slonezp

I'm waiting for approval to get the epideral shot in my neck and it's 40* and raining, so yes, I'm bored.

Do fish get tired of eating sea food? What movie?

Not to change the subject but that's a great movie

I fished tourneys for 8 years in a 17ft tin boat without a shallow water anchor and 7 years without side imaging. The only necessity for fishing is fish. Look at the add ons as tools to make our job easier. No reason why you shouldn't have a shallow water anchor if it's going to make an improvement in your abilities as a fisherman, and help you win money. If you can afford it, start with one and see how it works. You can always add a second one OR if you hate it, you can sell the first one. As far as finders, WayneP is the resident fishfinder guru. When I rigged my boat I opted for a 2d w/gps for the trolling motor and SI on the console. If I feel down the road if I want to upgrade to SI on the TM I can always sell the unit I have now. FYI, Power Pole and Optima are site sponsors. Humminbird and Minn Kota have pretty good rebates on some of their equipment. You would need to check their sites

BuckMaxx sent you a PM

If you're going to do tournaments, a 24v TM is a good idea. Reasons being, you have to fish, windy or not. Better to have it and not need it. You WILL need 3 batteries. 2 for the TM and 1 for the starting and accessories. As far as battery choice, I had a 17ft tin boat and lead cell batteries worked just fine. I've got lead cell in my 20ft tin now. If you want to spend the extra money for the Optimas, that's up to you. Figure out what fishfinder features are important to you and fits in your budget for the bow mount. If you will be fishing the same water, a gps may not be important. If you will be fishing multiple waters than you may want it. When you say you want HD, do you mean side or down imaging? As far as the Power pole, I have no opinion as of yet. I installed a single Talon on my boat this past weekend and haven't tried it out yet. I'm positive 1 is better than none. You can always add a second one if you are not happy.

DINK WHISPERER had a similar issue with his Power Poles. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/115789-another-problem-with-boat-add-ons/ Maybe he can offer some advice

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/excursions/post/huge-shark-gives-kayak-angler-a-major-surprise/

Other hobbies? That's funny

I have had bacon chocolate chip cookies. They taste like chocolate chip cookies with a bacon aftertaste.

Beans and rice

http://www.shullsburgcheesestore.com/cheesenbaconflavoredcheese.aspx

We can't forget he chopped off the tip of his finger because he mistook it for a cigar. Mark, sounds like were about the same age. Watching the bulls was a social thing for me. The bars in the city were packed during the games. MJ lived off Half Day Rd. just west of 41. As a pick up line I would invite the hotties to go for a drive to see if we could maybe run into him LOL. The proof I wasn't lying was the wrought iron gate in front of the house had the #23 incorporated into the design. I haven't watched a game since. Edit Sorry for the hijack

Living in Lacrosse, you have a great bass and walleye fishery in your backyard. Welcome to BR

I yell at my son when he swings in fish

They make glass rattles to insert in the plastic and rattling bullet weights as well

Another vote for Northstar. As far as trailers, Poorboys Kickin' Darter and Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper

It's like Ford vs Chevy. Take your pick. Find one with the features you want and pull the trigger. If you search online, you can get much better deals than buying from BPS or Cabelas. HB has rebates right now. After all is said and done, you should be able to get an Humminbird 898c HD DI or a 798c HD SI for around the $850 IMO the HB unit is more user friendly.

https://www.hawgtech.com/category/hawg-handle

Might??? You can do better than that

A blur of stupid? Mine was a cloud of smoke

This is a fact in the America we live in. My next door neighbors are from Nigeria and they have a church friend who is from Jamaica. They cannot comprehend the fact that I throw back the fish. People from these countries fish for 2 reasons. To put food on the table and to sell fish to earn money. I'm not defending their actions but their culture(s) are different than ours. In many instances I'm sure they know the rules. If your options were to feed the family and take a chance at getting arrested, or not eat, you'd be fishing. The issues in IL are all about money. Not enough CPO's to go around, although some jurisdictions allow the sheriff to make conservation arrests. That still does not give me or anyone else the right to go vigilante over a couple of fish. Keep the DNR phone # in your wallet and if possible, get the lic plate # off the vehicle they drove.

I've been on the Chain, not the lower river. There still dumping water thru from the Wisconsin run off. This should stop by May 1st. There was a tourney out of Port Barrington this past Sunday. 12 boats, 7 bass total, big bass was a 3.3 . Also, rumor has it, there were some Asian carp snagged on the Chain this week.

Not a fan of the Powerdrive foot pedal. Maybe you can at least get your money back selling it to the next guy. As far as not having room for another battery, you can either make room or deal with a 12v motor. I don't think you have any other option.