gamblerOH

That is my main reason for not fishing senkos.. In a touney most guys will cut the line and leave the hook so the fish dont die before weigh in, I would think it will still die. Roadwarrior fishes a lot of large senkos so im sure he can give you some advice that may help you keep from hooking them so deep. I can tell you that I dont seem to get them hooked so deep on a wacky rig so if I fish a senko thats usually how i'll rig it.

congrats on your new boat. I love the evinrudes, I'm sure you wont be dissapointed. I think you got yourself a bargain too!

Go with a tube, start with a large tube and then downsize if no luck. I have found on small lakes (ponds size) that a tube works very well. Fish it slowly and let it kick up some mud on the bottom.If your bass are indeed schooling as chris said then I would go with a lucky craft lipless vibrator(rattle trap) and try to throw into the school. If you do find shad then also try to throw a sammy into them. I also have had luck with a fluke in these conditions in very early morning. I would probally begin with the fluke and then go to the tube baits, but crankbaits will almost always pick up a bankrunner or 2 so be sure to tie one on.By the way rig that tube on a jighead.

I put silicone in the hole and on the screws just in case. My boat always stays dry so I guess it worked.!!!

I have an LMS 480 on my console and love it.It has been in some bad weather and never had a problem. I have a Lowrance x-67c on the bow and its great too. I like the color on the bow since thats where I spend most of my time.

poppa, in our part of the country if youre still beatin the banks you had better be bed fishing because all of the fish i've cuaght in the last week or so have been in deeper water, what I mean by deeper water is 8-12 ft. they are not in 2 foot anymore.You may catch a bankrunner now and then but they will almost always be aggressive little males,I would say that for the next few months you need to talk your partner into doing some deep carolina riggin,I think the best post spawn tactic is a c-rig!---------poppa, checkyour instant messages

I saw some skeeters at the dealer show last winter that looked nice. If you tourney fish more than you pleasure boat I would get a bass boat. They sit lower in the water, the livewells are better and the front deck is actually made for fishing.I'm just not into dual purpose. I have taken my wife and kids out for a day of joy riding in my bass boat,believe me bass boats are not made for a family of 4, nor are ski boats made for fishing IMO.

we have a tv room and my computer is at the back of that room,right beside her favorite chair.I do need a wireless laptop though

I am leaving Friday to prefish for a tournament on saturday and then going from there to fish a club tournament on sunday, so needless to say I've got a lot of quality time to work out this week. I had survivor Sunday night , bachelor tonight and the apprentice Thursday night. My wife loves TV so I try to do the things she enjoys with her.The bad part is she likes shopping too, i'm sure she'll have some fun shopping while i'm gone this weekend. ;D

sounds like you guys have a class act club. I would like for our bass club to do more for charity---------------------Good job guys!!!

I am also happily married. A good marriage takes a lot of give and take to be lasting and fun. I try to spend as much time with my wife as I can when im not fishing so we still get a lot of time together. Like tonight for instance, im dying a slow death watching the bachelor finale, I thought I was getting by with 2 hours but just found out it'll be a 3 hour SPECIAL. The things a guy will do to fish

Use a lucky craft sammy and keep a fluke tied on to follow up with, If the fish boil and miss the sammy follow up quickly with a fluke, the fish will think he injured the bait and will usually come up and hit the fluke. You may also run a spinnerbait on the edges of the milfoil, either way I have found the conditions when the water has been up and is falling tough to say the least.

There is a part called a scag repair kit. You can find it in bass pro catalog. If its only scratched off a little I would file it down since those repair kits are ugly! As long as its only an inch or so it wont bother your performance.

I agree with Taylor too. Like I said I use my fishfinder a lot. I probally use it abou 80-90% of the time but when im in a small cut and trying to get some larger fish I think anything can spook them. I usually try to be very quiet and try to even keep the trolling motor off as much as I can. I honestly think I am having better success with this. I will experiment with this all season. My ski boat has a depth/fishfinder and if that thing is on and you go under the water is can be heard a long way down, and its only a small low watt unit! I'm sure that the positives outweigh the negatives on this one but still think there may be a time to turn it off and see what happens.

Im not saying you cant catch fish with it on, I just think sometimes its better to leave it off. I am sure that the fish can here it though, since they can hear a rattle on a jig and it isnt nearly as loud as a transducer.I have caught fish for years with it on, this is something I have been looking into just this year.

I am wondering whether you fish with your fish finder on or off? I have my own theory about using fish finders while fishing, when I am doing any kind of finesse fishing I always turn it off. I think when we get so close to a fish that the constant clicking of the transducer spooks them or at least makes them more leary. When I actually start fishing I keep it off more than on. It seems that if a fish can pinpoint a jig/rattle then surely they can hear a 4,000 watt transducer. I have had this discussion with a few guys in our bass club and we are split 50/50.

our gas is falling also, its $1.94 as of today. The price of gas has not affected how much I run my boat, or my truck. My boat holds 50 gallons of fuel and if empty it would cost $97.00 to fill up. According to last years lower prices of $1.69 it would cost $84.50 to fill up, thats only $12.50 difference . I usually fish with a partner so if we split the gas then its only $6.25 each more than last year.I would say thats a bargain considering how much everything else has went up in the past year.A boat I recently looked at went up $8,000 from last year, now theres something to worry about. I also got the exxon mobil email and it is a good idea and I think it could help a lot. I buy citgo since they support BASS.

JT, tungsten weights are cool and we need them 8) I agree no bass boat is worth $50,000 . I refuse to get caught up in financing any boat for more than 5 years,although it means I have to pay more monthly. My dad taught me growing up that we can become "slaves to the lender" and thats whats happening to a lot of people.The boat manufactures are taking advantage of the fact that boats can be financed so long, but its at our expense.

I'm not sure about one oil smoking less than the other but I really wouldnt worry about it just make sure you are using good marine grade oil.

IF you are premixing it will smoke. An engine only requires 50:1 at full throttle. At idle an oil injected engine is getting more like 100:1 and it goes up as the rpms go up. More rpms more oil. Too bad theres no other way to adjust your oil but 50:1 is the only safe way to premix. If it is still smoking at full throttle then I would guess you may have more serious problems, but lets hope not!!

3 blades have the best top end speed, but are the slowest to get on plane. A boat will chine walk more with a 3 blade than a 4 or 5 blade. You will also have more torque steering with a 3 blade. 4 blades will have good holeshot and will have good top end,neither of which will be great. As far as a 5 blade you dont even want to use it on a bass boat, .A 5 blade is made for pulling heavy loads, like skiers or pontoons. If you decide to change props be sure to try to test a few since your boat will act differently to the different brands. You will have to adjust your jackplate after you get that 5 blade off of there too.

Thats a bad way to do business for sure. I have never heard that and just about bought an optima for my truck a few weeks ago,I'm glad I didnt now! I went with interstate instead, thats what I have in my boat too.

I think youre top speed sounds about right for a 18 ft. boat with a 115. A buddy of mine has an 18 footer w/115 and it does around 45 on speedo so I would say on gps it will do around 40. The pulling to the right is normal, it wont change unless you switch to a 4 blade prop or get hydraulic steering. since your boat is a fish-n ski its hull is designed to be a compromise between stability and speed.

I hope to be able to do the same for my dad some day. He's 56 and still very busy but some day when things slow down for him we will get back out on the water.

I keep 50 psi in my tires. That is what the guy at the tire shop reccomended to me and I have had no problems.