Bob9863

18 hours ago, mangajack said:

Wind knots are 90% line management on your spool....most common cause is not noticing the line crossing the top of the spool when the bail closes....causes the loose circle of braid that rattles down the guides and hangs up with an eye....or worst case drags extra loops from the spool when it is freed in the cast creating a massive knot in the guides.

It very seldom is the wind that causes it.

Wind knots aren't the problem, it's floating braid blowing in the wind, it's a bit of a problem at times, I'd rather a sinking line.

I thought about running the two, but I already run a long leader so I figured that's got me covered.

The main reason I was considering running mono was for live baiting. The wind can do a real number on braid and the mono let's more sensitive fish have a bit more play before they realise the bait is attached to something.

I've been playing around a bit looking at what braid and mono equivalents really are under real world conditions.

I was thinking about running mono for live baiting at fishing parks, but as I run 50lb or 60lb braid I wanted to see what mono comes closest to it.

But back in my shark fishing days I either ran 100lb braid, or 50lb mono and found both pretty equal, although in the end I went back to the 50lb mono as I liked the strech for taking power out of the big runs.

But back on topic. If you stick with the rule of thumb of twice the line strength as your reels maximum drag then the only real factor is abrasion resistance or how much stretch you need or need to avoid.

As to abrasion, just testing it at home on old metal, concrete ect I found when under the same pressure, in this case 10kg (mag for the drag on the reel I was considering) I found that 30lb mono performance was the same if not better then the 50lb and even 60lb braid, although it was beaten by 100lb spectra braid, probably not that surprising really.

So that makes me think I could easily get away with 30lb mono instead of the 50lb braid, rather then going to 40lb or 50lb mono that eats too much into the reels line capacity.

Depends on what your chasing, for my reels where a fish could do some running I fill it with Strait braid, but on my trout rods ect and this is a bit of a stuff around, I spool 150m of braid, then spool 10lb mono on top until it's flush, then I take both off and spool mono then braid.

This just ensures that I get the line perfectly level, you do that once and you know then next time you have to change braid, then as long as it's the same strength then you have the right amount of backing on.

The rods can handle the weight, it's the shock of flicking the lure that will cause a problem.

Some of the big baits you cast when fishing in a Thai fishing park are enormous, but with the right technique it's quite common. But you can still bust 50lb braid just casting them if it gets screwed up.

Power is not your friend it this case, inertia is.

If cast 30gm lead fish with a 10-15gm rod just fine, I have however busted the tips on some cheaper rods doing that.

The trick is to cast with as little force as possible and let the weight of the lure do the work for you. Load up the rod and sort of lob it.

Just except the fact that if you mess up your probably going to break a tip off.

That difference in weight is a bit on the extreme side and will increase the risk, so your technique will have to be spot on, it is definitely possible but not advisable as they say.

I've got one of the reels, pretty good for the price, I put an oversized know on it and that makes it a bit better.

It's lived on 8kg rods and balances quite nice, not much it won't handle until you get into the really big stuff.

The only way to know for sure is to put the reel on the rod and see how it feels. But I don't think it would be undersized.

Pretty decent effort that one.

Nice healthy looking yellows.

No the new ones got a 1.5lt and 15 extra kilowatts of power.

Goof to see things are turning around, it's like I'm fond of saying, it's always about cracking the code.

Little changes can make a big difference.

This is my 5th suzuki, one stockman, 3 Sierra's and a gen 3 jimny.

I'm well acquainted with them, and absolutely love them. I'm twick as glad that I bought a 2024 model as next year they are going bigger again, wider, big tyres and the same 1.5lt engine.

I think this one will become a classic.

But back to the fridge testing, I did the same test again today but on the middle setting where I usually run it.

Started at 13.5v, dropped to 13.3 again, but here's the big twist, it only took 15min to top up the battery. That's bugger all amps, not thatcit was axhot day but still.

I think I will be able to get away with running a Century overlander 70ah under the bonnet, and run the fridge on that, I will use a voltage cut out but I think I should ve fine for a weekend getaway with a 300w solar blanket.

I'd love to put in a 100ag lithium, but unfortunately it won't fit anywhere.

I can put in a smart battery box, but that will take up a lot of space.

Best options are the under bonnet lithium hybrid (60ah) or a 70ah century overlander lead acid, or a 60ah under seat lithium with a BCDC Charger.

If it was ne I'd have bought a light surf rod, but only because I lack the skills to put something together like that.

That I would love to be able to do, it turned out amazing.

I thought I might open this up a bit, as a test I've been running my car fridge on a 60ah kings lithium battery to see what it uses, so far I put it on over 4 hours ago when the battery was at 13.5v, it's now at 13.4v which is pretty damn good.

I'm running it for 20 hours on freeze with a 2lt bottle of water in it as a heavy load test.

If it only drops by .3v by tonight it opens up my options quite a bit. I now have 3 options that I can think of.

1) the cheapest, put a century overlander dual purpose battery (AGM) in it to be a start battery and run the fridge.

2) spend the extra coin and put the Invicta hybrid battery in to do the same thing.

3) put an underseat 60ah slimline dual battery system in it.

My main objective here is to save space, not necessarily money, if I did try the Overlander battery it would most likely just be to test the system out for a few months before putting in the Invicta lithium.

I will open the floor to thoughts and opinions, bear in mind it will only run for 10 hours max without power going into it.

I can believe it, I've been in that same position more then a few times.

That's why I have a few other hobbies, well that and more likely bad weather.

No, unfortunately however much I wish that was the case, even if it's a bit of a joke.

It's genuinely got me worried, especially now the yellow belly are getting the red spot disease too.

Oh one down side, apparently some smart DC/DC charger don't work well with it as they will pump some current in a few seconds at a time every few minutes, but they work perfectly if you run two of them.

So not ideal for many situations, but possibly perfect for others. I'm probably 80% sold on the concept ATM.

That is a concern of mine but I only run a 35-40lt fridge, currently I've been running a waeco 35lt for over 10 years now, I always use a 300w solar blanket, I never just let a fridge run on battery for longer then over night without putting charge in.

I currently run a 100ah AGM and it has dropped to 50% yet.

Even if I have to switch on the vehicle and charge it with the DC/DC system.

The advantage of this is it charges directly from the alternator, so it charges fast. If you do drop it down low enough the BMS shuts it off with 15% charge in reserve. You then either press a button on the battery, or using the app you press the jump start button and it switches the reserve current on to get the vehicle started (I think about what my tiny lithium jump start unit can do) then the alternator pumps the current back in.

I wouldn't use one if I ran lights and an inverter, but for just a small fridge it should be quite good (in theory at this poibt) It's been a hard concept to get my head around after using AGM'S for so many years, but new technology is becoming a bit of a game changer.

This comes with only a 3 year warranty, but that makes me wonder if it might be worth risking as if it proves to be not up to the task I can replace it. I would definitely be taking my 100ah smart battery box system with me the 1st few trips, and on extended trips until I was sure it would work or not.

I'm still looking into it, but it would solve some space and storage issues with a jimny.

It's definitely not a long time or heavy draw option, and they did say that, it's designed pretty much for my situation, but the downside is that doesn't leave a lot of room for error, so it is something you have to constantly watch, although I already do that now.

I had considered the high temperature which these were built for, but I failed to think about low temperatures.

I'm not to worried about high temperatures, I've followed some long time use (independent) with use in the desert, but not much about use in cold climates.

But another thing to consider is if it's under bonnet then it's not really going to get any colder then if it's under the seat, which is my only other option.

One way or another I have to go lithium.

I know it gets to -5 to -8 at night, but if I know that and expect it then I can wrap it if I'm concerned. But my mate runs a lot of lithium batteries there without much trouble, when we are there to watch them. There has been trouble with them when nobody is there, but a lot of that has to do with the solar.

This battery won't have a problem with the jimny alternator as its 65amp and the battery is built to run on up to large high amp alternators in big 4x4's.

I don't need it to start 1st thing in the morning when its cold, I don't, I put wood on the fire and drink more coffee until the day warms up.

But there will be times that I will, I'm sure. But it won't be often either. And it won't be used as deep cycle often either.

1 positive is its got 1000cca, the usual lead acid battery in the jimny is 480cca, so if it is a little slow it should still be well above what's needed.

But I'm definitely going to ask them about it's performance in the cold, and confirm about the alternator.

Cheers for that.

I got rid of my boats, I'm trimming things down, buying a new vehicle and don't want to tow with it.

So I'm stuck to kayak distances and you really need to work the river, especially with something like live scope to get a bite this time of the year.

Normally during winter the carp come up to the shallows on Sunny days and I get my fix with a little force feeding of  them (bow fishing)

I'm just awaiting delivery of one of the new little 5 door Suzuki Jimny 4x4's.

I've been looking at the upgrades I want to put on it and a car fridge is must for me, cold drinks, weekend meals and of course keeping fish cold on the way home.

I was going to put an under seat 60ah lithium system in but while I was at the 4x4 shop today they showed me the Invicta range of under bonnet lithium hybrid batteries.

It works as a normal starter battery but doubles as a deep cycle battery. It keeps a reserve amount so you never have to worry about running it flat. 

But I've got zero experience with something like this, and I'd love to know if someone has tried one or something similar before and what their experience has been like.

Looks like my season has come to an end, and there's some worrying developments about its future.

Once the trout move off to spawn it takes a couple of months for them to move back, then the Cod qo quite followed by the yellow belly as they stop actively feeding in the cold months.

Traditionally I would then focus on the redfin with the ultra light gear, but due to an epidemic of red spot they have been all but wiped out this summer, and that's a huge worry.

Redfin are the main food source for the other species and without that previously inexhaustible supply, the other species won't be feeding up as well, worse yet there are reports of red spit being found on the yellow belly in the lake, if it kills them off then with both Main predators of young carp, their population will explode.

If that does happen, then it's bound to spread the entire length of the murry.

But anyway I look at it, when the seasons change and the fish come back on there could be a major hit to my season, even this year my average yellow belly went from around 8lb down to around 3-4lb. So it is possible it's already being felt.

That's a pretty decent feed right there, I'm guessing you didn't need to measure that one to find out if it was a keeper.

I dontcknow the river but my 1st thoughts are if your only land based then you could be fishing spots that get hammered by other land locked anglers.

But without knowing your rigs and your baits, times you fish and areas that you target it's had to be sure.

I've found if your catching lots of small fish then your usual fishing where the juvenile fish like to school up. The bigger fish usual stay away from the schools, on the edges or they hold better locations or cruise around chasing a feed.

Thats two possibilities.