Traveler2586

Welcome 912, enjoy the forum.

Welcome J, Hope you enjoy the forum.

Welcome Aaron, enjoy the forum.

Welcome to the forum.....

Welcome, enjoy the forum..

Welcome to the forum, enjoy

Welcome, enjoy the forum.

Welcome to the forum Bill, you have some beautiful, and peaceful, rivers up there. @ BrianinMD, Great avatar and show Good fishin', Eric

I would, but it's not worth an hours drive at this point. I was hoping that someone on the forum may know something about the subject, i.e. is it an option kit, not a factory option, or what?? Someone told me they exist but I've never seen one on a bass boat. Good fishin', Eric

In afterthought I'm pulling my question; it's probably better suited to another forum. Thanks Has anyone modified a Mercury SmartCraft system to add a visual indicator (LED) to the alarm circuit? I have hearing problems and sometimes can not hear the alarm until I come off plain; a visual indicator mounted on the dash would help me know when I get an alarm. I have a 2003 Merc 150 EFI Answer is Yes, and It's easy to do at home. See below.

"I was fishing the crank pretty slow and he was holding in about 2' of water and maybe 5 - 6' off the bank. I thought I got snagged, because I didn't anticipate him being so close, but then I realized, trees don't fight back. That was also my 1st of the year, so I'm pretty pumped right now drinking a victory beer or 3 tonight." Congratulations on you PB - YES! P.S. sometime trees do fight back One day my buddy & I were fishing the back end of a creek, I was on the bow fishing a small crank out in front, Ed was in the back doing "clean up" duty (catching everything I missed). I hooked something, so I gave it a split second a just the littlest bit of slack, and it pulled back with a bump! So I set the hook and yelled "got one". I was surprised at how Strong it was so I told Ed "get the net, I've got a big one"..... Well, I'm winding to beat the band, bending the rod, and I'm feeling tugs. I'm shouting "come on baby" and get it to the side of the boat. Then Ed starts laughing and shoves his arm deep into the water and I'm thinking "grab that sucker" when Ed pulls up ........ an old Christmas tree Good fishin'

Make sure all connections are clean and shinny when you connect them, i,e. battery post, battery cable connectors, TM connectors, Accessory terminals, etc. And it's very important to insure all connections are tight, you don't want any sparks in that compartment Good Fishin'

Thinking back, I've had people offering me advice about being up the creek, i.e. do this, do that, don't do this, don't do that OR you'll "be up the creek". But when it comes right down to it, there's no other place that I'd rather be than "up the creek". Good Fishin'

Was that the power plant north of Quantico, and what size silver buddy were you using? I don't notice much talk about silver buddy's lately, but I like them in the open channels of the creeks and the main river. I sometimes feel that if a fish just as much as sniffs at one he's as good as hooked. They can take all the rest of the fish out of the river just leave me the Bass (smallies, LM, Rock (strippers)) Good Fishin'

When I was a teen we fished the Gooses out of Deal, MD using an old Bay Build work boat that my neighbor raised from the creek and restored. We would go after Rock, Blues, and bottom fish for Perch and so on. In 84 a friend introduced me to Bass fishing on the Nanjamoy in a plastic Sears 12' rowboat. I haven't been sane since. Today I run the Middle Potomac out of Smallwood State Park with a Ranger 185 DVS with a 150 Merc. Trolling is coming back.... I just discovered an ole timer by the name of Buck Perry. He's not around any longer but his books are. Buck would teach something called "Spoon Plugging" which is a lot like "Spooning" on the bay. LOL, Wait long enough, and old becomes new again.... Good fishing, Eric

I believe, like most other subjects, it will work itself out through practice - time in front of the lens, instead of behind it. I have a new respect for members posting such sharp, and well composed shots. Lessons learned from my first attempt: 1. Practice, Practice, Practice,,, just preforming an operational test doesn't cut it. 2. Have a mount that is easy to work with. The one I had was hard to remove from the floor socket, so I had to get on all-fours to see what I was doing. Not an easy task after a broken back. 3. Decrease the file size to fit the need, I don't need 11X17's or 8X10's; a 5X7 would be the maximum print size I would need. Time will tell I did rework the mono-pod mount to a more functional design, this one will not lock itself into the socket, and has a more positive grasp; but I can't run with it in place. Good fishin', Eric

Here's a pic of the DVR I use.

I was on the Mattawoman yesterday. Had 60 deg F water at the state park and 67 deg F at the upper end. Got a lot of nibbles on a motor oil worm but no bites; pulled in two bass, 2 - 3 pounders, on a chartreuse chatter bait off of submerged wood along a shore. Also, saw some large rolls in the shallows in the evening that I took for Snakeheads. They had a tournament at the park, and the 3 parking lots were full of both trailer rigs and cars (non-boaters) Good Fishin', Eric

Don't sell your boat, you'll regret it, I did..... I'm up in Maryland and have the same problem with no partner. I'm retired and find myself pigeonholed in with a group of people that look at you strange when you say the word fishing. All they want is their weekly card game at the seniors center. Well I'm not giving up fishing and I don't feel that old yet. Like the Space Monkey says "Never Give Up" Good fishin', Eric P.S. It took a while to get used to it, but I kind of like having some quite time on the water.

That would be my first choice; a mono-pod can't laugh at you when your trying to get up from all fours. Unfortunately, my friend moved back to his home state when he retired, and I can't find anyone to put up with me, or thinks fishin' in a snow fall is fun. Until then, I obviously have a lot to learn about fishin' photo's, and I'll keep at it. I was listening to my fishing log last night and my wife remarked that "with all the huffing-and-puffing going on you [me] sound like the guy on Hook and Look when he's under water I get no respect around here Good fishin', Eric

Well that's disapointing...... Why are the pic's so small??

OK, so I never gave much thought to taking photos while fishing. Sure, when I was a kid we might take the 120 roll film Browne Hawk Eye out while trolling for Rock fish on the bay; but that was seldom done, after all, how many pic's of you holding a fish do you want? Well, here I am, reading forums on the web, and there appears to be an interest in sharing fishin' photo's. So I start toying with the idea in my mind and the next thing I know I'm making a mono-pod for the boat. So long fishin' buddy, you've been replaced by a shaft. So I take this rig out with me today to give it a shot. I get out to one of my fishin' holes, get my self setup and start fishing. Now,,, I didn't give much thought to the operational aspects of this deal, I got this nice little remote that all I have to do is point it at the camera and press a button, and then I have my photo! NOT !! Here I am, holding a poor Bass and find my camera wants me to reset the remote function because I took too long to catch my fish; it's only good for 15 min if not used (Nikon D70). Boy, and I thought my old fishin' buddy was hard on me?! Now, I've got to run to the back of the boat, with fish in hand, to reset the camera; I get down on both knees and find I can't read the menu display. %$#@!.. I shove the Bass into the live well while I pull the camera to where I can read this tiny little display.%$#@!.. Camera reset... So then I have to splash around in the live well cause the Bass is ticked at my ineptitude over the whole thing. So back to the front of the boat, I strike a pose and press the button,,, finally,,, photo accomplished. I kiss the Bass good by and get back to fishin'..... Guess what?? Next fish...... I have to do the whole thing over again!!!!!!!! &^%$##@!* camera. Either I'm as slow and dimwitted as my wife says I am,,, or this is a lot of work for a photo. There has got to be a better way. Any suggestions??? Cheers, Eric P.S. And I haven't even touched on the subject of getting my photo's uploaded

From reading MD DNR news Snakeheads (SH) are spreading throughout the Chesapeake Bay; something some thought would not happen, they thought the SH would be confined to the Middle Potomac and there was no talk of it spreading to the Upper Potomac. I too read the report on what the SH is feeding on and that is good news; but we have to remember that data was collected from recent samples, and we need long term tracking of feeding habits over the entire range of the SH before we can have a clear picture of this fish. Some will tell you that this fish is still adapting to it new environment and it will by nature select the habit that produces the best result with the least energy expended. I predict, over time, we will see the SH moving both up, and down, the East coast via the inter-coastal waterway. I agree with you "It would be nice if they made tournaments out of the species and gave some prizes out" to help draw attention to controlling this fish. Both MD and VA could hold state sponsored "Open" tournaments and award prizes for Largest fish, most fish, largest weight, etc. We could even have dock-side cook-offs where anglers cook their catch to win Top Chef. With that said, and given the reproductive rate of the SH, we have to come to grips with the fact the SH is here to stay. Cheers, Eric

I went to the MD DNR home page and found the following in the 2012 MD Fishing Guide " Please Catch and Kill Snakeheads The non-native Northern Snakehead population is thriving in the Potomac River and its tributaries after being illegally introduced several years ago. Maryland fishing regulations allow the keeping of snakeheads, so long as the fish is immediately killed and its head removed, or the fish is gutted, or the gill arches removed, or the fish is filleted. The capture and possession of dead and dismembered snakeheads is not subject to any season, creel limit or size limit. DNR asks anglers to report any snakeheads caught outside of the Potomac River and it tributaries or upstream of Great Falls by contacting Don Cosden at dcosden@dnr.state.md.us or call (410) 260-8287. This will help DNR track the expansion of the species. Anglers in Virginia waters who catch snakeheads in any waters must immediately kill the fish and report the catch to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fish hot line (804) 367-2925. Federal law prohibits the import of live snakeheads to the U.S. or across state lines without a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. If you catch a northern snakehead with a blue tag, please report it to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at (800) 448- 8322." end quote

This is a little confusing. This pass summer (2011) I had a boat side inspection from a MD DNR officer, and after seeing a blood stain on my carpet he asked if I had caught a Snakehead, I had. I said they were so #@*& messy I feel like just cutting the hook; he said "if you catch it, you kill it",...."If you have it in your boat (within your gunnel's) you have possession of it".... "do not release a live Snakehead". This is what I've been going by, can we now release a live Snakehead back into the water? Cheers, Eric