Hey guys thanks for all the suggestions, just got home last night and it was such a great trip. I have never been on water that was so easy to catch fish. We paid for it in blood tribute to the local residents though…the skeeters were absolutely awful. With a party of 9, we were a heavily laden group, so we made a big push the first day starting on Little Gabro #33, to Big Gabro, through Bald Eagle and then another big portage through to Gull Lake where we stayed for the week and then just ran day trips from there. Absolutely fantastic walleye, pike, and smallmouth fishing. Growth is really coming back from the prior burned areas. Can’t wait to go back!

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X2 on the multimeter check. I messed around with my old trailer a bunch of times until I just said f it and rewired the whole thing. Found a few abraded sections. Just make sure your new stuff is tinned copper/marine rated, and be gentle when fishing the wires down the frame.

I used olympic on my deck two years ago and it’s holding up well. Prep work on the wood and a liberal application goes a long way. I bought and used about 30% more than the sqft rating. Deckboards are thirsty.

2008 Tacoma owner here. Have the access cab and it’s been such a great truck. Lots of fishing/camping/scuba diving/hauling gear and it’s never let me down. Been in a more than a few snowy ditches and steep snowy boat ramps, and never have been stuck. 170k miles now and other than routine maintenance the only other things I’ve replaced are shocks/struts/brakes/compass&thermometer unit/cabin blower motor(was plugged up with acorns from parking under an oak tree). It’s mostly lived outside its whole life and just some rust on the rear bumper. Rated for 6500lbs towing, I’ve never had an issue pulling anything. Feel free to reach out w any questions.

A few years back my wife talked me into getting an REI tent and I was really reluctant to drop a few hundred on a tent. (Coming from a bumpkin who made do with a $50 ozark trail dome tent for the 20 yrs of my teens through early 30s).

Anyway, I was skeptical until we used it, and saw the difference in quality right away. Very solid, lightweight, and well-reinforced. We’ve used it a lot and have had no issues. It’s a Kingdom 6 and weighs maybe 15-20lbs. They also make a 4 (and maybe 2?) person version.

Now yall got me itching to play in the dirt. Surprised nobody has mentioned Seed Savers! Three of my alltime favorites came from their catalog; moonglow tomatoes, orca dry beans, rattlesnake green beans. They have s ton of other great stuff too.

You ever try shooting trad, bear? I’m stubbornly holding myself to a harvest with my longbow before I treat myself to a compound.

Also been slowly working on two selfbows over the past few years. One hackberry and the other ash. Made my 3-year old a pvc recurve last year that shoots surprisingly well, too. Had some busted cedar shafts that I cut down and retipped and now he has a blast coming to 3D shoots with us. Good times.

Looks like an awesome day with the kiddos! Start em young with conservation and stewardship. Nice work, dad.

Final Update:

The first sender was a dud outta the package. Took it back to the shop and tested the new one right at their counter with my multimeter, ohm range was where it should be. Cut and shaped it once I got it home and it is working just fine now.

Turns out I spent way too much time scratchin my head the first go round!

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UPDATE

Not sure what’s up with this thing. I put new clean terminals on, and when I touch the terminals, the gauge jumps from E to F, but when I attach the terminals to the new sender and move the arm, I get nothin. Tested with multimeter and got nothing either (unless I’m testing it wrong). Also there were two wires attached to the ground on the old sender, not sure why. Head scratcher.

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Yeah I’ll just match the new one best I can to the profile of the old one. I poked in with an old hanger and there is a baffle almost immediately in the radius of the hole. Should work well!

Once that’s in, it’s time to chase some spring walleyes down here on the lower WI river so long as it’s not too shallow.

Thanks as always, Sheldon!

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Nate !! ya turd! how have you been?? you’ve been awol son!!
Congrats on the new son!!!

Been alright, my man! Busy busy back in the Wisco motherland. Give me a holler if you’re ever up in the Madison area. Fixed up and sold the old boat, picked up a solid but aged 94 Lund ProV last summer that I’ve been slowly rerigging. Spent most of the season in the garage last year, itchin to get out on the water now! Hope you’re well, amigo!

Leftover rice? Spare bacon? Here’s a favorite breakfast of my fam;

Fry up bacon – chop it up when done
In the leftover grease, sautee your veggies of choice (I usually do shredded cabbage, carrots, white onions, mushrooms, spinach, red bell peppers, garlic) once they’re starting to get soft, add your cooked rice with a generous amount of sesame oil – get it warm (or I like to leave mine on til it’s near crispy) then add however many eggs, fold and mix everything together and finish the seasoning out with a little bit of chili oil/soy/fish sauce (I never measure, just round out the flavor profile to your liking) and top with sesame seeds, green onions, and kimchi (use the mild if you don’t like spicy, but that bite from the acid in the vinegar is key, otherwise it’s all salt and fat.)

Super good, will not disappoint!

Hopping on the shoutout train for Sheldon – when I was living in IA, he very generously offered to help me through rerigging my old boat. Shortly thereafter my wife and I had our first son and in addition to running a business, I was strapped for time and we fell out of touch. So, Sheldon, thanks again man!

Interesting to see such varied responses and opinions.

For better or worse, tech and the markets that drive it aren’t going anywhere. While its affects are easier to tangibly grasp, the largest factor of fisheries’ decline remains environmental degradation – habitat/forage loss, algal blooms and the resulting plummeting O2 levels, chem/pharmaceutical/bacterial exposure, climate change, ag/industrial runoff…

It’s such a monumental issue, and the DNR’s questioning of angling technology seems almost diversionary at best. Is there an impact? Sure. In my opinion though, a fairly negligible impact when compared the major factors previously listed. We hit the iceberg a while ago, in that regard.

So, what do we do? We need farms, we need industry, but we also need clean water to drink/use/recreate upon. Calling for accountability and responsible/ethical use of our watersheds shouldn’t be as heretical as it seems to be, along with supporting bipartisan legislation that does the same.

Thanks so much for all the great information, guys!

Taking the kiddos fishing is just about my favorite thing to do, it’s especially a bonus if I can get on some fish, too. That is a great clip, Bman! Sending you a message here shortly.

Karry and Phoyem I appreciate the tips, that’ll def help get me started in the ballpark, then like ya said lots of adjustments. A livescope is on my someday list for sure, I think it’d be really informative to see those realtime interactions.

Any of you guys in south central wisco?

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Hey thanks Supercat-

I’m guessing the rivets make it non-usable as a track system to mount stuff to. That was my biggest question, so onto exploring different options!

Update: my striker plus 9sv doesn’t seem to have an SD slot anywhere. Looks like I might have to share my data and then re-download on a new unit if I do upgrade.

That is perfect, thanks much! I’ll take a look at my head unit and see where the SD slot is. And yeah if for some reason that doesn’t work, I can go the community route – didn’t even think of that. Thanks for the ideas guys!

Sometimes my contours will show yellow or red if I’m going too fast. You could try going idle speed or also adjusting your beam width or frequency to see if that helps.

Thanks guys.

Yeah I meant to specify that just looking to see if there’s a way to convert the saved bathymetry recordings.

I guess I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth switching to HB (and losing the stored data) to use the ipilot link w/ a terrova -or- just sticking w another Garmin to keep my data.

I mostly like my Garmin but feel like I’m only about 80% dialed in with settings/readability. I’ve HBs are much more intuitive and user friendly, but I’ve never ran one myself.

MX1825 wrote:

Good luck.

Thanks man. Worst case I’ll just continue to burn more calories this winter 😄

Alright! I was leaning the electric route, but after all of your informative feedback I am sold.

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts – much appreciated!

Thanks guys. I’m also curious about the batteries…do you have to worry about them being out in the cold all day and dying when you want to move and pop a new set of holes?

Bearcat89 wrote:

Will these fit the escape 2800?

Looks like the 2800 needs the bigger size runner kit, unfortunately.

Hey thanks for the input, fellas. I’m for sure gonna keep trying, and realize it’s certainly no guarantee to get one topside, so just gotta put in more time. Appreciate the suggestions, thanks again

eyeguy507 wrote:

i don’t know how you guys do it cooped up in a 1 man. i fish by myself as much as i can and my 3-4 person hub is sometimes too small. i like to get up and stretch when the weather is too cold to move. with a hub you can still spread the holes out as much as possible and avoid tangles.

It definitely is a switch of gears for me. I love my hubshack (Clam JM thermal 5000) but on the days when I can only get out for a few hrs before/after work, the one man has already proved itself with ease of use as well as quickness. I used to just brave the elements but man it’s nice not to have to fight the wind and stay warm with ease. When I’d set up (and anchor) my hub, I rarely moved spots after. Not the case any more with my 1-man.

Ron Burgundy wrote:

I wanted the Wide-1 but grabbed the Clam EXP display model for cheap. After 7 years I got tired of being cramped in there. I got a Legend XL. Do you have any elbow room in the Wide-1?

I’ve only had it out 3x so far but there is plenty of elbow room (and I’m a bigger guy at 6’2”), especially when it’s warm enough out that I’m not wearing my big coat inside. I really do love how light and sturdy and easy to move it is. I am trying to start the habit of just going out with my LX-7, auger (big Jiffy 4G, which I love but is a bit cumbersome) 2 rods, and a small 4×6” tackle/jig box. And heater if needed. Once I figure out a good storage idea for my rods, I’ll be set. Have been looking at getting a lighter auger too.