Catt

Surface prep for aluminum 80-100 grit: It gives better tooth and paint adhesion. Sanding must be taken into the best previously adhered surface in order to have the new coat of paint hold properly. Start with an orbital sander; finish by hand. Clean the aluminum surface to remove all dirt, old paint and oxide from the surface. Apply a coat of acid etch primer following the mixing and application instructions to the letter. Within 24 hours of applying the etch primer, apply the topcoat finish. This will be an automotive grade or marine grade polyurethane coating. Use a good quality product to protect all the prep time and elbow grease you invested prior to the topcoat application. A wash primer which you can purchase from industrial paint stores, such as Sherwin-Williams. You are unlikely to find such a product at a hardware store.

Water temperature is the No. 1 consideration throughout the spawning season because it's the only finite thing anglers can wrap their puny little brains around. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here, temperature has a lot to do with the spawn but it is not the only guiding light. Gestation period, water temperature, water depth, water clarity and moon phase all have to be factored in. I don't know about Colorado but on Toledo Bend and other southern lakes pre-spawn/spawn coincide perfectly with the full moon; the only exception would be a major cold front which would push the spawn back until the next full moon. He's another like link for you to read http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1196339007/0

Who's charging $5.00? They sale for $2.99 to $3.49

I prefer round reels for the simple reason I like the way they feel in the palm of my hand

Tin there is no way I could even make an educated guess since I seldom pay attention to that; I've had bass hit on the initial fall, some where in between while sitting still, the instant I moved the worm and straight below the boat. If that's how the bass on your body of water want it then I suggest you give it to them that way. I fish a Jig-n-Craw the exact same way more than I do flipping or pitching

Paul, there is another topic along these same lines that you should read on maybe so how the 2 could be combined. Here's one portion about the various stages of pre-spawn, these are not just my beliefs but facts verified by studies done by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling and Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries biologist. We are not talking spawn here but rather Pre-Spawn; with water temperatures on many East Texas and West Louisiana lakes in the 50-54 temperature range pre-spawn has already started. Now this is not to say the bass are ready to spawn; that is still a good two months off. Any adverse weather will move the bass immediately back to deeper water; that depth my be only a couple of feet depending on the severity of the weather. There are no set reasons for pre-spawn as far as I know and water temp had very little if anything to do with it. I look at pre-spawn in no less than 3 stages which are listed below and early pre-spawn can start with water temperatures ranging any where from 35-40 if the weather is stable for a couple of day. Early Pre-Spawn: Individuals or groups of bass begin making short reconnaissance trips into coves. Only when the water temperature is stable for a couple of days will any appreciable number of bass remain for long. Look for bass on main lake and secondary points Mid Pre-Spawn: Bass leave deep water drop-offs and enter protected coves; the majority of these fish will be males. The weather and water temperatures will still be unstable. Look for bass on feeding flats adjacent to deeper water. Pre-Spawn: Weather and water temperatures have became stable and large fluctuations of bass are now present in shallow water. Start looking for a solid bottom, Bass avoids soft, muck bottoms; instead they prefer to spawn on hard sandy bottoms, gravel or rocky banks, large boulders or even a fallen log or lily pad root. Keep in mind pre-spawn bass will be looking to feed before they start looking to spawn

I give information based on my 44 years personal experience fishing both salt water and bass fishing. If I give information on building some thing or how something is built it's from 44 years as a Carpenter and 15 years as a Manufacturing Engineer in the Aerospace industry. If I give information on cars, trucks, or boats it's from 8 years as a Certified Mechanic; while I haven't owned every boat made I bet I have a close friend who has one and I both driven and fished out it on man occasion. Does this make me an expert? Nope

My top colors Cinnamon Pepper Neon/June Bug Laminated (Camouflage) Junebug/Blue Tail Black Neon Black Blue Red Shad I always order by the 100 so meeting the minimum is no problem and since this is the worm I throw 90% of the time I don't worry about cost. You'll pay a lot more for GYCB Can you save it? dude I save a lot of what I read here

It only took me 4 hours construction time & 8 hours for ever thing to dry but then I've been a carpenter since age 12.

Ole school Dude; it's worked for years so why change

LSU looking good Sam check out this guy Matt Branch TE Ht: 6-foot-7 Wt: 240 lbs Forty: 4.85 secs Vertical: 28 inches http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&pr_key=59932

With age comes wisdom; well at least you got the age part down Happy Birthday Dude

Cool dude Any time there is a Bassmater or FLW tournament near where y'all live I would plan a trip to the weigh-in.

X2

Please read the following to have your question answered http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1196339007/0

Finished Pirogue -11 feet 6 inches long - 32 inches wide - 12 inches deep - About 45 pounds when built with 1/4 inch luan plywood

Materials List (to build it like I did) 1. 11/2 sheets of 1/4 inch Luan plywood. 2. 1 gallon of fiberglass resin either polyester or epoxy. 3. 50 ft of fiberglass tape. 4. 1 quart of automotive body filler, OR 5. 1 quart of wood flour. 6. Sandpaper or sanding discs (if you have an angle grinder). 7. 1 pc. 1x4x16ft Spruce board. 8. 30 Brass screws #6 Square head x 1/2" . 9. Several more brass screws, nuts and bolts of various sizes. 10. Several scraps of plywood, and 1x4 boards. 11. 1 quart of urethane spar varnish (if you want a bright interior like me). 12. More sandpaper or discs 13. 1quart of red plasticoat paint (for the exterior hull) Tools you will need 1. Jigsaw (you could cut the pieces with a hand saw if you had to). 2. Table saw (for ripping the 16ft gunwales - although if you do not have one, a cabinet shop will do this inexpensively if you promise to show them the canoe when it's done). 3. Drill (for drilling wire stitch holes and driving screws). OR 4. A screwdriver & antique hand drill. 5. A 4" angle grinder with a sanding disc attachment (I actually used my 1/4" power drill and an adapter kit that let me use 5" sanding discs). OR 6. ANY sort of sander that you might have. My old orbital sander packed it in just after the first coat of resin was finished. I spent MANY HOURS sanding by hand until I got fed up (see #5). 7. "C" clamps - the more the better. 8. An angle finder tool (helps to make a tight joint at the thwarts/sides and the seats/sides. 9. A 2" scraper - good for cleaning up resin/filler messes before they cure. 10. A razor knife. 11. Disposable paint brushes. 12. Rubber gloves. 13. A GOOD QUALITY respirator. 14. A roll of wax paper (under everything that you don't want resin to stick to). 15. Tin cans for mixing resin.

I was introduced to the Texas Rig back in 1972 while the equipment has changed the technique is still the same. The Texas Rig was originally designed to fish a plastic worm but today it is used with any type of soft plastic. Here's my choice of worm setup: Rod: Shimano Crucial CRC-X610MH; Length: 6' 10 Medium Heavy Extra Fast Reel: Shimano Calcutta CT100 Gear Ratio: 5:8.1 Line: Berkley Big Game 15# Mean Green Bait: Gene Larew 7 ½ Salty Ring Worm Bullet Weight: ¼ oz Black Hook: Mustad 3/0 Straight Shank Denny Brauer Flipping Hook Fishing the Texas Rig 1) Make a long cast 2) Strip 3 or 4 arms length of line, this will assure a vertical fall 3) Count the bait down, 15' of water count to 20 to make certain the bait is on the bottom, do it in your head if need be 4) Pause a good 30 seconds after the bait reaches bottom 5) Lower your rod to the 3 o'clock position while reeling slack & feel for anything unusual 6) Move the rod from 3 o'clock to 2 o'clock to 1 o'clock in three motions (speed varies) 7) Pause 30 seconds & feel for anything unusual 8) Repeat 5, 6, & 7 all the way back to the boat 9) If at any time you feel a noticeable tap, tug, line tighten, heaviness, or see line movement. 10) Without hesitation drop the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook

Fastest way to avoid an argument: If you're wrong admit it; if you're right shut-up

Toledo Bend Reservoir Location: On the Sabine River straddling the Texas-Louisiana state line. Surface area: 196,000 acres Maximum depth: 110 feet Impounded: 1967 Normal Clarity: Clear in middle and lower lake to slightly turbid in upper region Fishing Cover/Structure Habitat in Toledo Bend Reservoir consists of aquatic vegetation, standing timber, and flooded terrestrial vegetation. Hydrilla is the predominant plant species, although many native plants (coontail, eelgrass, pondweed, lily pads) are also present. In the lower part of the reservoir the water is typically clear; gamefish are usually found around vegetation edges, flats, humps, and creek channels. In the upper third of the reservoir, the abundance of vegetation typically declines. Timber, brush, laydowns, and creek channels provide upper-lake gamefish habitat. At periods of high water, terrestrial bushes and trees provide excellent habitat reservoir-wide. The most popular game fish at Toledo Bend Reservoir is the largemouth bass; an excellent year-round fishery exists. Good year-round crappie and catfish fisheries are also present. Striped bass are maintained by annual stockings because conditions at Toledo Bend usually do not allow a successful natural spawn

Grass will never be a drawback when looking for bass, timing Dude, try different times of the day including nights.

Dude I've built wooden Pirogues & 4' x 2' bottom is too small regardless of how much slant you put in the front or sides.

As almost everyone here knows I work for Academy so here's the 411, Academy has no on-line sales, I can not even find out who makes these lures or the old Anglers Choice lures. The reels are made in Korea if I remember right but Academy will not say who makes them. What's funny about the reels is the 10 bearing model is the cheapest priced model go figure. During our store meeting the store manager stated that Academy plans to build 12-14 new stores a year and has plans to move into the Great lakes area. Last year Academy out sold Bass Pro Shops in total sales (excluding boat sales). Academy is the fastest growing Sports & Outdoor stores in America with plans of expanding nation wide.

I got one of them and some older

I would fish the flat around the drop off; just because you haven't caught much there doesn't mean the fish aint there, it could just be you haven't been there at the right time. Location is the first key to finding bass, timing is the second