cart7t

Still use tru-turns. There used to be a great video showing how that hook would turn the hook point up as it was pulled forward through a basses closed mouth.

It's only windy most of the time.

Like this?

The only double digit fish I've ever had on came around 10 years ago. I was throwing a Rat L trap. The problem was I was throwing it on a ML outfit, about 8lb line. I had no business using that rod at that lake. Washington county lake is off colored all the time and loaded with plenty of wood. I just couldn't turn the fish. It did one of those Jaws swim along the side of the boat deals. My son is yelling get him in Dad! Get him in! I had nothing, not even a net. That rod was doubled over and he started pulling towards the buck brush along shore. Wish I'd used at least a medium with 14 lb test.

Is that a glass jug full of JJ's clear?

Sorry, you're in JJ's magic country here. Spike-it, despite the fact it doesn't evaporate into a toxic cloud of vapor, sux.

Actually, it worked perfectly considering it's called a "Delivery confirmation number." They don't advertise that as a tracking number.

Definitely worth another shot or two to be more sure. Can you contact your DNR? Do they do surveys? With an 18" limit it is probably monitored. I get to know my local fisheries people and they are often willing to talk. In fact the MO. Dept. of Conservation website has a yearly fishing prospectus page devoted to the shocking results from the year before (usually done in the spring or fall). Port Hudson isn't a regular on the list of lakes they monitor. There is a number to call and I'm sure I'll call it to get more info on the fish population, both quantity and quality. Because the conservation department is funded in part by a 1/8 cent sales tax, they become every mans fish and game department. They tend to manage fisheries and hunting grounds for quantity vs. quality despite the fact that bass fishing is a huge amount of their income. I also noticed there is no size limit nor creel limit for crappie. That's almost always an indication there's a problem with the fish population as far as crappie go at least in Missouri. In Missouri, you can tell if a new to you body of water will be productive or not depending on size and creel limits. Lakes with low creel limits and high size limits indicate the lake has too many very small fish with a few larger fish or not very many fish at all. Slots indicate a lake is getting bombarded by pressure and the size population is out of balance or other factors are causing the same problem.

I fished a new lake (for me anyway) yesterday. 55 acres. Clear water. Tons of standing timber. Creek channels well outlined by the trees. Some grass starting to come up from the bottom, not sure what kind. The lake has an 18" size limit. In Missouri, unless the word "Trophy" is attached to a limit like that it usually means the lake has a fish population problem. I got a late start. The sun was well up. I forgot to put the front graph on the boat before I left. : I cut over to a bank on a main point that desects the lake into 2 arms. There was still some early morning shade along the bank and began slow rolling a spinnerbait and working a plastic worm from the bank into 10-12 feet of water. There was a ton of standing timber. Lots of it. Not a bite. Moved to the back end of one arm. Grass beds growing up to the surface. Close to water with depth. Tried a frog and worm. Nothing. Moved back to the boat ramp/fishing dock area. Rocky/gravely area with a creek channel swinging in close. Slow rolled both a spinnerbait and a Rat L trap deeper, nothing. Worked the boat ramp itself with a worm. Boat ramps are often good for at least one fish. They tend to hang on the concrete edges. Nothing. Finally I fell back to a second old reliable, the dam itself. I caught around 4-5 small 12" fish throwing a worm and senko along the riprap in 5-6' of water. I met up with another guy. He had also caught a few small fish dropping a drop shot type rig along creek channel edges in the timber. He said he was no expert on the lake but indicated the lake gets heavy pressure. My evaluation? If this lake actually has some decent fish in it it looks like night fishing may be the way to go to fish. Had I had a depthfinder I might have tried looking for some timber on channel edges that wasn't seen on the surface. At only 60 miles from the house this lake may or may not warrant another look.

Excellent. I was wondering what kind of reels to have for the big raffle. So out with the Shee-ma-no reels and in with Zebco. Done.

Good job Russ. 8-)

I went to the big green egg website and can't figure out where to buy one let alone see one in person. Which model do you have as the ones they have listed don't look like yours and.... how much?

Cool, that sounds better than "Sucking Hose" and getting a mouthfull of gas, OK guys, shut up, HA! Yeah, I live in this crazy state of California where I'd probably go to jail for something like that. Cant wait to move to AZ in 2 years. So, what if I was to recarpet the boat, get the seats reupholstered and buff out the hull to make it shine, how much would be a fair asking price? Would it be worth my time and effort? Thanks again! Recarpet? Yes Reupholster? No Not worth it. If those are typical tuck and rolled fancy pants seats typical of late 80's Champs it's way too much. Better to get a couple quality seats from cabela's or BPS. All that and the motor running and you're closer to $5.5 - 6.5 or even 7 grand. The more you make the thing ready for water, pretty (to catch the man AND Wifes eye) the more money you make.

How much is in it? An old trick is to disconnect the fuel line from the connector on the motor and lower it into a gas tank and start squeezing the bulb. The fuel will eventually start flowing and you can just allow it to drain off into the tank. Disposal? Here in missourah, we just dump it along the fence line to kill the poison ivy.

If the power control board is in the lower unit I'd say that's the best place to look. That's one of the disadvantages to the digital type TM's. Yes, the variable speed is nice as is the ramp up speeds on high but the circuitry to run that draws immense current and is prone to failure.

You definitely need to purge out that gas, especially if it was untreated. Price. As it sits with the engine unable to fire, toasted interior and gel coat and older electronics? $2 - 2.5k maybe. If you can get the engine running. $3 - 4.5k maybe.

I just noticed the 4th Annual thread has been taken down. You know what that means....

If the owner was smart he'd put those on Ebay. That's about the right price for NIB Curado B's these days.

Nah, he gave me a tracking number. What can I say, I'm spoil by UPS and Fed-Ex. Unless you ordered it overnight, the guy DIDN'T give you a tracking number. There's no such thing on priority mail. Believe me, I've made well over a thousand transactions. I can't tell you how many times Ebay customers wanted one because Paypal guarantee's one on a Paypal purchase. That's only if the seller uses UPS or Fed Ex. I have to explain that I use the USPS and they don't offer them. If they complain I tell them to take it up with Paypal, they made the promise, not me.

Did you order this USPS Express? The US postal service does not offer tracking numbers on anything other than Express (overnight mail), it's possible the shipper gave you a delivery confirmation number but that's not the same. A delivery confirmation number will get scanned at a post office if the package is taken by an actual postal worker, if it was mailed at an automated machine or picked up in bulk from the seller it won't. The package might get scanned at a sorting facility but that doesn't always happen nor does the USPS advertise that as supposing to happen. It will get scanned when it's delivered to your home. I've sold quite a bit of stuff on the forums on Ebay. Probably 1600-1700 total transactions. The USPS does a good job of sticking to their 2-3 (business) days delivery time frame. I'd say 98% of everything I've bought or sold has come within that time frame. Besides, I ordered a new graph from BPS on Monday. Shipped via Fed EX. Fed Ex tracking showed the graph in the Earth City warehouse on Tuesday (25 miles from my house) They still showed a June 12th delivery date. Wed, still in the warehouse, Thurs, still there. Friday it shows up. Why did it sit 25 miles from my house for 2 1/2 days. Had I not had the tracking, I never would've known.

Stick with the S reel. I owned all three at one time. Of the three, the SX was the one I least liked. That reel had 1 sweet spot on the settings and if you missed it it was backlash city.

geez : anyone else?

I thought Sandberg played 2nd base? Judging from that flattened nose, Why does it look like he chased too many fly balls into right field and ran, face first into the wall?

Don't misunderstand, I have no stock in Pure Fishing so there isn't any financial incentive on my part. I just don't experience the problems many others seem to have and thought I might be of assistance. As far as problems casting a variety of baits as mentioned. I have no reason to lie, not even puff the facts a bit. I learned to cast on the ABU 5500C some 35+ years ago. I think a lot of problems people have is based upon poor lessons. If you like the JM reels and they do the job for you, that's the biggest part of the game. Don't get me wrong. The Revo's do a whole lot of things right and as somebody that's used Garcia products for the same number of years as yourself I wish I still was. If the braking system was changed I'd happily switch back. The STX was a fine reel that just didn't work for me in one particular way.

Cabela's has a $150 rebate on this model in their fathers day circular.