Gator_Bait

To my knowledge it's never been close to saltwater. I'm just north of Joplin MO and there's a ton of nice lakes around here, Mo, NE OK, SE KS, Northern AR, etc. I bought it a couple of years ago when we just moved here. A boat shop and used boat dealer just south of Joplin had it. It has had a "Whale Tail" on it at one time...or maybe a "trolling plate" as there are 4 holes drilled in the cavitation plate. I put a Whale Tail on a little Tracker Pan Fish 16 40HP 2 stroke I had in Louisiana, made a world of difference. I called a Tracker dealer about 25 miles away and they looked it up. The numbers on the hub showed it to be a 10 1/2" 13 pitch. It came out as a 10 5/8" 14 pitch, which they have in stock. They could get the 13 in a day or so. So I told her I would just take the 14 in stock. Not much difference anyway, and 95% of the time I'm fishing by myself. I just go out to have some fun or catch dinner, if I'm lucky, not "run and gun" in tournaments. A little more than I thought at $180, but it's an OEM Mercury Quicksilver not an off brand made from pot metal. And she said if I brought the boat they would install it for nothing! When I went out to take it off the motor a while ago, in the rain of course, I was hoping to hold it tight enough with a 2x4 to loosen the nut. When I put the socket on it...it was barely more than hand tight!! Guess I'll add "check the prop nut" to things I look at after a day of fishing...LOL. That is IF it ever quits raining!

So that should be a 12" prop, with a 22 pitch, and 1.83:1 gear ratio...? Best I could tell the measurement from center to outside edge of a blade is between 5 1/4" - 5 1/2". Defiantly well under 6". So the sticker refers to the stock prop Tracker matched to that boat when it was born...? And someone...at sometime...replaced it with the one on there now...? I know I'm asking a lot of stupid questions...but in all the years I've owned at least 8 boats and never had a problem with a prop or a reason to change one. Is it usually a lot cheaper to repair one, like in the photo, than to replace it? Who would be best to do it so it would be balanced?

What are the numbers on the sticker ? I'm guessing the "1.83:1" is the gear ratio in the lower unit...? I'm also guessing the 12 or 22 might be the pitch. But don't know what the other is. I saw a crack in one of the blades. Is that something that would be repaired? Or just replace the prop?

Run over to Pierre Part...Duffy's or Pierre Part Store probably has it! Anyway it's an excuse for a road trip...LOL.

OH...OK, don't have one around here. I think I've seen them in Kansas City when visiting the kids.

DSG...? Not familiar with the initials.

Sun Dolphin going out of business??? I hadn't heard that, where did you see it? Might be some good deals on the 10 footer.

Great boat! Mine was a 2013 45th anniversary just like it.

You got that right! Up here you could walk across the lake on the boats and not even get your feet wet! Most ramps you can't find a place to park your trailer, and have to wait in line to launch or recover your boat. Normally retirement is a wonderful thing. But, I hope all these people go back to work soon...so I can fish in peace!

I lived in Baton Rouge several years and fished a ton of bayou between there and where you live. But you could never find a lot of the places someone told you about because all the old farts called it different names...lol. I think there are at least a dozen places referred to as "Bayou Black" lol. And forget trying to find a spot in the Atchafalaya other than the I-10 bridge...and that's about 18 miles long !

F150 has the highest towing and hauling ratings of any 1/2 Ton. The 3.5L Ecoboost is a beast...and there is a new Power Stroke diesel hooked to a 10 speed automatic! That thing should pull your house!

I'm thinking about one of those. Though I'll probably put a 2-4HP gas motor on it sometime...do you think a 55lb TM would handle it in the wind? How do you like it?

I've seen a lot of cool mods on Pelican 10E boats, a few Sun Dolphins and Bass Hunters. Not any, other than promo videos, on Twin Trollers. I'm thinking it's because they are a lot more expensive than the others...? Bass Hunters seem to be a bit more money than Pelican and Sun Dolphin also. They claim to be made more solid.

Thanks. Although I haven't hit every page yet...I didn't see any Twin Trollers there. But I'll look more closely.

In my search for a small boat I've seen several videos on a Twin Troller X10. It really looks interesting...and expensive for a new one. I'm wondering if any of you have one and how well it fishes.

ARMY 1973-1979

Depends on where you are going to fish MOST of the time! I had a Fisher (Tracker with different stickers) 16' stick steer when we lived in Baton Rouge. Fantastic bayou fishing boat! You want metal boats in the bayou! Moved back to Tulsa and bought a new 45th Anniversary Ranger. Fantastic med.-large lake boat. A few yrs later we sold the Tulsa house and built one in south TX on the border...mainly salt water. Sold the Ranger (in OK) and later bought a Carolina Skiff composite with Evinrude salt water motor, till an RV dealer made me a heck of a deal as trade-in on a new 5th wheel...lol. A couple of yrs ago we moved to MO to be close to kids/grandkids and I picked up a used Tracker 175TF/60HP good little boat for smaller-med. size lakes, and I want to take it to Louisiana to fish the bayou a couple times a yr. You get the idea...

Thanks! That's what I was looking for...someone that has caught fish on them to tell me where and how they used it. Getting under docks is the main thing I was thinking of for this type of jig. I'll get one and try it. What color works best for you?

I think you are probably right. If there is normally traffic they are most likely use to it and only scatter momentarily. I caught a bass about 4-5 min. after a boat idled by, which got me to thinking about it. But some places I fish are dead end oil field cuts that most boats don't go in. Maybe I'll try drifting up to them next time and see if any difference.

I was reading in Sept. Bass Master (pg 34) about some very slow sink jigs. The ones mentioned were Stalker Swim Jig, Warhead Jig by Pure Poison Jigs and the Zero Gravity Jig by Custom Lures. Has anyone fished one (or more) of these? How do you like it? It looks interesting but would like to hear more about it.

Got a question. Let's say you are fishing in a bayou about 5-8 ft deep, 30-60 ft wide, with lay downs scattered along both sides. You've caught bass there before, and you just started fishing the spot a few minutes ago. Then you hear a boat comming...wide open...they slow down to an idle as they get to you and go by. Will that stop the fish from biting? If so for how long? Most folks just blast through this spot going from the launch down the bayou to other areas. Sometimes I can fish it for an hour before a boat goes by, and sometimes it's like trying to cross the road at rush hour. How does boat traffic in a bayou/stream/creek/small river, etc effect the fish? Do they get use to boat traffic and have no effect? Do they hide for 5 min...half hour...? I've got two or three spots like this...that most people just pass through and I've caught keepers. When it gets colder and the Crappie really come on there are so many boats you can hardly throw a jig. But most are on trolling motors except to move areas.

Where do you go from here? To the dealership!!! Sounds like a new bass boat to me

Went out for a couple of hours this morning.">And brought this home (threw the catfish back...it ate a Senko worm).">

Would Bluegill be big enough or stong enough to attack a worm that big?

That brings up a question...I've been useing Zoom Speed Worms and haveing a good bit of luck with them. But, quite often I notice something has bit off half of the crook on the end of the tail...this would kill the action. What is biting the end off my worm if a bass inhales the whole thing? "> Each one has been bit off at the same spot...I've got a bag of these. Would rigging the hook farther back help?