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Our resident guide, George Welcome, fishes out of a flats. Of course he's using it for dual purposes down in FL. Great stable fishing platforms. Good deal!

I went up into the very upper end a little later and was pretty shocked to see just how much that upper end had silted in. I remember walking the bank up above that upper public use area when I was a teen and the water was typically 3 - 5' deep all along the western bank above the use area. When I went up there Saturday I went from that shore almost all the way over to the other bank and it was nothing but one big 2 foot deep flat. I wouldn't be surprised if all that timber that fell into the water is buried in mud. I did find a couple more deep water spots worth exploring on another day.

Where's the livewell at in the boat? Is there a cooler in front of the dash? Is the boat covered while in storage? Is this water problem there anytime you're running or just if it's rough? Have you been able to indentify exactly where under the dash the water is coming from?

Great. : There'll be 50 boats on that one jetty next weekend, all throwing jigs. ;D Way to go Mike. Funny thing is, I never once thought about fishing those Saturday, I had it set in my mind those fish would be up very shallow in the coves or shallow banks around the wood. I was basically going to toss Sluggo's and spinnerbaits all day. So much for that strategy.

Yep, just checked the same places RM did. Contact lews.

A 9? Now we're talking! I've got a few ideas for lakes, a couple over your way and a couple in MO. We'll probably wind up having to vote on this one.

Hopefully CLTodd will get his photo's up soon. Aside from the wind it was a great time. Hopefully we'll be able to think of a location for our next get together.

I've used their French Fry baits for C-rigging before and done well with them.

Some guys out cobia fishing find a monster Mako munching on Flipper They decide to try and catch the thing. They actually hook the beast on a pair of Van Staal spinning reel setups with 30lb line. Then the fun ensues. Mako's, known as voracious fighters, begins pulling the little 23' boat they're on for a ride. The cry goes out... "I think we need a bigger boat!" ;D They wave down a 45 charter, that thing was nearly a foot from water coming in over the side as they attempted to pull the fish in. Quite a story here http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/2793 While this fish could be a WR on 30lb, this stories got as many holes in it as the Weakley bass. There are issues with the use of 2 rods to hook it (snagged sounds more like it) and the flying gaffs being considered a spear (a no-no when it comes to sharks). Apparently the published accounts like the link I got listed and what really happen appear to be a little different.

Sorry to hear that Dan. Have you checked with Dink? Maybe it's still in his boat or truck?

Yikes! Had you been paying attention during any of Roland Martins shows, you'd have known to slather those gams with plenty of sunscreen before you went out!

Most of the lakes around me don't allow fishing from Public use ramps or the courtesy docks. That said, if the use area is known for hosting bass tournaments you may want to try fishing areas away from the ramp and dock if possible. Of all those bass released at T's, some of them hang around afterwards and most T's have an off limits fishing restricition for the area in and around the launch site.

Hmm.. that 168V champ with the 235 sounds like one that's talked about here a few times. I had a 168 with a Yammie ProV150 on it, Propped right, it was a scary ride at WOT. Easily in the mid 70's. BTW, go over to Scream and Fly .com and check out the Jasper river run video. Some awesome high performance boats going very, very fast with some real neck snapping holeshots to boot.

Here are a couple guys that sell rub rails http://www.rubrails.com/ http://www.tacomarine.com/cat--Rub-Rail--rubrail.html

After we passed you ring, I pulled 2 14" shorts off those rocks with a wiggle wart. Tough fishing for sure. Believe it or not, Little Dixie was once a little known big bass hotspot back in the days when the lake was loaded with scads of timber. Somethings up with that lake though, the conservation dept. has put the slot on it to get the fish to get past 15" and it doesn't seem to be working. I was last there 4 years ago in the fall and loaded up on the same size fish we did yesterday. I was thinking then, "man, this lake's gonna be hot in a couple years" Hot, it's not. Except for Mike anyway. ;D

Those 50's are sweet little reels. Would make a great jerk bait reel. Go medium action. at best.

4 reels I heartily endorse for flippin Shimano Castaic. Designed for the job, Instagage works nicely. Pflueger Supreme PSP-1H. Great reel, you can find these on the forums or Ebay. Flippin switch. Solid reel. Garcia 2005LP. I use one of these. Flippin switch. Great for the purpose. Garcia Revo S. No flippin features but the drag is incredible. A flipping reel is used more like a winch than anything. Smoothness of casting isn't a prerequisite. No need to go spending huge dollars on something that's used for holding line and winching fish out of cover.

Depends on the hull design. BTW, take a Vhull and a johnboat of the same width and the Vhull will not be more stable.

I'd go with finding a small human myself. ;D I've used those thru deck, rubber mounting grommets from BPS, just don't hit anything big with the TM while you're cruising along at decent speed. I nearly lost my TM when all but one bolt sheared off after hitting a log cruising on high speed. I've heard many others that have had a similar experience.

What kind of access do you have on the front deck to get to the inside hull side of the bow eye? TM access plate? Front control panel plate?

Welcome to last year. ;D

First things first, all boat trailers and boats are different as to how deep you put them into the water when you're trailering but regardless, I always back in and soak the bunks down then pull back out till I get to that sweet spot. That sweet spot varies depending on the steepness of the ramp. Generally I'm about a foot out from the bow stop when the boat nestles into the bunks. Before giving it gas, look back and make sure the engine is straight. Then, give it gas and drive it into the bow stop.

Actually muddy, I live in a suburb of a big city and those from the country would stll group me in as city folk. I understood the intent of the post that set you off, sort broad brushing IMO but I wouldn't take it personally.

I'm buying some property in Florida several miles inland. Apparently this lower cost land will skyrocket once the polar ice caps melt. I'll have beach front property, hopefully in my lifetime and at a fraction of the cost.

My Power drive's deploy system finally fixed itself after 6 years when it went overboard. Best day of my fishing life.