Brine

Caught 2 on Christmas Eve on a rattle bait. Water temp was 44.6

I guess part of that depends on the bodies of water you will predominantly fish, as well as your desired outcome (cosmetic and function) when you are finished. As a general rule, flat bottoms are the most stable but don't do too well in big water, V-Hulls are good in big water, but usually don't offer as much stability if you intend to have a casting deck, and the modified-V is right in between and is my preference. The vast majority of lakes I ever fish are either electric only or have a 10hp restriction. Your budget will have alot to do with what you will be looking at. If I were looking for one, I'd be looking for an all welded, modified v, but would be open to buying a riveted boat too if the price was right (which I did). In either case, I would ask the seller if the boat has any known leaks, and if you happen to see the boat at night and there are no decks, you can take a buddy with a flashlight/spotlight and have him shine the light inside the boat while you are underneath. Don't forget to go over the trailer good too, as replacing wheel's hubs, and tires will usually cost at least $200-$300 dollars. If you're not in a rush, take your time buying one. There are deals to be had right now and most of them are on boats that are fish-ready. Once you get a boat and are ready to start modding it, ask for advice along the way. I've learned so much from others and am thankful I didn't try to pioneer my buildout, as I would have undoubtedly made some bad decisions along the way. Go over the hull carefully and look for any corrosion/holes. Take note of what (if any) accessories that work which come with the boat like seats, pedestals, pumps, lights, graphs, trolling motors etc..because I have found that it's the little things that add up quick in doing one from scratch. The outboard (if offered) will also have a big impact on the value of the purchase. Take into consideration that it's tough to buy just a bare hull and build it out completely and expect someone to be willing to pay you the cost of what it was to build with the amount of "ready to fish" boats on the market for less. I took on the project because I like tinkering and couldn't afford to buy what I wanted all at once, not because I thought I would save money on a boat. Keep an eye on craigslist, and certainly if you drive by a house with a boat next to it or in the back yard that has trees groing in it, there's a good chance you could get a good deal on it. Good Luck!

Good timing on this. I've been looking myself and doing some research, and have come to understand this. If you can afford them, LED's are the way to go; however, if you're gunna buy them, don't base your choice on which to buy on the cheapest ones you find. I've seen pictures and comments from people who have purchased LED's and as mentioned above, within less than a year, the lights start going out either one bulb at a time, or row at a time. The Blazer products are made in Taiwan. Some company's products are made in the USA and then sent to China to be assembled. Optronics is what I will be purchasing, which is made and assembled in the USA. Interestingly enough, the Bass Pro near me stocks Optronics in the old bulb style lamps, and Blazer in all the LED's. Of my research, Optronics seems to be regarded as top quality in the industry.

I would look at the coleman crawdad or a riverhawk. Personally, I like the riverhawk.

Aluminum Composite Panels

Quanjig, To your question, I don't see that there is any difference between supporting the 4mm (.157) ACM product vs .125 aluminum sheet. I assume it wont be as rigid as a 6000 T6 alloy, but my framing would be the same for either application. I plan to lay pieces of closed cell foam cut from a sheet that is the same thickness as the height of my ribs at the floor which should help with any flex some. I'm also using .125 x 1.5 aluminum angle to frame out my decks. I will PM you a link with my progress. If you google ACM products, you should find someone close to you. The particular product I am looking at is Alcubond and is on sale for $2/sq ft. The last prices I got from a supply house for aluminum sheet ranged from $5.27-$6.72/sq.ft depending on the alloy. If you happen across any useful information, I would appreciate it as well. Thanks.

If it's already peeling, a wire brush on a grinder should make short work of it. Bare Aluminum once exposed to air will start to oxidize immediately and becomes it's own best protection. Don't expect the boat to remain shiny though after you've removed the paint. As it oxidizes, it will turn a grayish color. The paint is probably peeling because the prepwork was never done correctly, or the wrong paint is being used. If you're going to use the wire cup brush and take it down to bare metal, make sure to use a self-etching primer like zinc chromate (or similar) before you apply your paint. Not sure of the forum rules, but there is a great site (who also mentions this site) that is specific to Tin Boats if you want some great ideas on painting a jon with numerous boat modifications.

Anyone have any experience with these panels? I'm in the process of modding a jon boat and don't want to use any wood. This product is roughly 1/3 the price of sheet aluminum on sale at a local supplier. The only downside I see is that it can't be welded which doesn't bother me, because I don't weld. Anyone know why it wouldn't work well as decking in a jon boat?

never read they hibernate

Do you mean interpreting?

I've learned the hard way that while braid is ultra sensative, it is useless for detecting a stike if there is any slack in your line. If you are in the habit (as I was) of moving your bait by raising your rod tip and lowering the bait on a slack line with braid, you won't feel many of the bites. Once I switched back to mono or even flouro, I felt I was able to let the bait drop more naturally while keeping contact with the bait. That drop is 90% of when I get bit and using braid took feeling those bites away from me. I wouldn't be suprised if someone contradicts this, but that's how it works for me.

Tibble is covered up with hydrilla. The only place it doesn't cover on the main/big lake are the creek channels and the area around the dam.