SoFlaBassAddict

As I've added an additional battery to my Jon, as well as a bilge pump, I've realized that I need to make my wiring a little easier to manage. Any of you guys know of a relatively inexpensive, waterproof way to add some kind of panel to wire everything together easily? Right now I've got two batteries in the rear. Run in parallel. One set of leads goes to the rear TM. On set goes to the front TM where there is a splice for the depth finder. The bilge is also connected at the rear. Everything is coming off of the negative and positive posts of one of the batteries at the rear.

Im curious if any of you guys have ever added a drain plug to an aluminum boat. My cover does a decent job of keeping the rain out, but with some of the rains we've had down here lately, the hull of my boat is collecting water. It sits at an angle on my new launch in the backyard, so right now I need to pull the batteries, flip it up on it's side and drain it like that. Theres got to be an easy way for me to add a plug in the stern to let the excess water drain out the rear when it's not in use. Ideas?

Show me a soft plastic shad rap and I'll instantly buy it.

Link's dead. From what you said though, I'd imagine it's the hollow core braid splice. Thats the common finger trap line to leader connection. Works really well. Lots of people will tie a nail knot on top of it for added security. I'm planning on replacing the braid on my flipping and pitching rods with hollow core just to be able to do the splice. I've used it in saltwater with great success. Edited to add: I didn't really see anything new or special in that video. He just tied an albright and used a finger ring to cinch it down. I much prefer the Alberto or Modified Albright for braid to fluoro.

Agreed. It's all about the action of the lure. Having a super cool paint job is next to useless on a frog.

Palomar onto a snap like a duo-lock for cranks and lipless cranks. I tie directly to swimbaits with a palomar.

Any fluke type of bait. Texas rig them. Weightless, weighted hook, pegged bullet sinker, unpegged, drop shot, etc etc. Or a shad imitating swimbait.

Looks fantastic. Hope you go out and nail some fish with it.

For 80 bucks, why not try it out. Whats the worst that happens? You break it and exchange it or upgrade. Hope it works out for you.

Fuji EZ-Keeper. Cost you like 4 bucks at BPS. Problem Solved. The hook keeper design on the Cumara is just silly. The one thing I can complain about Shimano rods is that the hook keepers suck.

Returned my Carbonlite when the sideplate release pin started to corrode. I'll stick with the PQ. Loved those EVA foam grips on them though.

http://www.castforkids.org/ You'd have to find out if they're taking lures. I know that they do accept rods, reels, and other equipment. Might be worth a shot to check it out.

Fantastic reels for 100 bucks. When they're on sale it's a spectacular deal.

Watermelon Candy Baby Brush Hogs = fun Thankfully they're cheap.

Hard to tell. I usually stock up heavily once a year. I'll restock a few times throughout the year. I probably spent around 500-700 bucks this year on lures alone. 700 / 12 = 58.3. So somewhere around there, give or take a few bucks. I fish daily though. Most of my money this year has been spent on jigs and plastics. Toss in a handful of cranks as well.

If somebody comes busting through my doors while I'm at home, I'll shoot. I'm not going to ask him his intentions. As far as I'm concerned, if he's smashing his way into my house, he's a major threat to the safety of my family. If I pull up like you said, and somebody is running off with some of my junk, I'll let them go. Thats what I have insurance for.

A really, really cold Pepsi. It's been sitting in some ice and water in the cooler since yesterdays trip on the boat. Absolutely frigid.

Meguiar's PlastX

One of the main reasons I picked up the Crucial drop shot rods was the blank design. The tip on them is fantastic. But the backbone is just great. They were made for really drop shotting into heavier cover. More than enough power to pull fish out of thicker stuff.

Big-O, whats the deal on that one? Cheaper is better!

Glad you found something that works. I've got complete confidence in that knot. It is much better than the uni-uni for braid to fluoro.

If only they could charge people for sheer stupidity. What an idiot.

I'm seriously considering going back to school. I received my degree several years ago after I got out of the Army, and never really worked in the field. I have no urge to change careers right now as I already co-own my business...and business has been fairly good. I'm just thinking about going back to work on my Masters just to say I actually did it. It's in a field that I've really enjoyed dealing with my entire life, Marine Biology. Really, the odds of me ever working in the field are slim. Right now I'd be qualified to basically clean test tubes. Not that appealing. It's a very small field to work in with very few openings. Although, if I went for a few additional years after that I could potentially earn my Doctorate and have the possibility of making a career out it. In a nutshell, I'm just curious if any of you guys would go back to school if you had the opportunity just to feel like you're bettering yourself.

Great fish as always, Shane. Gorgeous area down there.

I've been extremely happy with my Crucial 6'10" MHXF. Fantastic t-rig rod. Bought that on advice from an extremely knowledgeable member of the forums. He can chime in on that if he wants. The Crucial 7' MXF has made for a fantastic lighter plastics rod for me as well. Both are casting models.