fishfordollars

If you really want to solve the issue take the bearing buddies off, throw in the trash, and replace with the .50 original dust covers. Bearing buddies are the cause of untold bearing loss on trailers.

Saw these on another site. It's supposed to help keep a deep caught fish upright in the livewell. You clip them to the anal fin and the fish does not have to struggle to stay up right. Supposed to be an alternative to fizzing. What do ya'll think. I'm getting a set, but I'm still comfortable fizzing. Gonna give them a try.

The only way I could help you would be to look at it and trace down the correct wires. Without being there to see it I cannot help you. Maybe someone local that visits this site could come by and help you. Thanks for the kind words. Hope ya'll are doing well. Jack

You need a tach. Overrevving and lugging are both bad for the motor.

Fishing the grass is a pain, but it's worth all the aggravation.

Wish I could be there. It's killing me to be off the water this month.

You might want to try a two blade prop and check the battery. That 54 should move the 17' boat fine.

Honest opinions please. Here's the story. 1988 Skeeter Starfire 175 on a tandem trailer. New transom, stringers, carpet, and flooring Up grading to a 2005 175 Mercury Every switch and every part of this boat is in good working order. Except: Top cap is past the sanding and repairing stage. It will take a full redo. Cheapest quote is 2250.00 to repair. If I wrap it: Materials cost 450.00 for top cap Labor 275.00 Labor and materials to wrap entire boat 1550.00. I have a deal and a company that I get a monthly check from for my fishing expense. I have my own small company and by placing the name anywhere on the boat it will be a write off. I originally intended to just do the cap, but researching it I found that I cannot match the flake with the rest of the boat. This will require that we do a color change. We have picked the color to match a stripe(Red) on the side of the boat. The company that will do the work has a deal with Skeeter promoting them on the side of his boat. He is required to place the boat at tournaments or fish out of it. He is contacting them to see if they would be interested in doing some kind of backing for this wrap since the boat is tournament fished regularly and in such good shape. What would you do? fix it back to factory or play with it and see what would happen? I want to stress that the wrap would not be a wild exotic sort of thing. If I did it I would want something clean and not outlandish. Long Mike has several pictures of the boat. Mike if you read this thread post one up for me. Thanks, Jack

If I beach the boat I trim down to keep the boat from moving side to side and getting into another boat. If I dock it's just where ever it happens to be.

Ask the larger companies to help you out. Have a complete resume built to give them explaining the purpose and the functions involved. Timing is everything. The first year we approached BPS they told us they have all their commitments completed for the current year by March 31. We visited with them mid December and our request was approved by mid January. They had our gift packages all boxed up and they called us and said it was ready for pickup the last week of January. All we had to do was sign off for them. It was easy. We have been in the door for several years now, and they expect us to show and have not denied us since. Each store has their own budget for promotional items for each year. So get it together and approach them around the first of each year. Not sure but I figure the other outdoor companies will work along these lines. Good luck.

Welcome, if you care to swap a few waypoints on Falcon I'm game.

Welcome

That will work. Check the depths and contours around the largest trees out there. I bet you will find the drop. Unless it is just a bowl type bottom those trees were left for a reason, and if not for habitat it will probably be due to access. Cart7t, not everyone has the luxury or knowhow to use the things you mentioned. At one time I didn't, and that's why i brought it up to begin with.

Highways the fish use to move on and off the creeks(Up shallower) for feeding.

Any depression running off a creek channel. May run off the creek 30-40 yds. and play out. A change in depth on a flat that runs from the shallows out toward the channel or deeper water The middle of a pocket sometimes referred to as a wet weather creek. These can be made by man, runnoff, or wave action to list a few

I use 20 lb. Fluro. Can't answer your question. Not enough info. Type of: Reel Rod Cover Makes all the difference.

Crank it down with a pair of pliers. LOL

Softwood(Pines) will be straight. They will resemble a fence post and will taper toward the top. They generally will break straight across at the water line. Relatively smooth sides Hardwood are never straight. They will have forks and broken stubs and grow at different angles. They generally will have numerous small branches going out in different directions. They tend to be much larger also. There are many deep gouges or indent ions in the sides also. Look at Raul's first picture on page two and imagine some of the taller trees in 15-20 ft. of water and it may help. Remember this. When the contractor clears a lake the last thing they want to do is stick a piece of equipment. They will clear the high spots and leave the low areas alone many times. So if you only have hardwood in your area and you are in an open area that may have a few sparse tops out of the water, you can be sure they are on a creek or drain of some kind. Equipment operators will push the cleared timber off into the nearest depression or creek to do away with it also. This is the way they built Sam Rayburn. I can remember watching them push the cleared timber off into the Angelina river. Just wish I had been smart enough to take pictures.

If you are in a forward motion the transducer has just passed over it.

Here's what I look for. Remember I am talking about a timbered area offshore. The easiest to see are the larger hardwoods, this will put you near the channel. What I really like to find though are the ones that lean(Or grow to one side) and the ones that have the smaller branches that fork out in different directions above the waterline. The leaning oaks will clue you in on a creek bend or fork. Think about it when you walked a creek bottom hunting. The straighter oaks would grow in the straight streches of a creek, but when it made a bend the oak would tend to lean(Or grow) toward the channel. It may be due to a washout feature up under the root system, but not sure about it. As you work your way down through an area it's easy to find the drains. Look for any hardwood that is located off to the side of an area. If they are mixed in with the smaller straight standing timber, or don't seem to follow the path of the others it is a good chance you have a drain running in that direction. These hardwoods will keep their limbs on them longer than others and it is a great place that fish will suspend when you are hit with a bluebird day. You can catch them here with a spinnerbait worked through the treetop, jig, worm, or one of my favorites, a hopkins, hammered jigging spoon. I know the first response I get will be that heck, hardwoods grow up on the ridges too. How is that helping me. Just remember that when the lake flooded, the timber up on the shallower areas was either cleared or it rotted quickly and was gone due to water levels rising and falling. The timber in the 20-50 ft. of water was always under the water line so it survived the water line rot. Hope this helps. Jack

I think about and use things I have read on this and other sites a lot. And it all does not come from the older crowd. Passing thoughts from some of the obvious younger members are hashed about more than you younger guys realize. When you get to old or set in your ways to try or make changes you may as well hang it up. I think about it just as I would when picking a doctor for a procedure. I feel the younger ones are a little more up to date on the newer ideas, and I prefer a younger, possibly more aggressive one than one that is older, more set in his ways. JMO.

So did I. Never had a problem.

My bird dog takes a crap(On three legs) and then runs several tight circles around it, stops to smell, and then runs several more laps the opposite direction before he leaves. I figure there's no hope of figuring this out.

Hunt the clearest water you can find.

We can certainly start a thread on that.