SissySticks

Isn't it amazing how much different in physical appearance a 7 lb. smallmouth appears than a 5 lb. smallmouth? It seems like a much bigger discrepancy than the difference between 5 and 7 pound largemouths. That thing makes my pb 5 lb. smallie look like a minnow.

Yeah, I tend toward the extreme ends of the bait spectrum anyway- I'm either throwing a 3" senko, and 1/8 oz. spinnerbait, finesse worm, or a huge swimbait or 10" worm. I went out and bought some interesting lake fork swimbaits in a shad color yesterday. They're about 5 inches long, bulky, and fished on a big jighead. We'll see if a big spot will eat one. Probably catch some nice wipers anyway, as a biproduct. Thanks for the advice.

OK, there are 3 lakes, 110, 450, and 3500 acres. Depths less than 50 feet, middling water clarity (4-10 feet of visibility). Bass population primarily spots with some largemouths. Rocky substrate. Also, I have read the Bucci article about swimbaiting. Certainly worth looking into- perhaps some 4-5" swimbaits would be in order. I'm not going to be catching any 6-7 pounders, I think 5-5.5 is probably a hopeful mark. Anybody used the Berkley power swim shad for spots?

In my (new) home state the spotted bass state record is about 4.4 pounds, which seems like a very vulnerable number to me, compared to the 6.9lb. state record smallmouth and the 11+ pound state record lm. There are 3 lakes about an hour south of my home that are known for their large populations of spotted bass, though none is particularly known for producing huge size (though with a state record that low, my guess if folks aren't trying too hard). I am planning to spend some considerable fishing time on these lakes this summer (teacher) attempting to break said record, but my only spotted bass experience has been a couple trips to Ouachita in Arkansas. Spotted bass affecionados: recommendations on targeting above average spotted bass? Lures? Location? Thanks.

I have a couple of rods (a rapala and BPS spinning rod) on which I like the blank and the guide placement etc. but hate the feel and weight of the twist lock grips. How hard is it to retrofit a texalium or graphite tube tennessee handle to these without removing and re-wrapping the guides, and what is required to do so? Thanks.

Clearly, I know I made an error, so the rhetorical question was really unnecessary. Nonetheless, I'd like to be able to fish out of it for at least a few years before I have to do it over again, so I was just looking for some advice. You did give some of that, so I thank you. I ended up sealing it with rubberized undercarriage spray, which I had lying around. Hopefully that will provide some sound damping as well as sealant. Next time I'll use the marine grade ply.

I recently restored a 16' v hull which you can see on my thread about it. It was brought to my attention that the OSB ply I used was probably not the best choice. I did seal it with resin but I'm not sure how well that worked, some pieces got plenty but I fear I was running low by the time I got to the front deck and it may have gotten short shrifted on resin. I am willing to remove the carpet (just held on by staples anyway) and seal the wood up with additional layers of waterproofing to avoid problems down the road, but, just so I am clear, if I get it fully sealed, the wood should be fine correct? My understanding is that structurally it is just as good as ply but just not as water resistant? Not that I plan on getting it soaking wet anyway (I don't care for fishing in the rain) but I'd like to know it will at least last 5-7 years. I plan to use a spray on sealant the second time around. Opinions? Thanks.

coated all wood in fiberglass resin today. For those of you do-it-yourselfers out there- be warned, that stuff is sticky, sticky, sticky and impossible to get off. Don't get it on your hands once you've put the hardener in it. Wear gloves. Bolting everything together next week and carpet next weekend. Yee-haw!

and the whole thing from the back with storage holes cut in deck (supports removed)

the deck

the front deck supports

heres the rear floor and the rear bench (it will swing open to reveal storage, that's why its 3 pieces.)

finally got around to doing the wood cutting and taking some pics today. Enjoy.

Well, I picked up the boat today. My wife is out of town with our digital camera, so no pics now. First impressions- - I will probably not be able to do everything I was planning to do- mostly because it seems that on this boat the structural integrity depends greatly on the presence of the benches. -The boat is shallower than I thought- definitely a shallow semi v, tapering within the first 5 feet of the bow into an almost completely flat bottom, almost jon flat -because of the flat bottom toward the back, as well as the fact that the previous owner laid carpeting over the whole floor, I don't think the flooring in the back will be necessary, especially since I'm not removing the benches. Floor would just add weight. -Boat can easily be pushed by trolling motors. It is VERY light weight. -I will probably just install a front deck at bench height with as much under-deck storage as I can safely manage, and put a pedestal on it and on the rearmost bench. I will also have to replace the wood portion of one of the benches, as it is rotten. I will also replace the aluminum bow cap with a plywood one to better accomodate trolling motor/depthfinder. All in all, much less work than I had originally expected, although the final product will be marginally less satisfying -Even though it isn't exactly what I expected, $400 is still a good deal for the boat. I'll post some BEFORE pics when I get my camera.

Just looked at your conversion. Beautiful work. I don't think I'm going to paint mine this season, I'll save that for a later project, and I think I"m going to use the front bench seats for support of the deck, however, your aluminum frame rear floor has me intrigued. How much more difficult was it to do that way than with wood stringers? Because I don't hunt, just fish for walleye, crappie, norther, and bass, I'm going to nix the benches for mobility and space, but for a hunter, I can see why you did it that way. Really looks nice. I think they're roughly the same width, too. I"m not going to run as much electronic stuff in mine because it will be stored outside for the next couple years, so I'm making the electronics as removable as possible.

Yeah, the fellow measured it for me today. 16' long and 60" wide at the transom. Perfect for a decking project. The wood will cost me $85 (I've got a contractor friend) and hopefully I can score some reasonable marine carpet. Two fold down pedestal chairs and an adjustable butt seat will be about $115. Two Minn kota trolling motors, a Garmin sounder, and batteries for ~$400and I should be fishing for around $1000. Later I'll add an electric start gas outboard, and still be under $2000. Can't beat that, and this boat should be big enough to fish just about anywhere.

How did you support the middle floor section under the plywood?

In the end, we're going to try for the closest approximation of this possible. My boat, being over 40 years old, isn't nearly as wide, so obviously won't be quite as stable, but I did something like this (less ambitious though) with a 1970 14' sea king semi-v and it worked fine- I never fell in anyway . Wanted something a little longer/wider for bigger wanter (i.e. Canada) this time around. I'll post pics as I progress on the build. Won't be picking up the boat until next Sat. It's a 2 hour drive from here. For now, it will be powered by a 50lb. MK Endura and a 30lb. MK all-terrain for ~100-200 acre lakes locally. Later, it will get a 15hp Honda 4-stroke when I can afford it. This is my first post, so if you're wondering, yes I'm new to the board. I was inspired to do this by the many websites devoted to modding jon boats, though I've always been partial to the versatility of v-hulls for my multi-species lifestyle. Cheers. Also, any suggestions would be appreciated. Most of all, how to affix the rear floor to the boat, and support it. I'll be leaving the two front benches in the boat to support the front deck.

Just bought this 16' boat/trailer for $400 total. Boat doesn't leak, and trailer rolls with good lights.