VekolBass

Jim, I live just south of DC, and work at Ft. Belvior. I fish the Potomac on a fairly regular basis (unless it's windy--it's a small boat.) If you are in town in the future and want to wet a line let me know and we'll go. Jon

Well, if you have eliminated power and the transponder as problems then the only other possible links are cabling and the head end. If it is the headend you maybe out of luck as the unit is 13 years old. It's doubtful that repairing the unit is possible, even if it did make sense financially.

Before you do anything you have to answer your own questions. What do you really want, and what can you live without. When I bought my boat last year I made some decisions. Like you, I'm budget conscious. I wanted a boat for around 10k--less if I can do it (remember that you are going to spend at least an additional $1000 for things like trolling motors, batteries, sonar, rod holders, anchors, etc...) So here was my list: 1. Space (more the better) 2. Durability. I fish rivers often. They are often shallow, and there is a lot of stuff down there. 3. Interior layout. I wanted front and rear casting decks and a console--a tiller just wasn't going to cut it. Then I listed things I was willing to live without to reduce the cost: 1. Engine power. The boat I bought has a 25hp engine on it that pushes me along at 30mph. That't plenty fast for me--particularly if you don't fish tournaments. 2. Looks. I can live without 'em. Also reduces the cost/time spent on maintenance. The boat was not going to have covered storage, and it snows here in the winter. Ever see a fiberglass boat that has been exposed to the elements for 5 years. Not pretty. I opted of a Tracker Grizzly 1754SC jon boat. It was under 10k, after all the add-on that needed to be made. It met all of the requirements, and I've been satisfied so far. My only complaint, and I knew this when I bought it, is that it does not handle rough water. If I ever upgrade, it will be for a boat that can handle big water safely.

"In the CA Delta, a bass fishing mecca, I like to fish incoming or outgoing tide right along the tules or rip rap and over grass beds. " Fishing over grass is key in the tidal Potomac as well. I would think the James and Chick are somewhat similar, although I haven't fished those waters (yet). Today my son and I did good on fishing the transition zone between the sand bottom and the grass beds, where the vegetation is sparser and there is more water between them and the surface.

I'm not an expert in fishing tidal waters, but since moving to Northern VA I've spent a lot of time and thought, as well as research on the subject. I fish the Rappahannock and the creek arms of the Potomac. Sometimes I'll fish the main river if the wind isn't too gusty. The posts above are correct answers, but it is a little more complicated in that you want to fish different places on the river depending on tide stage. Following are my observations from the last nine months fishing tidal water at least twice a month. First, as the tide is rising you'll note that current in the river generally does not reverse course unless you are fairly close to the mouth of the river. The current generally slows, sometimes almost to a halt, as the tidal influence has its effect. I can't prove it, but I'll bet there is also a differential between what is observed at the surface, and what is happening 10, 20, 30 foot under the surface. There may be particular times at particular places where the surface is still, but the subsurface water is moving at a faster speed. At any rate, when the tide is rising the fish are more likely to spread out and search for prey, as they do not need to shelter themselves from the current as they will during the falling tide. Also, as the shoreline fills with water they are likely to be close to the bank either looking for critters caught by the rising water, or drawn to baitfish that are looking for critters caught by the rising water. This is also a good time to fish any weed beds where the high tide surpasses the height of the weeds by a foot or two. Immediately after high tide, as the tide begins receeding, I have consistently noted a significant increase in surface fish activity. These are not necessarily, and in most cases are not, bass--but catfish, gar, shad or herring--but it does tell you that this is a good time to have a lure in the water. You will note that the current will pick up substantially--bass will respond by positioning themselves in areas that are sheltered from the current, but will be in a position to ambush prey that is swept by in the current. I've personnaly had a lot of luck near pilings, but I'll bet that any object that obstructs the current will do.

I've had two catfish caught in my boat on spinnerbaits in the past two months, one by me and one by my son. I've caught dozens on small crappie jigs, and a few on crankbaits. White catfish seem to really go for lures.

I think it requires patience to find a used boat. Being in a hurry often means getting scr**ed. You might want to try doing a Google Search for Used Boats. I did that before I wrote this just to make sure I wasn't directing you down a dry hole. I ran a search for a boat that somewhat matched your criteria on one of the sites, but unfortunately only got one hit for a 95 Nitro in Virginia. You might want to try it for other states as well. You also might want to check out previous threads on this site regarding do's and don'ts for used boat buying. Good Luck.

My usual outing is to get on the water by 5:30-6:00 AM and stay for at least 8 hours or until the pleasure boaters wake up and get busy, which is often around noon. Alternately I'll get on the water around 3PM and stay until dark or a little later. In the winter it is generally dawn till dusk.

My most hated ramp scenario is when bank fishermen fish from the courtesy dock in such a way as to block access to the ramp. I don't even get real uptight if they are there and fishing away from the ramp--having been a bank fisherman I understand that Virginia is tough in gaining shorline access. But these dumb*** people who have eight lines spread out, half of which are right in the way are one of the reasons I don't carry a firearm with me.

Threads like this amaze me, how a group of individuals can have such widely differing experiences doing the same basic thing with the same stuff. But it is what it is. The spinnerbait is my "go to" bait in any shallow water situation. I like cranks for deeper water. Soft plastics, including jigs, are my problem. I've spent hours trying to figure out whether a given sensation is a fish or not. This past March I swore I'd hooked a large fish with a jig--only to come up with a tree branch. Just ask Drums--he witnessed it. Felt like a fool. I'm not giving up though, I still spend at least an hour on each hour dragging a worm through every conceivable type of underwater habitat. I do think I've figured out what a bluegill feels like when he pecks at the bait. I have to learn, my favorite fishing water is getting weedier by the day, soon I'll be spending all my time cleaning crud off of my spinnerbaits

When I lived in Tucson AZ it used to take me about 1 1/2 hour to get to any real fishing. 2-4 Hours to get to good fishing. Now that I live in Virginia, about 40 miles south of D.C. I'm in fishing heaven. The nearest lake is 20 min. from my front door. I can fish for any species, except trout, within an hour from my house--and any species except for truly cold water stuff like salmon or grayling within 2 hours from my house, to include salt water. Some day when they build a boat ramp at the new state park on the Potomac river about 5 minutes from my house it will be even better.

My goal is to learn something everytime I go out. It doesn't necessarily have to do with catching fish either. Finding some new piece of unusual submerged structure or bottom contour even gets me kind of excited because I figure it will hold bass at some time in the future--even if I don't see them on the graph. Having fun is not really a goal because I always have fun when I'm out fishing--even if something bad happens.

Ben, I took the prop off and there were no weeds or line under it, but there was what looked to be traces of lubricant. I had some line wrapped around it several months ago and removed it, and it ran fine after that--but it may have done some damage to the seal that I was unaware of. I changed the LU lub this morning and there was very little that drained into the pan, and what there was had a cloudy appearance to it--so it looks like I'm off to the dealer to have it looked at. Thanks for the advice--at least I won't sound stupid when I get to the dealer.

I've got a Mercury 25EL that is less than a year old. Today I was on the Potomac river, and the engine was running fine in the morning. On the return trip when I would advance the throttle to a point somewhat above 10 MPH (get on plane) the thrust would quit and the engine speed rpm's increased greatly. When I got the boat home, I noticed a greenish oily slime on the prop (some kind of lubricant--perhaps lower unit lube?) Coincidentally, it was really weedy where I was fishing. When the problem first arose we stopped the engine, pulled it up, and removed some weeds that had wrapped themselves around the lower unit. Is this as bad as it sounds? Any ideas would be appreciated.

You probably did the right thing by not confronting the guy. As regards informing the post authorities, I think that could go either way really. A funny story about the ponds on Ft. Huachuca. I was doing training there back in the mid eighties, and the Army had developed a new PFD that they wanted to test. They requested volunteers from the students to put on the PFD, get in a helicopter, and jump into one of the ponds (I think it is one by the golf course) to test the device. After getting a raft from my buddies, I decided to volunteer for the test. My wife, girlfriend at the time, thought the idea was stupid. At the last minute they canceled the demonstration. Seems that someone discovered that there are a bunch of dead mesquite trees just beneath the surface. I still have visions of ten or so second lieutenants impaled like coctail olives floating in the golf course pond with a grandstand on VIPs and probably media looking on. Kind of funny--kind of not.

To add to what Ouchita said, keep the clutter in your boat to a minimum. You don't need a bunch of rods and stuff lying around to trip you up and make noise.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll probably experiment with moving the axle up perhaps 1" sometime in the near future.

Ben, My boat is an aluminum jon. Can you see any similar problems with that material?

I've got a Trailstar boat trailer for my 17' Grizzly jon boat. The tongue weight seems to me to be excessive--at least 150lbs, and maybe more with the trolling motor battery in the locker. It would make sense to me to move the axle forward on the trailer a couple of feet to change the balance point and decrease tongue weight to something reasonable--say 75-100lb without the battery. It looks like a fairly simple operation. It would also help launch/retrieve the boat from short ramps. Any thoughts or tips on doing this?

You keep your battery charger on the front porch, in front of the door, at all times.

I used to have a hand control. When I got a new boat I bought a foot control. At first I didn't like it, and the main reason is the bulky cable running in a loop to the head of the trolling motor. If you do decide to go with a foot control I highly recommend one with a wireless remote, particularly if your front casting deck is rather small. I also think that it would pay dividends to try and check out several different makes/models to see what the ergonomics are like. I've got a Motor Guide, and frankly don't care for it at all.

Looks great. You might want to check out the wheel bearings too, if you haven't already.

You're going to up against the Sierra Club and similiar enviro-Nazis who have a lot of money to throw around. Good luck--but you're probably going to lose.

On my finder (a Humminbird WideOptic) it happens when I exceed 10mph. I think that the transducer, which is mounted on a hinge, gets pushed up by the force of the water. I also loose all depiction of the bottom while this is going on. When I drop back below 10 mph everything returns to normal.

At first I read this post in disbelief--never caught anything on a spinnerbait? They are one of my go to baits. Then I started thinking. I won't say I've never caught anything on soft plastics, but I've caught very little with them. Yet I know that most fishermen swear by them. So I guess it just goes to show what having confidence in a bait can do for you.