FisinCrazee

I have base ball "bat wrap" on seven of my rods and love it. Bat wrap is a little bulkier than some other wraps but also is more comfortable. I have large hands but like a small rod handle. Before I wrap, I take course sandpaper to the cork and work it down to "same" shape but a much smaller diameter. Also, on some cork handles a filler is used to make them 'pretty'. I have a couple of these and when I had to replace the wrap after a couple years of use, some of the filler was pulled out by the wrap adhesive. This is not a big thing unless you decide to remove the wrap for good; then you need to replace the filler for looks. Bob

BPS also has their Pro Qualifier BCR on sale for $79.97 and is worth taking a look at. Has a couple of good features and seem to be a good reel. I have both ABU and Shimano reels and use the Pro Qualifier equally.

Scorpion 'short arm' 1/4 oz spinner bait in both white and chartreuse. They were just dynamite on the tidal rivers here in Southeast Virginia. Have three or four but will not use and take chance losing to toothy critters. Really do miss them as they were one of two of my main baits on the Chickahominy River. Bob

Geezz. Nothing but a bunch of kids on here. 75 and charging - as soon as I get this hip replacement healed. ha ha Bob

Geezz. Nothing but a bunch of kids on here. 75 and charging - as soon as I get this hip replacement healed. ha ha Bob

Geezz. Nothing but a bunch of kids on here. 75 and charging - as soon as I get this hip replacement healed. ha ha Bob

Congratulations Wayne. Very nice article and enjoyed all the informational input from you. Bob

Hammy. I have a 2004 Tracker Pro 165. When I first got it I had a mysterious leak when I ran/moved boat with the gas motor but not when I used just the electric motor on an electric motor only water. I would get a couple gallons or more water. Long story short, I found that the small plastic tubing going to the speedo was bad. The Electric motor just did not move boat fast enough for water to back up into the speedo tube, therefore, no water. Tracker replaced the small plastic tubing; leak gone. Try running the boat while sealing off the inlet hole of the speedo or just take and tie pick-up up out of the water. Just a thought. Bob

Get the long ones. As stated above, if the ramp is steep, the boat WILL have a tendency to float out over the short guide-ons causing much problems when trying to pull trailer/boat out of water. I fish alone and these side bunks have been a real winner for me. I purchased the ones that BPS sells. Galvanized, very strong. Have had them for 5.5 years and no problems whatsoever. Think they are on sale now for around $99. If you launch/retrieve ANY in wind and tidal/river currents, you will look at this as money well spent. Bob

Thanks Glen. Good information. I have just sent an e-mail to all appropriate elected officials from the President down thru the Virginia officials at the BoatUS.com/gov site listed at the end of your post. I urge all readers of your post to follow suit please. Bob

SCBM. If you have a speedo speed indicator on your boat, check the plastic hose. It will develop a hole or crack and only put water in boat when running under power of big engine. Dry on electric or slow speed of gas engine as there is really not any noticeable pressure. Been there, had that. Was getting several gallons of water each trip. Changed hose, problem gone. It is a dog to find. Hope this has helped you or someone else. Bob

Logger. REf Marty's #5 reply above. (Good Show Marty) I am redfaced. :-[ I had intended to put comments in concerning that but was in a hurry for an appointment. As Marty states, use only 50 yards of braid; that stuff is way too expensive to fill a whole spool with it and it sure won't wear out any time soon to where you have to cut back. I do the old 1, 2. 3 bit.\\ I walk off 50 yards of braid, cut at braid spool, loosely connect braid to spool with a piece of tape and wind onto spool. Connect whatever backing you are using (good place for old line) with Uni knots and continue winding until you hit that majical 1/8 inch from spool lip and then cut the backing. (Braid is not memory prone so you can go a little closer to spool lip; I do.) Now the walk starts to take this backing/braid off for the reversal. Walk it off around some posts (car antennas work excellent) until you are able to remove from spool. Now use the standard knot (can't remember the name of it) and connect backing to spool and wind on backing/braid. (Wind back thru a rag moistened by some of that line conditioner-you know the one. Yes, the braid too. This also cleans from the reversal.) You now have a perfectly filled spool with backing underneath connected to spool and the braid on top with the proper clearance from lip. Saves a lot of guess work and snipping. This is a little windy but there is only one way to say it. lol Tight Lines. Bob

Logger. I have three Shimano S/reels; 1000, 1500, and 2500. As these reels come with two spools, I spool one up with braid and one with mono or flour. I have 10#, 15# and 20# Powerpro in both green and yellow at the moment. There are a couple of other good brands out there. Always start spooling with a few feet of mono and then join braid to mono with a couple of uni knots. If you do not, the braid will slip on the spool and you will have less drag. Folks not in the know would think their drags were slipping when in fact the braid is slipping around the spool. I think you would like braid. Kind of eliminates a lot of the twisting problems and the size is so much smaller than the mono for equal poundage. I think my 10# braid is equal to 2# mono diameter wise. I do use a F/carbon leader in a lot of cases. I love finesse and ultra-light fishing. Hope this helps in your decision. Bob

Wind, tide, and boating by myself most of the time is why I went to Bass Pro Shops and purchased their 5' Bunk Board Guide-on Kit. A good wind and tide together really made it hard for one person to either launch or to recover my boat which is the same make/size as yours. Worth looking into if you want to keep all your hair; I lost some of mine before I got the guide-ons. Bob

Check with Tracker Marine at BPS. Without going out in the cold tonight, that appears to be the male plug that is on the Motor Guide of my Tracker 165 and the Tracker Marine that I purchased my boat from carries both the male and the female as I have purchased a set to outfit another M/G as a backup. This plug is used for the 12V or 24V connection, only two wires and they look to be in the correct placement with the insertion channel there on the top - will only go in one way. As stated ealier, they are cheap; believe less than $10 each. I would classify your picture as the male and the female is installed in the front plate of the casting deck. Just too dark and cold to go undo the boat cover to really check this out for you but it is worth a check. Hope you read this in time and that it helps. Bob

Glue a small piece of plexiglass where you would like to have the transducer. The plexiglass is very smooth and will hold the suction cup almost indefinitely if the rubber cup does not have cracks or rough edges. This will allow you to put the transducer almost anywhere. I have mine on the side up by the front 'full' seat with the portable depth sounder sitting on the front half seat. You do not say but if you are using a gasoline motor, then you would have to remove before heading across the lake but the system is very portable. Bob

I have two 7' medium Pro Qual baitcasters and love them. Have a Curado Green 100B on one and a ABU Revo SX on the other, both spooled with 12# XL. They are very sensitive. Using a 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap on one and a Norman Baby N on the other. Have caught a loooot of bass in the last three weeks with these setups. The rods with these setups cast a country mile and are extremely accurate. Accuracy equal to a 5'6" or 6' pistol grip rod (or better). Also, the Fishing Department personnel at the BPS in Hampton VA told me last week that a NEW Pro Qualifier line should come out in Dec or Jan. It is supposed to have a slimmer (?) reel seat and the cork fore grip will be eliminated. They said it probably would retail $10 to $20 higher which would put it in the $130 - $140 range. This was just general chatting with the guys so have no other proof. Bob

As of 11:00 A.M. this morning, the Hampton VA store had 3 of the 7 ft Medium Baitcasters left. I purchased one so there were 2 left as of noon. Also had a couple of MHs in, I believe, 6'6". Needed that 7' as all of my B/Cs are MHs. The Pro Qualifier is a lighter action Medium than the "Woo Davies" Extreme Medium (hope that makes sense/lol). The Pro Qual is a nice rod at a very reasonable sale price. Bob

Larry. I purchased the off-set for the same purpose you are looking at. I have a Tracker Pro 165 which has a somewhat small front deck and was looking to move seat back by installing another base plate further back or trying the off-set. I also, due to age and weary bones, do most of my fishing sitting - besides, I just like to fish sitting down. Just the way I have done it all my life. On the off-set post, I like it and feel it was money well spent. It does move me back 5 inches in WHATEVER direction/position that I want the seat to be located and you CAN tell the difference. With that said, if you do purchase the post, watch it when you are using the seat as a leaning platform while standing, dismounting/mounting, etc. With the straight post, the seat is rigid and you have instant support. With the off-set, if it is revolved toward you and you lean into it, it will instantly spin to the other side which is a movement of 10 inches and this will sure throw you if you are the least bit off balance. Just one of the things that you have to train yourself about and get used to. I forget every once in a while and it gets a little dicey if I am close to the edge of boat; one of the reasons I wear my sospenders all the time-haven't went over yet. lol That and I fish mostly by myself and just feel that it is a good safety practice. Hope this helps with your decision, which ever way you go. Bob

Uniknot 100%; line to line, line to lure, line to hook. All lines. Have not had this knot break from cutting or fatique. As stated before, retie often. Bob

CT Try TackleTour.com. Go to their Maintenance and Upgrade Articles. May not find your exact reel but there are some good articles on breaking down some of the more popular reels. That should be a start. Hope this helps. Bob

Welcome. With that said, pls let me disagree with you on your very first sentence. There are a lot of us folks that care. Lots of good, friendly, and knowledgeable folks on here. It is always nice to read that a person has purchased a fishing vessel and returned to the game of 'fishing'. Sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that caused you to leave fishing in the first place. Welcome back. Bob

I'll add another good bet. A gold 3/8 oz Chatterbait style lure; a white/chart. skirt with 4 or 5 strands of light blue; a white Super Fluke trailer. Retrieve medium slow; hit stumps. Bad about hanging up but the results can be very rewarding. Worth the effort of having to unhang a lure every once in a while. Be good lure for your muddy/stained water. That Super Fluke increases the body bulk nicely. Bob

You may have a trailer tire that takes a set when it has been sitting for some time. After you have towed for that couple of miles, the tire will smooth out and run nice and round; make a stop of a few hours and you are right back with the same set and vibration This happens to a lot of car/truck tires in cold weather. You get a bad shimmy/vibration until the tire has been run for a distance and kind of warms up. Just a thought. Bob

If you want to fish half a day and run the trolling motor the other half, then you buy the hand controlled TM. With any wind, you won't fish any hardly, mostly run the T/M. If you want to FISH ALL DAY, then you buy the foot controlled one. (Your foot will then run the TM all day.) I have foot controlls on two bass boats. I also have a 12 foot alum pram that I mount a hand control on the side of near where I sit. I do fish some with this but it absolutely drives me nuts if there is any wind; talk about heart burn. lol Bob