SiDfish

Use any bits of fish, shellfish etc to stuff a large squid mantle.  Tie off, pierce all over and freeze.  Now you have a squid bomb, great for bass

Was servicing a reel at home one night and prising off a circlip with a sharp screwdriver.   Slipped and the clip went ping.  Went looking around the kitchen for the clip and heard a strange ticking sound, turned around and there's pools of dark stuff everywhere.  The srewdriver had gone clean through the middle joint of my middle finger and blood was p1ssing out.  Didn't hurt atall. Went to wake the missus, saying I needed a lift to casualty.  She replies 'can't it wait till morning', takes a look and throws up.  Off we go to casualty and the nurse says 'can't it wait it's friday night', so I show her the finger when she nearly pukes and retching sounds come from the rest of the waiting room.  So I'm sat waiting with my hand held high and literally covered in blood by now, it's still pumping out.  I get seen in 10min co's it's grossing people out, finger X rayed and NO damage other than blood vessels.  No pain until the screwdriver comes out, then 'bam' agony. Put me on a drip due to blood loss, morphine (yes please) and sent me home a couple of hours later once the bleeding stopped.  It was only when I got home and looked in the mirror that I realised that I looked like a bucket of blood had been poured over me.

Nah ........... getting your foreskin stuck in the zip when the boat is rocking around makes your eyes water ..............

Still think worm juice in a cut is the worst. 

Last September ................. had to get Kyle to cut off the eye with side cutters, I then forced the hook right through and out of the side of my finger ........ yes, it smarted a little 😒🙄

 

Scad, sprats, whitebait, eel (tope & bass), lamprey, salmon waste (€8 per tray, lots of belly strip from under throat, heads for chum one day), langoustine (find a boat with less than a box) dead they're worthless but great bait (bass), clams, cockles, mussels (squid stuffed with shellfish), razors and any fish for conger

I think it's fair to say you need an aux in excess of 150hp!!
In all seriousness tho, try your 5 first. There are engines pretty light up to 9hp or so should the 5 not be up to

I love animals and will normally be the first to help in an emergency.  It's just that this cat, swinging over the sea with all its hair stood on end and sounding like a Tasmanian Devil just reduced me to collapsing with laughter.  We did get it released and took it to the vet.

Caught the undersea cable to a small island.  Seagulls, a gannet, and a couple of cormorants (bass livebaits). Bats when flyfishing at night.  A mate caught a cat.  He left his rod on the pier with a conger trace and bait hanging to come and help me net a fish.  We heard a load of angry cat and looked up to see a cat hanging from the pier on his line, like a pendulum, neatly hooked in the scissors.  I was laughing so much that I found it difficult to help unhook the cat.  It was severely p1ssed off.

Was servicing a reel at home one night and prising off a circlip with a sharp screwdriver.   Slipped and the clip went ping.  Went looking around the kitchen for the clip and heard a strange ticking sound, turned around and there's pools of dark stuff everywhere.  The srewdriver had gone clean through the middle joint of my middle finger and blood was p1ssing out.  Didn't hurt atall. Went to wake the missus, saying I needed a lift to casualty.  She replies 'can't it wait till morning', takes a look and throws up.  Off we go to casualty and the nurse says 'can't it wait it's friday night', so I show her the finger when she nearly pukes and retching sounds come from the rest of the waiting room.  So I'm sat waiting with my hand held high and literally covered in blood by now, it's still pumping out.  I get seen in 10min co's it's grossing people out, finger X rayed and NO damage other than blood vessels.  No pain until the screwdriver comes out, then 'bam' agony. Put me on a drip due to blood loss, morphine (yes please) and sent me home a couple of hours later once the bleeding stopped.  It was only when I got home and looked in the mirror that I realised that I looked like a bucket of blood had been poured over me.

Most modern braid is spectra, it's a fibre just like nylon or polyprop.  The generically named chinese 'Spectra' is a brand.  Seems to do its job well, but it's thick compared to the better 8 carrier braids.  As said elsewhere here, there was a problem with Spiderwire breaking for no reason, and we had it, but the latest stealth pro (sent in replacement) is one of my favourite lines, along with whiplash pro @ €150 for 3000m.  Quoted diameters are just rubbish, but these lines are a lot thinner than 'Spectra' and breaking strains are way, way above that quoted.  Fishing in 50-100m+, the slightest reduction in diameter is important as it equals less lead.  Both these lines are colourfast (except the clear which goes gray/pink from the crap on your fingers), take longer than two seasons to 'fluff up' and are nicely 'limp' after a few sessions.  Using a length of whiplash with a palomar knot each end, rated at 36lb, I can bottom a set of 50lb spring scales and just keep on pulling.  When snagged 60lb+ rigs (self made with premium Asso mono) break before the braid.  I don't understand scrimping on line when it lasts so well.  I have very limited money but line is the only thing between you and the fish.  Cut other costs by making leads, traces, feathers (pre-made are sh1t), servicing reels and repairing anything.  Instead of buying small packs of swivels/clips/crimps/hooks etc, buy in bulk over a long period and have years worth in stock, at the same cost, with always a good reserve.

Most modern braid is spectra, it's a fibre just like nylon or polyprop.  The generically named chinese 'Spectra' is a brand.  Seems to do its job well, but it's thick compared to the better 8 carrier braids.  As said elsewhere here, there was a problem with Spiderwire breaking for no reason, and we had it, but the latest stealth pro (sent in replacement) is one of my favourite lines, along with whiplash pro @ €150 for 3000m.  Quoted diameters are just rubbish, but these lines are a lot thinner than 'Spectra' and breaking strains are way, way above that quoted.  Fishing in 50-100m+, the slightest reduction in diameter is important as it equals less lead.  Both these lines are colourfast (except the clear which goes gray/pink from the crap on your fingers), take longer than two seasons to 'fluff up' and are nicely 'limp' after a few sessions.  Using a length of whiplash with a palomar knot each end, rated at 36lb, I can bottom a set of 50lb spring scales and just keep on pulling.  When snagged 60lb+ rigs (self made with premium Asso mono) break before the braid.  I don't understand scrimping on line when it lasts so well.  I have very limited money but line is the only thing between you and the fish.  Cut other costs by making leads, traces, feathers (pre-made are sh1t), servicing reels and repairing anything.  Instead of buying small packs of swivels/clips/crimps/hooks etc, buy in bulk over a long period and have years worth in stock, at the same cost, with always a good reserve.

🤣🤣🤣

In preference order.... (as in dogfish attractiveness)
 
1). sandeel
2). Mackerel 
3). Bluey
4). Worm
5). Squid
i don’t use any other baits but on rare times I use crab it keeps them at bay but waste of money if they do steal it.

Yes its certainly a tough one and better to get things looked at by a mechanic but that can often be pretty difficult. With most engines getting the seller to obtain a current computer print out could be one option but still doesn't guarantee much.
I bought the boat I have now unseen during the fires, I was blocked from leaving our town for two months and didn't want to miss out on another boat having just missed one a week before. I checked out the seller who was a school teacher and semi professional basketball player who seemed to have a pretty good reputation on social media. The hours were 235 and had been serviced (with receipts) four times. The outfit was claimed to of been kept in a specially built garage with photos included. There was a full diagnostic printout of servicing, hours, rpm etc. Fully scoping someone out through social media will often be a good way of finding out how a boats been cared for, in my case I wasn't looking at the right people, these were previous owners from several years before !!!
The boat was 1200km from my place and a gap in the fire gave me a chance to slip away to get it. I arrived at the address only to find no boat and the people selling it had only rented the place for a short time (so they didn't build the garage specially, simply took photos of the boat outside it. The people would not answer phone calls and neighbours told me the people who had the boat hadn't lived there for 6 months. By now I was thinking I had ditched $40000 and had a long drive home boatless. 
Luckily one of the neighbours put me onto someone who had known them and 4 hrs later I located the boat hidden on a property. The property owner had been asked to keep the boat hidden out of sight from the road incase anyone stole it and didn't seem aware of the dodgy deal he'd been asked to be part of. He managed to get hold of the people who had put the boat there ( a pair of large middle eastern thugs ). I bluffed my way around them telling them I had informed the police. 
They forged the registration paperwork and I couldn't get out of there quick enough. The boat looked in very bad shape but at least it was better than loosing everything.
I had a mobile mechanic come to my home to service it. The prop was totally written off, looking like it had been run through rocks destroying the blades completely. The electric wiring from the battery  to the main circuit switch panel had to be totally replaced.
Under the cowling it was plain to see this engine had been exposed to high temps, possible from running without pumping water on the muffs. Water wouldn't pump at all but the impeller was fine. The thermostat had been changed as well as the anodes on its 200hr service. The engine had done just 35hrs since that service, problem being these 35hrs had been over 3 years since that service. During that 35hrs in three years the powerhead anodes had totally dissolved and the thermostat wasn't much better (hence what I mean on low hours). The whole cooling system was solid with dried salt which was chiseled out with a screw driver. The system was soaked with concentrated saltaway solution. Eventually water started pumping through. 
Everything on the engine that could rust has rusted, even the black plastic has gouging to the white plastic. The engine still gives me problems but Im stuck with it for now. In contrast the anodes on my Yamaha when I sold it having clocked 950hrs in two years were still in good condition. Suzuki powerhead anodes need to regularly be checked and replaced. Its pretty easy to take a socket set and just remove a powerhead anode to check inside with a torch, no need to remove them all, one should show enough to see if they have been looked after.
Trimming up the engine to check the power trim for leaks is pretty straight forward (yes mine leaks at 235hours). When the engine is trimmed up you can lift the engine by hand from the gearbox area to feel for play around the steering pivot area (yes mine has play).
While lifting the engine from that gearbox area you can also look for any flexing in the transom (a sign of rotten transom). You can also check to see if the engine mount bolts have sunken into the fibreglass from the inside of the boat. If the bolts have pulled into the fibreglass or someone has put a plate on the inside of the boat this could well be a sign of a rotting waterlogged transoms. If the floor flexes as you walk on it or bounce up and down, again a sign of rotten stringers and waterlogged underfloor flotation.
Over on the other forum you can find people with Suzuki problems which again had low hours, where they have corroded from the inside out. These issues with my 140 Suzuki are almost identical to the problems I had with a low hour Honda at 10 years old, which I ended up scrapping. Salt inside any engine isn't a good thing but at least running them regularly before the salt dries and bakes onto the internal cooling passages greatly reduces problems. Anodes need checking or replacing even on boats used only in freshwater.
Overall my boat and trailer matched the condition of the engine. Ive put around $12000-15000 into it and its still not worth what I initially paid for it!!!!!....
Its a well known fact that a recreational outboard had a life expectancy of around 2000 hrs where a commercial outboard is more like 8000-10000.

Twenty five dollar, love you long time 🤣

In comparison, my 1st charter special was over 10 years old before the bearings were replaced, and that was more down to being packed away wet and salty for a month or 3........ Still using the same braid on it too, finally had to peel some back last outing.
My ABU's have never had new bearings (except the ones bought 2nd hand), so such a new reel requiring bearings sounds strange.....

I’ll stick with my 25 year old TLD5 then 🤣

Haven't used my Avet for long, but according to other forums, the pinion bearing lets go regularly.  By the time I've sorted the backlash in the anti-reverse and that I'll have a new not Avet!

The $50 extra for a funky colour (if you want a leftie) is a bit steep.  The faults are minor, but add up, and for someone unable to strip the reel and fix its probs would lead to extra expense and grief.  The Aluminium billet parts are spot on, a work of art even, and it's got great cranking power.  I'm left wondering whether I should have got a lever drag fathom and mag braked it myself?  There's a thought for a new trend in casting reels.

Looks like I'll be fine with them on the Quintrex, used in small bays and/or calm conditions.  I'm happy with the extra lift they give and have no directional probs.  Auto trim tabs?  This one's got tiller steering!

Keep at the KFC's and that could be quite a short warranty then.....??
On a serious note tho, you don't have to spend a massive amount until calibration is required, then it gets expensive.......

Another alternative for battery leads is the "hammer on" terminals, although we always did them in the vice for welding cables and they would last the distance
 

I had years of messing about trying to use a low cost ellectric soldering tool with poor success. Recently went over to using a little dremel gas soldering tool which has attachments for hot knife rope cutting and a heat shrink attatchmeant and now my connections look very professional. This tool wasn't expensive and seems to run for a good amount of time on the easy to fill gas. There are plenty of UK YouTube videos that convinced me this was the tool to get.
When I use heat shrink Ive been putting dialectic grease over my connection, when the heat shrink squeezes down on the wire the grease oozes out ( might not be the way to go but haven't had any problem ).

I remember VW quoting over £100 to fit new front brake pads to an old Polo, plus the cost of the pads (exhorbitant).  I got genuine pads (GSF) for £6 and fitted then in the rain on a muddy lane in less than 5 minutes (4 R clips)!