lmoore

Bearing buddies also have problems with getting grease into the inside of the bearings. As someone who watched his trailer tire go passed him on the highway last season,removing and repacking at least once a year is the way to go(I do twice now). Doesn't take long for the peace of mind it provides. Bearing buddies are a nice maintenance tool, but definitely not the entire amount of maintenance for the year.

Getting the boat ready and I found a weird issue. The aerator switches seem to be malfunctioning. There is an auto/off/manual switch and a min-max knob. When I first rotate the knob from off, nothing happens, but once I hit auto or manual on the other switch, and then go back to off, the pumps stay on until the knob is turned back to off. Any ideas on what might be going on? Wiring issue or bad switch?

Almost no damage to the boat, he's fishing the tournament out of it.

Hopefully he listened to the local. Make sure you let us know how you did.

Accidents often happen when people operate/act in such a way to make them more likely, that doesn't mean it isn't an accident. How many pros ran 70 all the way to their spots every day without trouble?

I must've looked at an olde report. With those water temps, your crankbait might be the ticket, or dragging that worm. Is that all your tackle or just what you have tied on?

Online research is your friend. Since you've never been there, a good way to start narrowing down is to get a map of the lake. This time of year, warm water is key. Since north banks warm fastest, draw a line through the center of the map from W-E. You've just eliminated 50% of the lake (the bottom half). Since you don't know the lake very well, I'd suggest staying close to the launch to increase your fishing time. The area will depend on your ability to run somewhere fast, but keeping a smaller area in mind also removes a lot of water, leaving you a much smaller chunk of lake to figure out. Next, consider water temperature versus fish activity. A quick look shows the water temp on Ouachita right now to be upper 40's-50 degrees. At that point, I'd be looking at main lake and secondary points. You've just eliminated a significant portion of the water in your already small area. From there, a good contour map can help narrow down even further. As for colors, Ouachita is fairly clear, so I'd stick with natural colors unless you're in an area that has had some runoff/rain. Jigs and jerkbaits are good options this time of year. If you get a warming trend, consider throwing a crankbait (and also looking farther back in the coves). Good luck.

I generally have 2 rods on my deck from open water until around 50 degrees, jerkbait and a jig. If I get real crazy, I'll pull out a shaky head.

I don't actually think you'll get any more flips in with a 7:1. All your reel does when pitching is pick up slack. This time of year, you're probably not working it fast enough that reeling down is slowing you down. It absolutely does help when your trying to catch up to a fish swimming at the boat though.

I'll look into the software update process. Being 24, the computer part doesn't scare me too much

Thanks for the help, I never thought to look if it had a port (duh). It's the ci model si internal GPS antenna. I think ill replace the homemade mount with the correct transducer when I order the interlink.

Also for Wayne, Has Humminbird developed an update to allow Ethernet connection on the Legacy models? The unit on the bow is a 798c SI, and my unit at the console is a 997c SI. Is interlink my only option for connecting the 2 units, with only GPS data being shared? If I would upgrade the trolling motor tranducer to an actual trolling motor mount, is it worth it to get the full side imaging transducer, or should I just get a trolling motor mount adapter for the compact transducer in the picture?

Lol, I noticed that too. He rigged that up because he thought having the actual trolling motor bracket made the GPS confusing (700 series, must have internal GPS instead of a puck?) when you were manuevering with the trolling motor. I'm thinking I might just buy the actual trolling motor mounted transducer.

It is a Venom. How'd you like yours? Any idea where I can get a factory manual for it?

Missed the important one. Sorry I had to crop them funny, couldn't get them to attach otherwise.

Finally got pictures.

I spent all day cleaning it up and organizing, but never thought to take pictures! I'll get some tomorrow hopefully

1997 Champion 190DC with a 200 Johnson. Very nice seller, we're actually planning to go fishing together this summer sometime! Took a long time to find the right boat for me but I'm happy I waited. Big thanks to all the help from those here who answered questions along the way. As a bonus, he made me a good deal on the boat and I used the extra to buy an SI unit for the console!

A starting spot would be straight across from the boat ramp at the point of the bridge. Other than that, I'd recommend going south.

The most important part of the first time out is to allow yourself to enjoy it. Things will probably go wrong and you might have to grind out the fish, but you're finally back at it, and that's what counts.

Sure seem to be a lot of Iowans around lately, welcome!

It depends on the time of year, but I'd take some time and fish the wood. Stick-ups and laydowns, especially those near points and other structure. If I couldn't find them there, I'd start up the big motor and troll over deeper water looking for breaks, remaining grass lines, or brush/trees. Once I found those, I'd fish a deep crank or a T-rigged worm over and around. If you happen to see suspended baitfish on your graph, take a minute and test your theory of suspending bass.

Fish combination areas of structure (points, ledges, etc) and other forms of cover (laydowns, chunk rock banks, the stick ups and stumps etc). Has the water clarity changed with the loss of vegetation? What is "small lake?" If you're talking a pond-sized body of water, it's possible fishing pressure has conditioned a lot of the fish, making them harder to catch. Is there deep structure in the lake, such as humps or deep brush? Perhaps some deep vegetation?

Ike discusses guys using non-sponsor products in his book. It's more than common, but they always pimp the sponsor product. In this case, bp and ike were probably fine using other rods/reels because most people didn't notice. Pace has drawn some attention for the rogue, though.

Simply put, I'm a river rat