dulouz

I have been out fishing in some lakes fed by a local river that are full of many species and have seen similar things. The carp just swim around slowly eating whatever it is they eat. Sometimes something will bust the surface, or shoot vertically out of the water like a misile. Those, I think, are northen pikes. They will hit on most anything. I don't know what you would use to catch carp. I have only caught a couple of carp on worms and that was probably an accident on the fish's part.

My friend looked at it and that sounds like the problem. Every time I started it the primer bulb was empty. After further inspection he found the hose was leaking where it attaches to the tank. Phew.. simple thing to fix.

Today I borrowed a freind's 1970ish 6hp Johnson. He said he had a bit of trouble with it this spring so he cleaned the carb, put new spark plugs in, and changed the fuel line. He had it out the other day and said it was running great, he even called me so I could hear it. So I tried it today and it kept dying on me. I tried different lean/rich settings, and also ran it idled and wide open. None of which made a difference. Just before it would die the rpms would go up. Sometimes if I throttled down I could keep it going. I could usually get it going after I choked and primed it. I did have to mix up some gas before I hit the water and I am wondering if I did something wrong. I mixed it 50:1, 3oz of oil per gallong of gas as stated by the instructions on the oil. One reason I think it is me is that I had a 1962 sea king I was trying to fix up and it was doing the same thing. Help!

I don't know why everyone wants to be a rock star. I am a musician and have spent some time on the road, and it has it's ups and downs. Besides, look at how screwed up a lot of them are. I am happy being unknown outside of my city...

I am not tournament fishing, but would like to keep some panfish and walleyes for eating. For those of you with small boats, what do you do?

I got out and tried my new motor yesterday, and man that 50lb makes wake on my little boat even with my wife and two kids. I know it is big for my 12' but I can use it on a bigger boat later on.

I have two questions, the first being: How long should an anchor rope be? I am fixing up an old aluminum 12' V, and will use it to fish a couple of local lakes and river. I don't know the exact depths, but I cant imagine I would actually be fishing in anything more than 20' of water. Is it really necessary to buy 100' of rope for that depth? Wouldn't 50' do fine? My second question is this: My old aluminum V has no drain. Is it possible to have one put in, or would that be too compromising to the boat? Right now it is outside sitting upside down, but soon it will be on a trailer. I will cover it, but I am sure water will still manage to leak in. Your suggestions are much appreciated, thank you.

I ended up getting the 50lb Prowler that was on sale for $159. That was the most power I could afford.

I was looking at the BPS Prowler 30lb thrust trolling motors for my 12' aluminum v boat. I want to know if they are any good, or should I spend the extra $15 and get the Minn Kota Endura? I am trying to keep my costs down as much as I can...

I was wandering around Dick's the other day and picked up a couple of baitcaster combos and a few of them had switches that made the thumb bar automatically re-engage. I am not looking to buy one, but was curious what the purpose of this function would be. Seems to me like one more thing to go wrong...

I am planning on adding a floor to my new aluminum boat and need some suggestions. I have a general idea of what to do, but I am looking for tips to make it go easier. I was thinking of some sort of foam under a board covered in carpet. What type of foam/styrofoam, and where to get it? Treated wood or not, and how thick? How to attatch everything together? Thanks.

Wow, I didn't realize there was so much variation. I talked to a marina in Wisconsin, they don't require titles. The guy thought that it was a hassel that Iowa does and told me that 90% of Iowa's boat trailers were falsely registered as home made. Who knows if that is accurate.

I have been looking for used trailers on craigslist and there are a lot out there that have expired registrations and they all say to register it as home made? Is this something they are saying just to sell it, or is it something that is a viable solution?

I never thought of following the directions... :)If I had read the label on my motor I would have saved half a days worth or searching the internet trying to find the right gas/oil ratio.

I am in the same situation you are in, except on a much smaller scale. I might offer some advice, don't jump to quick. Every boat I have looked at has been "the perfect boat", but then I wait and sleep on it and stumble on another "perfect boat". Someone told me "Unless you do a lot of research, you will buy two wrong boats before you buy the right one". I am just looking at every boat I can just to get an idea of what I might want, and what is reasonable price-wise. Best of luck.

I have never caught a pickerel, but that sure looks a lot like the northerns I catch in river backwater.

I am new to boating, and have a friend helping me fix up an old motor and he put seafoam in it to help it run better. How often do you use it and how much to you put in?

My search has taken a bizare turn... after consulting my wife and bank account I put things on hold, that is until my wife's uncle overheard me talking about boats. He said he had an old 13' boat in a shed, one he had never used. It is a 1960's Seamaid with a 1962 Sea King 3hp. I am working with a friend to get the motor running right, and hopefully can pick the rig up for around $200 or less. No trailer, but I can haul it in my truck until I find something. Thanks everyone for the help.

My intention is actually for northern pike. I fish some backwater of a river and it is filled with small to medium size northerns. Those things are so skinny and slimy I can barely get a hold of 'em. This weekend I caught one and grabbed the leader and it broke, letting the fish go with a brand new bandit 100 in red craw (which none of the stores around her thinks is worth stocking.)

I was thinking of getting one of those fish grabber things and was wondering if the BPS label ones were any good. There are various models, the cheapest is just a grabber. Is the more expensive one any better, or is it just because of the scale?

I sincerely apologize for the redundancy, it won't happen again. I must have forgot that I had posted something similar already.

I painted the blades on one of my spinnerbaits black using testors enamel. The blade was nickel and I put two coats on, but after a couple of hours a significant amount of it wore off. What can I do to make it last longer?

I just use warm water and dishsoap. Magic Earasers are abrasive and I would be worried about the long term effect on the cork.

I am getting close to buying a used jon boat. I found one that is the size I want and has a motor in hp range I need. I don't know anything about boats, so what can you tell me to help me out so I don't get ripped off?

I frequently go fishing for northern pike and use a 6" 12lb wire leader and I was wondering if I could just use it on my bass rigs too. I have heard of people using snaps so you don't have to retie, which this would have. It would also help with abrasion resistence on braid. It would work on jigs, spinnerbaits, and cranks. Obviously there would be a problem for t-rig with a bullet weight and similar type rigs. What do you guys think?