I measure out 100′ in the back yard and thread on a slip bobber knot.

I had this problem for my first season with a V2 and solved it by rotating the adjustable collar towards the deployment lever and applying ArmorAll on the shaft and inner parts.

Years ago I caught a 12# walleye ice fishing Oahe and left if with a local taxidermist at the river since he did a lot of mounts. Seven months later when I went to pick it up, he had over 100 mounts laying around with no names or tagging and none anywhere near the size of mine. Since mine was long gone, he said to just take my pick of the litter which I did (for free). After six more months it went into the garbage because it smelled and had bugs.

I purchased a graphite replica out of Minnesota which turned out very well.

The streams in the hills are flowing hard and dirty right now. I would suggest fishing in one of the small lakes in Custer State Park. Try using a clear inline bobber with some water for weight and tie a fly behind about 5 feet of 4lb leader. Reel in slowly and you should get plenty of action. I was out several days ago and got a hit on just about every cast.

I have been using a lithium made by Bioenno all season on my FL18 with nothing but good to report. For me, the weight reduction alone is well worth the $100- spent for the battery & charger.

Thanks for the info. I have $440- in the Strike-Lite. The major concern is transporting in the back of my pickup, otherwise the non-oil bladder wouldn’t be a big problem for me. Whatever one I end up with, I plan on keeping for a long time.