Nick B

Use the wind to your advantage. Should have the bait fish positioned for you.

I remember that when I was stationed in South Ga, I had the bass pegged at a PFA I fished alot. I had a good pattern running a C-rig over submerged brush. I also found that isolated patches of weeds that I could kill them on with a fluke.

T-rig fluke or white tube. Weedless imitates bait fish

Ponds are my favorite

Does your sonar have varying shades of gray to it? If so and the color is lighter than dark black it is either grass or wood. If it doesnt you could always run a treble hook down and see what you come up with. Sometimes you can tell if there is grass by looking to see if there is any contrast in color on the water. Sometimes the water has a dark patch where grass is.

Im guessing if you ran the motor for more than a couple of minutes and it didnt blow up, then you are getting oil. The motor will smoke when it is cold.

Well getting tan depends on your skin type, but Im guessing you tan. Sun block will not prevent you from getting tan depending on the SPF level you use. THe lower the number the less protection.

I would say early in the spring when the water temp is lower there may be an effect, but if you are saying the water temps are in the 80's then Im sure that the shade provided is used as cover for an ambush point.

I like to hear the bzzzzzzzzzzzzz-plop, when you make a cast.

Thanks Texasbass, Everyone here appreciates your support, but soon I will be home making up for lost time.

Yeah Im here for the war. Good times.

I hate to one up ya, but Im in Iraq, where there is no bass fishing. I do get to leave here soon, but not soon enough.

I like to fish wind-blown points and humps, basically any place that corners the baitfish. I use a lipless crankbait up against the cover or structure.

I fish the spawn. Studies have been done and it doesnt hurt the bass population, if anything it helps it. We all know that only a certain percentage of the fish that hatch make it to adult hood. Keep that in mind, if you catch a bass off the bed and release it right away, even though the fish was away from the bed a short time, egg eaters will have already moved in and eaten some of the eggs. If the bass wasnt caught the eggs would be protected the whole time. So the bass that was caught has fewer eggs to hatch, than the one that wasnt. Like I said a percentage of these hatchlings will make it to adult hood. Of course the larger hatch will have more survive. Now lets increase this to an expotentially larger scale. If there are more bass in a lake, then they will all be competing for less food. Which could drive down the size of the bass in a lake. So to bottom line this, Catching bedding bass could be helping to keep the population of the bass in an lake healthy.

Thats what I used some silicone chalk. It work just fine, and if you ever decide to buy the correct TM a MinKota . You can use the old holes

I usually fish alone, I had a partner, but he went and bought himself a boat. I have tried to take the wife and kids but if the fish arent jumping in the boat they dont want to fish. So usually I tell the wife I am going, and she used to get mad. I asked her why and she said that I didnt ask if she wanted to go. I told her that she has an open invitation. She wanted to be asked so I asked and she said No thanks. I said why did I even need to ask. She said I just wanted to feel included. Women huh.

I know Max HP rating has to do with weight and the structural integrity of the boat, exceeding it could change the bouyancy of your boat and could slowly damage your hull. Also if you were in an accident your insurance may not cover your boat if you were exceding the limits.

I dont plan on getting rid of mine any time soon, but Im glad I didnt buy a new one since it was a $12 fix for the problems I was having.

The dealer told me it would be a waste of money, I would be putting 4 or 5 K into it and it wouldnt be worth it in the long. So basically resale was the reason.

Oh yeah no arguement here. Preventative maintenance is always a good idea.

Awesome project Dobi. I would like to do somethings to my boat, but dont want to give up access to it for that long, that may be a winter time project for me.

I dont know Mudd his prob sounds more mechanical than electrical

I was going to do what you were going to do with my current motor. I have a 40HP Merc that I was having problems with. I called one of the dealers in town and they asked what year my boat was. Its a 91, they told me that puting a new motor wouldnt be a good idea for a boat that old. I have fixed the problems with the motor I have and I wouldnt change it out. So you may want to take that into consideration before buying a new motor.

I think J-bass is right you have a POS. I bought a Motorguide, only because I need a trolling motor the next day and that was all that they had. I put it on and took it out and it would make a schreaking noise like fingernails down a chalk board. The rotor and stator were making contact. I took that POS back and bought a high quality Minn Kota motor.

I would say thats a cold front, usually a low front is refered to as a cold front because of the temp change. As far as fishing goes your the fish may have moved deep or will be holding tight to cover. If the sun stays out most of the day the fish may be come more active. I would continue with your current tactics, but I would slow them down or try to penetrate the cover more. If that doesnt work try to fish as deep as you can, you may intercept them coming back in.