Block_Kit I found this youtube from Jamestown Distributors helpful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd8af95HK68

Wishing you great success with the upcoming 2016 season Devin.

Wild turkey were abundant back in the day but when I grew up, they were extinct in my area. Thanks to the sportsmen, they're everywhere again. We're the reason these youngsters can enjoy the wildlife they encounter. http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ref=service-distributes-$1.1-billion-to-state-wildlife-agencies-to-support-&_ID=35495

I find the most important thing to do when sharpening a knife is to maintain the correct angle on the stone or steel throughout the entire length of the blade as you swipe it across the steel. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=knife+sharpening+a+curved+knife&view=detail&mid=B37214A0173C0F9D0772B37214A0173C0F9D0772&FORM=VIRE

I ordered an arch from Tony at GLP and screwed up a base trying to drill holes in it. When I ordered another, he wouldn't take any money for it, even though I insisted. He's the best!

These are pretty neat too. http://www.frisbuoy.com/Ice_Rescue_Article/ice_rescue_article.html