Madhouse27

I think post spawn is the most challenging situation for me. It doesn't last very long but it can make for a challenging week or so. Not every fish in the lake is on the exact same schedule so I can usually find a few willing combatants but it can make for spotty fishing. Not only are the bass somewhat more difficult to locate but they seem to just be sulking and recovering from the whole spawn deal. They are usually out in the deeper water that I like to fish so that is a positive. My plan this year is to slow down and work a drop shot rig once I find them. I'm thinking they are a little spent and won't want to work any harder than they have to. One good thing about the post spawn period is that you can usually do a little travelling and avoid the worst of it. Man am I ready to do some fishing....two months to go :-/

Man, how do you choose between these two? Because they are both such great choices it may have to come down to a service issue like which dealership is closer/better etc. I'm assuming that the Honda might be a little more money so there may be a slight edge to the Yamaha in that regard.

KBJ, just so you know, Cabelas actually sells a black metal recessed "foot". I'm actually going to get one for my Skeeter. You may want to check their site to get that actual dimensions to make sure it will fit your pedal correctly. In the picture there is a large Minn Kota pedal shown sitting down in it. I have this same Minn Kota and the pedal is pretty big. The Cabelas ad made it sound like it was a relatively easy install other than the pain involved in cutting a hole in the deck. If I remember correctly it was around $130. I thought it looked pretty cool and I suppose you could paint it if black wouldn't work with your interior. Since I am planning a similar project please let me know what you think of this one or if you find any other alternatives in your travels.

I went to Jimmy's site and read the letters of explanation/apology from both Jimmy and his wife Christine. I feel that I got what I was looking for in his letter. I've decided to look at his entire body of work. I'm not going to judge him on his best day or his worst one for that matter. Jimmy has been a great promoter of outdoor sports and has brought bass fishing into a lot of people's living rooms. He's always come across as a good Christian man and his charitable works certainly reinforce that image. As I read some of the posts over that site I was having difficulty figuring out who was an outraged sportsman and who were PETA members frothing at the mouth at the thought of publicity and creating a hunter vs. hunter situation. Will I think of Jimmy differently because of this situation? Yes. Things have changed a bit but I think overall the good outweighs the bad. I've had to ask for some pretty serious forgiveness in my time, I guess along the way I learned how to offer some as well. Hang in there Jimmy.

My vote is good.....real good.

I'd probably find an inexpensive 14ft aluminum. You might be suprised how well it pushes one of those around. When I was a teenager I had one of these with a little Mercury 4.5 horse and while it was no speed demon it got around pretty well.

This is troubling. I hope Jimmy will come clean, own up to whatever happened and tell the whole story. He needs to tell the truth. He's a religious man, he should know how to ask for forgiveness. Some will give it and some won't.

Man JT, I'm glad I read the whole thing. About half way down the article I was ready to click out and go on a little online shopping spree for discontinued Senkos. You got us good. You know what they say about payback....

I'd definately go 24v and the largest amount of thrust you budget can swing. As for length I'd probably try to measure how high your bow is out of the water. I have a Minn Kota AT 65 and I think the shaft is 52 inches long and I'm happy with it.

I wish Ben was my next door neighbor so I could go over and borrow all his good stuff.

Zam, I've been looking that them as well. What I liked about them was the adapter that they sell seperately. It would allow me to use the pre existing holes from my Motorguide to mount the adapter plate and the quick release. That would keep me from having to drill any new holes when I swap motors between the two boats. With a new boat like yours I guess I would weigh whether or not you will be wanting to remove the trolling motor. I'm thinking I'd like to be able to take mine off for winter storage or if my boat was parked in a suspect area while travelling or camping. It would be slick to be able to quickly unplug it and lock it up in a vehicle. The only thing is I'd like to actually see one in person before I order one just to check out the size and construction of the thing.

Jb, I've always looked at the on board chargers as simply an easier way to go about getting the batteries charged. I've always used a portable charger but it's a pain getting in late from fishing and trying to get several batteries charged for the next day. For me it usually means getting up in the middle of the night to switch the charger to the next battery. I've slept through the midnight alarm and had to head out on the water with only one of my trolling motor batteries charged. I was looking for a system where I could park the boat, plug it in and get on with my life until the next morning knowing everything would be ready to go. I'm looking at the BPS XPS 3 bank that is around $150. I think it will be money well spent.

Are you talking about developing and manufacturing your own line of baits or retailing a variety of different brands. One good thing to do early on as you are creating your own business plan is to analyze your potential competition. Write down what you like and don't like about the places you are currently shopping at for your gear. Then try to figure out what aspects of that shopping experience you could improve upon. There are some real heavyweights in the tackle retail game. Maybe finding a niche in the market that you feel is underdeveloped. For example if you are a topwater specialist maybe you could start out focusing on that one aspect of fishing and become the go to stop for anglers looking for the very best surface lure selection. You have a little spark going, now it's time to feed that fire with energy and ideas. Good luck!

Congratulations on the new ride.

I've bled so much information out of Roadwarrior I'm surprised he not starting to look pale. We're all lucky to have him helping us out.

For many people, fishing is a quiet, relaxing, contemplative endeavor. It is about getting away from the noise of the city and enjoying the serene sounds of nature. For these folks, Ike embodies exactly what they were trying to leave behind. When they see him on television screaming and breakdancing in their minds he may as well be painting graffiti on the trees and poking the bass in the eye and dropkicking them back into the lake. They consider him obnoxious and loud and it bugs them the same way that Terrell Owens selfishness does. Like many of the athletes on the list, Ike is a colorful guy who pushes the envelope for behavior in his sport. One of the keys to celebrity is to be loved hated but never ignored. Ike's shtick is certainly getting a bit played but at least he is adding some excitement and personality to a sport that will need some as it tries to become more mainstream. Without Ike, Bass fishing isn't getting meantioned in GQ magazine.

I have a Minn Kota All Terrain 65 with cable steering. It has five speeds. You can select your speed and you can select if you want it to run constantly or only when you depress the round thing on the pedal. About the only time I use the constant on setting is when I'm trying to stay stationary when fighting the wind or when my big motor has died and I'm using the trolling motor to get back to the ramp. Hopefully the latter won't be the case this year in my new (to me) ride!

I've had several humminbirds and never had a problem with any of them. Right now I have a 535 with 320 pixels, temp, nice screen size with lots of viewing options. Bass Pro has them on sale for $149 and I think it's a steal. I'm thinking about getting another one to upgrade the cheap Lowrance on the front of my boat.

Roland was certainly one of the all time greats but sadly his reign is over. I appreciate his honesty and respect the thought process that surely went into his decision. One of the hardest things an athlete faces is knowing when to hang it up. Sometimes our heroes linger a little too long, unable to physically compete at a level that they are accustomed to being at. We've seen it in boxing, football and other sports. Sometimes it's almost sad to see someone hanging on a little too long, taking a beating and only detracting from their great career. Like in nature, at some point the old lion needs to reliquish his pride or have it forcibly taken from him. Roland has done well to pass the torch while it is still at least flickering.

I've always considered the cable to be the most durable of the available systems. They are quiet and seem like you they would be relatively easy to fix if there was a problem, plus there is less to break in the first place. About the only thing I wish I could change about mine is the size of the pedal. I like the sleek little pedal of the powerdrive style motors but that incessant buzz buzz they make can be a bit irritating.

Ben, you are the man!

I think if you tied a four pound smallmouth to a four pound largemouth that bronzeback would drag that pour largemouth around until he drowned it. I'm pretty sure the first few seconds would be a toss up but I think the smallmouth would take over because he simply has more strength and definately more stamina. I don't think there are many fish out there that can compete with mr bronzeback in the "truck pull" constest.

Wow great responses. If I buy the three bank charger will I have to disconnect the crossover wire that runs between my two trolling motor batteries while I am plugged in and charging or does this not make a difference.

I'm pretty sure this has been discussed but I can't seem to find the thread so I'll ask it again. I'm looking at on board chargers. I'm seeing units with two and three banks. Should the number of banks coincide with the number of actual batteries on your boat? I'm looking to be able to charge three batteries at once. One is for the starting motor/accessories and the other two are in a 24 volt series for the trolling motor. I apologize for asking you guys to explain it all again.

The past two seasons I've used a pair of Everstarts for my trolling motor and one for the outboard. To be honest my expectations about Everstart was pretty low going into it. I needed to buy all three batteries at once so the low price was a big selling point. I even got a cheap Everstart marine battery charger. Those Everstart batteries save my butt on many occasions. My old outboard was not very reliable and I came all the way across the lake under trolling motor power on several occasions. I'm sure there are better batteries out there, but I've more than gotten my moneys worth out of the Everstarts.