Junebug

This is the second year I've had the boat. I've never changed the plugs. That definitely couldn't hurt. Thanks.

My charger has options to charge @ 2A, 10A, and 15A... It also has the option of regular, deep cycle, or gel cell... What settings should I use to charge my batteries. Typically I charge @ 10A / Deep Cycle... should I be charging my starting battery differently than my trolling batteries? Will it hurt my battery if I choose the wrong setting?

I have a 1999 Mercury XR6 150hp motor. I am pretty certain that I have a relatively good starting battery. It is a duralast marine starting battery. My problem is that I have been having a lot of trouble getting my motor to actually "roll over," when I first try to start it at the boat ramp. In other words, it is "rolling", but not starting until after several trials. I hope I can describe this clearly so that it makes sense... I'm not very mechanical when it comes to engines. This is an example of a typical day starting my motor: I begin by turning the key; I let it "roll" (like a cold car engine before it cranks) several times, not expecting it to crank. Then I prime the engine by pushing in the key for about 7 seconds. I turn the key again; this time it fires like it is going to start, but immediately shuts off. I turn the key again, this time I quickly tap the hot foot. It rolls and sounds like it is about to start, but then it stops rolling and makes a "whining" sound. I will usually go through this process of turning the key, tapping the hot-foot, rolling, then whining about 4-5 more times before the motor finally starts... It seems like this process, that usually takes 5-10 minutes, would take a toll on my battery. After I finally get the motor started, I usually don't have any more problems throughout the course of the day. Then engine will usually start immediately when I turn the key. But I went out Saturday for a very short fishing trip, and I didn't drive very far from the ramp to my hole. It started right up when I got ready to leave Saturday evening. But when I got to the ramp Sunday afternoon my cranking battery was dead. :'( So, as I said, I'm no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination. But it seems to me that it shouldn't be so hard to get the boat to crank, and I don't understand why my starting battery would be dead on Sunday afternoon. By the way, I did check to make sure I didn't leave anything on over night. I guess my question is... do you think something is wrong with my starter? or my alternator? or my battery? or just operator error, a.k.a. my method of starting my boat is wrong? Any input, answers, opinions, or tips are GREATLY appreciated!!!

I was having a really bad day and wasn't catching anything, so I tied on an x-rap, then I took about three more feet of line and tied a leader from the back ring of the x-rap and tied on another x-rap to the back of it. I hooked a 3 pound large mouth on the very first cast. The two lures actually swam very well together. I'm sure that won't be the last time I do it, but it did occur to me that could potentially be a very expensive break off.

I've been fishing for large mouth all my life. Now, I recently moved to middle Tennessee and apparently there is some world class smallie fishing around here. I have accidentally hooked into quite a few smallies while fishing for LMB with a x-rap, a pop-r, and a fluke. I have never been fishing for smallies specifically, but LMB fishing is a lot different here than what I'm used to. I fish on Tim's Ford lake most of the time. It is a man-made lake, it's very deep and the shores tend to be very rocky, and the water is very clear. I would like to pursue small mouth fishing more, but I don't know many people here in TN. I have been reading your posts here on BR and I've learned a lot. Here are a few questions I have. 1. What is a fat ika? I've searched for it on BPS.com and I can't figure out what it is. 2. Do smallies tend to school? If I catch one, should I expect to catch more in the same area? 3. When you approach a new lake, what are some cues you look for to find smallies? 4. Are any of you familiar with Tim's Ford or Woods Reservoir specifically, and if so, what can you tell me about these lakes? 5. What is, in your opinion, the BIGGEST difference in SMB and LMB fishing? 6. Do you prefer smallie fishing over LMB fishing? If so, why? I sorry this post is so long winded, and I don't expect you to answer all of my questions. But I really appreciate ANYTHING you can say to help me out with these questions!

Sorry I'm not Mr. Originality on this one, but: Pro: KVD Show: The Bass Pros

I have a fiberglass boat with a mist/flake paint, and it is beginning to look severely sun-damaged. Is there anything I can do to reverse this process? Will it have to be repainted? :'(

As much as I agree with everyone about the Rebel Pop-R; I have to add that the BassPro Shop XPS has worked even better than the Pop-R for me. Especially the color "Bone/Orange Belly." At dawn with this bait, I have an incredible cast/catch ratio. Way better than any other bait I use. The secret is fish it VERY slow. I usually pop it a couple times then let it sit for 10-15 seconds, then pop it again. I LOVE THIS BAIT!!!

I just got my package from BPS. Here's what I got: 4 packs of ultra-vibe speed worms (1 white, 1 watermelon seed, 2 junebug) 3 packs of baby brushhogs (1 watermelon seed, 1 mardi gras, 1 junebug) 2 packs of super flukes (1 midnight chartreuse, 1 watermelon green) 2 packs of ultra-vibe speed craws (1 alabama craw, 1 watermelon candy) Please... any tips, comments, or ideas will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!

I usually have four rods rigged at all times: 1. T-Rigged worm or brush hog 2. Rapala X-rap 3. Spinner Bait 4. everything else I feel most confident with the T-rig worm, so I guess that's my go-to bait.

Thanks guys. Guess I'll have to try a screw in weight! When I bought this bait I had a lot of optimism. I'll keep working with it.

Thanks for the great info Catt!

What's the difference between the 'super' fluke and a regular fluke? I like fishing with a fluke. Is it better? I might have to give that a try!

Hi, I'm sorry if this has already been asked. I scanned through the senko topic above and didn't see anything about it. What is the most effective presentation of the swim senko? I have been playing with one for the past couple of months, but I am yet to get a bite. I have found them to be very finnicky with the way you hook them. If they aren't just perfect, they don't swim right. Also, I don't know if I'm supposed to let them sink, or fish them on top. Typically I let them sink about three feet and retrieve them slow enough to maintain this depth with occasional light twitches of the rod tip. Perhaps I haven't been patient enough with this bait. Also, under what conditions (if any) do you prefer the swim senko to the original senko? And what color do you prefer for clear water? Thanks a lot guys! Any additional pointers concerning this lure are also greatly appreciated!

I was just reading through the forum. I am a brand new poster, but I noticed you were going to meet some of the BR guys at Guntersville this weekend. That's awesome, I live about an hour from there. Are a lot of you going to be there? Have y'all been planning this trip for a long time? That just sounds like a lot of fun!

Thanks Preach. She can really fish. I've got a life-long fishing partner for sure. I usually catch more fish, but she usually catches the big ones > ;D

Here's another:

Here's a pic of one of the bass she caught:

Hi, I've enjoyed reading this forum. You guys are great. This is my first post. My family went to Disney World last week. I had to test the water. The bass were biting very well around the cypress trees early in the morning. I was using a Kinami 4" black/blue worm. Then, mid-day they were biting around lily pads. The Zoom Brush Hog watermelon seed worked well around the pads. My wife also caught a 5 pounder off of a fallen tree with a brown Culprit frog, his legs were dipped in chartreuse dye. We had a couple of great days fishing to add to our Disney vacation. Just thought I would share, and introduce myself.