dulouz

This morning I was fishing a shallow rocky shoreline, just drifting with the river's current, when I snagged a 10lb carp in the back with a crank bait. I don't have a net because I lip bass in and use a lip gripper for pike and catfish. It was all I could do to get the carp to the boat, let alone get it IN the boat. All the while trying to stay out of the rocks. I eventually got it to where I could grab the crankbait itself and lift the cow into the boat. Needless to say, I will be getting net soon.

I got brave and took the reel apart and found that a spring was mis-shaped, so I tried to bend it and it broke. I located a reel service that does warranty repair for Cabela's reels in Iowa and he said that the spring was the problem. Hopefully I will remember how to put it all back together once I get the replacement.

I have been experiencing some of the same frustrations, and have a trailer that is a similar style as yours except it has no side bunks. I have been experimenting with how far I put the trailer in. I am leaning towards having less of the bunks in the water, which results in less swinging in the stern but requires me to walk further out the tongue to attach the winch strap. Best of luck.

I hate shaving! I have a goatee and long sideburns so there is very little I have to shave. Generally I don't shave on the weekends, or any other day when I am not at work.

I fish in a river a lot, and the USGS has a website that has lots of realtime info. There is a station upstream that takes temp readings every hour. I study this in the fall and spring to get an idea of what the temp is doing. Maybe there is something like that near you.

With this particular reel the switch re-engages the spool, so you don't have to turn the handle.

I have a Cabela's Tournament ZX flippin' switch baitcaster and the thumb bar doesn't click when I depress it, and it just comes back up. The reel still functions if you hold the bar down, and isn't a big deal since it is my backup. Is this something that I could possibly fix on my own? One time I saw a couple reels at a garage sale that had a switch that made the reel do this on purpose. Why would that be an advantage?

I am a perfect example of what you are saying. I am new to boating and do my best to take care of my boat, but mistakes happen and I would feel much worse if I made these mistakes in an expensive boat.

I could be wrong, but I think there was an article by Iaconelli on this in Bassmaster a while back.

There are a few of those types of waters around where I live I and used to think there was nothing but carp and catfish in there until someone I know caught a 31" Northern there. Since then I have spent a lot of time fishing there and have caught Northerns, walleye, largemouth, and crappie. Basically anything that is in the river.

I stumbled on a great deal of a boat for my first rig. It is a 12' aluminum v, with a 6hp johnson and trailer. I put a 50lb thrust trolling motor on it. I fish a medium sized river mostly, and a few small lakes with restrictions. It is perfect for me to go out and fish from. Someday I would like a bigger boat, I am thinking 16' jon with a 25hp, but right now what I have is just fine.

Do you buy a spool of floro, or is there special stuff that is designed for leaders?

I'm in Iowa and it was 100 degrees on Friday. Yesterday I went out first thing and it was in the lower to mid 40's and I had a stocking cap and hand warmers. What a crazy change...

It's funny you should mention that... after the first time I tried it out it sat in my garage and I thought I saw some water dripping from the hull. I thought it was odd and didn't know why it would be doing that. There is a round trap door about six inches in diameter on the deck a foot or so behind the consoles. In that door is some valves for the livewell. I looked for water, but didn't realize the valves are on a plate and not the hull. I kept checking for water but didn't see any until this weekend the water was almost up to the plate. I will do some investigating now I know there is a problem. I warned my father in law not to buy the boat without going out on the water with the owner. Needless to say he didn't listen. Thanks for the advice.

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My father in law purchased an Aluminum Deep V, Lund 1984 Lund Tyee 4.9. He is not a boater or fisherman, I don't know why he bought it but that is beside the point. So we were out crusing this weekend and I noticed water in the back of the boat where the battery and gas tanks are, so I ran the bilge pump. I checked every thirty minutes or so, and it pumped out what I seemed a significant amount of water each time. I am not used to operating a boat like this, so I don't know what is normal. Is it taking on too much water? And yes, the drain plug is in.

I really like the design, but my boat is quite small and doesn't have room for all that. Thanks for sharing.

I will sometimes fish from a paddle boat as well...

I had bought some clips that are designed for hanging yard tools, in hopes to clip over the foam to keep it on the boat. The clips turned out to be too small to fit over the foam, but they fit perfectly on the boat so I am going to try glueing the foam to the clips. If that doesn't work, I will just tie them down in the boat when I am in transit and put them on when I get there. I just thought it would be one less thing to get ready when I am at the ramp. I figured they will get pretty tore up, so that's why I didn't want to glue them to the boat. Thanks for the advice.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I want the line to pull out a bit to act like mono when it stretches. I only do this on cranks.

I picked some up today and they are perfect. I was wondering if there is a way to attatch them to the boat that would keep them on while trailering, yet let me replace them when they get worn out? Some sort of light adheasive, or possibly drilling tiny holes and zip tying them on (it's an idea I'm not crazy about)?

That is a great idea! I was thinking more of a rod rack of some sort, but I am going to get some of those. Thank you very much. If anyone has any more ideas, please post them.

I use it for everything except on my catfishing rig. As for cranks, I loosen up the drag a bit so it "stretches".

You could also try texas rigged twisters and tubes when there is a lot of vegitation. You can also drag them across the top of the slop or toss them into open pockets. Work your way around the pond, casting paralell to the shore and focus on any irregularities in the shore line. You could also add some structure to the pond yourself, if the owner is ok with it. You might also think about finding something to get you out on the water. I just bought a small boat that is just enough to get out on the water. I have a friend with one of those molded bass buddy boats, another has an inflatable raft. Then there is canoes, kayaks, etc. You don't have to spend a lot to get on the water.

I have been trying to figure out some way to keep my rods safe and secure in my 12' aluminum V boat. I would appreciate seeing pics of what you have made or altered to hold your rods. Thanks.