I got one a couple weeks ago and so far I really like it. It hasn’t gotten a real world test yet, but it’s been sitting in the cold garage and still starts in two or three pulls initially and then first pull every time after that. It’s so simple to use. I bought it because it’s idiot proof and so far so good.
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I would never buy another. 2 seasons now of use. The seat is junk, I knew upon purchase and added a swivel and boat seat.
I would not trust the tub to last if you pull with a quad or snow machine, very thin.
Also the first month I had it the rubber coating they line the canvas with started peeling off ever place the tarp had a fold crease.
I too bought it for price point needing a smaller solo house other than my Otter Lodge… I should have bought an Otter cottage because thats what is going to happen next.
Just my .02
Is that in reference to the Kenai or the Fx100? The more research I do, the harder it is to make a decision, lol.
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I looked at the smaller Clams and liked them, but pick up a Shappell FX 100 a couple of weeks ago because I liked the weight of it, 37 lbs. It has a bench seat with no back on it. Maybe I’ll catch a lot of fish and won’t notice my back killing me.
That was the other one I was really looking at. My concern is the sled being too small. Do you think it would fit all my crap? It sucks there are no Shappell carriers locally, so I can’t see it first hand.
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After one season with my ECI reel I’m still not sold. I ended up using spinning reels more by the end of last season. I don’t know if its muscle memory or what but I can manipulate a spinning reel much better. I’ll give it another fair shot this season.
It seems to be a black /white issue with very little gray. I personally only have spinners on my dead stick setups, ECI’s on all my jigging poles. The free spool speed IMO can not be compared to the drop speed of a spinning real. The only way you could be faster than the inlines would be to drop your jig down with no line attached.( JMO). Less chance for line twist. And the ECI can handle big fish with no problem. I did work on the drag system to smoothen it out a bit.
Don’t mean to hijack the thread, but I just got the new EC reel, and the dtag is my only complaint. It’s super touchy. I was just wondering how you went about smoothing it out. Feel free to PM me. Thanks.
I’ve been doing a lot of cattin in La Crosse lately. Couple fish and lot of misses. I’m still learning but shoot me a pm and we can discuss some things.
Sure is. At least as of last week. Saw plenty of boats when I passed on the way to cabelas.
Oh yeah, sorry for continually disregarding your ” try before you buy” advice, BK lol. I really do appreciate you reaching out and dropping some knowledge on me. I’ve just got the fever really bad at the moment and with no quality cat gear stores nearby, and very little free time, the inernet is how I’ve gotta go about curing it. Along with a healthy dose of more cowbell.
Well, I went the economical route and got an Ugly Stik Tiger Lite 7′ one piece Heavy action. I was pleasantly surprised by the lightweight feel of the rod. It’s got a stiffer tip than the regular tigers and takes a good amount of weight to load it up. It’s paired with an Ambassadeur 6500. I figure this is a good starter setup. I’ve got another 6500 and a Penn 310 that still need rods though. I’d like to stay on budget. Anybody have any info on the orange MeatHunters or the Nightstick rods?
Thanks for all the input everyone. I probably should have said in the beginning that I’m looking for a casting rod. It seems the more I look, the more ringing endorsements I find for the ugly stick tigers. How is the castability of these with heavy baits? Is medium heavy a good power for flats on this rod?
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I have been absolutely hammering crappies on the largest size Majmun in pink and glow. Tipped with a shortened number 6 ratso body or J&S paddle bug have produced the best. I’ve sat in a crowd and caught fish hand over fist with this setup while others, just a few yards away, got nothing but a wicked case of bucket butt. I do however bend both the eye and the hook shank to make the jig sit horizontal. In my experience, if my jig isn’t perfectly horizontal, they don’t want it. If the bite gets tough, drop down one size jig head and shorten your tails accordingly.
By shortening, do you mean cutting off the tail bit by bit until they start biting?
I bite off a section of the segmented non-tail end. Usually one segment for the bigger majmun and two for the smaller ones. I like it to fill the hook shank so the curve of the hook comes out just ahead of where the tail begins. I want all tail and very little body hanging off the end. Again, rigged perfectly horizontally.
I have been absolutely hammering crappies on the largest size Majmun in pink and glow. Tipped with a shortened number 6 ratso body or J&S paddle bug have produced the best. I’ve sat in a crowd and caught fish hand over fist with this setup while others, just a few yards away, got nothing but a wicked case of bucket butt. I do however bend both the eye and the hook shank to make the jig sit horizontal. In my experience, if my jig isn’t perfectly horizontal, they don’t want it. If the bite gets tough, drop down one size jig head and shorten your tails accordingly.
I like to run 8lb Sufix Tangerine orange colored line as my main line to a leader of 4lb P-line floro. The hi-vis orange line makes a world of a difference when you’ve got it laying all over the ice after landing a fish. Also, using 8lb test makes for better abrasion resistance and less worry about breaking off from rubbing on the ice.
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IF the new version is worse than the old one,currently on mine,then I will switch back to a Vexilar!My unit did more changes today by itself I was ready to call a Priest to get the DEMONS
out of it! I have a love hate relationship with the LX7,today I hated it…Great unit when it works correctly…
Paul
I had the same feelings towards my LX6. I ended up returning it. I felt that for $600, it should work well right out of the box. All the bells and whistles are nice when they work, but in the end, I reached the conclusion that my Showdown works just as well for everything I do.
I second ratsos for crappies. I also really like the J&S paddle bugs as well as Northland’s Impulse minnows. Pink and white is my go to combination for panfish.
I’ve been fishing south of the beach towards the bridge and have found a solid 4+ inches of ice everywhere I went. I guess you just never know. I haven’t been venturing out towards the middle of the channel though.
Speaking of the dam, does anyone know when you can fish the wall? The corps of engineers has the parking lot closed off.
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Not sure where you are from, but I recall seeing some at the La Crosse Gander Mtn. not that long ago.
They still have them as of Tuesday night.
I bought one there on Thursday or maybe Wednesday. Either way, they only had the stainless steel ones. They work just fine though.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I knew about the aerators but I’m not sure on their locations. That’s what made me wonder about the safety. That’s what the spud is for I guess though. One follow up though, what’s the regs at the park? MN two lines or WI three? I’ve asked the DNR the same question for fishing at the dam and got conflicting convoluted answers. I’ve always just gone with two to cover my butt in any event. 
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Love fishing for and eating bullheads, Haven’t caught one in years though. Not really sure why either.
Tbat seems to be the consensus with a lot of guys. Bullheads now seem to be overlooked. I know I’ve heard stories from a lot of salty old veteran fishermen about bringing home a hundred or more per night back in the day. This could have a lot to do with decreased catch rates and subsequently people losing interest in bullies. That’s just my two cents.
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Do you eat them? They’re yummy! I wish I knew of a place to find bullheads of that size
Yessir. Fried some up the other night. Delicious.
Thanks everyone for the quick response! I’ve got a couple packs of moxis ordered. I believe I chose purple chart tail, chart pepper, and I believe goldcracker or something along those lines. Can’t wait to try them out.
What is everyone’s take on ringworm vs. moxi? Are there certain conditions where one generally outperforms the other? Sorry for all the questions. I’m just getting into walleye fishing for the most part.
Thanks for the help. It definitely was slow. Only managed two keepers. What a nice day though. Got one wicked sunburn.
I left the balance rod where it was and just moved the reel back. Works all right
Well that is encouraging . Where about are they? Not trying to encroach on anyone. Just want to know if the area I usually fish is safely fishable. Which is a little less than halfway between airport beach and the bridge
I’ve had the same propblem with the Sure Strike tip down I bought recently. I have my home made ones that I love and work great but was curious to try the commercial ones as well. I can’t get the thing to ballance at all. I’ll have to keep working on it I guess.
Just got off of work an hour ago. I love my 6pm to 6am shift. I can get off work and head right out on the ice. Not in this poop-storm though.
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I have not been out there, but I believe there’s enough ice there to hold the 20-some people that were out there today.
I did a drive by today as well. The place was packed! I’m hoping to get out there tomorrow. I need to feed the addiction and try out the Showdown.
There were a bunch of guys out at the end of fisherman’s road. Nobody out on lauderdale yet. Should be pretty soon though. Ice looked good near shore anyway. I heard some places on Goose Island are good to go as well. That’s second or third hand info though.
Thanks everybody for the great input. I can’t wait until I can finally get out on the water!
That’s very encouraging news! I was planning on taking a jaunt down to Lauderdale today after the Badger game just to check on things.
