My New Pro Angler 14 w/walkthrough

So, I went ahead and took the plunge. I bought myself a Pro Angler 14. I loved my Jackson Cuda 14 and wouldn't have sold it but the wife said to either keep it or sell it to fund the new PA. I had to sell it, due to the amazing features of the PA. I rode a friends PA last year and it was fast, stable and a sweet ride. I had to get one myself. Here is a video of the PA and the features it has and I have added to it. More fun DIY jobs are going to be added to it and cant wait to get started for this years fishing season.

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HRBT Striped Bass Action

Headed out to HRBT Norfolk side with a couple buddies. Joe, Chuck(Froggin4bass), Phil(Spikex) and Patrick. The weather outlook seemed to be decent with winds 10MPH and gusting to 15MPH. We decided to try it out and apparently everyone else did too! There were a ton of kayakers and boaters out. Watch out for those damn boaters!!!  One decided to speed by the light line as fast as he could and created a decent wake that rocked us a bit.

Overall the night was pretty fun, I started by trolling a Deep Diving X-Rap along the light line and was rewarded with a nice 12 inch schoolie.

I continued to troll the light line and time after time I pulled up same size fish from 12" to 17" schools. It was pretty fun but I wanted something bigger. There were a ton of fish busting the surface as I was trolling and I caught some of those.

I decided to toss an imitation Menhaden lure and it was on. Apparently that was the lure of choice because I started pulling in a ton more fish. Casting with a slow then fast retrieve seemed to be the ticket because I started pulling in 18" fish and the biggest at a bit over 21 inches.

They were all fat and have been gorging themselves all night apparently. After the last couple fish I pulled in the wind started to pick up and rain started to come down so Joe(Archer) decided to head back in with our stringers full. 

The Striper were gorging themselves on Menhaden so looked like the lure I chose for the night was right. This one had about 5 more half digested Menhaden in its gut. The other had the same amount. Looks like Ill head out another night with the same setup to see if it works again.

Be sure to check out my Facebook page and youtube page below and all the blog links to the right of this page.

~MAKO~

www.facebook.com/makoslayer

https://www.youtube.com/user/Tmquintana07

Penn Battle Review

Penn Battle Review

I have had the Penn Battle Series reels for over 2 years now. Contrary to what some might say and everyone has their own “opinions” these are great reels and in my “opinion”, the best bang for your buck. I currently own the Battle 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000. I lost my 2000 and St. Croix rod in a turtle accident that should not have happened.

Some of the features of the Battle Series are as follows:

·      Machined and anodized aluminum spool (Superline Spool for Braid)

·      Infinite anti-reverse

·      Techno-balanced™ rotor gives smooth retrieves

·      Stainless steel main shaft

·      6 shielded stainless steel ball bearings

·      Machined and anodized aluminum handle with soft touch knob

·      HT100 Drag Washers

BTL1000	180/2 • 115/4 • 80/6	160/6 • 130/8 • 115/10	6+1	7 lbs	5.2:1	20(in)
BTL2000	260/4 • 210/6 • 140/8	260/8 • 225/10 • 170/15	6+1	7 lbs	6.2:1	29(in)
BTL3000	250/6 • 170/8 • 140/10	275/10 • 205/15 • 170/20	6+1	10 lbs	6.2:1	31(in)
BTL4000	280/8 • 230/10 • 170/12	335/15 • 275/20 • 205/30	6+1	13 lbs	6.2:1	34(in)
BTL5000	250/12 • 220/15 • 190/17	405/20 • 305/30 • 250/40	6+1	20 lbs	5.6:1	37(in)
BTL6000	320/15 • 280/17 • 220/20	445/30 • 365/40 • 310/50	6+1	20 lbs	5.6:1	39(in)
BTL7000	390/17 • 310/20 • 280/25	505/40 • 430/50 • 360/65	6+1	25 lbs	5.3:1	39(in)
BTL8000	390/20 • 350/25 • 260/30	550/50 • 450/65 • 390/80	6+1	25 lbs	5.3:1	41(in)

Courtesy of http://www.pennreels.com/

I have used Penn products since I was a young child of five. The Battle Series  is great and while they are not made in the USA, they are damn good reels.I religiously use the 3000 and 4000 series for all my inshore applications from Reds and Specks to pulling out those big cow nose rays. I took on a 50lb Cownose Ray with the 3000 and it didn’t break a sweat. The ray kept ripping drag and the little 3000 just kept on cranking it in. I was actually really surprised.

Each size reel has its own applications and over the past 2 years Ive only had to clean and grease the internals once. Ive always just rinsed them off and stored them in the car, then off to the next spot for my next adventure. They just keep going and going. While there may be some control issues and some reels may not be what you expect. All in all I believe them to be a great deal at under $100. I myself got them for around $79.99(2k-4k) , $89.99 (5k-6k). 

The Battle has one minor setback in my opinion. That is the line lay on the spool needs to be tight, otherwise, the line will definitely get wind knots. So far the models that are prone to this that I have experienced are the 3000 (30lb braid) and the 6000 (65lb braid). The Battle may be a tiny bit on the heavy side but I like having the weight of a solid reel when fishing, doesn't feel as cheap.

I take pretty good care of my fishing gear. I fish hard and do my best to clean up my gear. Most the time I rinse them off but I haven't had to clean the internals for quite awhile. Ive only had to clean the 3000 and 4000 once in the last two years. The only issue I have with my 4000 is a slight grinding but I cleaned it up and it’s as good as new. The 5000 and 6000 I haven't even had to clean the internals. I value these reels as a major part of my arsenal and as I have been a Penn man my whole life I plan to stick with them.

Overall the Pros are: The longevity of the reel, The price tag, The smooth drag and The Ease of Braid

The Cons are: Possible control issues and slight grinding on one of my reels. 

Mind you these are all my opinions, so take them as you will.

A Few Pics of the Fish Taken on the Battle Series

TIGHT LINES!!!

~~~~MAKO~~~~

Daily Fishing Gear Deals- Resource for finding the best deals online

Well Everyone,

   I decided to created a Facebook page for all the fishing gear deals. Those deals found on my links here can be found on the Facebook page as well. Go ahead and check it out and give it a like. While you are at it give Makoslayer a like on Facebook as well. Appreciate your support and hopefully Ill be able to find some great deals for everyone. 
   Facebook makes it much easier to post deals and get it out to a crowd further. I've found deals, coupons and savings all over the place and will help everyone out to. To make it more fun I've decided to give away 2 buckets of gulp to a lucky winner once we reach 100 likes. we will be doing another giveaway once we get to 500 and 1000 likes. 


Good Luck and Tight Lines!!!!


https://www.facebook.com/DailyFishingGear

and

https://www.facebook.com/Makoslayer

DIY: PVC Rod Rack

I made a quick DIY project today since I had my rods and reels getting all mixed up and it started to irritate me. I made a very simple SUV/Hatchback Rod Rack that cost $4. I'm not lying!!! $4 to buy the parts at Home Depot.  Its a bit small since I guestimated but I can always make it a bit wider but for now it is working perfectly. 

This is the Final product.

    To begin with, I went to Home Depot and bought 3/4" PVC pipe cut to the specifications of your trunk. I also bought (2) T connections, (2) Elbow Joints, (4) End Caps. 

Put your pieces together which is pretty self explanatory.

 

     I had a really thin yoga mat laying around that I thought would be perfect for gripping the rod butts so they wouldn't roll around. So I got some strips and glued it to the top and zip tied a couple pieces that I cut out and stacked them about 3 tall so if the rod but rolled around there would be something to  keep it in place.

I assembled the pieces together and that extra piece laying on  the ground had (2) pieces of paracord tied to the end so that I can hang them off the Handles that are attached to the roof to hold the rod tips. An example of this is a couple pictures down.

The Final Piece. It is by no means pretty but it works perfectly and allows for all my crap to fit easily without worry. You can even hang other tools as I did. I zip tied a knife sheath to the side arm for easy access and just hung various tools off the top bar.

Trunk View

Side View

Rear View





Hope this helped some of you