slonezp

Lost interest after the first half of the first season

I don't know that it's awesome. The hat and Raybans are his trademark

This time of year on Lake Michigan the browns are in or near the harbors. If there is ice in the harbors, live bait on tip ups. If the water is open, jigging flukes, tubes, and Kastmaster spoons

You never mentioned a budget.

2 words...custom cover

I mastered the baiting part. Does that count?

I don't know that it's any different than what's already been said. My experience with smallmouth has been on Lake Michigan and on a couple river systems. I guess the best comparison is: Keep your mouth shut. Give her what she wants. Don't ask questions...if you say too much or say the wrong thing, you'll be holding your rod and not getting any action. SMB are nomadic, like women going to the bathroom at the club. They travel in packs and it's much easier to get a reaction from the "easy" one then it is from the "gate keeper" Once you get the easy one to bite, the rest of the group are more likely to follow until the smart one gets wind of what is really going on. Then it's shut down time. I've had instances of catching 20 SMBass on 20 casts in the heat of the summer on an eddy in a river and shut down dead. I've had it on Lake Michigan where I catch 75 SMBass in 4 hours and return the following day to catch 25 bass in 10 hours. While I believe the catches that @A-Jay experiences on Lake Menderchuck are completely different than on river systems or on large bodies of water like the Great Lakes, they are eerily the same.

I took that pic on my way to the lake one morning. I've never seen it before and will probably never see it again.

and no Hershey squirts..... Congrats on the new rig!!!!

@A-Jay Only criticism is you refrained to say SMB are sight feeders? You eluded to it many times but never said it outright. Otherwise, I think you are on to something. Liked your comparison as a cross between trout and green bass. That is spot on. Agree as well with locating SMB. One thing I do know is they are like a woman in heat. When they're hot they're hot and when they're not they're not.

It's very possible. DO NOT try and start the motor with the old fuel in it. Could be a costly rebuild of the carb. If the cylinders are not seized and they pass a compression test, you're in good order. As far as the boat itself, look for soft spots where there may have been water intrusion. A boat uncovered for 6 years getting rain, ice, and snow along with the sun during the summer may not fare too well.

I would have helped spend your money. Would have been on hookers and blow and would have had the same outcome...minus the bass

Take it to a dealer and have them give it a once over and determine if it is even worth dumping money into. Better you're out $200 in inspection fees than $2000 in worthless repairs. PTSD is nothing to mess with, and not easy to treat. Sounds like your wife is a keeper. Stay strong. Although I don't know what goes thru your head, I have a good friend who has. He just bought an 1980 something boat, against my advice, and fixing it has been his therapy.

Injecting crawlers with air is killer for Lake Michigan brown trout. We were doing it in the 70's. My dad does it to this day when he's shore fishing for smallies in Sturgeon Bay. Spence is local to the midwest and holds seminars regularly in Chicago. Another crawler secret was to break an Alka Seltzer in half, make a small slice in the crawler, and insert the tablet.

Just need to build a rod rack

I wouldn't get your hopes up with the cover fitting. Both the Terrova and PD mount differently than cable steer motors and the shaft and gps head ride higher up when in the stowed position.

Great news.

Guys get hydraulic jack plates who run extremely shallow water. When you get on the throttle to take off, the stern of the boat wants to dig down while the bow rides up. I have a Lund as well and if I'm in less than 2-1/2'-3' of water, I need to run slow until I get into deeper water prior to jumping on plane. A hydraulic jack plate allows you to raise the motor straight up rather than tilt it out and the ability to get on plane in shallower water.

2 pounds or so

Very nice

Could you have found a smaller eagle?

My grandson dressed for Chicago winters.(not really)

I don't know how it is on the BASS, BFL, FLW weekend leagues. Local clubs have winners and donaters. Same guys are in the money every week. The rest donate. Step it up a notch. One of the guys I competed against for 15 years qualified for BASS Elites last year. He was in the money more often than not at a local level. He is currently a donater. I ran into him fishing our local water this past summer and he said it the toughest competition he has ever been in. Me, I never made money. I was happy if I won enough to have my fuel, ramp, and entry fees paid for the season. I think it's because I never bought a fishing jersey.

I missed that

Hope I don't jinx it but I'm gonna call it now