fatboyjack1

Based on some advice I have got here......I went up to 200' of cable and 10 pound balls. However, I have two 8# balls that I will take as well.....just in case. Also, if the max weight is 8#'s........you can run 10's. I bought a used set of manual Big Jon's on here from a guy, and when I e-mailed Big Jon about exceeding max weight, they simply said to not add boom extensions if you want to exceed the weight. They also said it is hard on the mounts - Unfortunately that is all I can offer.....

I have a "special" hat I wear on the weekends just for smoking. I used to wear the same hat to work everyday, but I kept wondering what that smell was.....turns out it was me. Even my shoes have smelled like burnt wood !! I have found the same with raw wood......way too many volatiles in the wood that make an awkward taste in the meats. If I get a big amount of white smoke I usually pull the meat off and let it calm down. That thin blue smoke can be hard to get unless the wood has burned down a bit. But, once it burns down, sometimes it quits smoking. This is why I typically char up the new wood, and mix it with lump. I also think guys over do the amount of wood it takes to get good smoke. It only takes a small amount, but requires constant monitoring. I had no idea that some lump company use laminates. Wow, eye opening. Learn something new everyday. If I buy lump anymore, I always opt for "Humphrey's" brand. A local meat smoker tuned me onto it and I have only bought that brand since. It is a brand I have come to trust based off taste and smoke type. I typically salt in a small amount of raw lump wood, usually apple, cherry or pecan. But, nothing seems to make the smoke ring like hickory, mesquite and walnut. Problem with mesquite is that it burns so dang hot....... I learned the hard way about using walnut by itself, way too strong of flavor. For me at least. I used Lilac once for some salmon, but too hard to find around these parts.

Good question on the benefit of DI over deeper water. My only see's 90ish at best on Lake Erie, but I find benefit in it at that depth. Not sure about over 100 FOW though. At 90' I can zoom into the bottom with no issues, but again...I have a much fancier FF over the Helix. But....I am using it to find bottom huggers. If I were simply looking for the suspended guys I don't think I would see the added benefit. I would rather see arcs for suspended rather than clouds. On the bottom I would rather see the low clouds over arcs that you can't see anyways.

I too have a BBQ fascination Skipper......even my family and co-workers make fun of me. I always smell like burnt wood and smoke. I have an uncle who retorts his own lump from some hickory and cherry he has on his property. I can't recall much about it, but I think it is just two simple barrels.....one inside the other (upside down). He has had it for years. I recall him saying the most important factor is having somewhat dry wood to start with. Obviously the heat will push some moisture out, but never hurts to have it fairly dry to begin with. It is a nice process to use the gases produced by the process to continue the burn after the water is pushed out. I also recall it being pretty "smoke-free", other than the water vapor in the onset. I also think he has a fairly long chimney on the top ? It wasn't just a few feet, thinking more like 7 or 8 feet ? I also like the fact that the process is "self-extinguishing", being once the gasses are gone it can not continue to burn. I have thought about it, but since he supplies me with some, why bother. I am not the greatest around 500 degree barrels with 1200 degree exhaust !! As far as drafting, I would think a series of holes around the bottom of main barrel would be sufficient. Probably a 7 or 8" chimney coming out of the top to help control the flow. Wonder if anyone has come up with a dampener to help control the burn ?

I don't mind buying the equipment needed for a good trip, but my wife thinks I should sell my motorcycle to support my fun. I think I should sell some of her shoes.......and the cat. Thanks guys !

Holy cow. This website should have a loan application center !! LOL. I ordered a couple moonshines, and a lot of other bright colored slimmer spoons. Of course I got some very large spoons as well.....never know. I need a bigger tackle box now.....Thanks guys !