TXbASSassin90

Howdy! I'm new to the forum so I figured I would cordially introduce myself. Let me go ahead and say that I am computer-illiterate; please bear with me. I am a senior Agriculture Leadership & Development major at Texas A&M University. I will get my undergraduate degree next summer (actually on time!), and I will be attending graduate school to work towards a Master's Degree in Agriculture Systems Management. I live in College Station, Texas, and I am from Boerne, Texas; 30 miles north of San Antonio. Fishin is a get-away for my roommate and I. I picked up a 14' jon boat with a trailer and 9.9 Mariner for $74! Yeah, the boat has some issues: It leaks a little water but I ain't scared. When the water gets ~ankle-deep, I just twist the tiller throttle and pull the plug. Who said jon boats aren't self-bailing? While the boat is a bit sketchy, the 9.9 Mariner is the best motor I have ever owned. It ALWAYS starts on the first pull of the rope--no matter how long it has been sittin--I don't even have to stand up. I can reach around and give a slight yank and she is purrin. Regardless, it is way too much motor for the boat. It's 14', but it's only 4' wide at the widest point. I have to put a 45qt. Yeti--full of beer--my fishin buddy, spare batteries, trollin motor, and tackle at the front of the boat to get it to plane out. Partially due to the fact that I can't trim the motor; the previous owner hit two submerged trees in one day and sheered all of the trim tabs off. Thank The Lord I don't go fishin without a packed Yeti and a fishin buddy! Also, my roommate and I recently picked up a Bayou Bass Challenge 1993 Skeeter ZX175 with a sweet dual axle trailer, for $500 (picture attached, and the picture makes it look alot better than it really does). But when I say we got a Bayou Bass Challenge 1993 Skeeter ZX175 with a sweet dual axle trailer, for $500, we bought a trailer that is worth $1,000 that just-so-happens to have a boat on it. The previous owner completely stripped it--motor, steering, steering wheel, electronics, remote, gauges, and some parts of the wiring harness. The floor is fairly solid and we have half-ass tested the transom. The transom seems solid so far; we won't really know til we hang a motor on it. We took the boat to a local boat ramp, left it winched to the trailer, and let it sit for an hour and a half or so. It took on a couple inches of water in the stern hatch, but that's what the bilge pump is for, right? Hahah however, the carpet was rough, and we decided to make an investment and redo the floor. Once we got it torn apart, we could see that one of the stringers is rotted. We are going to have to split the hull and undertake a virtually complete restoration. On a lighter note, I managed to pick up a rebuilt 1980 Johnson Seahorse 115 with the remote, steering, and hydraulic tilt/trim for $350. The owner claimed it does not run, but after a quick rundown, I believe I can make it run fairly easily. There was a loose ground wire on the starter, and the bendix gear on the starter is pretty stripped. The PowerPack looks brand new; I asked the previous owner if it had good spark, and his response was, "I have no idea, I don't know how to check." Then I asked if it had good compression, and his response was, "I have no idea, I don't know how to check." I have not had a chance to check either, as I am a full time student, but I think if I hold my mouth right, it will run. Fortunately, I was also able to pick up an identical non-running motor for $100. The bendix gear on it is good, so I plan to swap the bendix gears, check the compression, check the spark, put some gas to it, and fire it up. I am a deal-seeker; I picked up 2 Lowrance GPS fish finders for $125 and a Minn Kota 80lbs. thrust foot-controlled trollin motor for $215. All this bein said, I just received an email from the investment firm that is developing the neighborhood I am livin in. The email essentially stated that I could not park my boats in the neighborhood. Apparently, "They are not eye-appealing, and detract from the community development." The boats are parked in my designated, marked parking spots, that are in an alleyway behind my house. I pay for the parking sports. The neighborhood is basically a college-student-exclusive community, and nobody has filed a complaint against me. I am exercising all of my legal options to appeal the violation, but I am afraid there is no way I will win. The outcome is grim; I will probably have to take both boats back to my hometown and keep them at my parent's house--three hours away--and I REFUSE to rent a storage unit to store my personal property in when I am already paying for two parking spots that are designated to me, and no one parks in. I guess the investment firm developing the community is comprised of a buncha low-down fratboys! To the important stuff; the fishin. The drought in Texas has killed my local fishin spots. It has to be the drought, right? It can't be the fisherman! My roommate had a small pond that was a honey-hole for large quantities of small bass. Bank fishin with a 1-3ft Rapala square bill crankbait, I would catch 20-30 small bass in a couple hours at any time of the day. It had a few good sized fish too; the fish in my avatar was caught out there on a 5-7ft opaque crankbait and weighed in unofficially at 8.68 pounds (picture attached, and the picture does not do the fish justice). I also caught a 6 pounder, and three 4 pounders. My roommate has caught about the same tally out there. Since the draught really started, I have caught 3 fish on that water. That pond is about 8 minutes from my house. About 20 minutes from the house is Gibbons Creek Reservoir. Gibbons held the Texas state record for largemouth for quite some time (I don't remember exactly how long). One of my fishin buddies caught a Talapia on Gibbons as well! However, Gibbons is typically used to cool the turbines in a power plant on the lake. The plant then discharged the warmer water back into the lake. Yet, the power plant has been shut down for two and a half years with no word on when it will be back in service. As a result, the water temperature is a constant 6-8 degrees colder than normal, and the water gates have been closed due to the drought: No fresh water flowing in the lake. We all know what that can do to bass. Fortunately, the catfish were ON FIRE last spring, so we could at least get out on the water and have a successful day. Once we get the boat storage situation panned-out and finish the restoration of the Skeeter, we plan on makin a weekend trip down to Lake Falcon--of course, with Mr. 9mm on my left hip, Mr. .45 on my right hip, and an AR15 in the rod locker! If anyone local is interested, we would love to make it a trip. The more the merrier! On the same note, if anyone local wants to strike out to Gibbons Creek, Lake Somerville, Lake Conroe, or anywhere fairly close, a day drinkin beer and rippin lips on the water with good people is the greatest medium of stress relief on Earth! My roommate and I are always willin to wet-a-line. I think that's enough rantin for one post--much less my first post! Thanks and Gig 'Em!