cadman

Do I use it full strength? If so, when I apply it on do I let it sit and then I rinse it off with clean water? Thanks.

What do you guys use to clean off the white residue on your fiberglass hulls and on the lower unit of your outboards? I've tried very low abrasive rubbing compound, but that is tedious, and then I have to re-wax it. Is there an easy 1-2-3 way of doing this. Thanx for any help.

Mark, No problem, somehow if we all think about it we'll come up with an answer for you. BTW Very nice looking boat

Hey Mark, If you need something custom made, I am a sheetmetal design engineer. You could have something made as an extension out of aluminum, bolt or rivet it in and then either paint it or cover it with carpet. Just a thought. If you need any help you have my e-mail. We can talk about what your ideas are and what would work. E-mail me a pic of the inside you want to cut and maybe I can come up with something for you. We can also do brushed stainless steel if you don't want paint or carpeting

I do it all the time .JM 6'6 MH Signature rod, Revo Supreme Gen 1 Baitcaster, 10 pound Yo-Zuri mono. 1/8 oz fully skirted jig with a chunk trailer. I religiously fish light jigs .They are my go to baits 90% of the time.

That is very interesting, as I have never heard of anyone using latex paint. I have heard of guys using lacquer or enamel to brush it on but never latex. Isn't a pint of latex paint expensive?

I have not found a good way to do this. They in reality don't melt, just get all deformed. You get a much better paint job, if you powder paint your jigs first, bake them and then glue in your weedguards in. If your jigs have eyes, I use epoxy to glue in the weedguard and then I clearcoat the entire jig to keep the eyes from falling off. If your jigs don't have eyes, I use Loc-Tite Gel super glue. This is the way I do it. There are many ways to do this. JMO

Welding is always 100% stronger than any rivet, I would get it welded. If the guy knows how to weld aluminum, he can lay down a really nice bead.

Use to do that when I was younger (drink that is on the ice) with my friends while ice fishing. Now with the new laws and all, can't see myself with a DUI, and not being able to fish in my boat, or relying on someone to drive me everywhere. That would suck big time.

I did the same with my boat this weekend. All washed up,cleaned and winterized. All I have to do is to give it a good wax job then take out the batteries. I have another foot pedal I'm buying from a guy and I need to try it out to make sure it works. Can't wait till Spring.

Tyler, There is a member on here by the name of Smalljaw. He will see this and give you all the info you need. He has tied some hair jigs for me and others and he does a phenomenal job. I have been dabbling in it, but i don't know enough to give you all the correct answers. Just hang on and he will reply. Good luck.

I thread them on as well.

I personally would get a Lee IV bottom pour pot. They are about the most versatile. As far as prices go depends if you want to buy new or used. On new molds I buy 99% of my molds from Zeiner's in Wichita, Kansas. The best prices I have found on majority of all the Do-It molds out there. Excellent people to deal with and if they don't have it they will get it for you. Make sure you call and speak with Jim Zeiner. As far as which molds to buy, start out with the one you would fish the most, see if you like pouring and painting and then slowly expand. Pouring jigs is not for everyone, as it can be frustrating. I'm sure you will get a lot of help here.

Any of you guys in IL ice fish?

I don't fish the Chain that often anymore, but I have a friend that musky fishes it, and he said it is better than it has ever been. Since they stocked it, he also said that he's seen many 50"+ fish out there. Also he mentioned that Channel and Catherine again by the sand bar where it kind of separates the two lakes is where he looks for them. Scares you to think all the kids that swim in that lake. I know that the fish are more scared of the people than the other way around.

Nice_bass, Back in '92 I used to go up there every year for 5 years straight. Back then I used to fish for muskie and walleye. Couple times on the flowage, I would be reeling in with a crankbait and I would see these big musky follow my lure many times to the boat. Would, make the hair on my neck stand up. My biggest (not so big) musky ever was on Little St. Germaine it was 36 ". 4 years ago, my wIfe and I were fishing for walleye on "The Chain" in IL. We were on Lake Marie fishing the sandbar. We both had on a 3/8 oz ball jig and a fathead minnow bouncing it off the bottom. My wife gets this hit and she tells me she's snagged. So I go to pull the line so she doesn't break the rod, and I feel it moving. Anyway I told her she had on a fish. She brought it boat side and I saw the musky as it took two more runs. Third time she brought it in and measured it it was 44". 48" is minimum. Took some pics and let her go. Following week went back to the same spot and a repeat performance, only this time the fish spooled her reel as she couldn't stop it. Never saw the fish.

I can't see this link. Can everyone else? Maybe I'm blocked out at work. Will have to check when I get home

I'm definitely in

Definitely some good tips. Didn't think about tilting the motor up and standing on the cavitation plate.

slonezp, Nice job on that. You have the same ladder I had on my old boat. My current boat has a few less steps than my old one and its a b***h to get on, but I tried it out in summer to see how difficult it would be. Well I can get on the ladder and in the boat so I'm sure I can get someone else in as well. It's more of an emergency thing for me.

Yeah, that is one option I had on my old boat and put on my new boat. Got to have a boarding ladder even if I had a bass boat. How are you going to get in or get someone else in if they fall overboard. People think that you can just hop up on the gunwales. Easier said than done. Maybe if your 17 years old, but I'm not 17. We tried to get a 250 lb guy back into his boat when he took a dip, and believe me it was not an easy task. We had three guys trying to get him in. PS: I'm not a tall guy, but when you're in the water it doesn't matter on height, you have to pull yourself up and out. You will be wet, gunwales are wet, and if you have a partner, he is trying to grab and help a wet body. Trust me buy a boarding ladder. If you never use it you are money and safety ahead.

For all you guys that want to fish Lake Geneva, It can be a fisherman's paradise. But there are days on the lake that you can't buy a fish. I used to be a die hard crankbait fisherman. That's all I would throw night and day. 4 years ago, I joined a bass club in Round lake and these guys would put you to shame fishing jigs. So I had a guy that would buy my jigs and he said, why aren't you fishing jigs. Told him I never fished jigs. Long story short, him and I went to Lake Geneva. I caught a 4 lb off of Maytag Point with a crankbait, thought I had it all zoned in. We fished that area outside the buoys for 1 hour and he pulled 4 bass over 4lbs missing quite a few and another 3 under 4. Man did he kick my butt. Ever since then, I switched to jigs and never looked back. My numbers of bass have easily doubled since then yearly and I have gotten bigger bass as well. I would have never thought that. The biggest struggle I had switching to jigs was to slow down and I mean slowwwwwww down. Once I figured it out I rarely ever throw cranks now. Except for a rattle trap. Back to Geneva. In early Spring you want to fish the warmest water and on a sunny day. Geneva Bay warms the quickest and the north side is the best at around high noon opening weekend. The bass seem to come in to the shallows up there and they sit at the dock piling or cribs. Another good spot is Fontana in the boat docking area. Water warms there really fast. Going into later Spring, you will see Largemouth and Smallies spawn in 15 fow. The water is so clear up there usually all year long, that you can see bass chasing your bait all the way up to the boat. if you want to fish beds. Sit over a bed and drop down a white worm (Senko). The bass will suck it in swim off with it and spit it out, but you have to watch when they do this so you can set the hook. I am not a bed fisherman as I find no challenge in that, but my buddy fishes them in Spring and I've watched him do this many times. Going into summer, the bass will be cruising in front of the docks early in the morning and towards night time. During the middle of the day(11:00 am to 3:00 pm) if you are not getting bit, get out a wacky worm and start skipping under the docks. The bass are there and they will hit your wacky worm on a slow fall. Only problem is trying to get them out and around the dock pilings. Geneva definitely has a dock bite all the time going on during the day. Not all of the docks hold fish. Look for the longer docks that drop into deeper water and docks shaped like a "T". Towards night fish start moving out again and start roaming. I'm not saying I'm a great bass fisherman, but I do fish Geneva quite a bit and if you can deal with all the boaters, it is a phenomenal fishery.

I don't want to hijack this thread, so Pm me with what issues you are having with the black matte powder paint and maybe I can help you solve your problem.

You can also use heat shrink tubing that perfectly fits the senko. No wrapping of any tape . Just put the worm through the hole and then stretch it halfway through. Push hook through heat shrink tubing, worm and out through other side. Heat shrink tubing lasts forever and it is very hard to tear.

Hey Mark, Thanks for the detailed report. There are a couple of guys that fish that lake religiously. Don't know their names off hand, but they fish every Geneva tourney out there, and I would bet 9 out of 10 times they always take 1st place. These guys have this lake really dialed in all year long. The most I ever got from them is that they jig fish. No other info was given. I have fished Big Bucks out there and a few other tourneys and these guys are always there. It will take usually 20 + lbs to beat these guys. Anyway. it is an excellent lake to fish, if you can handle crowds in the summertime. This lake gets pounded with boaters and jet skiers. If you plan on fishing up there in Spring around opening weekend, I have a place for you to try that every time I've gone there has produced fish. PM me. Also yes that lake is very clear, but if you like to fish docks, it is a gold mine in the summer.