bare foot wader

I used the white stuff, it was 6" diamater I think, got it for free, left over on a job...very sturdy, stood up to rocks and low hanging branches I cut a piece of foam to fit the inside the end and then glued it in place...used my reel cover and rod sock when inside the tube you could make the screw on cap locking as well

pvc pipe, screw on cap and u bolts...bolted on to my old truck rack, might still have a picture

Abu are good reels, don't think you'll have any regrets about that reel only asked about a van staal cause a friend is trying to sell one

which reel...van stall by any chance? no issues, most saltwater gear is better built than fresh water

sounds like you're looking for a game cam? anywhere 100-400 would get cheapest price buying online, type of thing you don't need to inspect in store whereabouts do you want to mount it? they are a high theft item, but hunting activity is low this time of year at least...I'd by or weld up a lock box for it...and clear any branches, shrubs, etc that could blow in front of the sensor, will reduce the number of false pics

Looks like a great trip, awesome pics DIY or did you use a guide at all?

I spool up by laying the spool flat on the ground and making sure the line is coming off correctly, or by using the pencil method...both methods work equally well for me most mid/high end reels have roller bearings in the line roller, keeping that clean and lightly lubed at the start of each season will help with the line twist situation http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/reel_maintenance_instructions.download.-mainParsys-000105-downloadFile.html/QFI%20Bail%20and%20Line%20Roller.pdf steve in lambeth has a good setup for spooling, if anybody is familar, other shops have them too...zero line twist

i've been using nanofill on a few light baitcasters with zero issues, maybe bunches a tiny bit more if you're not careful...I can see why you would want to use it on a baitcaster for steelheading, sensitive bottom bouncing and you get great drifts, the wind will pick it up off the water to make retying terminal tackle easier, have you thought about running a leader? albright/improved albright knot, and 10' of mono or fluoro on the calcutta you would still want your vbs brakes engaged, maybe 4 instead of the 2 or 3 I think is most common, that won't affect your freespool when you drift...but if you're casting a light setup, the pin is still the way to go

if you're equally concerned about preserving your fly line tip, you can nail knot a piece of 20 lb mono to your fly line, and then a loop knot....that way you can you loop to loop your leaders and fly line the perfection loop knot is quick and easy to learn, and from what I've seen is what is usually factory tied on tapered leaders

the point of the tippet is to preserve the leader...typically it'll be 2-3' and retie when you break off, gets too short, frayed, etc I would not tie more tippet on top of tippet....every knot is another potential failure point and reduces the line strength...I'd either fish the short tippet or tie new I wouldn't worry about buying expensive tippet material or leaders, if you're new to casting you will get wind knots and if you don't check/remove them promtply your leader will either snap during casting or on a fish

if you're really looking for a fancy leader, try using a furled leader, definitely buy a few before you attempt to make one

all depends on your application, as mentioned, is more critical of a detail with dry fly presentations...you're setup is an 8/9, I'm gonna guess you're not dropping too many size 18's to finicky brown trout heavier line has more spring to it, so it helps to turn over your leader/fly, but is not essential, it helps with low energy casts, like in dry fly fishing...but I find it is mostly important to help with a soft landing you can still turn over nicely with a flat leader, ask ian james about it lol for everything but dry fly fishing small stream trout, I don't bother with a knotless tapered leader (expensive)...i'm either running straight mono to a 2' tippet or if i get fancy 50/50 or 40/30/30 roughly

just curious why you prefer the baitcaster, if it sounds like you are throwing lighter cranks? I use whatever i have rigged up at the time, but I have a medium action 6'8" spinning rod with a light tip, pretty sure it's meant to be a drop shot rod but works well to not rip hooks....light braid and mono leader for throwing lightweight jerkbaits in spring, very confident I can outcast any of my baitcasters with that combo I saw rapala has some new ultra light crankbaits, they look promising for spring walleyes

I've had very pleasant dealings with the folks there, they sent me an unsigned rebate cheque the bank wouldn't cash...so they sent me a new cheque with a ball cap too, great to deal with but most importantly, did you happen to notice that beautiful gray expoxy floor? that would be my handy work lol

last time i heard about this, popular opinion/heresay was they were only printing a certain number, after those were distributed you have to get them online they'll probably start charing 9.99 for hardcopy regs eventually, wouldn't surprise me with the mnr budget

took too long typing, late post.... I've had good luck with my aventa, gets beat up a lot and keeps on trucking

if you're not concerned about top end performance, then get the boat you want knowing you'll be underpowered (less or more depends on which hull you decide on). If it proves to be lacking too much for you, sell the o/b next summer and upgrade, your 2011 4stroke will hold good enough resale value. But it is always cheaper to do it right the first time around. it sounds like all you want to do is get on plane and cruise, not win any races you can play around with hydrofoils, smart tabs, prop pitches before you flip the o/b too

sounds like a stonefly or a variation of a woolly bugger, some type of nymph pattern there is a style of fly called spey, and also dee flies, very similar, both from scotland but from different rivers...river spey and river dee, the difference is wing style but when anybody says they're spey fishing, they're referring to the style of casting, not the specific fly...I don't think spey flies are all that popular these days, intruders and other variations have taken over the scene you can spey cast with any fly - speys, dees, intruders, streamers, skate big dry bombers, even a single colorado blade, etc

hmmm...would've thought Rich had at least a few spey sticks in his room filled with 10's of thousands of dollars worth of gear LOL back to the Rod Casters question, like I said you won't go wrong with the northcoast rods...I think that aaron shirley guy has a few posts on here showing off the sticks I have a previous reply somewhere on here, about crappy warranty to deal with.....turns out i was just dealing with a store that was very stingy and didn't like to deal with any type of warranty/grab a new off the shelf type of thing....has since been resolved nicely

you'd never see April fishing that setup....Mariko maybe lol

LOL spey and ugly stick don't belong in the same sentence, you'll get the purists all riled up....ugly sticks are only good for swinging dee's ha

focus on certain species depending on opening seasons, peak runs, etc...but basically fish for anything that swims year round without too much preference but I do find myself going through technique specific phases...fly fishing, single hand vs spey, pinning, downrigging/trolling vs casting and jigging, etc

i'll echo what others have said, under powered and i don't think there's a lot of resale value in that motor if you want to upgrade how has the boat been stored, protected from the rain and snow? if the coons got to it i'd bet the mice have been nesting in it, not a good scene once you remove the floor(carefully to use a template for the new floor) it'll snowball into running new wiring, maybe pouring new foam, etc, etc...all the little things add up in a hurry...and this time of year eat away at your free time that you could be fishing if your total budget is 4K have you looked to see what that could get you?

here's the link http://www.bittentackle.com/index.php?categoryID=5

only go getter i've heard of was kinda of a modern day replica of an older plug..plastic body with metal lip you can bend to adust the diving depth or i think i've heard somebody refer to a lure retriever as a go getter too