Dwight Hottle

X2

As others have said it is not normal. You have a leak somewhere. If your always filling your live well that could be the source. Some livewells will leak out the top from overfilling or wave action. Try not using your livewell for a few trips & see if you still are still accumulating in the bilge to rule it out. You could also have a leak in the livewell plumbing or intake. Once you rule out the livewell as the source of your leak check out the hull. Fill the bilige with water & look for leaks under the boat while on the trailer in your driveway. Also check the transom for leaks around the discharge & intake holes. Most leaks are plumbing issues not hull leaks especially in newer boats. Leaking rivets usually are a wear & tear issue from rough water usage over time.

Yes. You can help prevent it for certain if you don’t fish deeper than the accepted 35 foot range. The one fresh water fish you don’t have to worry about fishing deep for is lake trout. Lake trout can regulate the air pressure difference ascending from the deep by burping air as they ascend. You can see the air bubbles rise to the surface as your bring them up boat side. I have caught them as deep as 120 feet down with no problems. They are actually part of the Char family not the trout family.

It just sucks. Living in FL on the east coast I know the feeling. The projected storm surge is scary.

So what your saying is that you dress down because it’s a blind date?

I select my jerkbait choice based on how deep are the fish located & what is the water visibility. If your fishing shallow water or just over the top of a weed bed with any water visibility floater or shallow diving jerkbaits are best. I prefer a suspending style shallow bait or real slow riser if its a floater. When the fish are holding deeper you want a jerkbait that get down to the fish's holding depth in low visibility water. In clear water your bait can be either at their level or above. Bass will rise to hit a jerkbait above them if they can see it or sense it. When bass are holding deep like 15 to 25 feet you need a deep diving jerkbait to get close to their level. Sinking jerkbaits allow you to count down the depth the bait is falling to but may take too much time based on your patience level. Countdown rapalas or lucky craft sinking staysee are good examples. Almost all deep diving jerkbaits are suspending style, like rapala DD husky jerks, smithwick suspending DD rogues & lucky craft DD pointers & regular staysees. Study the listed diving depths to chose your baits. You can get the baits deeper by using lighter diameter lines and or strolling with long line out.

Welcome to the best bass forum.

I use the 3/4 oz over the 1/2 size most of the time. Caught my PB & another DD on it. I bought a few 1 & 1.5 oz baits to use down in Mexico at lake B but have not thrown them yet. I personally have not lost many fish on them but I do swap out the split rings & upgrade the hooks to owner wide bend or mustad triple grip.

Just don't be too disappointed if the season shuts down. Half of the college football venue has already. ?

I can’t tell you how many times we had a good bite going on Erie & then the wind picked up out of the east. It shut the bite off like someone had hit a light switch. My buddy used to say let’s go in & drink some beer. I never believed the east wind had such a strong effect until l really started to pay attention. He was right. But he did love his beer & still does.

The members that have known you over the years understand & support you. Your record & past history speaks for itself. Like someone else said children are supposed to outlive their parents not the parents outliving their children. My condolences on your tragic loss. Your second love for fishing after family might renew itself with time.

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock,..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

X2 Suspending jerk bait

Angry John is an honest angler. Most guys would round that up to 7 lbs.

Congrats on the new PB.

Heck of a birthday present.

Great story with some outstanding memories. WTG.

This feels like a strip tease.

PLAT has the 2016 certate HD on sale for 40% off as of this morning with free shipping.

Sweet. Congrats on the achievement.

Welcome to BR.

Straight braid for FL.

I have a HD4000SH, 1503, 2500, 2000, 2510PE-H, CT2500. My previous experience with spinning reels were with three different stradic models, Daiwa SS etc. I have fished two different Stella models & prefer the certates for quality versus price.

Walleye love jitterbugs at night over weed beds and on the edges.

I’m a shimano guy myself but learned early on that the certates are absolutely the best spinning reels you can buy excluding the shimano Stella for about twice the price. I like them do much I have six of them. They last forever & never need servicing because of the magnetic oil & sealed systems based on my experience. Smooth as butter & solid as a rock.