[Jonathan]

Thank you for the heads up/reminder.

[Jonathan]

The trips with family are the ones I barely get to do any fishing myself , but they are always the best trips.

[Jonathan]

I learned something new today. Thank you.

[Jonathan]

I am still trying to learn the sonar side of my electronics. I have an older unit without the side scan. So I am not much help there. GPS is a must and I have found that following the tracks in and out of an area very helpful. Also being able to plan out spots on the computer and upload spots from GED a lot easier and faster than trying to do it on my phone. I do have a tolling motor with spot lock. If you go that direction, make sure you get one that is bigger (length and power wise) than the minimum you think you need. I fished a couple weeks ago in a buddy’s boat that was having trouble with the trolling motor making it unusable. Even though we had and used the anchor, it limited us to where we were able to fish. Some of the deeper passes where the current was moving fast, the anchor wouldnt catch. Other places being on anchor would put us in an awkward position for the spot. Not much help one way or the other, but a couple points to keep in mind when deciding.

[Jonathan]

In GED, save your spots in a folder. Click on that folder and click, File, Save, Save Place As… When the save file popup comes up, change to type to Kml. I use GPSVisualizer.com. Upload your file and choose output format as a GPX file. Save that GPX file to an SD card. Insert card into your Garmin and it should prompt several options. Choose to merge from file to import. Other options may erase your previous spots already loaded in your Garmin.

[Jonathan]

I went through all of the same questions. I took me a while to settle down on one. I started looking for an 18′ aluminum side console. Wound up with a 24′ bay boat with a top. Where I wanted to fish was a lot of open bays and and crossing open water and most trips out include kids. I have a tendency to stay out longer than I should from time to time when the weather/wind is picking up or the weather changes on the days I am available to fish. It can be a handful if you fish alone much but its doable. Thats why I wound up with a high sided bay boat. Its not much of a marsh boat but it is good at what it is good at.

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the report. Those are a couple of the areas I plan to try tomorrow afternoon. Between the low tidal movement this week and fishing the afternoon on a rising tide, conditions look tough for me. Hopefully I can at least scratch out a dinner.

[Jonathan]

Its just north of Barataria Pass. I believe its called Queen Bess Island on the maps.

[Jonathan]

Just north of Baton Rouge. No major damage. Lost power for a few hours last night but back on quickly. Saw a few trees down on the way to work. Now to start undoing all of the hurricane prep.

[Jonathan]

Thank you. I was looking at both the Penn Battle III and the Daiwa BG combos recently but the combos were both ~ $25 more than the reel alone which made me question the quality of the rod itself. Maybe I’ll just grab one of each instead of a few of the lower price options. Im in Baton Rouge so we dont have many tackle stores outside of BassPro and Academy. I need to check out Superior to see what they have.

[Jonathan]

I would say go with the bracket as well. I dont know what is involved with installing the bracket, but the less holes in the transom the better.

[Jonathan]

I have a lot of that as well. I am always adding to my kit as I find things useful. Some of these are not in most general first aide kits. A few of the things I can think of off the top of my head are.

Dramamine and childrens Dramamine

Tourniquet

Iodine

Gauze

Quikclot

Ibuprofen

Childrens benadryl (adults and pets can use)

Survival blanket

[Jonathan]

Granted I have only used a handful of launches but I have never had to use 4wd yet. It is nice to know that its there though. There is also several other trucks there that I hope would help if I got into a bind. I know I would if someone else needed help. I have found that the tow vehicle weight and wheelbase make a big difference in towing comfortability.

[Jonathan]

I looked at the Penn Battle III combos a few places before the add popped up on my phone for West Marine. It turned out to be a good deal. I did buy two from them and it worked out to be about $130 incl tax and shipping (free shipping) per combo. Everywhere else I saw was $170-$180 per before tax and/or shipping.

[Jonathan]

Thank you. I dont know that I have heard the rod vs reel broken down like that before. Some people say the rod is more important and others say the reel is more important. But never broke it down like that as to why. I have a couple nicer rods and reels that I use. I was looking for a decent (not junk) lesser expensive spinning combo for kids and friends that come fishing that may not have equipment. Probably mostly cork or dropshot fishing.