Nick B

Hey, I live in Sparta, fish Center Hill a lot. Fished Dale Hollow and Great Falls. I am going to start club fishing this year. Cordell Hull is on the schedule. Any one have any info on Cordell Hull?

Air Force 20 years, retiring 2018. Moving to Tennessee in May, can't wait

Mead and Mohave are your best bets, should be coming at about the height of the pre spawn.

Hoochie Mama

With the water dropping find the next drop-off or cover they are relating to. The off shore stuff will be more consistent, especially after it warms up. They make A rigs that have teasers i.e. baits with no hooks. If you can't use a 3 or 5 hook setup

With the striper population in the lake, the bass are going to be sticking closer to cover for the most part. I can't remember the rules for NM, but with the shad population, I would try an A rig.

Having fished a lot of New Mexico lakes in years past, I would find the next drop off near the cover that was once there. I like to fish deep diving crankbaits, that works good a search tool for me. As it warms up, fish the off shore structure; humps, ledges, secondary points, with your lure of choice. To know the owl, you must know the field mouse, same goes with bass, you have to find the forage, that will give you an idea where the bass are. Finally since your partner is beating up the bank, he is giving you the deep water to try. BTW what lake is it you are fishing?

Message boards are good for advice, but not what I would classify as a "reliable source". I would get a professional opinion.

Couldn't decide largemouth or smallmouth.

I am partial to a Strike King Bleeding bait buzzbait in white and red

I have a Deep V and it handles rough water pretty well. I have a Tracker Deep V 16, it has a deck and much smoother ride than a mod V

I had my line snap on a bass, years ago, (found a bad eye on my rod shortly there after). I lost my crankbait in the process of course. Later that day I went back to the same spot I lost the fish and found my lure floating. So you could go back to the area you lost your lure and maybe get it back.

I use Glacier gloves, they work great and don't get in the way.

Well since its your back, you decide how much of a motor you want to pull in and out of the back of your truck. I am sure they are going to want to do a VIN inspection on your boat since it hasn't been registered in so long. You will probably need a bill of sale as well. It will just depend on your state.

I had a starter burn up on me years ago, something in the coils burnt. I got it rebuilt, that saved me a good bit of money compared to buying a new one

Where do you plan on using it? Who is going to be in the boat with you? Does it have a trailer? All of these questions will influence the answer. The weight and HP placard are your limits on outboards, but not necessarily what you should run. For the TM, you can not have enough thrust, but for a jon boat a 12V system will be plenty though so 55lbs max thrust.

I have a Tracker Deep V 16, I have replaced the TM and the electronics on it. Boat and motor are great. As far as upgrades, that will depend on the dealer. I bought mine from a smaller dealer so I didn't ask for upgrades on things.

The wife is why I have a V-hull, she feels like she may fall out of the others. You can still get shallow in V-hull, the draft between a jon boat and a V-hull is a differences of inches.

The v-hull vs mod v hull question comes down to how much draft you will have. If you are worried about getting really shallow and are only fishing a pond, a jon boat would fit the bill. The V hull will cut through waves better but has a deeper draft, the mod V does a better job than a flat bottom cutting through waves and has a shallower draft than the V hull, but not as shallow as a flat bottom. Personally I fish out of a Deep V, I fish a lot of lakes that are effected by the wind that the waves rolling really quick, but I also have a higher deck and am effected by the wind more than mod V. I can get fairly shallow, I think my draft is like 10 in. For you it will come down to personal preference

Straight out of the KY fishing reg book pg 15 DALE HOLLOW LAKE Anglers may use either a Tennessee or a Kentucky sport fishing license while fishing in the Wolf River arm of Dale Hollow Lake. This includes the Illwill Creek embayment beginning at a line crossing the Wolf River at its mouth where it joins the Obey River and the main part of the lake. Anglers must obey the regulations of the state in which they are licensed. Kentucky residents must have a Kentucky license. http://fw.ky.gov/FishBoatGuide/Documents/1617fishboatguide.pdf

Personally, I don't know how any man can get by without a garage or shop. Not just for his boat, but to get away from the wife and kids.

Walmart and any hardware store has 2 part epoxy resins that hold up really well on plastic.

A low fluid level could make it move slow, but I had a trim motor go out shortly after it started moving slow.

I have a 16 ft Deep V, I bought it with a 42lb TM. It worked fine as long as I wasn't fighting wind over 10-15 mph. Out west here the wind blows frequently and over 10-15 so I upgraded to a 55lb TM. Still a 12V system, has a bigger prop and holds well in winds over 15-20.

I waded it at a park in Shelbyville, but that was a few years ago.