SC

I'm 33 miles from the Shelburne wildfire which is the largest in NS history. I heard this morning on local radio there was 60 houses lost and 150 additional structures such as out buildings. No loss of life. I'm lucky as I'm in no immediate danger and smoke has only been an issue for about five hours in the Yarmouth area where I live. Firefighters were flown in from the US, Costa Rica and Guam from what is reported.

They've been fishing there 50 years that I'm personally aware of. Bunker were a consumable as well, seen many guys keeping bunker to eat

Guys have been using similar setups or D-rings as long as I could remember. I never understood the need personally.

No, I believe the worse the weather "is going to be" the better the fishing prior to the front passing thru and again after the wind change. During the worst conditions fish may still be there but presenting a plug or landing a fish in those conditions presents a much, much smaller chance of success. I always say check the bird feeder. That being said there are no guarantees other than you can't catch if you don't go

Kinda like Lupo, only 45 years later

Bingo

Perhaps a reel bag may cut down on wind noise. I used a similar setup as yours only mine was mounted vertically on the side of a truck cap. I don't remember any "additional" noise but most likely wouldn't have noticed. PS - big fan of Little Giant ladders, still own a couple over 40 years old

I ran mine tip facing forward my whole life. I did have a reason, the reason being seeing 35 years of mishaps by others mounting butt towards front. Seemingly at first thought the safer way to go due to an chance rock hit which is always possible but in reality maybe not so much. With the tips facing rearward the most vulnerable section of the rod likely will protrude passed the rear of the vehicle and I've seen dozens of guys break rod tips and empty spools after snagging their line in branches etc when backing up or making a three-point turn on a trail. Have even seen guys show up to a blitz without any line left on their reels and didn't have any line to cast. Yes I laughed

How about lack of engineering on virtually every spinning reel ever made since the invention of spinning tackle? - Reels untimed from factory without ever a mention of it's importance in over in fifty years

I've found I never had to look past birds at a bird feeder, if they're chowing down before a storm it's time to go fishing. I chose low water day and night while abandoning otherwise typical approaches before the storm and tried to be first line in the water after the wind dissipated. I found the brownest water presented little concern as long as it wasn't chocked with weed

Masterlure, had a few same color

My first guess would be the signal flasher as another poster stated

Speedy Stitcher can sew anything you own or want to own

I'd suggest you pull test your knots

Braided linen line preceded Nylon Squidding Line which preceded Dacron which preceded mono which preceded "modern" braids