fishfordollars

As you can see there was very little cash involved. How times have changed. I want to add that the 125.00 fee included a fee for two tournaments and the fee for big bass pot for the first two. I think it also included a fee to join . Best I remember the entry fee was 50.00(Maybe 40.00 and 5.00) per tournament, 10.00(Might have been 5.00) for big bass, and an association fee. So when i say money was tight it really was. My paycheck for the first weeks work in the store was 55.00 plus a little change. The good old days were not quite as good as we would like to remember.

I was eighteen years old and had been fishing for several years. Sam rayburn and Toledo Bend were new impoundments and there were tons of new anglers just starting out. Circuits were new to the area. There were no chain stores in the East Texas area, just a few local tackle stores opening around the lakes area. As always money was tight. Going to school and trying to keep enough money to put gas in the boat and purchase a few lures and worms had to be the last thing on the list to spend a dime on, but i managed to get out on the water a day or two a week; without much success I might add. I was not even thinking about getting any help from anyone, it just happened. A small tackle shop opened several miles from my home and I walked in one day. There was no one in the store but me and the owner than was a lot older than me. I purchased a couple of things and left, but I liked the guy. He was friendly and gave me some tips that helped me catch a few more fish. I started shopping there on the way to the lake. He opened early, I liked that, and one morning i went in and was offered a seat at a table all the older guys would sit in and just shoot the bull each morning. I kept my mouth shut unless I was asked a question. I became a regular at that table over the next six months or so. One morning i went in and they were all talking about an upcoming tournament. The lake was off limits so the guys could not be on the water. They knew I was going and they asked me to let them know what I did while fishing that week. I told them and one of the guys won a little money off some information i had given them the week before. I picked up a few items while I was there and when I went to the checkout the guy sitting at the table told the owner to let me go and he would pay. That was the first time I had ever received anything fishing related that I did not have to pay for. It probably totaled about ten dollars worth of stuff. Several weeks later i was asked to check out the lake for another tournament and let them know what I had caught them on. I did and this time the owner won several hundred dollars off one of the locations I had told him about. When I walked in the next week there was a bag of worms and other assorted tackle sitting in my chair at the table. It was his gift to me for the info. I opened the bag and there was also an envelope with $20.00 in it. He said that was my winnings for helping him out. Second time for tackle and the first money indirectly from a tournament i had ever received. I don't remember any of the guys winning any more that year from any of my information. I continued to shop and visit there for the rest of the year. The season started early the next year. I walked in on a Wednesday morning and the owner asked me if I had been on the lake that week. I had not. He said his partner could not fish the upcoming tournament on Saturday and wanted to know if I would fish with him. I told him I did not have the money for the entry. He said he would cover it and if we won any money he would take it out of my part of the winnings. Third time I had received money for fishing. We didn't win a dime,but he liked the way we fished together. His partner fished the rest of the year with him so I did not get to fish another tournament. One of the guides at the table did use me for overflow clients when he needed me and that helped me make enough money to keep me fishing for the summer. I basically followed him and fished his spots with him. He and I partnered up the next year and placed in the first three tournaments, won the fourth, and finished third in the championship for the year. During this time we were getting all kinds of free tackle from the tackle store so I was wearing his shirts and always promoting his products. I was always truthful when discussing the lures that I caught my fish on. One thursday morning(I remember it like yesterday) I walked in and he was sitting at the table with several of the regulars and another guy I did not know. He introduced me to his new partner and said he was opening another store. He needed help promoting it and asked me to help them out. I had a new shirt, a new rod/reel combo, big bag of lures, and an entry form completed for the upcoming tournament. He asked me to sign it. I told him i just could not afford to fish the tournament. He moved the paper over and there was a completed check for the entry fee. It was 125.00. He paid for all five tournaments that year for me, I worked in the store when I could, and won just enough to repay him for the entry fee that year. But that's the first sponser i got and how it happened. If you want help: Be a loyal customer Believe in the product Be honest Be humble Be able to push product Be able to represent professionally Be consistant It will come. Sorry for the long post. Jack

Very sad story. Life jackets can save so many lives if worn properly. I too am guilty of not wearing mine when i should. Usually only during a tournament, but i know i need to do a better job at it. Prayers to the families.

X2

Speed costs...How fast you wanta go?

B.O.A.T.= Break Out Another Thousand.

It idles slowly, almost borderline stalling during the summer, a little faster when it is cool. I suppose I could bump up the idle a bit. You could change the idle screw, but you would have to change all carbs (4 or 2 on that motor?) the same amount. You can mark them before you try it, that way you can change them back if you screw up. Or take it to the shop if it bothers you. My 1988 48 hp johnson does the same thing, I just drive it with some (full) throttle and try not to idle around, it can get interesting at crowded ramps. Mine only seems to die when idling in gear though. Who knows! The motor is a 6 cylinder, with 6 carbs. I think the throttle cable can be adjusted to open all the carbs together to increase the idle. I will give that a try. Huh? Six carbs? Friend, you better get someone else working on that motor. Three carbs is what it has. Those old motors would scream. They love rpms and lots of jetting. Could be a needle and seat problem or as simple as a vaccum leak in one of the carbs. Only a couple of moving parts to each carb. Check the hoses or if you think they need it tear them down, kit them, reinstall, set the mixture and idle adjustments and you should be good to go. I run one on my Skeeter and it's just hit the key and it's ready to go.

Have the lowrance. Last call to customer service was less than ten minutes.

After a days fishing on Lake Sam Rayburn with a couple of clients Don just slumped over the steering wheel as they were ideling up to the ramp. The clients contacted Jasper county law enforcement and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Story at: www.kjas.com Prayers to the family. Don's fishing reports were always up to snuff. You could really count on him for anything you needed. Sure gonna miss him. Jack

I'm going up a couple of days next week when I get back from alabama. Will contact you tuesday when I get back. going to spend a couple of days on Rayburn and Toledo so just let me know.

Unless it goes dry at times or is salt water it will hold bass.

Of course it does.

Have a hunting knife in the boat at all times. Never know when you will need to cut a gill net or trotline that reaches out and grabs the prop. I also carry a large folding knife(Two blade). One blade is built like a small crosscut saw. Handy to cut a limb or two away from a bed or saw your way into another area.

Why was the transom replaced? Have you had the motor, boat, and trailer checked by a qualified mechanic(Not an auto mechanic either)? If you don't do these things then you deserve what ever you get. Did you check the paperwork to see if it's in line? Doubt it. You better do your homework else you got a basket case that you will end up totting to the scrap yard. $1,200.00 ain't a deal if it's crap.

You should have no problem with interference as long as you hook both to the cranking battery. Do not run the wires parallel and together. you will more than likely have interference if you hook one to the trolling motor battery. Stay away from that. If you have a good cranking battery you will have no problem running both units all day without running that battery down. I leave all three of my units on contioniously from start to finish with no problem. I run the wires down the same side of the boat with no problem. Question: Is that the unit I sold you a while back? If so, glad to see it is still doing a good job for you. I never had a minutes trouble with it. Jack

Had my share. They don't hurt when they remove them either.

Moving too fast at times. I know I leave a lot of catachable fish to look elsewhere. Also, my health if you want to consider it a fault. I hit the water at times when the better choice would be to stay put and try to get better. At times it is very hard to concentrate when you feel like you have a spear sticking between your shoulders. Just figure it will hurt either way so go bear the pain in the boat and many times that is not the smart move.

Everyone enjoy the Bend this weekend. I'm going to Alabama Friday morning to visit family and do a little fishing on Lay Lake. Be back late Monday night.

X2, didn't we all have those stick steer beast with the 60 and 70 hp motors. We thought we were flying. My boat was real close to the one pictured. It was a Duckhawk with a 60.

To add that lots of the main lake fish will stay out there year round. Never moving to the bank. They will spawn out in the middle on anything that has the right depth, water temps, and sunlight, and then just move right back into the deeper water. FYI, the bream are moving up on Rayburn too. Gonna be fun.

If you are trying to use them to spot fish you are cheating yourself. WHAT CATT SAID!

always

The lowrance HDS units use either the internal antenna or the external 4,000 GPS antenna. You have the choice.

nope you're not. the fish don't make a mad dash out to summertime areas just after spawning. they will follow the bait. One thing to watch for is the bream spawn. when it happens find the beds and set up out in a little deeper water. It's a consistant pattern in this area that will produce numbers as well as large fish. They set up a little away from the area(Just like you should), and will move in and out feasting on those bream.

I would trade fishing for the business end of a 50 any day. Wish i was a little younger so i could go back and help take a little pressure off the younger guys. Prayers to you and all the other men involved. Keep your head down and the powder dry. Bring them all home alive and in one piece. Good luck, Jack