# Power pole or not



## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

I couldn't find a thread addressing this, so here goes. What is your opinion of investing in a power pole for shallow water fishing? I'm in Jacksonville, FL and will be mainly fishing the creeks off the ICW and St Johns River. I'll get to Nassau Sound once in a while. Most of my fishing will be in current. My boat is an 18ft tunnel hull with 80in beam. I thought I was happy using an anchor until the strong winds of the last week made it difficult to hit my spots. And, my age (65) is becoming less of an asset. Thanks for any and all opinions.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Yes, you will love it.


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## commtrd (Aug 1, 2015)

I went on a guided trip and the boat had a 4' power pole on it. I previously had said I would never have one (more stuff to break, more weight on stern) and those are true. HOWEVER, I saw the guide from up on the PP drop that pole upon spotting nervous reds from 40 to 50' out, in a stiff SE wind at stbd stern, and immediately be in position to shoot at those fish without as much chance at spooking them. Then when ready to resume poling, lift it up silently and instantly be on our way. I was suitably impressed to say the least. What a tool to have on an extremely shallow-capable rig. 

A power pole (4' length) will be on my next boat.


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## commtrd (Aug 1, 2015)

BTW this will be a real help when fishing solo as I do about 99% of the time. I can be poling along, see fish, drop pole, and scramble to bow and grab fly rod with line already out in stripping basket for a shot. Sweet. Or get out and wade if I want to do that.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

commtrd said:


> BTW this will be a real help when fishing solo as I do about 99% of the time. I can be poling along, see fish, drop pole, and scramble to bow and grab fly rod with line already out in stripping basket for a shot. Sweet. Or get out and wade if I want to do that.


Man I don’t know what kind of fish you have shots at but the ones I usually pole up on give you about two seconds to make a shot. By the time I hopped off the platform and got to the bow they’d be in another area code!


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## commtrd (Aug 1, 2015)

Yes all true as boat traffic including those damned air boats are making redfish spooky as hell. Really might actually get a shot at one out 20 seen lately. But if I can spot a pod of reds from say 40 or 50' out, and drop the pole immediately, I MIGHT have a shadow of a chance to get a shot. Or not. In a place like Port O'Connor, with about 3000 boats running around on any given Saturday, it can get to be almost impossible.


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## f86sabjf (Nov 21, 2017)

Buy it don’t look back . Solo fisherman here also made life a lot easier. Customer service is awesome also .


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## FlyBy (Jul 12, 2013)

Only thing better than a power pole is two power poles. Tide or wind can't swing the boat. I have two micros, one in front and one in back. If I had it to do over again I'd replace the micro in back with a conventional 4' power pole. The micro interferes with poling.


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## jonterr (Mar 24, 2013)

TooOldTo said:


> I couldn't find a thread addressing this, so here goes. What is your opinion of investing in a power pole for shallow water fishing? I'm in Jacksonville, FL and will be mainly fishing the creeks off the ICW and St Johns River. I'll get to Nassau Sound once in a while. Most of my fishing will be in current. My boat is an 18ft tunnel hull with 80in beam. I thought I was happy using an anchor until the strong winds of the last week made it difficult to hit my spots. And, my age (65) is becoming less of an asset. Thanks for any and all opinions.


They are great


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I’ve been poling skiffs for many years and from the start was skeptical of power poles. I’ve always thought that I was the power pole - particularly after I started guiding in 1996. Of course I’m on soft bottom, mostly -and I’m not doing the fishing when I have customers aboard. My opinion has changed quite a bit over the years about them and today I’d recommend them to anyone, particularly anyone with a bigger skiff or any size skiff operating on oyster or hard bottom.

You can’t stake out with a push pole on hard bottom at all - but a power pole will work just fine if you’re in shallow enough areas... That’s the one real shortcoming with a power pole since there’s lots of places with great fishing that your power pole won’t be able to reach but my pushpole will...

I still don’t have one but I finally did break down and get a 24 volt Terrova with anchor lock - and couldn’t be happier since it holds us exactly where we need to be in places where a power pole simply can’t. I’m still my own “power pole” in shallower places... Whenever we might need to stop - I’m poling with the pointed end down so that I can instantly stop us -and absolutely silently...

Hope this helps


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

lemaymiami said:


> I’ve been poling skiffs for many years and from the start was skeptical of power poles. I’ve always thought that I was the power pole - particularly after I started guiding in 1996. Of course I’m on soft bottom, mostly -and I’m not doing the fishing when I have customers aboard. My opinion has changed quite a bit over the years about them and today I’d recommend them to anyone, particularly anyone with a bigger skiff or any size skiff operating on oyster or hard bottom.
> 
> You can’t stake out with a push pole on hard bottom at all - but a power pole will work just fine if you’re in shallow enough areas... That’s the one real shortcoming with a power pole since there’s lots of places with great fishing that your power pole won’t be able to reach but my pushpole will...
> 
> ...


How do you pole in water that’s so deep a 6’ powerpole can’t reach bottom?


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## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

Thanks for all the input. Sounds like its universal. Since I'm hemorrhaging funds on the new boat, I thought I'd go without the pole. Since you all want to spend my money, which one would you go with?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

How deep do you usually fish? 6’ is a good in between length.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

I'm gonna be contrarian - you guys can drop a PP in front of shallow water reds? Not in my world. You are lucky you can actually swing a rod to make a cast much less drop a PP in 12" of water. Reds in Pine Island would held for the hills.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I don’t think you are fishing really shallow. I would get one if it works in yours depths. For me it’s not worth cost or weight where I fish.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

timogleason said:


> I'm gonna be contrarian - you guys can drop a PP in front of shallow water reds? Not in my world. You are lucky you can actually swing a rod to make a cast much less drop a PP in 12" of water. Reds in Pine Island would held for the hills.


Same here, I only use my Micro to stop the boat after hooking up because it’s usually windy and a pain to get blown off the shoreline and reposition after each fish. Spooky spooky!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Wait, I hate the damn things but I'm a cramugen


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## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

Right now I'm fishing a little deeper, anchoring on the edges of drop offs and around docks, rocks and oyster bars. I'm not much for getting way up in the grass. I'll fish more grass edges later in the year.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Smackdaddy - I routinely pole in rivers that might at times be 12' deep - and every depth shallower... No I'm not exactly poling the flats when we're after big tarpon - and Yes, we've been very successful using only a pushpole...

Here's the drill... I can pole from the tower in eight or nine feet of water using a 22' pole. When we're in rivers I'm able to go a bit deeper since we're only poling with the current (push or troll against the current in a river with big tarpon and they know you're there - and that's exactly how big sharks hunt tarpon, pushing slowly against the current...). The trick is to get down off of the tower and pole from the rear corner of the deck of your skiff... I have to admit that I never had a poling tower on my early skiffs - all those years ago so I'm perfectly comfortable poling from that position. In fact I knew more than a few guys that poled from the bow of aluminum skiffs - all day long.... way back when.

Since I'm already on the deck - staking out, if the bottom will allow it is very do-able with a 22 foot pole in ten to twelve feet of water. Of course there's very few places in Everglades rivers that have a soft bottom - they're mostly pure limestone rock bottoms (but that's another story, since knowing where you can stake out is half the battle using a pushpole in rivers...).

Now that I'm getting older (and still poling at age 71...) I've finally added a trolling motor with anchor lock to my skiff (did without one entirely for the past 20 years or so...). So far it's been great and the anchor lock function in the rivers we fish holding big tarpon has worked surprisingly well. A few weeks back our first shot at them using the spot lock in a river had us hooking four fish (three on bait, one on a lure..) all within 80 feet of the anchor locked troller... Most were on the small side, less than 40lbs - but one was a big girl that I guesstimated at nearly 100lbs. Don't think that my troller would work very well down in the Keys or other places with clear waters - but in the dark waters of the 'glades it's a winner... The troller won't see much use when we're poling shallow sightfishing (mostly a winter-time proposition in my area). I'll still be up on the platform when we're up skinny - but there are a lot of places that hold good fish - that aren't that shallow...


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## KCTim (Feb 7, 2017)

Get the 8’ for here in Jacksonville, you will find it hard to hold a 6’ in the mud here especially if you are in any kind of depth or current.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Second the recommendations for getting one and an 8-footer for your area. Work fantastic for poling or on the trolling motor. Essential tool for a guide and the perfect accessory for fun fishing, solo or otherwise. And they are backed by the best customer service in the sport-fishing industry. You won't regret the purchase.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

One last minor point about PowerPoles... with the longer pole comes a much higher profile for that accessory when it's stowed on your trailer. For those of us lucky enough to be able to keep our skiffs garaged - that might just be a problem to work your way around if needed...  It would be helpful if anyone with an eight footer to measure just how much above your poling platform that pole is when properly retracted for storage...

Aren't boats fun?


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Man I don’t know what kind of fish you have shots at but the ones I usually pole up on give you about two seconds to make a shot. By the time I hopped off the platform and got to the bow they’d be in another area code!



This. And the sheepshead I want to cast at are so wary they bolt when my alarm clock goes off.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Sublime said:


> This. And the sheepshead I want to cast at are so wary they bolt when my alarm clock goes off.


That made me crack up. They are some scary fish for sure.


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## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

lemaymiami said:


> One last minor point about PowerPoles... with the longer pole comes a much higher profile for that accessory when it's stowed on your trailer. For those of us lucky enough to be able to keep our skiffs garaged - that might just be a problem to work your way around if needed... It would be helpful if anyone with an eight footer to measure just how much above your poling platform that pole is when properly retracted for storage...
> 
> Aren't boats fun?


Thanks for the thought. I won't have a problem with the overall height. My rig goes in a storage barn alongside a big monster with a tower. Almost can't find mine next to it.


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## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

TimR said:


> Get the 8’ for here in Jacksonville, you will find it hard to hold a 6’ in the mud here especially if you are in any kind of depth or current.


Thanks TimR. 
Is the SportsmanII adequate or do I need to step up a level?


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

I've owned a Signature on my flats boat and the Sportsman II on the skiff. Basically it's a matter of aesthetics and budget since both models have nearly the same features. The Sportsman II is $300 less MSRP, though.


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## KCTim (Feb 7, 2017)

Agree with Zika. I have the blade on my current skiff and the Sportsman II on my previous. The blade definitely looks better and I believe is a little faster/quieter, but they both work fine and do the exact same function.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

Man I must have different one than you guys.

When it is working it makes way to much noise to deploy while poling the flats as the sound from the pump and the spike going into hard sand usually send fish scattering.

Leaks hydraulic fluid all over the damn hatch all the time.

It Deployed while running and then wanted to only go down so I had to pull a fuse out of it then ziptie it up to the poling platform.

The only time I have used in a fishing scenario was staking out on flats with really heavy current and waiting on fish to come to you.


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## TooOldTo (Aug 21, 2019)

texasag07 said:


> Man I must have different one than you guys.
> 
> When it is working it makes way to much noise to deploy while poling the flats as the sound from the pump and the spike going into hard sand usually send fish scattering.
> 
> ...


That sounds like a disaster. I certainly hope you got the special one, and I get a regular one (if I go for it).


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## tcov (Apr 7, 2018)

texasag07 said:


> Man I must have different one than you guys.
> 
> When it is working it makes way to much noise to deploy while poling the flats as the sound from the pump and the spike going into hard sand usually send fish scattering.
> 
> ...


Powerpole will take care of all that for you. Some of the best customer service in the business.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

texasag07 said:


> Man I must have different one than you guys.
> 
> When it is working it makes way to much noise to deploy while poling the flats as the sound from the pump and the spike going into hard sand usually send fish scattering.
> 
> ...


Have you contacted PowerPole? They will seriously take care of you.


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

I just bought another power pole micro with an 8ft spike. Power Pole is offering a 100$ Mail in rebate. I just got my 100$ check In the mail today. Only took about 1 week. Power Poles are well worth the $$. Dont know how I ever fished without it. The biggest advantage to me is for fishing solo. Before I had a PP alot of times after hooking into a red fish ithe fish would pull me right through the school and ruining a chance at more hook ups. Power poles are well worth the money. I also agree with Capt Lamay about the stellar customer service.


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

When I lived in Jax I had a micro power pole which was nice. Now I live in Miami and I don’t have one on my current skiff. I will say that the soft bottom of jacksonville doesn’t really require a power pole. All you need is wang anchor or a push pole. Now in certain areas of the keys with hard bottom a power pole would really come in handy. I have to throw anchor and chain if I’m fishing alone in the hard bottom down here. Even then it still might not hold, big PIA.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

TooOldTo said:


> That sounds like a disaster. I certainly hope you got the special one, and I get a regular one (if I go for it).


. I have a special one too...Been through 3 of 4 top pump caps, 3 circuit boards, hydraulic hoses, and tank cap. Have had to jump in 50 degree water to push up a stuck pole and MANY other misadventures but I am now a relative expert on fixing my PP. I will admit, to JL Marine having great customer service. Until my last small little cracked tank cap, I never paid for a replacement part. They just sent whatever I needed and it usually arrived the next day. (I had to pay an outrageous shipping fee of $17 to ship a 2" cap).


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

I have an 8’ Blade on my Vantage. Would prefer a 6’-er as 8’ gets in this way of poling sometimes. I will definitely have one on my next skiff although likely a PP Micro and my skiff will be smaller as well. I fish a lot by myself and then PP is great for taking a break from poling and not drifting.


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## Coffeyonthefly (Mar 20, 2019)

I have a 10’ on my bay boat but none on my skiff. Living in Jax and having the wind and tides we have one just isn’t enough. On my bay boat I will add another one on my poling skiff much happier with a stake out pole.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Aircraft aluminum and 316 stainless fold down (hinged) mounting bracket for PowerPole with quick disconnect hydraulic fittings so you can completely remove the PP if you need to or just fold flat on the deck to fit in garage etc. 

https://hydrillagear.com/products/tiltremovable-bracket


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## Noextrastuffincockpit (Mar 15, 2019)

Don't do it. Just another thing to go wrong.


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## Godzuki86 (Nov 30, 2013)

This is from a previously anti PowerPole guide.


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

I have an 8ft powerpole and could not imagine going back to not having one.

One reason I like it beyond the convenience of anchoring to fish places without having to deal with an anchor/pin is how to work a shoreline/flat with it.

I like to find the up wind/current side and control drift down dropping the power poling down every so many yards. I have found this to be way quieter than a trolling motor and even a pole. We generally have a soft mud bottom and only raising the pole a few inches to drift at a time keeps it quiet.


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## Snookyrookie (Sep 9, 2016)

I think it all depends on the water you fish. I hardly ever use mine in the summer months in the front of Flamingo, but use it all the time in the winter months in the back. Are you dealing with current? Do you want to stay at one point when you find fish? If you hook up and the wind is pushing you is that good or bad to hook up again? I can’t give mine up now that I’ve seen the benefits and would add one to any boat I have if I fish the same way I currently do. One thing to consider, if you deal with current And waves understand that your pole will cause you to flip stern to the current and waves, is that dangerous to your boat? A lot to consider but as I said I love mine for the way I fish. Also consider the depths you fish in, will it reach the bottom?


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## Derek Radtke (Feb 24, 2018)

I love my power pole, I’m fishing by myself pretty much all the time and it allows me to do multiple things at one time. Stopping the boat while fighting a fish in my constant wind is very helpful. Sometimes over a deeper flat I’ll put the power pole down to straighten out a drift. It also nice to have to anchor points when I get out to wade, anchor in the front and power pole in the back. Plus there customer service is amazing. I have a 6 footer.


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## dafjib (Mar 7, 2019)

TooOldTo said:


> I couldn't find a thread addressing this, so here goes. What is your opinion of investing in a power pole for shallow water fishing? I'm in Jacksonville, FL and will be mainly fishing the creeks off the ICW and St Johns River. I'll get to Nassau Sound once in a while. Most of my fishing will be in current. My boat is an 18ft tunnel hull with 80in beam. I thought I was happy using an anchor until the strong winds of the last week made it difficult to hit my spots. And, my age (65) is becoming less of an asset. Thanks for any and all opinions.


I would try a stick pole first ,before I sunk a lot of money on a power pole .I have one on my 18 ft. boat and it holds in high wind just fine.


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## Hardluk81 (Jan 3, 2016)

You should really try and assess the way you fish. We have 6’ +/- tide swings here. If you are trolling bank lines staying off the bank enough not to spook fish it will probably be too deep to use. If you are poling or trying to stake out by an oyster bed soaking bait then yes. The first scenario you would be better of with a spot lock TM. FYI I have a micro on my skiff and ended up cutting the stake down to 4’ but am mostly poling. I’d buy another one tomorrow if it broke!


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## ebr (Sep 6, 2019)

Have an 8' Talon on my bay boat and a 6' PP on my new Mosquito. I thought 4' when I was outfitting the boat and Liz talked me into the 6 and I'm glad she did. In any kind of soft mud a 4' PP isn't going to do much except in very shallow water.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Man I don’t know what kind of fish you have shots at but the ones I usually pole up on give you about two seconds to make a shot. By the time I hopped off the platform and got to the bow they’d be in another area code!


Right, Im standing on my rod with line out when Im poling myself.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> Smackdaddy - I routinely pole in rivers that might at times be 12' deep - and every depth shallower... No I'm not exactly poling the flats when we're after big tarpon - and Yes, we've been very successful using only a pushpole...
> 
> Here's the drill... I can pole from the tower in eight or nine feet of water using a 22' pole. When we're in rivers I'm able to go a bit deeper since we're only poling with the current (push or troll against the current in a river with big tarpon and they know you're there - and that's exactly how big sharks hunt tarpon, pushing slowly against the current...). The trick is to get down off of the tower and pole from the rear corner of the deck of your skiff... I have to admit that I never had a poling tower on my early skiffs - all those years ago so I'm perfectly comfortable poling from that position. In fact I knew more than a few guys that poled from the bow of aluminum skiffs - all day long.... way back when.
> 
> ...


The killer poling from the back corner against the current is you just can't get straight! I drove myself crazy doing this a few times, then I just trolled in and parked, and waited.


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## LtShinysides (Dec 27, 2018)

It really depends on the water and way you fish IMO. I love my 4 ft. I can definitely repeat what other have said about their customer service though. They will send you replacement parts in about 48 hours damn near zero questions asked.


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## Godzuki86 (Nov 30, 2013)

dafjib said:


> I would try a stick pole first ,before I sunk a lot of money on a power pole .I have one on my 18 ft. boat and it holds in high wind just fine.


While it works, a stick it pin just isn’t near as efficient nor as fast as a powerpole.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Mines malfunctioned a lot. I’ve considered just have a rod spike to throw into the bottom instead. Then I can tie off the front anyway. I also agree deploying is load. I really do like it in a lot of instances tho. But then again once I fell off the boat and deployed it while the boat was floating away so....


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