cart7t

With a Flippin stick, 50lb braid and a plastic worm you've more than got the upper hand. Watch your drag setting on that outfit. As long as you're using good, quality, sharp worm hooks, you should back that drag off with the braid. Once the fish is hooked tighten the drag down some and hauler in. As long as you've stuck the fish in the top of the mouth you shouldn't have any problem steering any large fish around with that outfit.

Here's a googled image of the lake we were fishing. Those whitish dots in the middle of the lake are actually aerator boils. In an effort to boost crappie production, The MO. conservation department installed about 3 punp stations along the bank which pump air through pvc piping out to aerator heads. This allows the lake to maintain a good oxygen level from top to bottom. It also prevents the lake from stratifying in the summer as well. Shad congregate around these boils. I've never had the kind of success that Mike and I had last week fishing those even though the conservation department always says they're good spots in their fishing prospectives. Most of those are in 18 - 28 feet of water.

Mike, I don't know if you saw it on your depthfinder in back but I could clearly see bass suspended off the bottom about 4-5 feet on a couple of those deeper aerators. On a couple occasions when we were just sitting there a fish clearly came up from the bottom into 4-5feet before it disappeared off the screen. Had I thought about it I would have brought the dreaded Hopkins jigging spoon and vertically jigged for those fish down closer to the bottom. I'll probably go back and try that as soon as this broken finger I just got last weekend mends. It's kinda hard to cast right now with one of those metal splints on your casting hand. :-X

Ben, it's summer and you're only working a few hours a week? You could easily be working a second job right now if you wanted a boat that bad. Back in my day... ;D banks weren't foolish enough to loan teens money for a boat even if the parents co-signed. I talked my Dad into loaning me the money I needed which I had to make payments to him. You might try that tact. If you're making any money at all fishing all of that could be going for a boat. I sure wouldn't be trying to talk my Dad into anything like convincing him that he needs to buy something that in reality is more for you than him. Goodluck.

Coast Guard Horsepower Rating System The formula for determining maximum allowable horsepower for outboard powered boats under 20 feet in length and with at least a 20" transom height is: (Lft x Wft x 2) - 90. It is permitted to round UP to the nearest 5 horsepower. The manufacturer may also rate his hull at LESS than the maximum allowable. Tiller or stick steering applications have lower ratings as well. All hulls produced after mid 1978 must also meet the "positive, upright floatation (paraphrase: when filled with water at rated load, the boat will not go down by the stern, nor will it flip and go keel up)" standard. For the full text (heavy reading) of both the Hp and the floatation regs, you may visit the USCG website and view the following: Code of Federal Regulations, 33CFR183. Horsepower examples 17' x 72": (17 x 6 x 2) -90 = 114 Hp 18'10" x 86": (18.83 x 7.17 x 2) -90 = 180 Hp

I'd be slinging a carolina rig as far out there as I could and start working around the lake. If you catch a fish, concentrate on that area, you may have found some sort of deeper water structure. Lots of people toss baits along the bank or 20-30yds out but few get a bait out beyond that point. I'd try a variety of soft plastics on that c-rig.

If it blew the minute you hooked your trailer up to it I'd say you're wasting your time blaming the hitch harness. You've got problems with your trailer wiring. You could have a wire corroded touching ground, a wire cut touching ground or any variety of things. If your trailer is over 5 or more years old you might want to consider rewiring it. It's not hard to do nor expensive.

Indoor/Outdoor carpet like HD sells is unsuitable for a marine applications and especially fishing boats. Insufficient backing and the weave tends to snag hooks like a magnet. You must use marine carpet. Both Cabela's and BPS sell it in kits or by the foot or yard. You can get the glue at HD or Lowes. Try using a spray waterproof contact cement made by 3M for edges. It dries way faster so you're not forced to clamp the carpet edges for hours on end waiting for the glue to dry.

I'm no fish and game agent but generally, I've always understood that if you're catching numerous fish of this size and the lake only has a very small population of large bass the lake is out of balance. Usually the lake will also have a small population of bluegill that are large. You can start by keeping these small bass to eat or tossing them into the woods. A healthy lake will have a good balance of bass in all sizes. The bluegill population should be the same. Only an experienced F&G guy can tell you the best recourse of action, in my state (Missouri) they'll come out to your pond for free and give you advice.

$7k is on the highish side but if the boat checks out overall and is clean, good gelcoat, solid motor, electronics, carpet, seating, trailer I'd hit him with $5800 and go from there. BTW, Stratos makes a very nice, fishable boat that handles real well. If the boat is structurally sound you'd have a hard time finding a better boat.

Before you buy you'll want that engine checked by a mechanic, he'll be able to give you the lowdown on the motor. Floor rot can be found by merely walking around in the boat. If you find mushy spots. the floor is at the very least is rotted but you could also have stringers rotted as well. Check the transom by having a friend put all his weight on the lower unit of the motor and bounce it up and down while you watch the transom for flex. Also, rust colored stains running down the transom eminating from the engine mounting bolts is another tipoff. You can also knock around on the transom. A solid sound is good, hollow sound, not so good. In any case, wood repair in a bassboat is extremely time consuming if you're doing it yourself and requires some knowledge of fiberglass and resin knowledge. The repairs are very expensive if you take it to someone.

The problem was the FICHT engines. As long as it's not one of those you'll be alright. Stratos makes a fine boat. As with any boat of that age, you'll need to check for transom and floor rot.

Macks make great drift fishing bait for sharks.

As ernel stated. Bayliner has been an entry level boat builder for years. Entry level normally means without the bells and whistles and.... unfortunately, often shortcuts in the production process. Most of those B-liner bassboats came with Force outboards. Force used to be Chrysler, was bought out, both B-liner and Force were bought out by the Brunswick corporation (Mercury/Mariner) the Force outboard name was carried for a few more years and finally dropped. Those motors were also entry level. Low tech, somewhat reliable but pigs and gas guzzlers. Finding someone to work on the motor might be an issue. I'd pass on it. As ernel pointed out, a boat constructed of wood but improperly sealed will become a 17 or 18 foot fiberglass covered piece of rotted wood. You'll regret it.

You're asking a question that you'll get a multitude of answers for and none of which will point you in one direction or the other. Almost all of the major brands of fiberglass bassboat builders make a quality product. They wouldn't be in business if they didn't. I could sit here and tell you I'd suggest buying a Champion because the rough water ride is one of the best in the business but there are other boats that also ride well in rough water (not as good as a Champ though ) That's not answering your question though. Whether Aluminum or fiberglass, any boat from the major manufacturers will be of quality and craftsmanship. The rest, ride, fishing performance, storage, deck room, leg room under the consoles, etc, etc is all different. You have to decide what's most important to you, find that boat or boats and then test drive them before you make your final decision. All you'll get here or anywhere else you'll ask is 50 different guys telling you that their brand of boat is the best. ;D

Favorites: T-rigged worm Topwater Buzzbaits Crankbaits Lipless crankbaits Not favorites but I'm very comfortable fishing: C-rig spinnerbaits jig n trailer pitchin flippin lite line fishing senko sluggo's Deep crankin Not comfortable with because I haven't spent enough time fishing: Drop shotting Chatterbait (don't even own one yet but will have to to finish my challenge) swimbaits (don't own one) finally, the technique I can't stand: Verticle jigging with a spoon. (Yes, I own some and have caught fish this way but I hate it)

Just went out with Needemp today. Had a great time even though it was a blistering 95 degrees out. We both caught decent fish. Hope to go back out again with in the future.

Make sure you peg your sinker when fishing those brushpiles, you'll hang up far less often. Not mentioned: I'd start out early in the morning fishing from the bank to the inside edge of the weeds. Cast a floating frog or rat bait, weightless senko or worm onto the bank or the very edge of the cattails and work it out. Be prepared for an instant strike the second the lure hits the water. I would attempt to cast across the body of water, you can easily spook those fish along the bank by your movement. As the morning wears on, start pitching into the thicker cover or work a buzzbait through it.

Darris Allison makes a few

I've always liked Bill. He was the first angler who was able to quit tourney fishing and live strictly off his TV show and endorsements. You don't do that if you don't know how to catch fish or can't educate anglers on how to catch fish. He was probably the guy most responsible for teaching me to fish the T-rigged worm way back when. Great guy, great teacher, his show is informative, a good learning tool and his bloopers videos are a hoot. ;D

Try running dual cable steering cables by yourself! ;D Then mounting a 150hp motor on the back of a boat by yourself!! ;D ;D I feel your pain.

I'd immediately look for incoming water. Look for the clear/murky edge and start throwing a spinnerbait with large colorado blades on it or else a very noisy crankbait. Throw a contrasting color like a firetiger.

I'm going to go with Ben here and agree, that 90 just won't turn that 23p to where you'll ever have any kind of holeshot. Since blazing top end speed isn't a priority, I'd give a 19" prop a try. Watch your top end rpm's though.

Ask me that question 10 or more years ago and the answer would be different. Unfortunately age and body aches and pains has a way of dictating just exactly when and how much time I spend on the water.

First things first, is our equipment the same? Is his reel slightly slower or faster than mine and the speed difference is triggering the strike? How about line size and type? Is he imparting any other action into the lure that I'm not? In your scenario, you're fishing a crankbait. Is he throwing out the back of the boat and catching fish? In that case the forward movement of the boat along with his cranking is possibly gaining him a little extra depth edge. If not, maybe it's the direction of the bait movement. I definitely would douse my lure in fish formula as a means to mask any scents that might be on my hands that got onto the bait and is turning the fish off. Just a few things I'd think about.