Don B

Snakehead! Someone put them in there. They'll kill off everything else in the lake! JCrzy4Bass: I hope your friend is killin' 'em every time, and not throwing them back in. A few more years, and there won't be much left except them things. They are becoming quite the resident in the waters of Virginia lately. If you leave 'em on the banks for the 'coons to eat, make sure that they are dead first, cuz that fish can walk on land!

You'd better get something that is adjustable, and will move your kicker up and out of the way, cuz I guarantee you down the road, you'll be using the 200hp to get out on the bigger lakes at about 50-60mph, then dropping down the kicker to slow-troll for 'eyes or musky. Just my opinion.

And.........you did not mention if you've changed your battery since 1984?

Only in spirit!....and with a few new ideas for her on the seating and decking since she has it tore down to the barebones like I did mine. It was a lot of work, about two weeks worth for me, evenings after work, and for one weekend. Good luck with your project fishergirl. When it's all done, that rig will be a part of you!

Ummmm....smizener & bassnbrett.....just in case you didn't check, tom's post was made almost 3 years ago! And after a post like that, I'm sure that secret crappie honeyhole of his was invaded and probably fished out pretty good since then. Only thing missing was gps coordinates. : Jeezuz! I just checked a little back on this topic...I had even posted in it back then. That was back when I was a member here a few years ago.....and I was still a "newbie" back then! :'(

I took out that open dead space, made it more storage space underneath.....

to this...

The first two pictures were to show you how, imo, I improved from the original to give myself an easier walk-thru to the back of the boat without tripping over the middle seat. Here's another, imo, improvement to give myself more of a fishing platform in the front of the boat....

and after....

I did the same thing to my Tracker Jetboat about a year ago. If the pictures post, you can see how I changed the seating....

This stuff will do the job too.... http://www.sharkhide.com/index.htm

101 lb. electric trolling motor as good as a 10hp motor? MmmMmm! Not even close! That 101 electric motor would be lucky if it was even 1/2 hp on it's best day. There are many, many ways to mount a kicker motor. I can't post you a direct link, cuz my post number is too low, but you just Google "Garelick Motor Bracket", and that could be a start for you, but you can even put separate jack plates with backings on your boat, or you could even get creative and fabricate some bracket of your own. I'm actually going to put one on my boat this year, and I am going with a Garelick bracket for mine,because of it's simplicity to install, and I like how it lifts the kicker up and out of the water so easily with the counterweight springs, but as I said, there are many other ways of mounting it. You could even Google "Outboard motor mounting bracket" for even more choices.

There's your answer! I tried to also post you the link to check the water/weather conditions there as well, but it won't let me post any active link until I've made at least 10 "normal" posts on this website. :-X

All my baitcasters can cast pretty far, but if I had to pick the best one, I'd go with my Alphas. Even though it is not entirely, the original question is almost unanswerable, in the sense that there are so many factors....weight, line, rod, reel, wind, place, water conditions, etc. The example was 10lb. mono/MH rod/5" Senko? Let's suppose you do get it about 60-70 yards out there, better have a circle hook on it, cuz your hooksets are gonna be pretty lame with 10lb mono that far out. I can get a 1/2oz tube out at around 60-70 yards, but if I'm fishing out that far, I'll use braid. And just to get them out that far, you gotta really wing 'em hard and HIGH up in the air, just to get that kind of distance. Accuracy isn't too consistent either when you're chukin' 'em that hard and high. My conditions are usually the many rivers here, so I'm usually fishing to 20-40 yards out from the boat.....but when wading, many times there IS a need for greater distance. Under those conditions, I'll use thin braid, 7'M rod, and 1/2oz tubes/spoons. With that equipment/gear, you'll get 60-70 yards EASILY with ANY Shimano or Daiwa baitcaster, maybe with any of the other brands too. Casting all day with two hands isn't the most relaxing way for me to fish though. I'll take 10lb mono, a Daiwa Alpha, a 7'M rod, and 40 yard, one-handed casts, with anything out of my box, to the exact spot that I seen one boil, all day long over any of my 70 yard casts, with two hands. The longer casts always take me a few tries to get the exact spot that I want anyway.

Can't wait for spring myself. I go to Erie a bunch of times every year. I absolutely love fishing for the walleyes there! Go out a little beyond the mountain in the summer, and you might catch a steelhead or two while trolling. As far as smallmouth fishing....what's to learn? That place is hands down, the easiest place to catch smallmouth that i know of....big ones too! Doesn't matter if it's a tube, senko, spinner, live bait, etc. You drag anything, over any type of rubble, from 15-35' of water, and you'll catch them, period.

Dodgin' rocks in some real skinny river water.....

This is my rig. Tracker 2001 XT 185 Jet, with a Mercury 175 hp inboard jet....it can run about 50mph in 6'' of water. Gets me to some fishing areas on the rivers only the canoes and kayaks get to otherwise. I love it!

Dang.......I love walleye too, but I don't eat anything I catch from below Parker. You ever been to Petrolia, Pa? They got vents sticking out of the ground there to bleed off some of the toxic waste fumes from the ground water, and a nice little creek there that runs right down into the Allegheny. Not to mention all the sewege plants from Parker on down. I catch the heck out of 'em down Hamar too, but they all go right back in. You got guts, for sure.