MarkH024

Boomerang tool is sweet. Works great

I already opened it up and looked months ago before I did this. I would have only gained a couple of inches, and probably not even enough to fit a 7'. Even a 6'6" rod was a tight fit on this boat. Believe me, I searched all options before cutting into the boat as I really didn't want to go that route and I even consulted with Ranger directly about it.

They provide oxygen for lakes/ponds that struggle with natural source of oxygen. They also help in the winter from having a kill off. The idea to put grass carp in a 20 acre lake was idiotic. So if those are the same people making the calls, you might as well look for a new lake to fish. You can't fix stupid.

Thanks, its not the prettiest job as of now. I'm still trying to think of ways to frame it off and make it look a bit nicer but it's functional.

So i finally got around to doing this project over the weekend. It turned out functionally as great as I imagined, cosmetically it will take a little more touching up to get it perfect but for my season starting around the corner, this will work for now. I will post this in order as I went. First image was just pulling the carpet off the sidewall which separates the rod box from the passenger console foot area. I have already removed the rod rack at this point as well. I was fortunate to only have to cut through about 3/8th inch of fiberglass so the cut was farily easy to do with a sawsall. I chose to leave the carpet on the underside of the console just for cosmetics and less framing work for later. Reinstalled the rod rack quickly to see if I have enough exposure to utilize most of it. The only two that will be useless are the very tops but if I end up with a short spinning rod or bc rod, I can end up using them. EIther way not a huge deal to me. Back to the hole I cut, I ended up using a dremel tool to even out my cuts and do some minor extending of the primary cutting I did. I then used a 60 grit sandpaper bit to smooth the fiberglass and round out the edges. After I wiped it clean, I used 2 different self adhesive materials to frame out the cut for protectiong agains my rods and reels. The first was a window sealant foam (grey color) that I ran along the inside of the cut all the way. The foam has excellent recovery from memory so I think it will last quite some time before I may need to replace it. If not, it was very inexpensive. The black rubber that you see along the edge of the hole cut is auto and marine rubber sealant. The adhesive is extremely durable and stuck to the uncut fiberglass like a charm. This allows great protection for when I'm passing the rod butts through the hole and back into the rack for storage. It will also protect if they happen to slide out and move while towing/or driving the boat. For the exposed fiberglass, I'm either going to try and reapply the carpet around that edge to finish, or I might paint it. I haven't decided but for now it works as is. Here is a view from under the console. Carpet still intact, but I still might try to improve it slightly. Not a huge issue since its not visible. All in all, I went from having a rod locker with a 6'6" max length capacity, now to over 7'6" easily. I'm happy I did it even though I was very timid to cut into the boat like that but this will make my fishing days more convenient and better protection for my rods. Also mentioned in the thread earlier was plastic restoration. I ended up getting Meguiars :Ultimate Black. http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g15812-ultimate-black/ Here is a before and after. The before pictures I had some terrible sunglare but you can see the significant improvement.

Welcome back. Good little set up there.

Here is a quick and simple guide if you want to snell your flipping/pitching hooks this season. Enjoy. http://www.animatedknots.com/snell/index.php?Categ=fishing *No need to discuss if it's necessary or not. It's been beaten to death like a dead horse here.*

I like to use a 5/0 EWG on Super. Regular fluke 4/0 EWG. Weightless for me.

As a new wader owner, I'd advise you to go try them on. If i were to have placed an order online without trying them on, I'd gotten what I thought fits good but would have been terribly uncomfortable. I ended up getting a pair of Cabela's waders and felt boots during their Spring Classic sales. I've only used them 1 time so far but they were excellent.

Air temp is going to have little effect. It's water temp you want to monitor. I guess depending on where you are in the state your water can be anywhere from 50-60 degrees at this point? Maybe a fellow MO angler will chime in. Focus on colder water tactics for now. Jerk baits, squarebills, jigs, drop shot, and a dreaded senko if you're desperate. J/k, nothing wrong with senkos, it's just a last resort for me.

Every similar situation you would use a regular frog with. It's the same thing really except the mouse walks a heck of a lot easier than a frog. So I opt to use a mouse when you're fishing sparse pads or vegetation with a lot of clearance holes or small paths to walk the mouse in. All sizes are good, but I always tend to tie the bigger of the sizes on first. My frog gear is MH/F rod, 7.0:1 ratio reel, and 50-65# braid. Use the brand of equipment you prefer.

Curious as to what dremel attachment you use? This idea has intrigued me.

Nice fish. Almost as nice as that shirt!

Watch your scalp if you're cruising in the reservation lands. A name like that will get you killed. Congrats on your purchase. Always great to be out on the water!

Bass do not stay in the same area all the time. If you're marking fish, that's a plus but until you catch a bass those fish could be other species as well. Sounds to me you're not 100% sure they're there. I fish Wisconsin mainly and often use a smokey shad color caffeine shad. My lake has 0 shad population but they slam the heck out of it. Perhaps a color change will help you out. It's worth the try. Vary your cadence too. Erattic, slow, jerky, deadsticking. All in all, you got to be where Bass are to get bit. That is one of the biggest challenges of bass fishing.....finding them first.

If you make your own baits and use it, remember the little guys when you become super rich.

Way to get on the board. I think your dog was eyeing that up for a snack.

Its all good. I didn't take offense.

Lol. FIB

x2

Are there fish present where you're throwing it? If so, how do you know? Caffeine shad is one of my skunk buster baits. It always produces for me.

No worries, I get it completely. My home lake is small so I don't share the name to many people.

I just checked some reports on that area, some lakes with ice, some without as of now. Based off that info, Bass will probably be on beds last 2 weeks of May into June. I think you'll be finding fish in all 3 stages of spawn to be honest. What lake will you be fishing?

Pics or it didn't happen.

It is different every year, solely based off ice out. Once the ice is gone, shallower lakes can heat up quickly if the sun shines often. Cold rains can cool the water down really quick. Based off my experiences, you'll find fish spawning (all stages) from May-Mid June. The only way you're going to really know is to just get out there and look. The weather and temps are so inconsistent in the midwest that it is never a set in stone time frame. If you're targeting LMB at that time, look in 6 fow or less and lots of cover. If you're targeting smallies, 8-12 fow, in rock, sand, riprap closest to the greenest vegetation you can find. Good luck!