flechero

I think there are about 8 - 10 total.

You should attend one of the Shallow Water Expos if you are impressed by distance fly casting... there are always a few guys giving a "seminar". One guy at the Austin show last spring, cast a full 9 wt line with just the top 1/2 the rod! (that's 100 feet) Another guy was showing the effectiveness of a double haul in a "shooting" demo... he shot a cast about 15-20 feet into his backing!

We night fish all summer long. On average, we catch more smallies than largemouth in the night time hours. (our lake has both and we catch both in the same areas)

I have been caught out several times as violent storms whipped up... Tx storms can whip up in an instant. I've had a few close calls. Have you ever heard a graphite rod "hum" right before lightening strikes? Not something you will ever forget! Another time I was trying to outrun a storm that came out of nowhere... I was running along a shorline with trees and docks hoping any lightening strike would hit a tree or dock instead of me (I was trying to be the lowest target in the area) it actually worked that way. I was buzzing within 5'-8' of the docks at full speed and a tree got hit within 50' of me!! I was temporarily blinded by the flash and every hair on my body stood. I though I was hit for a second and thought the flash was my "seeing the light." I was only about 100 yds away from my own boathouse... almost made it. When needed, I'll pull into someone else's boathouse and wait it out if I can't get off the lake in time. Never had anyone mind that. These days, I'm not afraid to be a party pooper and be the first to suggest heading in... There is no shame in living to fish another day.

Nicely done, Alpster!

Correction to original post, his email address is andy@lamarfishing.com Andy Dear Lamar Fishing

Well, I wondered the same thing when i started... I'm a "manual" only wrapper. I like to pack as I go and my longest guide wraps are like an inch, so power wrapper won't save me any time. (especailly when doing single and double inlay threads) Besides, I still don't wrap with true precision and need to go slower than some. I don't do underwraps, 12mm is about the largest guides I use and I don't do much decorative thread work so I have no real need for power... I started with a cardboard box with "V" notches cut in it. ...lol Then to a cabela's wrapping stand and made a more portable one. I'm just now to the point that I really know what I need/want so I'll be building "the" wrapper later this year. ...lol If you want to see if the power wrapper is right for you, here's a wat to test drive the idea: Take the chuck off your drying motor and attach to your drill, then take the foot pedal from a sewing machine and wire your drill through it and use the stand from your current wrapper... you now have a power wrapper, or at least enough of one to see if you will want a real one. Hope that helps! That from the guy who wanted to show me the "poor" part of town!! ;D

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1152401016 Once you have the wire, crimp shape and tie into hook. (tie it in like you are tying a fly and apply a drop of super glue of equivalent...)

I hope no one took my analogy the wrong way... even with the best line, it still takes a top notch QB to bring it all home!! I'll be looking for you in Canton one of these days, Glenn!!

Chug, I hesitate to even jump in to this thread at this point... The only thing I will suggest is to take the biggest friend you have along on the test drive. When you lake test, the boat will have only a few gallons of fuel, empty storage comartments, no gear, etc. So even an underpowered boat can feel decent. If you bring a 200+Lb buddy with you & the salesman and fill the livewell, that will at least be close to your average fishing weight. You won't have to wonder if it's underpowered. And don't ease down the lake in a straight line... pretend you are driving a sports car. (within reason) When I bought my last boat (19' champion) it was rated for a 200hp. So naturally I thought I had to have 200... my salesman was the one who said this boat will perform well with a 175. (and the showroom teaser had a 150 on it) I test drove same model with all 3 motors, the only difference I saw in the 175/200 was a few mph top end, which didn't justify the cost to me but the 150 was clearly not right. And surprisingly the 175 and 200 had no noticable difference in holeshot. With the 175 mine will jump out of the hole better than most boats, handles like a dream, is very responsive and will run fast enough for me. (60ish) Then once I decided the 175 was enough, we took 4 different props out and maximized what the 175 would do. I've carried 5 people in it (and did not unload my gear) and it comes out of the hole just fine and runs/handles well. The moral here is that you do not always need max rated hp... but you need to be an educated consumer and drive the boats in any configuration you are considering. In contrast: A good friend bought a 17'champion with a 90 (rated for 150) and with just he and I in it, I have to lay on the front deck to get it to plane. He test drove it with an empty tank, livewell, no gear and a 120lb guy (who actually sat on the front deck "so they could talk" during test) and said it was "good enough for me" since I normally fish alone. Guess what, he has regretted it ever since and can't afford a motor swap or a new boat. If you take the suggestions in the first paragraph, and make yourself an educated and aggresive consumer, I think you will be very happy, on whichever boat you buy.

You should always test drive. I've never had a dealer or individual say no to a lake test. Last boat I bought came down to 3 boats... I pulled one, my salesman another and a service guy pulled the 3rd one to the lake. The only limitation was 5 gallons of fuel in each tank... They need to know that you are serious and can afford the purchase... in some cases, that may be by credit application or a letter from your bank, comitting to finance up to $xxxxx.xx. Can you imagine what it would be like to buy a boat, only to find out you hated the ride or handling, AFTER you payed for it and can't change your mind??????

They used to have some stickers, I think. Also you can buy shirts and stuff in the store.... the link is in the "tacklebox" tab above. Beyond that, buy something from a sponsor of the site, they are keeping us from having to pay dues.

As a former lineman, I almost took exception to that!! A great QB can't operate or stay healthy very long without a good line!! So how about a pat on the back to the QB and a great "line"

Thanks for the info. So he's still employed but no longer has anything to do, while drawing a salary... sounds like a great "job" to me! ...lol I would have time to finish all of my projects oaound the house!!

I think the trailer hook came off just like a fish throws a bait. The rubber can tear off the eye of the trailer, or the barb of the main hook can tear through and release the trailer. I've never had it happen but one of my brothers ties a piece of line on the trailer hook eye and then as short as possible, ties to the main hook's shank... then put the trailer hook on as normal. If it lets go, you'll still have the hook tied on the line to get your fish in. I guess he's not the only one who has experienced this after all. ...lol

I'm glad that I was able to contribute to your rod building... whether it's a few words of encouragement or an actual tip... reelmech and many others helped me out in the beginning and I hope that I can pass along the same. Now, I think you are just fooling about the poor people.... because brother, there are few people alive that can stretch a dollar like good ol' flechero!! ;D I get an "allowance" each payday which covers anything related to fishing, hunting, archery, rodbuilding, and any other activity I enjoy. There is not enough so I have to really work to make ends meet!! My saving grace this year was actually my shoulder surgery... I got to save my allowance for 5 months... which gave me a lump sum to kick start this recreational year with!! ...lol (and that's how I ended up with CTS blanks and new 50 MG's. ) Now, if you will allow one small suggestion... you owe it to yourself to use some of Andy's exotic burl on your next build! I won't even consider traditional cork anymore. And since I'm a budget builder, his cork cost less than good quality, regular cork. Keep up the good work!!

2 particular lakes I used to fish had shad populations like that. We got so frustrated at first and had trouble catching many fish until we tried something different... we used anything that resembled a craw and started catching fish immediately, both size and numbers. I still believe that they had so many shad available that they were full most of the time, the craw was a treat... even if they weren't really hungry. (kind of like a dog- when he walks away from the food bowl, there is always room and desire for a piece of meat or cheese if it can be had)

I would call on the fall, on the initial fall. For those that get most bites after working the bait, could it be as simple as you are casting beyond the target and working to it? As opposed to pitching/casting directly to your target? When fishing baits like that, I get the majority of bites on the initial fall, but I'm targeting very specific places, and expect it to happen on the fall. Example: I'll pitch or cast to a bush or stump (and actually go into the bush or hit the stump) where as you may cast beyond it and work a bait by that target. When target fishing, most of my bites are on the fall... when fishing an "area" they are normally during the retrieve. We are probably getting similar results, just saying it in different ways. Make sense?

I wish I had something magical to offer, especially since you are fishing just down the street from me. Unfortunately, with the heat lately I have only been night fishing (except the last hour of daylight) and only fishing Belton. We've been doing well in the dark but what little daylight I've been fishing has been slow. This may sound obvious but worth considering nonetheless... once the sun get up, try to find a deep point or other terrain feature off a deep bank that is still in the shade of a bluff or hill. The last places to get sunny in the mornings and the first areas to shade in the afternoon... those types of places have been better to me lately. As far as baits go, I've actually been hooking my better fish on the smallie beaver, for the past month plus. Caught lots on the regular size but every fish over about 3lbs has been on the smallie size... and I'm fishing them in the exact same areas. None of my friends are fishing stillhouse right now so I can't even offer 2nd hand suggestions on it. I hope you figure it out soon!

I had a hard time when I first started fishing belton... lots of 100'-110' water and the polar opposite of what I grew up fishing. In reality, it's not that much different. You can eliminate most of the water over 50' in the beginning. You will have to get used to fishing bluffs and deep banks. Points are great, even small ones... look for any changes in bottom terrain or compisition. The good news is if you find a nice bluff or bank that has some cover on that drop, you can likely catch fish on it 365 days a year. Nothing too different, we still use t-rigs, c-rigs, flukes, jigs and crankbaits on those deep banks/bluffs. Half of the challenge for me was just getting used to being 50' from the bank and floating in 80' of water. ...lol Don't be afraid of throwing a white fluke at a bluff... that's the bread and butter a lot of the time for us. (smallies love the fluke worked fast!) One other thing... if the water is real clear, consider downsizing your line. (or if using braid, try mono/fluoro)

PB, I think most of the resumes posted here are so people can get help and suggestions from others who have gone through the challenge of landing sponsors. Just a guess.

What's the budget for this purchase? And do you use mono or braid?

You might try Northern equipment or Northern tool and equipment, whichever way they list it. I used to have one near me and they sell a bunch of trailer "kits" of various sizes. If you are moderately handy this might be a good place. the kits have the proper axles, hubs and everything already paired up... you just have to assemble it. I think it would be just as easy to buy a little utility trailer locally and make a few mods to accept the canoe and whatever else you want to use it for. "Just thinking out loud"

All too well!! My boat is 13 years old, I have been there countless times! Just wait until you get into tracing an intermittent short or my real favorite.... the occasionally faulty ground!! > > > > ;D ;D It is like you conquered the world when you finally find and fix it! ...lol

;D ;D That's funny!