13owhunter

This post pushed me over the edge to try and paint a few myself. I have absolutely zero artistic ability and have never used an airbrush but "trouty" patterns seem to be a good place to start. At the very least I am impressed by the quality of the cheap blanks. They seem almost as good as some of the name brands. Going to give it a go this weekend. Ive watched a few videos so Im dangerous at this point. Is there a go-to glow paint? Seems like whats out there has mixed reviews. Thanks!

Those are good rods. I am guessing they use an Okuma blank. I would guess the blue diamond blank but the FishUSA ones are shiny and the new blue diamond rods are not. Someone on here will probably know the answer. While I haven't fished with them, I have handled that exact rod and I think you'd be happy with the results. Really lots of good options out there that wont break the bank.

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Kicker down for sure. I would not trust mine tilted up at all. She's old and there's a good amount of leverage on the bracket in the up position. I use a pull tight strapped to a cleat and around the bracket for the steering arm. A ratchet strap around the whole thing would be better.

I have seen a lot of installs where they are located on the side of the splashwell so I dont think that is a problem. Mine is tucked away underneath but i had the room to get my hands down in there. May want to consider a few things. The first being a 4 way valve so you can turn fuel on and off for each motor separately. (and also on for both at the same time.) Label it so you dont forget which one is on for both motors or your kicker will die right after you have all your rods set. I know this from experience! The other is getting a fuel water separator that has a clear bottom so you can see if there is water in there. The one I have you can't see so i really have no idea if there is water in there or not. Once they are full they dont work anymore. Seems intuitive but worth mentioning if you cant tell by looking at it. I unscrew mine and dump into something clear so I can see if there is water in there a couple times a season.

Love hearing these reports. Really itching to get out there! Need to hurry up and finish my bathroom remodel so I can focus on getting the boat out! These videos are some serious motivation! Thank you!

I have used some old cannons and now have big jons. The abrupt stop on the cannons is simply not acceptable to me. Way too much stress on everything. My (newish) big johns stop really softly but do overshoot a couple of feet which is very easy to get used to. They could be a little faster but they arent slow and probably fine for 9/10 people. I dont think the magnum metalz are much more expensive than the big jon captains pack. If I needed new ones i would be looking at those or scottys. A few of my buddies run scottys and love them. That said, new ones of any brand are not cheap and there are a ton of used BJs and Cannons out there. Id take an old cannon over manual cranking any day!

I would love to try "video game fishing" for bass at least once. Really not my thing but would love to understand it better. There is probably a lot more technique involved than a lot of us might care to admit to. That said, droves of people using this tech on spawning bass is where I would, personally draw the line. I will, totally, admit to harassing a spawning bass or two in my day ..... I know I mentioned this before but we, desperately need more people in the hunting and fishin game and need them to vote. If they don't, we will have a LOT more to complain about.....

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I'll be adding panoptix to my boat this year and I think it'll teach me something about fish behavior and, maybe, put a few extra fish in the boat. It is sure to add a bit more excitement, especially if the fish arent biting. I respect the opinion that this technology provides an "unfair" advantage. At the end of the day I'm still out there to enjoy being on the water and spend time with friends and family. Sadly, I do not get to spend as much time on the water as I'd like. When I do, I enjoy my fishhawk, screens, throttle control, GPS trolling motor etc etc. They make it easier to control some of the variables needed to put a bend in the rod. You still need to know how to run gear and make everything work which tech wont do for you. Really think that realtime sonar is different than putting on a driven hunt with a drone with a thermal cam. We desperately need more outdoorsmen and women and need them to vote. I think we should consider cutting folks some slack if there is a disagreement with techniques used. (within reason of course)

I'm partial to yo zuri and thundersticks but spoons have been doing much better for me early season. At one point in my fishing career i would have never thought i would choose a spoon on a flatline before a stick bait...... Really think stick baits shine with a cast and retrieve that can introduce some variability in action. Dont really get much of that trolling slow and shallow.

I use regular 87 octane in my boat and marine stabil in every tank. Stabil works.... I top it off with fresh fuel at the end of the season and am confident that I will not have any fuel related issues come spring. All my 4 stroke equipment gets regular fuel and I run stabil in the fall for the off season. I have had a total of zero issues due to fuel and I burn quite a bit more fuel than the average guy. I do put ethanol free fuel in my 2 stoke equipment but i only run through 5 or 6 gallons a year so it doesnt cost a whole lot to do so.

I have one of the higher end food savers and it gets the job done. I am, secretly, hoping it dies so I can get a chamber sealer. I have used a commercial grade one a few times and they are awesome. Only advice I have is dont get a cheap (non chamber) one. I bought a highly rated, inexpensive one on amazon to donate to my buddies garage we process deer in every once in awhile and it was not up to the job. She did 3 or 4 deer and lost her suck.

Beautiful! If you called them in for someone they count as far as Im concerned! I had one in my backyard almost daily this year when the mulberries were on the ground. First gray I have seen up close in a very long time. I really need to get out and whack some yotes at the farm. We are seeing more and more of them the last few years and less deer. Is there an advantage in waiting till it gets cold with snow cover and they are desperate for food, or better off dragging some roadkill out there and hunting the next evening? (or both) I reckon theyd get on roadkill pretty quick in my neck of the woods......

I see the same thing and my farm is also in the Brockport area. (Sweden) I have a couple of clover plots and do a half acre annual plot. I have tried several varieties of brassicas and other blends and the deer seem to prefer the clover in the winter. I tried "Winter PZ" 2 years ago which was a mix of oats, clover and peas. The deer ate almost every single pea plant in short order. Oats came up great and the residual clover came up so well in the spring, i didnt mow it and let it go to seed. I am planning on spraying in the summer and trying all winter peas this fall. Would be interested to know if anyone else has any recommendations. Maintaining all perennial plots would be a lot easier and I may go to all clover if i cant find anything better. Edit: May be worth noting that my food plots are in different large fields where corn and beans are rotated. (we lease to a farmer)

Amazing pics! Love seeing the lil ones getting out. First tracking job in the woods for my lil girl this year too. Now if i can only get her stubbornness to put down the snacks and reel in a fish bigger than a sunfish....