Nolongeramember

I used to buy and read them every month a long time ago and I learnt a lot. These days it's basically all repeat type articles that I read years ago. Also, they include a second crappy magazine in the same package to make it look like your getting more and to disguise the ultra thin main magazine when you pick it up haha. Not worth the price they are IMO but I still get sucked in every now and then especially when they have titles on them like "So and so Secrets You Need to Know"

I've seen some Daiwa reels advertised in Japan that apparently have a Mug Shield.

That's a good idea mate if it works for you. I keep all these kind of notes under "notes" on my phone. I tend to remember what lines I have on my reels anyway but still do it just in case.

Crap line I say. I don't believe in the "bad batch" excuse. If it fails prematurely it's not good line. I use Fireline for the light stuff as I think it is good value for money and has served me well for a very long time.

The transducer does look out of place to get a good reading at speed but going by what you were saying, you are getting interference or a bad picture all the time. How does the screen look when you are not moving? It should be working fine when not moving with the transducer in the location you have it in, in the pictures. If its not then there may be another issue.

Well to answer your questions, I don't understand why they would tell you it's better to run a mono backing unless they think mono is generally better than braid. But then you wouldn't put braid on to start with. A few turns of mono backing on the bottom of the spool is always good to prevent any slipping. I can't see any advantage of using more mono than that other than to save money on braid. For me it's cheaper to use a mono backing to fill the space. On a 2500 reel and 150 yards of braid, you will unlikely ever see the backing. For backing, I would generally use the same size/ strength as your main line and same knot as the leader knot. You just never know when you may actually need it, and if you do it will most likely be on a fish of a lifetime to get down that far so it better be reliable just to be safe.

Make a habit of always watching your lure all the way to the boat if it's possible to see it. You may have seen what took your lure then acted on it. You could have hit it the moment it gulped it. Things may have turned out better, maybe not.

Another possible cause could be if you are pumping under considerable pressure like if you have a spray bar squirting out of very small holes for example. Doing this for extended periods could be weakening and damaging the pump motor somehow. I don't think these pumps are designed to work under pressure. Just free flow out of a pipe basically. It would explain why when you turn it off and back on again, the pump will start ok but then lose some grunt because it has been damaged and weakened. I don't think the pick up pipe forcing water in can damage anything. Those pipes are generally very small diameter to cause any excess flow problem.

Hi mate. It sounds like the impeller may be wearing down for some reason if they still run but don't pump. Do you pump any unusual water with abrasives like sand or something? Have you checked the impellers are still tight on the shaft and not slipping? That could also be happening. If they are failing for no obvious reason they have a warranty of 3 or 5 years. One of them, can't remember which.

Make sure you have a proper step charger that holds the correct voltage throughout the charge.

My boat is slightly smaller than your set up overall. I'm running a 55lb and it does the job but I wouldn't put it on anything bigger or heavier. I recommend you get the 80lb for your boat.

I use a variation of the Albright and it is the best knot I've found for leaders. I use if from 4lb right up to 113lb braid. Doubling the braid is a good idea if it is close to or lower strength than the leader. You sound like you know what you are doing there. I would put money on your casting problem being due primarily to too much line on the spool. If you can post a pic of it that would be good, but otherwise you need to be under the spool lip by 1.5mm or so. If you have more than that take some off and see how you go.

Thanks for the report. It helps me plan a little better for tomorrow....

Nice reports. Well done. You guys are always producing good catches.

You can look up motocross or dirt bike hour meters. They are small and should be able to connect under the engine cover as well. Probably your easiest and cheapest option if your happy with that style.

I use Gamakatsu trebles on my hard bodies and I like them. They have a nice wire shape and super sharp points. Size 8 or 10 will be good for your lure. Owner are good as well.

How much do you want to spend and are you interested in good value for money or your not fussed you just want the best? Usually the high end stuff is the best but it's not good value if you know what I mean.

Nice bream mate. Well done

Who is selling the Vapour for $329?

I don't think he can do that as I'm guessing the hole needs to be the size it is for a plug on the end of the cable to fit through. Otherwise why else would you drill the hole so big. I'm still going with what's done is done. Take the cable out and fill the hole right, with epoxy, body filler or whatever. Then run the cable over the transom. There has to be a way of doing it.

I'd say the sounder is not powerful enough. 450m is mega deep for the average sounder to get to.

Geez mate, that's a decent sized hole to be drilling into your boat. I would have recommended you run the wire over the top of the transom. If that was mine I would still run the cable over the transom and then you can plug up that hole much better than if the wire is going through it.

Lol it does sound funny. 4900 hours under 1000rpm plus what about the time it has spent above 1000rpm?

I've given clips a go plenty of times and I keep going back to tying knots. When chasing Bass, Bream, EP, squid and others you tend to get some abrasion near the lure from snags, bushes, rocks or whatever and even wear and tear from caught fish. If you keep changing lures and never tie a new knot your line will be weakened for sure. I like to continually tie a new knot with each lure. It's not a perfect system, sometimes it's needed sometimes it not but it's good insurance. I use a 6-7 turn half blood knot. It's strong and quick to tie.

That bar is the axel. It is solid steel but yours is looking fairly rusted out. I don't know why but most trailers I have seen have this bar non coated, just bare metal. Does anyone know why?