bipr8

1. Get a pair of neoprene chest wader (STOCKING FOOT!) 2. Get a pair of flippers with the adjustable heels (the stocking foot waders are bulky). 3. Shorter poles are better b/c it does suck when you get a tangle near the top of your pole. 4. Baitcasters are easier to take along with you. 5. I usually take 3 poles with me. 1 in my hand and 2 laying on the netting and hanging out over the water. 6. If you are casting to your left, have your poles hanging out over the water to the left of you. If the tips of the poles are to the right, you will snag them with your cast (big mess). 6. Stuff the back rest of your tube with an old blanket or towels or something. It keeps the back rest stiff and lets you sit more comfortably. Float tubes are awesome, you'll love it. It is amazing at how close the fish will come to your tube and still hit or how close you can be to cover and still catch fish.

Awesome list. Wish I had that 3 years ago. I made my own spread sheet up at the time. Some good stuff. To fill in some of the blanks for you- Crestliner CMV1850 (single console) w/150 goes 55 on the GPS

I hear it over and over again "so he has a tantrum on the water, like you havent?". Well NO, I have NEVER had a "tantrum" on the water, EVER. I have been disappointed and cursed to myself or my partner, but NEVER have I had a tantrum. I have never SEEN anyone have a tantrum either except for IKE. Guys I fish with say they have had "tantrums", and good thing I have never seen them, b.c. I would tell them to knock that ***** off. By the way, I like Ike. His "tantrums" do make me shake my head though. But a d**n nice guy.

I decked out my 14' jon boat and it worked fine and very stable.

I have had 2 Lowrance an Eagle (made by Lowrance) and 2 Humminbirds. The Lowrance and Humminbirds were in the same price range and the Lowrance's were much much much better. The Eagle for the price was awesome, but (the one I had) lacked the bells and whistles you may be looking for. Still a tough easy to use unit. I would say go Lowrance.

No, no panel switch, but good call. I didnt even think to check the fuses. I'll check that out tomorrow. Thanks.

I started the old girl up today. No problems starting, the usual post winter jitters, it started after 5 or 6 tries and sounded pretty darn good. HOWEVER... The battery gauge flung up telling me I was all juiced up, but the gas and trim gauges did nothing (even though I put the trim all the way up and down). Are the two on the same wiring system? How could they both go at the same time? Coincidence? Shouldn't they both respond even though I had it in neutral? Any help or possibilities would be great, thanks.

The G3 is just a better boat all around (this years Trackers are catching up to the G3's though). The G3's are sturdier, wider, bigger, built better, more solid, more attention to detail, etc... G3's are nice. I dont have a G3, but I have been in 2 and they were much better than the Trackers I have fished out of.

TM is a must, good thinking going up to the 24V. Front Depth finder with temp is a must (I assume it only comes with a depth finder on the dash). I would get a GPS system on the dash as well if you are going to fish unfamiliar or large waters. Get a "lean-to "pro" fishing seat" for the front if it doesnt have one (you may want to buy that on your own instead of financing that though). You will want at LEAST a 2 bank charger (for your 24v TM), maybe a 3 bank charger and have them hook it up to both batteries on your TM and 1 to your cranking battery. Not sure how it works on a new boat (I have only bought used), but if you can get a "custom" cover that actually "snaps" down the boat, they are sweet. But anyway, look into a decent cover unless you have it in the garage. You can always cheap out though and just buy a tarp (I did that for years), but it is a pain in the butt when it starts raining and you are on your back trying to bungee the thing down. Tanson Saver. See if it comes with one or if they will throw one in. They probably cost about $50.00. Also if the boat doesnt have it, see if they will "throw in" a rod tie down (bungee cord thing) for when running with the gas motor. They dont cost much at all, but nice to have when you leave the dealer instead of ordering one after the fact. Make sure the runnng lights are there in the boat, my buddy bought a Ranger and the lights werent there and he had to wait a few weeks for them. Wheel bearing buddies of some sort would be a good idea if they dont come with the boat. I would think they do come with though. Maybe get a free hat out of it too!

NJFish, get the biggest, widest boat you can get. If you take that boat to Hopatcong or the Delaware your going to get SOAKED. I have a 18' deep V. The rolling waves from boat traffic at Hopatcong and the Delaware had water splashing into my boat on a few occasions. I couldnt imagine being out there with a 16' semi V. Every inch of space is valued on a boat that size. GO BIG.

My top 4 came on 6" worms. Three of them were blue fleck Power Woms, the other a Zoom "Natural Blue" color. None the size Pfunk listed above, but all my personal bests none-the-less.

I beat the snot out of my boat. I fish a flooded reservoir with a ton of standing timber. I get my boat between them and have to push the tree's apart and scrape through them to get to a spot or even just a better cast. I see no reason to have a boat if you wont plow through the tree's, have to pole through some skinny water and bottom out from time to time and clang against the rocks when you have to. To stay out of spots b/c you may scrape your boat or get a ding in it is crazy. My tackle, well, thats a different story, I do take care of them. My poles get beat up b/c of the rod locker. I bend a lot of "eyes" taking them in and out of the locker, but I simply bend them back, no big deal.

I fished with a guy who told me not to stand on the compartment lids of his 17'10" Ranger with a 150HP. I said "oh, is it broken" he said "no, but I dont like any extra weight on them". I told him I wasnt going to stand in the back corner of the boat all day. He also backed his boat into the water. There were no docks out so I stood there holding the boat by a rope scared to pull it too close to the shore where it might "touch" the bottom of his boat. I did have to pull it in somewhat b/c other boats were launching. He finally gets down to the water and his boat is bobbing about 3' from the bank. He flipped out. "Dude, the boat keeps coming down on that rock, watch out for the side, its going to scrape". There was no way I was going to walk into the water up to my knees to prevent his boat from touching something. What was I to do? Horrible...

Color is really nice when you are looking at a GPS. For just a depth finder view, I wouldnt worry too much about the color aspect, I would get a quality black and white over a so-so-at-best color unit.

Great job, well done!!

6" blue fleck Power Worm

I have a 10 1/2 ft. jon boat in very good shape. It is just the shell, no deck or anything. I think it is the "Sears Gamefisher" model, your typical green jon boat. I want to get rid of it. It has been in my back yard for 5 years, my neighbor uses it a couple times a year and i dont remember the last time i used it. Anyway, how much can I ask for this boat? Dont want to fight someone for a couple of bucks, so what is fair? Thanks.

Not sure with that specific charger, BUT, most (all?) chargers are meant to stay plugged in all the time. They will go into "float" mode ("float" is the lingo used on my model) when the batteries are fully charged. "Float" will not burn out your batteries (at least not mine or any I have seen). Being that yours is a '92, I wouldnt bet the farm on it, but I would assume they work the same.

Flippers- yes Neoprene chest wader- yes Great way to fish.

Farm pond in NJ last week. 15 nice sized keepers.

Most of my success with -1's is to "wake" them for about 2 feet and then let them pause (5-20seconds). I would say 75% of my fish are caught while the lure is simply sitting there on top with no movement. I guess I use it more of a top water lure than a crank bait. The -1 is great around the edge of pads.

You just leave them plugged in all the time while you are at home. I "think" that "some" of the units will charge your batteries when your gas motor is running. Not sure though.

I went to 2 different Bass U. seminars. My 2 favorite speakers have been Mike Ike and Mark Menendez. Both were great speakers, fun, and full of great idea's and info. There was only 1 speaker that I didnt like, but I will save that for another topic.

Stickers. Why bother with all the work with the paint? The easier the better. Its not like you are going to be picking up chicks in your boat and you need it to look good.

Crestliner. They make a great aluminum deep V boat. I have an 18' deep V. Even though it is a V, it is a bass boat all the same. I love it. http://www.crestliner.com/boats/boat_model.asp?TID=304&BID=131