flechero

yup

if you are going to mount it in the boat, all you need to do is build around it a few inches and fill the entire void with expandable foam. And remember to set it up on a spacer so you insulate the bottom as well. You can use the foam from home depot but it will not hold up over time. I would use something like this: http://www.jgreer.com/Foam%20Page.htm If you want a portable tank, either buy one or find a big cooler with at least 5" radius, round corners.

Wow, that's a really high % swallowing! I don't know the exact number but I can say with confidece that I'm no more than 5%. A few things I do different than my buddies- *shorter leaders *heavier weights *imx rods *never hold slack more than a couple seconds even if I don't move it *pay closer attention, I see lots of buddies cast then start doing something else. Try some of the above before giving up on it. Hope these might help.

I used to live in Dallas, and had a friend that used to fish Eagle Mountain Lake. (if I remember, it's rocky in areas, like my new 'home' lakes) I now live a couple hours south of you but a suggestion if you can't afford a guide: try some craws... our fish have been really tough to catch on anything else lately. Having success on almost every brand of soft plastic craws, in natural colors... t-rig, c-rig, tube craws & jigs. The tube craws have been best, they are the most realistic looking, especiall in clear water. Hope this helps.

bass86 You might try marking the locations and coming back at night, in water that clear, line shy fish are very hard to catch.

CBedo, You seem to be pretty estute regarding your finances and are fortunate enough to have some options. Here are a few thoughts, or options. I would only question your 15 year strategy. If you plan to pay it off in 5 years, why go 15? If you feel the need for safety in a tight stretch, maybe just go 8-10 yrs. I say this because very few people can stay disciplined enough to stick to paying extra when they have it. Or, if you forsee a tight stretch, maybe you should reconsider the used boat... you'd own it and never be worried with payments. Besides, I don't know a single person (me included) that bought a new boat first and got all the options right for long term. And, it's hard to top the new boat later. you said " Financing is better than paying cash, if you have better alternative investments. Even though I will finance this thing 15 years, I expect to pay it off in 5 or less. If over that five year period, I could make more money investing somewhere else than what the loan costs me, then it makes sense to finance (as long as you still have financial flexibility and are not overextended). " If you have an extensive investment portfolio, and can do all of that w/o being overextended, do you really even need to finance it? You could buy it outright and take what would have been your expected payment (on the 5 year schedule) and invest that. I can't suggest a bank, the last boat I financed was with John Deere Credit and they don't do boat loans anymore. I'm just thinking "out loud" here. Figure out what makes the most sense for you and by all means... wear that new boat out!! Good luck and enjoy shopping!

Thankfully I don't hook many fish deep but there was a time that it happened with some regularity. For the past several years I have done as the original poster suggested, and can about 90% of the time remove the hook with no trouble or further damage to the fish. On the occasion that it's a small fish or an oddly placed hook up (the other 10% of the time) I keep a narrow set of nippers in the boat, which are narrow enough to reach through the gill and cut the hook at the bend... allowing the remainder of the hook to slide free. Either way, the fish is more likely to survive without the hook interfering with bodily function or feeding.

Fishing a c-rig in the grass is tough, but can be done effectively. I think your biggest problem is the weight... 1oz is pretty heavy, even if you are not in grass. Your conditions might dictate different than ours but we fish up to 35 or 40 feet with 1/2 or 5/8 oz. When fishing deep grass, I'll use a lighter weight bullet shaped weight and instead of dragging it, I'll pop the rod and hop it like a jig, being sure to remove slack and feel before popping it to be sure there isn't a fish already there. The popping of the weight allows it to clear a bunch of the hydrilla or whatever grass is there. You'll still pick up some grass but that doesn't matter as long as the leader is long enough to clear what is being pulled along. Usually 20-25 inches will be plenty. Hope that helps.

If you have an Academy near you, they stock a few sizes of replacement nets.

The short answer is because there are normally fish on a point. A point represents a change in the contours of the lake and contour is structure whether it's a point, hump, drop off, saddle, ledge, pot hole, etc. The more pronounced the change the better. If you can find a point (or any other element of structure) with cover on it (brush, grass, timber, chunk rock, etc.) then you have an excellent chance of finding fish. Add wind to that combo and most of us will be giddy. ...lol

I wish we had some rising water around here. You're options are endless. I would try a variety of things... senkos or flukes over/through the area of pads, t-rig through them, jigs in them, buzzbait over them, etc. You get the idea. Basically fish like you would when you have any subsurface vegetation. Normally when a lake or pond rises dramatically, lots of fish will be in the newly flooded areas feasting on whatever is there.

Others have given good advice. The manuals are a must have... and don't worry, they are well written and people with little or no mechanical experience can follow along on most of what you'll want to attempt yourself. The most important advice is to not let it sit up for long periods of time. Fish year round... or your motor will not like you!!

My last Gator Mount squeaked like there was no tomorrow. Unless it's just worn out, you can oil the pivot points and the pins that go through it. (one time it was the plastic collar that held the shaft) I had to do that about every year, until I finally wore it out and got another. They are like anything mechanical, they need up keep.

I had a similar experience once... ended up being a turtle. Want to have some fun (or at least get some revenge) for the loss of worms? Here is how I figured it out: Snell a size 8 or 10 fly hook (loop end around primary hook) and insert it in the tail of your worm. Like an extended trailer hook. You will either hook the culprit or at least teach him some manners.

The common name is "Bushy Pondweed" See link below: http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/submerged_plants/southern_naiad.htm

Like many others, I need to learn to move when things are slow. I have a tendancy to stay put because I "think" there is a big fish lurking below. Unfortunately, I need to work on the boat a lot... it's 13 yrs old and has tired wiring.

I think the best reason to fish extremely slow is big bass. I used to think they were just lazy but have realized that they rarely do much chasing for a meal. Now I think it's more of an efficiency thing kind of like a cost/benefit. Without question only a single digit percentage of my big fish come from a fast moving bait. If you have a chance to watch a kitten and a cat play, notice how usually a kitten will chase and grab a fast moving thing and is willing to chase it all over a room where as a cat will normally grab a slow or erraticly moved toy, string or whatever. (and will usually wait for the "toy" to get close to the cat before pouncing.) I don't always fish plastics slow, I usually leave the boat ramp in one of two moods.... catch fish or hunt fish, when I fish it's not painfully slow but when I hunt, it's like I have my bow in hand.

Blanked- there are several of us from texas on this forum so if you tell us what lakes you are fishing we can probably give you specifics to your lake. I lived in east texas for a couple of years... 2 foot visibility is pretty clear by my standards. There are a bunch of lizards (or newts, gekkos, chemilions, etc) native to east texas. So consider the "rules of thumb" for water clarity and also look for what color lizards you see regularly... My best colors out there may not be what most people would throw based on clarity of water but the fish saw the real thing enough to look for them. (if it matters, I fish lizards year round, and almost never fish worms) My most productive colors (zoom colors) were: 1 cotton candy (w/ or w/o chartruse) 2 watermelon seed 3 sour grape 4 red shad 5 black & blue 6 pumkinseed (w/o chartruse) 7 natural green/natural blue 8 watermelon red 9 black w/ blue fleck 10 salt & pepper Zoom has some new colors out (since I left east texas) that look great but I haven't tried them out there.

I'm right there with you. I would always prefer to have some wind while fishing... in the old days of my keeping detailed log books, I realized that wind was my friend, 99% of the time. To this day, when fishing is slow, I'll search out a windy point and that usually is the answer. The rare desired exception could be made for early morning topwater in a secluded cove when nothing beats a viscious explosion on glass water!! ;D Fishing in Texas has made me appriciate the wind for the already mentioned reasons as well as a way to stay on the water in those 100 plus degree days.

Bass will "pass" the plastic. I have caught many that had a plastic worm almost completely out, still whole and not digested.

Using snap swivels will only serve to keep you from critical re tying when your line gets nicked and freyed, thus contributing to loss of lures and fish. A lesson I learned in grade school.

Either will work, I'd lean towards the baitcaster because I can flip and pitch more accurately and can use heavier line with it. No swivel. Hook depends... if you are rigging weedless, use 2/0 - 5/0 worm hook ; depending on size of bait, desired sink rate and size of fish in the area. If you are pitching it wacky style, probably go with a smaller, straight shank hook.