freebie

when replacing trolling motor batteries in a 24v system you should replace both at the same time. if not the older one will wear down the newer one faster. this is actually true of any multi battery system. if you're concerned about weight and space you could go with optima blue tops. they are very light and can be mounted in any position

you should be ok with one of the aluminums you listed but definitely not one of the bigger glass boats. I would think anything over 2500 is pushing it. I know you're rated for 3500 but they always push those numbers. just because it says it can do it doesn't mean you should. Rhino hit the nail on the head when he mentioned safety. it only takes one mishap for someone to get hurt or lose a life.

whenever you guys would like to meet up would be fine with me. some weekend evening would probably work best. I don't mind trying to help out with organizing one or two of these in my area. theres a bunch of great bog ponds on the south shore. as a non boater(hopefully not for long) I would have to jump in with someone. maybe we try to figure out a somewhat central location and head out for a few cold ones and some appetizers to get ideas from everyone. I think this format is great as it's about having fun.

if you plan on using a spectra fiber(round) braided line then you should be all set. when braid first came out there was alot of problems with it destroying guides but the have come a long way with it. I use some braids that are almost as smooth as mono or flouro. I would still check with the manufacturerto be safe though.

you also need to consider that as your line goes through the guides the amount of pressure required to slip is increased. same goes for how much line is on the spool. a full spool will let line off easier that a half full spool. this is not as noticible on smaller freshwater reels. drag material also has alot to do with it. some reels may put out a ton of drag but how much of it is smooth/usable? I will take a reel with 12lbs of silky smooth drag over a reel with 20lbs of herky jerky drag. I have lost many fish due to poor drags that would not start up smooth. carbontex is my favorite material(especially when coated with cals drag grease) and seems to last the longest.

I thought I read in the law that there is no restriction for carrying lead, even on deck. or maybe a lack of that wording. I will still keep all of my lead for when I fish out of state. the worst part of this whole ban is that tungsten(one alternative has very bad environmental impacts also). I can wait to see what happens when they find out that it's the hooks the birds swallow that are killing them. then what are we gonna do? rubber hooks?

depending on how the next few months go I might be a boater also. probably won't be the newest prettiest model but it sure is gonna go fast...building myself a 200 johnson with a little something special under the cover. waiting to find the right hull to put it on for the right price.

if you have fuel leaking out of one of the carbs then you need to fix that, it is flooding over and will definitely cause problems at low speed. you need to make sure that the floats are shutting off before they bottom out. if gas is leaking from the bottom of the motor you can test the fuel pumpfor leaks. take the screw that hold it on out and squeeze the primer. if fuel comes out of the small hole in the back(where it attaches to the block) then you need to rebuild the pump. after that is fixed then try running it and keep sqerezing the bulb(becoming the fuel pump yourself) and see if it dies.

a metal tank should be grounded. also, please don't ever run a hot lead to a fuel sender. one gallon of gas is equal to 16 sticks of dynamite when ignited and if you make the sender hot you will blow things up. the sender uses a "send" wire that transmits ohms to the guage which will have posts for 12v+, 12v- and "send"(usually marked with an s) any tank that is permanently mounted need to be vented to ouside the hull somehow. you can buy fuel fills that also work as the vent via a seperate hose. this is needed so the tank can allow air in to replace the fuel being taken out as Fishing Rhino described. for portable tanks you cannont put them in a closed unvented compartment. they vent by themselves thus enhancing the chance of fuel vapors inside the compartment. fuel vapors are far more volatile than fuel itself and require much lower temps to ignite. venting the compartment will help but is not fool proof. my reccomendation is to have a tank made that is the size you want/need and plumb it in permanently and correctly.

got another pig today, pic didn't come out so good though. went 3.88 on rapala digital scale. ate a jig in 6" of water. go figure

I heard yesterday that someone caught a 9.4lber(gold pin unless someone goes bigger by sat) the same day we were out. also caught on the cape. big bass are still biting so get out there and catch them guys.

I think we caugh somewhere around 40 Perch too Grampa. the big one came on a jig but most of the bass came on a mepps.

had five more around 1.25 or so. big one weighed in at 3.25

depends on what it was insured for. unfortunately there is no way you could replace it for that.

I would like to try to fish a few with you guys. one thing for me is I can only fish Sunday's(work Sat). As a non boater I think that you definitely need to cater more to the guys with boats as without them there is no get together. The idea of a "reward" for big fish is a great one. make's the ballbusting all the more fun. just don't make it too much. I would think $5 for big fish entry would be enough to make it fun. or maybe everyone has to put in a lure or something. a meeting would be a great idea and I'd be willing to attend.

that motor has choke plates and not an enrichener. it also has automatic timing advance so giving it throttle(advancing the timing more) will be counter productive. if it starts to stall after it initially kicks then you can hit the choke again for a wuick moment and this should catch it. I just went through the same thing with a friend of mine. once showing him the correct process his motor starts every time.

don't use acetone to wipe down, it leaves behind a film that interferes with adhesion. that was one of the reasons so many fell off it actually says in the directions not to use it. Isopropyl alcohol is the best solvent to use when trying to apply anything with adhesive. as far as which is better...my shop will only install keelshield. had very good luck with them

how about a little more info. is the motor 2 or 4 stroke, carbed or injected? without that info you're going to get 20 different replies from 20 different people.

for the touch ups I would find something close at an autoparts store. the livewell divider can be made out of a piece of lexan or acrylic. the steering wheel cap is another story. I would keep an eye on ebay/

I tend to fish alot of small jigs 1/8 3/16 and like the uncle josh #11 pork frogs in the back, may not work for all but works for me

costa 580 if money is no issue. I have the green mirror for offshore saltwater fishing, hoping to pick up some for bass fishing but unsure of which lense color to go with thinking grey or brown as I tend to fish alot in the spring/fall when shadows are long and days are short.

this fall a group of my saltwater buddies met up for a gathering at the cape cod canal. there was a big cookout right along the water. the bite that weekend had been horrible so far, everyone was waiting for the fall run to really blow up. we walked down about a quarter mile and dumped a huge bag of popcorn into the current(moves about 7 kts for those of you unfamiliar with it). once the popcorn reached our area the birds had found it. they were smashing the surface like crazy. well guys started scrambling for rods and running for the banks. the few of us involved just sat there and laughed while they casted on nothing for about 15 mins before realizing nothing was going on.

had this happen to me yesterday. fished a team tourney with a friend. he was using an 1/8 oz black jig and I a 3/16. he had a black pork frog mine was black/blue. in the morning he smoked them. four nice fish off the bank within 20 mins of each other while I caught squat. both of us using the same technique etc. they just wouldn;t touch what I was throwing. unfortunately that was the last one he had or he would have given me one. at the end of the day we ended up on the same spot. this time they were all over what I was tossing and not his. I definitely would have given him one if we didn't have a good limit and weren't running out of time fast. I'm not shy about asking for something or giving some something if it helps put fish in the boat. had another situation like this while fishing with a member here(grampa) recently. went to one of his spots to fish in his boat. he was bailing fish on his secret weapon while I couldn't catch one to save my life. after a few fish he offered me one of what he was using. I kindly refused at first(was going to try to make what I had work). eventually I wanted to catch some fish and figured he had a great pattern going. I didn't have a rod to toss something that light so he even let me use a spare rod. I ended up catching a bunch of fish for the rest of the day and learning a new technique. basically sounds like you need to pick up some of whatever he is using

welcome Mike, I am a recent transfer from salt back to fresh myself. this site is loaded with great info and even greater guys. not sure if I have the right guy but there are a few plugs in my surf bag that say rhm on them, if they're yours you build some sweet stuff. Ryan

I have one for saltwater. as a gripper it serves it's purpose, as a scale it is garbage. in freshwater I don't use a gripper, just lip them or net them. I use a rapala dig scale for weighing purposes.