Madhouse27

We used to eat a few bass here and there when we were kids. If I remember correctly the smallmouth were actually kind of tasty. Now, I guess my love affair with them doesn't allow me to kill any. If we're going to have a fish fry we'll go catch a bunch of white perch. In the spring I usually treat myself to a couple of brook trout and maybe a salmon or two. My favorite fish to eat are either fresh sushi grade tuna or haddock. Most of the time these two take care of my fish eating needs just fine.

Some great responses to your post. One feature that really comes in handy for me is having temperature on my fish finder. It amazes me how subtle differences like a degree or two of water temp can make all the difference. I've got a Humminbird 535 w/temp. It's got decent resolution (320x320 pixels) and a dual beam transducer. I think I paid around $150 for it. Pretty happy with it for the price.

Wow, your boat came out awesome! You must be pumped to get it on the water.

Man, that bass has a big head on it. I think it's really pushing 10 pounds. A different time of year and it might get up to almost 12. Well done bro.

7 pound Bronzeback. Next up with be one that is 8lb 1oz and the new Maine State Record.

Nice to see some Miller Lite being enjoyed during the project. We're having a good time following along.

Haskell, this carpet is probably going to last you five or six years if not longer. You may not even still have this boat at that point. If you do it would probably be just as easy to simply unscrew your carpeted plywood seat covers and replace them with completely new ones. At that point I think the wood is going to probably be in worse shape than the carpet is. Personally I think you would be happier with the results by glueing them to the plywood. I like skwerl's floor idea for your boat. I did a similar thing to my last boat and it really tied the whole project together nicely. It's just like when you are looking at a house. The first thing you notice whethere you realize it or not is the floor. With a carpeted mini floor put in and the seat tops done this thing will look tight.

I've seen the same thing up here with smallmouths. Groups of similar sized fish cruising in the shallows. They are incredible to watch but catching them at this stage of the game is somewhat futile. A week earlier these same fish were postioned of points and ready to bite. Now they are preoccupied. I guess what I would do is try to find a different area of the lake that may be at a different temperature. You may end up finding some fish that are either before or after this tough stage. You'll end up pulling your hair out on these fish for a couple of days.

Boo,the boat manufacturers you meantioned are actually my two favorites as well. These guys both make great boats and as long as you check out a used boat thoroughly I'm sure you'd be happy with either. It may come down to your preference in outboards that makes you choose one over the other. Most used Stratos I've run across come with Evinrude outboards. With Skeeter the bulk of them seem to have Yamaha. As far as length goes that might end up being influenced by your wallet as much as personal preference. Also keep in mind as the length goes up so does the need for a bigger vehicle to pull it. If you've got a big wallet and a big truck I'd vote for a new Skeeter I-Class with a 225 Yamaha.

I like the sound a BIG bronzeback makes as it re-enters the water after a nice jump. With my last boat, the sound of the outboard actually starting up always managed to put a smile on my face. Like some of you already said, I like it simply being quiet enough to hear little individual sounds.

I don't really have a problem with my marker buoys continuing to "run" after the weight has hit bottom. The line usually stops moving and they pretty much stay in place. If the bottom is really smooth the weight might slide around a bit. I'm going with Upnorths idea and replacing the flat lead wrap with a pyaramid so I think the extra weight will help them stay put all the time. For some reason, I thought the standard buoys came with around 80 feet of line. Ouach, I'm not sure why your buoys are still unwinding after the weight has hit bottom. What type are you using? In real high winds I've had my "H" shaped ones do an occasional extra flip. I prefer the dumbell style from Lindy. Try not to get too worked up over Cart's comment, it was kind of funny. The way you were describing your set up I too was picturing buoys with ten feet of line floating around in thirty feet of water. While I'm not completely onboard with your system, I do understand that the drag of line and weight will keep the buoy more in place than say a paper cup floating on the water.

Cart's killing me over here ;D

Sorry Skwerl I already said I'd give it to my brother in law. It may not work on his boat though. He's got a semi-v style aluminum so I really don't think there is enough room on that front deck cover to mount the thing. If he can't use it I'll drop you a pm.

Pintail, where are you at? Maybe one of the guys on the board is close enough to check out the boat.

Blanked has a good point. I'd definately grab an experienced boater and have him help troubleshoot some of the problems that you're having. A good person to get would be the guy who sold you the boat. Either he knows how to work everything correctly or you can put him on the spot with all the stuff that is wrong with it. I don't know how long ago you bought it, but if it was me I'd be showing up in this guys driveway either looking for a refund or some compensation for the necessary repairs.

I've always subscribed to the "go as big as you can afford" theory when it comes to trolling motors. In this case I'd probably go with the 24v 70 thrust choice. I tend to use my trolling motor as much to stay where I am, as to get where I'm going. As I'm learning aluminum boats are lighter and get moved around in the wind much more than fiberglass. A breeze that I could maintain position on speed 1 or 2 in my fiberglass requires 3 or 4 in my aluminum. The Skeeter I bought came with a Motorguide 43 12v trolling motor. After one windy day I couldn't wait to get my Minn Kota 65 24v from the other boat moved over to it. My boat is 17 feet, 40hp Yamaha just for reference. One other thing to do your homework on it the tm shaft length that will be best for your boat. The 52 inch that worked great on my other boat is a bit long for this one. I think a 48 inch would have been perfect.

I'd glue your carpet to the wood. Wrap it right around and then staple the back edges. Probably be a good idea to completely seal the wood before you start. I got some stuff at West Marine that did a great job on my last boat. If I remember right it was a two part deal, like an epoxy. You mixed it up and then just brushed it on like paint. Skwert had a good point. Go with stainless screws. They look good and will last.

I'm not trying to be snide but did you make sure you had the plug in the boat? The last time my bow was pointing toward the sky was because the whole back end of the boat was full of water.

I like to do both but there is a pretty short list of anglers that I get excited about fishing with. I enjoy taking a kid and teaching them some of the basics and watching them get excited about the sport. I usually don't fish a whole lot myself during these type outings. The other type is like to go with is another hardcore experience bass fisherman. Someone who brings something to the table, skill and technique wise, and can make some good conversation. We can work together to unravel that days pattern. At this stage of the game I don't really seem to have much use for those who fall in between these two types. If I'm going to be hanging out with someone who is just so-so about fishing I'd actually rather go do something that they like.

Upnorth, I'm going to take your advice about changing to pyramid style weights. Those flat wrap around lead strips they come with seem to flutter on the way down and kind of end up off the mark. I know Lindy has a rack for storing their marker buoys but the kit is a pit pricy for a piece of plastic. Has anyone come up with a good system for keeping the markers ready to go without having them strewn around the boat.

You could point a spotlight at it with a motion sensor attached to it. A big chain wrapped around a tree or deck post and then put through the trailer axle might also act as a deterent. Do they make some kind of a lowjack thing that goes on a trailer tire? I just try to give the appearance that if someone wants to steal my boat they are really going to have to work for it. I also have a couple of targets set up out in my back yard. They seem to keep undesirables away pretty well ;D

BassChaser57 has the right idea. I'm getting rid of these stupid marker buoys and getting an awesome GPS system ;D While we're on the subject of marker buoys I read a tip from Mike Iconelli that I found kind of interesting. He was saying that he made his own markers out of clear plastic 20 ounce soda bottles. He seemed to think that the brightly colored ones might have an adverse effect on the fish and that his clear ones were a little more low impact. Maybe using some heavy mono for a weight line would be a bit more subtle than the heavy string that most of them come with. I also recently saw a link or an ad for a new line of marker buoys that looked really awesome. It may have been in Bassmaster magazine. If I can figure it out I'll post it on here.

I am a huge fan of marker buoys. I like to fish in depths between 15 and 30 feet and find them almost a necessity. I usually use four with two being one color and two being another. If I am working a long ridge or dropoff I use one color to mark the bottom of the drop, and another to mark the top of the "shelf". That way I know the area in between them is the sweet part of the drop. They really help to keep your bearings when you are out away from shore and landmarks are hard to come by. I'll also use them to mark a cluster of fish seen on the finder. They are definately an underutilized tool. I can't remember ever seeing anyone else using them while out on the water. I like the Lindy brand, and have found the Bass Pro brand to have poorly sealed seams that leak.

Wow, you are ripping and tearing. This is usually the point in the project that wives start talking about divorce ;D

I'd be interested to know how much weight it would add to the boat. My friend owns a Rhino Liner dealer and he did the bottom of his Boston Whaler with it. The stuff seems indestructable and he doesn't hesitate to take that boat anywhere. He'll drag it up on shore like it's an old aluminum canoe. It actually looks kind of cool as well. It's just a little fishing boat so he wasn't really worried about losing any performance by coating the underside of it.