Nitrofreak

It's all I use, braid from reel to bait, I have not noticed any difference in using leaders vs. straight braid, all I use is spiderwire but I hope to give some other brands a try at this too. Both of these fish came on a SP100 Lucky Craft JB using nothing but braid, the only problem was that the braid freezes and builds ice on the eyelets, so I will be going back to some different line in the future for my cold water fishing lol !

ALRIGHT !!!!!!! Hey great to see you back and back at it again, does not look like you forgot much in the way of catching some nice fish, really nice job !!!! Congrats !!!

Congrats on the B-day stuff, you have a good woman there for sure !!! Nice fish and things will only get more complicated from here on out, J/K, remember to ALWAYS keep what you just learned in the back of your mind, do not let go of the most simplest and most basic principles you just learned and you will be a great angler ! Looking forward to more pics and seeing some big-uns' from time to time. Good luck and be safe !!!

Port-a-jon, thats what I named mine. It came from another post some time ago much like this one and it just stuck.

LMG that was an awesome thing you did and it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun, nice job both of you !!! I can see all the fun you had, looks like he stopped long enough to get you to strike a pose for us too lol !!

Thank you for your support and welcome !!!!

It ran, just not very good, I tested compression before I bought it, it was low on all cylinders but that was due to a massive carbon issue that I had noticed when I looked in the cylinders, the power pack was the big issue, it was down 2 cylinders. The original asking price was 1800 bucks but it had not been taken care of very well, when I first saw the boat it was black with dirt, it was left uncovered for over 2 years sitting along side of a gravel road. It needed so much cleaning and the trailer was painted black to hide the rust it had. No, I never met the guy before that day, I saw the work it needed and I knew I would be close to what the boat was actually valued at in good condition with all of the work, I offered 500 and of course he declined, but the guy was really cool about it and we still stay in touch actually, but long story short I left him my cell number just incase I had not found the boat I was really looking for and he decides to sell it for my offer. He called back about a month later and he told me he would sell me the boat for what I was offering under one condition, so an added case of Bud was thrown in as well, guess I should have put that in the original cost too lol !

Quan thats awesome !!! I can't wait to see you again man, it's been far too long.

There are a lot of people who can speak from experience about S.O.'s jigs, but it's not looks alone that makes a jig. The performance of his jigs are stronger and far better than the way they look. My first LMB on his jigs came on a second pitch to a lay down and went just a touch over 4lbs, and it never made it to the bottom. Nevermind the looks alone, judge them on their performance as well and you will see and feel the real difference.

I just heard this news myself, I have been hearing a lot of ol' "No Show" on the radio today and now I know why. Thoughts and prayers to his family, he will be missed.

One more thing to check is the keyway for the flywheel, make sure the key is not worn allowing the timing to be off.

CP if you go back through the thread you will see that some of the votes were on the maybe list, since then I have kept record of who is bringing a boat, Speed for example has his boat repaired and may be bringing his, Soccplayer07 also has his boat fixed and may be bringing his boat as well, we have seven boaters with open seats right now, 2 of those boaters have offered to take 2 each, thats still the right ratio even if Speed and Socc07 did not bring their boats. No need to panic just yet CP Anyone paying attention here though, we really could use a couple more boaters with open seats please !!

Thats a tough question for sure!! First would be anyone here, not one person here has nothing we could learn something from in some form or another about fishing IMO. catt, has opened my fishing up so very much with lessons from the deep. RW, so many bait and tackle options, one has to wonder if he tows a dingy behind his boat for all the bait he knows about. WRB, what can you say there, a wealth of knowledge is what comes to mind first of all. Paul Roberts, I dont think I would understand my waters as much without having him around for sure. Glenn and Kari, would be at the top of this list too, without them this is not possible, none of it !, we even get to talk with some of the pros on the circut here from time to time, how cool would it be to share a boat with those two. Some have come and some have left us WAAAAAAYYY too soon, Fish for dollars, I miss his lessons, but one I held in high regard and would have loved to have fished with. J Francho, his knowledge about fish of all kinds seems endless and I am still learning from him. 00, just to be able to hear the stories of where him and others fish would be insanely cool to listen to. AJ, Ghoti, Dwight, Rhino, Long Mike, some of the funniest and some of the best help have come from people like them, to fish from a platform with them would be a thrill. All of the best fishermen gather and share stories and help us along our way on this site, there is not one here that I would not share a platform or a bank with, some that I have already shared a boat with have been amazing people and I can't wait to do it again. Sorry, you guys and gals are like Lay's potato chips, I can't pick just one.

Thanks Traveler, I am looking forward to seeing you in the up coming months and I hope to get up that way soon for a visit and a fishing trip with ya bud !!!

Hope you have a great day on the water too Tartan, as for your baitcaster, I would suggest setting your brake at about 8 or 9 to begin with and then setting your spool drag to where the the line stops as soon as the bait touches the ground, these settings may be slightly tight but as you start to get used to the B/C then you can free the spool up a little at a time, the thing with a B/C is you are adjusting to the amount of weight and line diameter for each application you choose, the more you use it the better you will get. The Blue Fox is a spinner bait if I am not mistaken, spinners are better for overcast and windy conditions, you will get their attention but it may end up spooking them as well in calm conditions, I would suggest a more natural approach with baits like HY suggested or Sam may have suggested as well. Good luck and be safe !!!

This is my 1990 Nitro. I paid $500.00 for the boat knowing it was going to need a trailer soon, it ran but not very well, but had no internal issues, compression was good but not where it needed to be. To date I have invested a total of $788.97 $400.00 Trailer $133.62 power pack $56.04 Throttle cable $199.31 new carpet and supplies to install carpet I am the second owner of this boat and I have had it since August of 2000

We have not even met each other yet and I can already tell we will get along pretty well lol !!! Just wait, you will see !!! if anyone can have trouble with something like that, it will be me lol !!

Sure, laugh it up at my expense and misfortune LMAO !!! Shucks I will be the one laughing the hardest most likly anyway !!

I can see this not going so well for me lol !! I can picture it now, tossing a jig...or at least trying to toss a jig from one of those things, setting the hook, missing the fish, only to get nailed in the mouth by my own jig and then falling over falling out, or in this case rolling over maybe, or on the other hand I hook a shark and it takes me out to sea LOL !!! I think I will leave the fishing rods on the boat, thanks for the offer HY !!!!

Oh crap, I figured you were going to say something like that lol !!! Your gonna make me want one of those things arent you.

Right now the only thing on the fishes mind is love, once the spawn is over you will get some confidence coming your way, just hang in there, I can't wait to see what you pull out of there, just remember to take some pics for us !!!!

Thanks for the offer and someday I may take you up on that for sure, as for now just listen to what your brain is telling you and slow down a bit and focus on technique, switching baits around like that will only make you lose confidence in those baits, right now confidence is going to be a number one priority, me personally I like the twin tail hula grub in salt and pepper rigged up on a 1/4 oz black ball head, usually a killer confidence bait, but it all depends on location for any bait to become a confidence bait. Take your time and work the crap out of one lure with different speeds and use small movements right now would be my suggestion, unless you get somewhere that the fish are chasing down a bunch of shad, but start building your confidence with one bait before you start switching around and learn as much as you can from that bait ok. Good luck and be safe !!!

Welcome to the forum Tartan, your making good progress and already sounds like you are learning a lot, nice job guy's helping him out !!!!

Topo maps are a great addition to where you want to locate some good places to fish, but they are not the only thing that should be included in your map studies, lots of really good info has already been given, so I would like to add by suggesting going to your local impoundment and looking for airel maps of the lake before it was a lake, lots of good info can be gathered from resources like these and talking to the locals about how to fish the lake, speaking with the local game and fisheries dept. can also be another valuable resource for study, the info they can give on bait fish stocked and aquatic plants and the over all health of different areas is important. Most of the lakes I fish are man made impoundments, one being a Nuke Plant lake, as WRB stated about current, it too has a lot to do with how I fish a determined spot, especially when the Nuke Plant has all of their pumps running, the lake has a reverse flow on the lower 1/3. As for what I like to look for on maps are also channels that lead back for incoming fresh water supply, original creeks that feed the lake, then I usually work my way out from there looking for the same as others have posted.

Part of the trick to slowing down is knowing when to slow down, just like your professional over run you encountered, it's time and experimentation, when your burning a crank and the fish are active, they will let you know when they are done chasing after baits, then it's time to be mindful as Paul said it best I think, you must understand your surroundings and what the fish are telling you, we as anglers are always and forever searching out the more aggressive bass leaving the unlearned deeper waters alone and most often not even giving them a second thought, when you slow down and start to understand the approach one must take to fish his or her own waters more effectivly, then will you understand why we slow down, not just in presentations am I speaking of either. Paul, I am in many ways a codger, my body says I am old but my spirit will not allow me to be old and enjoy it LOL !!