Nolongeramember

It always satisfying to DIY and I love metal work jobs. You have done a great job there and added more life to the trailer. Btw your vertical weld looks better than the horizontal.

Here we go again hahaha. Congrats on the new rig Rebel. Nice boat.

Good point. I don’t use the FG, but whatever joining knot you use, you want break offs to always be at the end.

Nice report Jim. Flaty’s are one of my favourite eating- and catching.

I agree that light mono is not the best for light lures. I hate the stuff myself even though there are plenty of experienced guys that like to use it and pros that have won comps using it. There is plenty to learn when you use mono and I just think it’s a better option for a beginner than 4lb braid.

If you are sick of reading “same shit pros and cons of both” then you should tell the original guy not to ask such a question, and ask to ban all these types of questions just for you. Not blame the responders. There are lots of topics on here that don’t interest me. Guess what I do? I don’t read them. I believe both engines have their places that’s why we are trying to discuss their positives and negatives. Everyone has their own view.

wots rong wif wee hav a civil debate about sumfing?

This is the reason I suggested at the beginning the guy can use what he had to start with, just switch to light mono. The original question wasn’t what is the best line, rod and reel for soft plastics. (Like some answers) It was if what he had could be used. Recommending 4lb braid to a beginner is always going to end in disaster IMO. The stuff breaks after the slightest touch of abrasion. (usually later on a snag or fish) Knots and wind knots are also an issue for beginners with line so thin.

I like their gear but yes, in my experience (a lot) it’s true. Terrible after sales and warranty service. This has encouraged me to purchase their products OS.

I’m not thinking about 30yr old 2 strokes, I’m talking about etecs. Fuel consumption is about even between etecs and 4’s. It’s just that you have to add an extra litre of 2 stroke oil in the etec for every 50 litres of fuel used. Yes four strokes need oil changes once a year but it’s still a lot less oil used compared to etec. You are comparing old tech 2’s weights to four stroke. Etecs are heavier than old tech 2’s and are about the same weights as fours generally. Even so, I had an old 60 yammie 2st and upgraded to a 60 Suzuki 4st. The Suzuki is 2kilo lighter.

Hey mate. I don’t know how you can say that Etecs leave most modern four strokes for dead in oil consumption? Can you elaborate on that? 2 strokes use ALOT more oil than a four. This is a fact. And the oil they say to use is expensive. To say it’s only $20 extra every 6 months is not right for the average user. Btw not knocking Etec, they have their place just don’t like seeing misleading information. Imagine the oil charter operators and water police would go through, running their engines all day everyday if they were using etecs. That might be one reason they run 4 strokes.

We must have been due for this question again haha. These are the main factors I see. Four strokes are a bit quieter out of the pipe to me than an Etec so the noise it puts into the water is quieter. For fishing/ trolling duties this is important to me. When I have a choice why would I pick the louder one? Next, oil. Etec engines have to mix oil with its fuel. Four stroke does not. Etec goes through WAY more oil than a 4 stroke, and the good 2 stroke oil they recommend is expensive. What etecs have that is better than a 4 is it’s stronger power delivery. If I was more into sport boating, wanting to accelerate real hard, tow people etc I would choose Etec no question. For fishing duties I think four stroke is better.

Only good forums survive that long ?

Hi Jim. First of all turn off those fish symbols. They don’t help and just get in the way of the real picture. The mass on the right is a school of bait sized fish. From 6 to 10m. The dots underneath the mass are the same fish of the school less tightly packed, so they show as individual fish. There are no bigger fish at the top like the symbols show. That’s why, get rid of the symbols You can never tell for sure as fish can be on the edge of the beam, but all the masses and small dots are small bait fish. Larger fish like Salmon and kings show up more like a line like at the bottom middle of the picture. Looking at that screen, you would have been moving rather than still. That’s the best way to get a good picture of things. If you were still, all the marks would show up as long lines because the same fish would keep repeating over and over. Also, colour shows the bottom composition but also I find that rock bottom shows as bumpy like on your picture. Sand or soft bottom tends to show up as more flat.

Braid or mono? Anything will work, but I think you should get something lighter. 8-10lb.

I’m thinking you are kind of just starting out so I suggested mono to start with. You can use either. Braid is better as long as you have some experience and know your knots.

My preferred alround light plastics reel is a 2500. What you have is a little larger and heavier than ideal for throwing around flathead and bream plastics, but your question is, is it good enough to use and I say yes for sure. If it’s all you have it’s fine. What is important is the line size. Your casting and catch rate will suffer if your line size is too large. I would recommend 8-10lb mono as a starting point.

Definitely early morning would be the best time from my experience. I mean from first light. Once the sun comes up higher things go quiet.

I don’t know about night. I’ve only seen it firing at day time lately

I’ve found some action at Cobblers Beach.

No he didn’t. What is your point?

I think we have been over this before. The hose is constantly on in the drum and water overflowing. Water outputs from the engine don’t go back in the drum except for the exhaust outlet Even if all the water in the drum was recirculating I’d be happy the engine is clean enough. It’s kind of like saying washing the salt off a fishing reel in a bucket of water defeats the purpose.

60HP4. I flush in a drum for a few minutes after the telltale is warm. About 10- 15mins all up. I put revs up to just under the out of gear limiter which is about 2000 from memory. This gets the thermostat to open as much as possible as it needs more water flow to keep the engine cool. I suspect at idle there would be very little flow through the thermostat.

For what you described at the beginning, I would recommend something a bit bigger than a 4.6m. I would stick with pressed alloy but get 5m minimum. Also, just my preference but in boats under 5m I feel safer with a cab or runabout style when going outside. Less chance of waves swamping over the front in big seas. Plus you have protection from spray and wind.

Fab, don't forget to factor the extra width of a bigger boat. From what I remember of your past photos, it's tight in your garage.