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Don't know which model you have. I spent half that much on my Schumacher electronic and have been pretty pleased. Off course, I've still got my old 10a model that's around 15+ years old that I also use.

He still acts as excited as a 9 year old catching his first fish everytime he catches one. Yeah, I'd say Bill really loves to fish. ;D

It was a warm summer evening a number of years ago. I looked into the water and saw her. Maybe it was the way the moonlight shined off her scales and made them twinkle just the right way. Or her ruby red gill plates. It could've been the way she flared her dorsal fin, you guys know what I mean... the green of her skin, those eyes staring out on both sides of her head.. that mouth.... her cute, wide tail fin.... I could go on.

You need a new scale. None of those fish are the advertised weight. :

Not sure epic would be the word to use when describing a trip to Missouri, unless of course you were coming during the summer and spending a hot weekend afternoon at LOZ in the infamous party cove.

Why? Unlike a car or truck where the engine is integral to the vehicle, an OB can be taken off when you want to and transferred to a different boat fairly easily. Depends on his finances. If he can't afford a new complete rig now he but can a new OB he could buy the motor and transfer it to another, newer boat down the road when finances allow. Since the OB is the far bigger part of the boat motor equation, as far as mechanical reliability, getting as new a motor as possible isn't such a bad idea.

Saw it on his Facebook page. Good luck Russ, prayers are with you.

I believe that Ted Williams model is an old Daiwa Millionaire round reel in disguise. Nice set of reels you've got there in great shape. The Garcia is in excellent shape and worth $$.

Good point Glen! Gosh, why didn't I think of that? : Not a pick on you Mike, I realize you don't set the criteria on lake selection. This isn't a regional get together where most of the forum members own a bass boat, this forum has many members that would like to attend but are coming from such a distance that towing a boat isn't feasible or they don't own a boat or do own a boat but it's not suitable for fishing on a lake the size of a KY Lake, Gunthersville or Pickwick. Obviously, just assuming that enough boats will show up to satisfy demand isn't working, even using the economy as an excuse. Seems like a plan B needs to be available which there isn't this year. I also don't think that jamming 3 people into a boat for 3 days is the best of options either. I'd hate to be on a nice C-rig bite during the trip and have to fish with 3 people in my 18 1/2 foot boat for the week. Just an opinion, not a jab at you by any means.

I know what you mean about the friction with power pro. Since I started using it a few years ago I've grown my biceps into 20" Pythons just from cranking with that stuff all season.

Hopefully, fishing boat rental availability will be towards the top of the list of requirements for future Road Trips and conference facilities and catering availability will move much further down the list. When you have as many coming in via plane or driving in from northern states that are boatless, it would seem prudent to make sure that having the ability to rent a fishing boat (ie, a boat with a decent size motor AND a trolling motor) would be a no-brainer.

Another tip I've always used is to throw the tow vehicle into neutral once the trailer begins descending down the ramp. The trailer is less likely to jackknife off to the left or right if the boat is pulling the vehicle down the hill vs the tow vehicle in reverse pushing it.

Burley suffers a mass de-friending at Facebook. Sorry to hear.

?? I fished those for years before all these "refined" reels were around and was not only able to pitch or flip but also throw lightweight baits with them. Try again.

Driving while intoxicated to Wal mart? No, not funny at all.

I consider myself a master angler. ;D

Auto bilge pump switches can be on the pump itself, built in or a separate switch. If it's separate you'll see the Float assy in the bilge area someplace. If the choice is there, I'd hook the auto switch straight to the battery but also have a second line hooked to the bilge pump switch on the dash as an override. As for size? Get as big as will fit in the area for the pump. If you ever need it in an emergency you'll kick yourself for scrimping the few bucks difference between a 500gph vs a 750 or 1000.

I believe needemp has in the past. From what I recall you'd be better off fishing elsewhere.

LOZ is a great dock pattern lake but those fish aren't necessarily your best bet, especially this time of year. To do a dock primer on this lake would take quite a bit of time. I'll provide a few tips as I've been fishing the lake for 35 years. Because of the lake, LOZ docks are a little different than many you'll find on other lakes. They have no pilings. The docks are connected to shore by a gangway, often supported by a rock or concrete pillar midway from the dock and shore. The dock pivots up or down on the gangway. Then cables tied off to anchors in a seawall or along shore hold the rest of the dock on the shore side. Most are often anchored on the outside corner to prevent lateral drift. Most docks on LOZ are worthless for fishing. Things to keep in mind this time of year when looking for docks. 1. Look for docks in the backs of main coves. The fish spawn is coming up and the fish are moving back into the main coves, often staging on secondary points just off housekeeping coves. (pea gravel pockets) 2. Look for docks with the following: Fish cleaning stations, bass or aluminum fishing boats, lights pointed into the water, rod holders on the dock or rods in holders, etc. These are all indications that brush is likely sunk around the dock. You'll want to key on docks with these characteristics AND keeping in mind your seasonal pattern I listed in Number 1. 3. Brush locations. Typically there will be brush directly off the ends of the dock, sometimes in the stalls themselves, along the sides, along the inside edge between shore and the dock and a place often overlooked, in 4-12' of water inbetween docks, usually a lob cast away from the side of the dock. This time of year the fish use the docks differently than they do the rest of the year. As the fish are migrating back into the coves, they will use them as holding and staging areas. As the spawn kicks in, you'll often find the fish building nests inbetween the shore and dock, usually around the gangway pillar or around brush planted on the shore side. Honestly, at this time of year with the fish in a movement phase to the spawn and water temps around 50 degrees (as of 3/31), I'd be gearing myself towards fishing chunk rock secondary points in the backs of the main coves. You might be able to still pick up some fish on a jerkbait but the primary bite will be moving towards spinnerbaits and crankbaits. LOZ tends to be a greenish bait type lake so crankbaits with some green in them work great. Wiggle warts are particularly effective this time of year there. Their Craw green color is very close to matching the hatch of the craws in the lake. Pay particular attention to those brushpiles inbetween the docks out in 4-8 feet of water. Those are often holding areas for larger females and a great place to put a jig into. In 3 weeks, you'll be moving into a time when soft plastics come into play. C-rigged baits can be killer. Again, the docks aren't often coming into play like they do the rest of the year. The fish are often moving out away from the docks. You'll definitely want to be keying more towards those pea gravel pockets and coves. Look for docks directly in spawning areas and immediately adjacent to those spawning areas. The fish will often be behind the docks. Getting a lure through the maze of cables can be interesting, getting a hooked fish out can be really tough. The LOZ brushed docks are almost always places to find fish. It's a more reliable pattern other times of the year when the fish are more stationary. As always, dock selection depends completely on the seasonal patterns (location) of the fish. Good luck.

It was formerly a couple old Quarries partially linked together. Most of the banks are very overgrown, steep and inaccessible to shore fishing. The banks also drop off pretty quickly into deep water most of the way around the lake. I've found that if you concentrate on the flat, shallower areas of the lake that have cover you'll find what few bass are there. The boat ramp is very shallow and makes launching even a tin boat tuff. There is no courtesy dock and the water around the ramp is very shallow so tying off after launching is an adventure.

I'm afraid the differences in a 9.9 and the higher HP outboard you would have on your X5 make the switch out unfeasible. I would think a better choice would be one of those Minn Kota 3 motor drive TM units that bolt to the cavitation plate on your existing OB. They kick out 165lbs of thrust and allow you to steer the boat with the OB. You could probably take it on and off a whole lot easier than swapping OB motors and honestly, you wouldn't see that much speed difference between that and a 9.9 on a boat your size. They are pricey though.

While I personally think the SX was the worst of the previous version Revo's, a Revo style reel is about all anyone will really need to bass fish at any level. There is little justification in spending anymore money as the returns don't justify it.

"Refined" tackle? LOL. ;D

http://www.searchtempest.com/

That's the P785. I have one. Love it. You'll think you're using one of those high end rods. I toss shakey heads, spider grubs, tubes, small worms or even senko's with it.