[Devin]

What year is your Simrad, do you know?

I am guessing that it’s a newer model that has some kind of .USR type that GPS Babel doesn’t recognize or can’t work with.

<insert cussing GPS manufacturers for making things harder than what they need to be>

This URL provides a lot of technical specs from GPS Babel that I don’t expect you to use, but maybe someone else who searches this in the future will: https://www.gpsbabel.org/htmldoc-development/fmt_lowranceusr.html

If you give me some time I can figure out a solution.

For now, I would investigate if your Simrad can export files in .gpx format instead of .usr.

NOTE: Everyone should shove their proprietary file format where the sun doesn’t shine and just use .GPX!!!

After that, try GPS Visualizer: https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input

Let us know how it goes.

Also, thank you for posting about this. I love this kind of content/discussion and hope more people do the same so we can solve these technical challenges. You don’t find this kind of discussion on FaceCrap!

[Devin]

Excellent find. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[Devin]

I thought I replied to this!

Well, welcome to the forum! I know it’s hot as all get out right now, but once it cools off the fishing ought to pick up even more. I’m hoping there’s gonna be a helluva shrimp run on that side of the river. I can’t wait to see what it’s like.

Thank you for posting an intro!

[Devin]

You got an Avid Rogue? How do you like it?

Well there’s no doubt that Venice is on fire, but if you go out of Rigolets in the next 30 days or so, consider hitting Mud Lake (aka Little Lake) on a hard falling tide. Look for jumping shrimp and diving birds.

There’s a chance right now that Lake Pontchartrain could have another run of shrimp and fish like she did in 2016. Or it’ll be like last year where they are concentrated in various patches across the basin (and you’ll want to trailer to The Jump in Venice).

Thanks for posting a report and welcome to the community!

[Devin]

There are plenty of spots holding trout besides the ones that constantly show up on Facebook and Youtube. I just gotta do my homework and go scout them out.

The artificial reefs in MS Sound are a good start. Grand Banks and Cabbage Reef, maybe West Karako (inside the marsh).

I am really exploring night fishing around the islands and away from the docks where it has mostly been undersized trout and hard heads.

There’s gotta be something to it. I’ve heard things about the casino lights, wherever those are. I’ve also heard of great flounder gigging reports.

Either way, welcome to the site, thank you for posting an intro!

[Devin]

Welcome to the site!

[Devin]

Great topic.

Without racking my brain on this, I can say that I also carry the Garmin InReach in the event there’s an emergency outside of cell service.

It has a feature where I can broadcoast my position on a password-protected web page that a family member checks on his phone throughout the day.

I also have a “drop dead” time that I’ll be back and, if I’m not, text the phone, then text the Garmin. If there’s no response, call the calvary and give them my last known position.

Of course, there’s the SOS feature, but I like having something of a dead man’s switch in case I can’t use it.

After that, I sometimes have whiskey/vodka/whatever in a flask.

Man, you never know. That has bailed me out more than once. One time I got stung by a stingray and a shot of whiskey took the edge off.

It was in either 2016 or 2017 when we had really bad fog during winter, and I had crossed Lake Borgne for an afternoon trip, and that badass fog rolled in. Me and my bud were in the Biloxi Marsh and the sun was going down and it was so foggy I could hardly see the bow of the boat. It was wild.

Crossing Lake Borgne to go home was nerve wracking, and that’s coming from the guy Chas Champagne calls “Gorilla Nuts”.

A shot of whiskey calmed the nerves and we made it home safely.

Or if you get stuck on an island you’ll want something to do. lol

[Devin]

For the most part the my main line is 10lb test braid (30/40 lb strength)

Do you mean that you’re using a 30lb test braid that’s the equivalent of 10lb mono diameter?

I always tie a double uni on the main line to leader with 8 to 10 wraps with braid to fluro or mono and 5 to 7 wraps with the mono/fluoro carbon to braid.

That’s a great knot to use.

Devin says don’t be a knot nerd and I am definitely not but when I try to analyze this issue I come up empty.

Dammit that’s what I said!!! lol jk

I don’t think you’re doing that at all. I think this is a good point to bring up.

This is not a big deal but I thought this would be an interesting conversation, so thanks for listening!

Man, this forum is in its infancy, so I’ll take whatever you got. lol I think this is a great topic. Let’s do it.

So, are you tying these knots the day of the night before your trip? Or are they knots from previous fishing trips?

If they are from previous trips, then that they would fail isn’t a surprise. It’s dried out and lost it’s strength.

For me, when I “do tackle” before a fishing trip, part of that process is re-tying all the knots (if it’s important that it not break). If I’m just screwing around on the water on a fun trip, I’m not particularly heartbroken over a popped knot. Whatever, I’ll just re-ty.

But if there are any stakes in the trip at all, then all those are getting re-done the night before.

After that, I’ll step outside of the box and say “why run braid at all?” Especially when throwing a jig.

Why introduce an additional failure point in your tackle? Why not take full advantage of monofilament fishing line and spool the entire reel in it?

[Devin]

Some combos are cheap, others aren’t. Just depends what it is.

I’d put a Penn Battle or Daiwa BG on those rods I recommended. 3500 is a good size.

[Devin]

Yeah, the Daiwa Aird Coastal Rods are great. Get something with a medium heavy or heavy power. Gus’s Tackle in Slidell stocks them. They’re also about $50 apiece. The cork peels after a couple years, but they are otherwise great rods for the money.

After that, a St. Croix Triumph is hard to beat. Another great rod with a great warranty. Also at Gus’s last time I checked.

[Devin]

If you don’t see a delete option then I’ll take care of it. Thank you!

[Devin]

Sort of.

I’ve been meaning to make it awhile. The pictures and video for it was shot awhile back, the text just needed to be written out.

The dredge down by LaPlace does a much better job marking their discharge line than the one in Lake Catherine.

[Devin]

Superior surely has what you’re looking for. I’m about 100% positive they have all the same manufacturer’s reps as Puglia’s, Chag’s, Gus, etc.

[Devin]

Thank you so much for posting those!

[Devin]

Spillway Canal in Pointe a la Hache just upstream from Beshel’s. Don’t go in there. Trust me. lol