[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.