vinnyb

I'm so very sorry for your loss Kevin - and for what your family has had to endure over the past few years. You will get through this as a family and you will be closer for it. Mary sounds like a wonderful person - I'm sure she would want nothing but happiness for all of you in the future.

When forming the knot you need to pull both sides of the loop apart which will compress the coils, which in turn will create the energy required to roll the tag end over the twists. It's a very hard knot to describe - there are a few pretty good videos out there. I use the "put the loop over one knee" method. Tying the bimini with light mono isn't an issue - I used to tie it regularly with 12#.

Don’t overlook the Lami 1081L. There’s good reason it continues to be one of the most popular light saltwater blanks.

I like a 7’ stick rated 1/4 - 3/4oz (10-17# line or thereabouts) for the applications you mentioned.

I use a similar setup but it's really no different than running the extension cord directly to the charger cord. The only thing the power inlet (pictured) does is make it a bit more convenient & a cleaner install.

I think the big difference is that with an RV, there is the real potential to draw more than 15 amps whereas a boat's onboard 24v battery charger likely does not. In other words, something needs to DRAW that high current through the cord in order to create a hazardous situation. In the event of a short, the GFCI would likely trip, no? But even if it didn't, you'd still need something looking to draw over 15 amps in order to fry the cord. Make sense?

Never mind - it’s a GFCI which doesn’t offer any overcurrent protection. The mystery continues ...

Great thanks Tim - now you gave me something else to worry about. I’ve been charging my trolling motor batteries via a 15 amp cord plugged into a 30 amp adapter for like the past 15 years. It’s a Guest charger & there’s nothing in their literature recommending a breaker. 30 amp dock power is a pretty common thing so I’m sure they’re aware that their devices are powered in this fashion. There’s also nothing on the Marinco site warning of a potential hazard while using their 30 to 15 amp adapters. They do make this guy though which is intended for plugging in power tools & such while at the dock:

Great stuff. Not that you could apply too much pressure with those outfits anyway

It's a very good point but then why do companies such as Marinco sell 30 amp to 15 amp adapters without breakers?

I'm sure there's a story behind why you guys were using this type of gear in the first place ;-).

That's what happens when you ask fishermen for opinions on gear ;-). And to further complicate things, everyone has their personal preferences with regard to rod action, rod length, reel size, etc. It's all good - you'll eventually find yours as well. I'm going to try to simplify things for you a bit. When a friend of mine decided to get into this game a few years ago, I recommended that he have 2 good setups - one for the backbays & one for the open beaches. It's a realistic, manageable approach. The VS 150 is a great little reel & really shines when used on the open beaches where it will get splashed, dunked, etc. So I'd pair this with a nice 10' stick that would be used primarily to fish the open beaches & jetties. This is would be a good use of your $300 budget, assuming you spend a lot of time doing this type of fishing. As an aside, most would use a VS 200 or 250 for the open beaches, paired with either a 10' or 11' stick. But with today's lighter rods & modern guide layouts, I think you'd be fine with the 150 on a 10' stick. For the backbays, while I do own VS's, I prefer to use an 8'-9' stick paired with a decent 4000 size reel. It's just a nicer setup for those types of quiet backbay conditions - light rod & smooth reel. Working light topwaters, swimmers & light jigs with a VS150 in these conditions isn't ideal IMHO - the reel's inherent tightness is a bit of a hinderance for me. So the good news is that you may already have a decent backbay setup - you mentioned you own some Mojos & Tsunamis. You may want to stick with those for your backbay work, paired with a Daiwa BG 4000, Penn Spinfisher or something of that nature. Or if you really have the urge to use it, swap the VS150 onto one of those rods to see how you like it. There are no rules in this game ;-).

I do understand what you're trying to do. My first "real" surf rod was a Lami XS 10 MS (bought from TimS when he was selling them here ;-) which was/is a very versatile stick. I threw pretty much everything with that rod - even tossed chunks in a pinch. But with this versatility came the eventual realization that although it could be used for many applications, it didn't excel at one particular thing. That's the tradeoff. It's a perfectly fine approach as long as you realize this going in. Over the ensuing years I've bought & built many rods that DO excel at a particular application. I tend to grab one of these rods depending on what I'm doing that day. Just some food for thought.

I think you’ll get better replies if you talk a bit about how you intend to use the rod most (ie: backbays throwing light plugs, throwing bucktails off jetties in heavy current, etc.) Like all tools, there is no one size fits all. I’m always surprised at how many folks offer advice without asking this very simple question.

It’s actually the perfect solution - thanks!