FishingFool34

Suffix Performance Leadcore 27lb and Fishusa Stealthcore 27lb. For me a 7 color and 10 color both go on 45 size reels so there was no benefit in micro lead for me. My leadcore is pretty much strictly salmon/trout so I'd rather have the extra strength and 27lb test. If I was targeting only walleye I would likely use the 18lb stuff.

Best price you will find new is at Northwoods outlet just fyi. Finding them used is tough, there is nothing better to upgrade to. Goodluck on your search https://northwoodsoutlet.com/product/fish-hawk-x4d-bluetooth-lcd/

I also use a Beckman, never had anything but goodluck with Beckman nets. I use the 26"x34" hoop on a 6-9ft handle.

This is a known issue with the coldwater line. If you follow Rochester Reel Repair on facebook he put up a lengthy post on this just the other day. If you read his post and purchase a carbon fiber drag washer kit ($10) you can fix the issue. There is a plastic washer in the reel which is replaced with a CF one from the kit, there is also a stack of 3 curved metal washers that need to be re-orientated. $10 and 15 mins of your time (there are multiple YouTube videos cover the disassembly process) and you can fix that issue.

Thankfully you are in the minority on this forum. If you're obviously so secretive about your fishing techniques why even make videos then? Seems like a much safer way to protect your "hot rig" is to just leave the cameras at home? Imagine what would happen if you missed an edit and someone saw your "hot rig", they would almost certainly catch fish that would have been yours otherwise...

There are different types of fishing videos on Youtube imo… there are fishing SHOWS and fishing VIDEOS. Fishing shows are sponsor heavy and I think they tend to use and do things in a way to promote sponsored items that may or may not be how they would normally fish. Now nothing against them, it's their job and they want to keep sponsors happy as that is where the majority of their money comes from. Then there are fishing videos, these are people who are more focused on content as they make their money from ad revenue and more views equals more money. These are guys who go in depth into techniques and equipment because they usually don't have large sponsorships they tend use equipment they prefer and techniques they actually believe work. These sometimes tend to be the more "clickbait" type video titles but they are usually pretty good content-wise. Then there is a smaller section of people that do it all for fun. They want to capture something they enjoy and even teach/help others with things they have found. These people's videos don't tend to be the first ones that come up in a search as they have lower subscription counts and their videos aren't as polished. But these tend to can be some of the best videos imo. There are a lot of good fishing videos on YT, you just have to pick the right ones. Some of the best great lakes fishing videos I have watched on YT are made by members here, Fishin' Physician assistant, Russell's fishing tech, Dan the fisher, among others.

In order to control a Minnkota TM with your depth finder you will need an iPilot Link version. Standard ipilot can only be controlled with the remote. That being said I have a Terrova with Link and other than being able to see the TM heading displayed on my GPS (which is very nice imo) I almost never use any of the other Link features. I didn't have a standalone AP unit so I used my TM like an AP. My kicker would do the pushing and the TM would do the steering and fine speed adjustments. It worked very well most of the time. I would recommend finding one with the 72" shaft, I had a 60" and there were times I felt it was too short.

I've always wanted to tow my boat someplace and do some ocean fishing out of it. I know WA style boats like mine (24ft) are pretty popular ocean boats, just need to do some research on when/where. If I'm taking a trip specifically to go fishing, I'm going to go someplace for fish I can't catch locally.

Long enough to be able to clip on planer board release. Or enough to clip on an in-line planer, 18-24” of mono is enough to cover both situations.

Basic concept is you want the transducer as close to the probe as you can. If for some reason you were using the probe up front I guess it would better. But for 99.99% of people that have a fish hawk... the transducer will be on the transom. It's not like a sonar transducer where mounting on the bow would let you see stuff you wouldn't see with a transom mounted ducer, it only reads info that the probe sends.

Why would you want to do that? The transducer only reads data from the fish hawk probe which is attached to your downriggers that are almost always at the back of the boat. There would be only negatives that I can think of to attach it to your bow mount TM. You're already dealing with blowback from trolling and currents which I've had push the probe out of range before (rarely, but it happens) and that's with the transducer on the transom. Now you just moved the transducer another 20ft forward by installing it on the bow... not a good idea.

If you're going to run on a single battery I would want the biggest one I could find. I would look into a 31 group battery dimensions are very similar to the 29. In my old boat I had 2 29 group batteries on a switch, I could run radio, 2 electric riggers, a helix 9, fishawk, and livewells all day and still have enough juice left to start the main. I never actually had to switch to the 2nd battery.

I would think the fact that any type of "planning weight" needs to be pulled, in order to generate downward force. That would likely negate any of the "less blowback" effects the shape would have. Plus the heavier the weight the more force would be needed to pull it to where the wings would start to overcome the weight of it (depending on the size of the wings I guess). I don't have a physics degree or anything so I could be wrong but that's just what I think. Just think about the divers we all use (dipsey, slide, chinook, etc), There is a ton of force on the rods and those things only have ounces of weight on them.

Looks like iTroll has kits for older mercury 2 strokes... little more expensive the trollmaster but lots of additional features. Plus no need to modify anything if you have one of the motors listed. https://www.itroll.us/itroll.app.guide.html

I haven't done it in few years as all my recent vehicles have come with all of installed already. If I remember right the receiver was only 8 bolts that install in pre drilled holes on the frame. The wiring was very simple too, it was just plug and play. The wires plugged in between the main harness and where the tail lights plugged in. Plug main harness in one end and the tail lights into the other and 2 wires came out in the middle for the trailer plug, do this on each side and you're all set. Pretty straight forward, there's prolly a bunch of videos on YouTube showing how to do it.

You have a lot of options with your setup being newer. You have to make some decisions first, do you want AP on your main or kicker? If you go with AP on the main the kicker would be steered via the EZ steer bar just like it does when you turn your steering wheel. It would make things easier and slightly cheaper if the AP you choose matches your current electronics. This would remove the need for a separate AP control screen. Pros/Cons for AP on kicker vs main have been discussed here if you do a search. For AP on the main outboard you can go with just about any big brand (Lowrance, Garmin, Raymarine, Simrad) your least expensive option for the main will likely be Lowrance. https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/type/autopilots/outboard-pilot-hydraulic-pack/ For AP on the kicker you only have one option and that is Garmin, the nice part about the new Garmin kicker AP it is NOT a hydraulic unit. This means no pumps/hyd lines/oil to deal with, which simplifies the DIY install. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/635407

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I think I have seen the same videos on YouTube. It was a father/son fishing duo and they would wash their spoons in lemon joy and scrub them with a brush after catching a fish on them. I'm always a little hesitant when sponsored fisherman on TV/YouTube/etc recommend something odd and say it by name/show the brand. I believe a lot of this is done for sponsorship reasons regardless if that is what the person actually believes. Not to mention with the way these shows are edited you can make it look like the fish were jumping in the boat if you wanted. I'm not saying this is the case in this situation but I always take these things with a grain of salt. That being said I keep a bar of the "scent eliminator" hunting soap on the boat for cleaning up my hands after stopping at the fuel dock.