AndyPlaysDrums

I love the Red Eye Shad! I'm still lamenting the loss of one to a freakin' pickerel last year!

I work three 12 hr. days on the weekends with no one to keep me company except the internet and that damned bait monkey. He's been keeping company with me far too well this weekend!

I am going to really concentrate on jigs this year for the first time and that is the approach I have already decided to use. Thanks for the confirmation of the "keep it simple" approach. +1!

My time not at the water seems to motivate and push me. Usually, I'm lurking here or reading some various magazine trying to figure out what my next move will be when I get back to the water.

I'll be throwing my first B/C this year. I'm going to go LH as much due to the consistency of the hand I reel with, as with the consistency of using the same arm to control my rod and set the hook.

I've had my best day yet this year, a couple of weeks ago, in one of the windiest days we've had this year (and we've had a bunch). Lipless cranks are going to be my go to in wind like that from now on. I was throwing a 1/2 oz. Strike King Red Eye shad, which made it though the wind fairly well, considering.

Any body use these? I lost a brand new lure yesterday on the second cast, and was pretty frustrated. Thinking these could've saved it. Just looking for some thoughts. Thanks. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0017232316517a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=lure+saver&Ntk=Products&sort=all&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1

Question: Is there a certain ratio of flouro to braid, in relation to line size, that is common? I'm making the switch to braid myself (30lb/8lb equiv.). Do I go the same test in flouro? Also, does it matter what size the mono underneath is?

Yes, and yes!! I'm heading to BPS in a few weeks for the first time and looking forward to it.

I also just found that ESPN has a Bassmaster one as well. Seach "Bassmaster" in iTunes and you'll find it under "Podcasts". It's pretty good.

Those are the two I listen to. The Edge is the one I prefer. BassFeed's interviews are good, but that Billy Raymond annoys the crap out of me otherwise.

I got it. It's great! Only problem is, it's making my cabin fever worse!

Thanks for the input! This post sat untouched for a long time, so I hadn't checked back here in a while. I'm hoping to start in on getting her ready for the season soon. I did get a chance to get it in the water back in the fall, and she floated great with two guys and a battery in it! We had an Endura 55 on it just to get it around and it went very well. Since the test went well, I'm not really worried about it taking on water in the seam, as it didn't drop as far into the water as I thought it would with our weight in it, but I am still going to seal it up good with some sort of silicone or something once I figure what will adhere well. Either way, it was a free boat! I'm going to get it on the water and fish the crap out of it as long at it'll let me!

What did you put on?

Don't ever care what somebody else thinks of your gear. Seriously.

Same here.

My buddy swears by a clear Baby Torpedo. He actually just ordered two more, one for a spare for him and one for me! He caught this with one a few weeks ago at our local small pond. Weighed in at 6lbs.

I feel the same way about Cabela's. I've ordered from them twice this year. Great deals on some half off items yes, but then with the shipping per amount spent, it's not worth it, since I'm lucky enough to have one within a half hour drive (which also means I get hit with the sales tax). However, both times that I've ordered something, while the actual shipping has been fairly quick to the store, the three or four days before it even leaves the warehouse is totally maddening. I'll go to their store to pick something up if I need it and they have it, but after all of your great recommendations, all my mail order is going to be with Tackle Warehouse and ***.

Probably just trying to get you to buy more stock fish next season.

Nice! Thanks everyone! I actually found that BPS bracket not long after I had posted here. I don't know why I couldn't find it when I first looked for it. I may order one and see how it fits. A question on there asked how wide it goes and somebody answered that it will fit up to 25-1/2" across, but mine measures 26-1/2". So, we'll see, I guess.

After spending a good part of last Friday researching small boats online, I started to think that a mini pontoon boat would be the best choice for me, in that I needed something I could put in the back of my small pickup, and only wanted something that I could fish our small ponds with for now. Being on a nothing budget, it was really only wishful research anyway. Well, on Saturday morning I went out to run some errands and by some mysterious fate I find an 8' mini pontoon on a neighbors front lawn with a sign that says "FREE BOAT"! While in complete shock at my find, I load it up and bring it home! The boat is in ok shape. The hull is has no cracks or holes in it anywhere around water level. There is some major cracking around the transom area on the inside, as I assume they had a small motor on the back. The trolling motor mount on the front is mint, which is all I'm planning on using anyway. I'm planning on patching and fiberglassing this up for water tightness as much as anything. I'm also planning on putting a thin (probably 3/8") plywood floor covered with carpet in to disperse the weight better as well. My big question involves the two pieces of the shell itself. I would like to reseal the seam, as about 40% of the seam seems to be undone. Can/how can this be seperated, or should I even do it, and how do I go back about resealing the shell? Any experience/advice is greatly appreciated. If anybody has any good links to projects for these type of boats, that would be appreciated as well. Thanks! I can't wait to get it on the water!

Can anyone tell me where I can order a seat pedestal for a mini pontoon bass boat, similar to the boat in this picture? Thanks.

I just picked up a well-used, but free, boat very similar to this, and have been thinking of doing the same thing with the floor. My floor has a raised section to hold in a battery for a trolling motor, so I think I'm going to have to attach some strips of the same thickness as the height of the raised battery "holder" (only about 3/4" of an inch or so), to keep the floor level. I was thinking about using 3/8" ply and covering it with carpet. Best of luck!

I got my first good blowup on a Jitterbug last night, shortly before total dark. I'm itching to get that back out there again soon!

I was just doing this last week. It's pretty awesome to see what's out there!