clipper

I went fishing with my son Tyson and his wife Deseret this morning on Lake Allatoona. Tyson was going to have Des fish with a white Rooster Tail because that is all she had used in the past (she has just started fishing). I handed her my Senko rig and told her how to fish it. I then proceeded to catch a 16" spot on a Zara Spook Jr. Next thing I know I hear Des carrying on in the back of the boat and her rod is bent. She landed a 14" spot on about her 3rd or 4th cast. She went on to catch two more good size spots and had a ball with the Senko. Tyson finally caught up with her about mid morning, but she ragged him good as long as she was outfishing him. Hope I haven't spoiled her with the Senko. All in all, a good morning with 11 fish between the 3 of us, but the best part was watching how thrilled Des was when she landed a fish. That was her best trip so far.

You are obviously a good welder and enjoy inventing and making things. Enjoy the boat with your son. That will be even more rewarding than creating the boat you are using. You came up with a very unique way of mounting the outriggers. I'm impressed.

You did the old girl proud! She looks great now.

Thanks to Glenn and the other moderators for all the hard work you do and keeping the site clean and friendly. I have seen terrible attacks on people on other boards and it makes me feel good knowing that will not be tolerated here. I haven't been able to fish much lately, and coming here at night and reading the posts helps me stay into the fishing frame of mind.

Get out your manual and see what size fuse or circuit breaker motorguide recommends. Also make sure your wiring is sized to carry that much current without overheating. Your manual should give you a recommendation on that as well. If you don't have a manual get online with motorguide and ask them what to do. If the recommended size circuit breaker or fuse won't hold then you have a problem. The fact that you had a 20 amp fuse installed may mean that the boat was once set up for a smaller trolling motor and the wiring may be too small for your 70 lb thrust motor.

The bracket the roller was mounted on is obviously not touching the hull of the boat or you wouldn't even be considering hauling it to the lake. According to where the roller was located, you could try backing the trailer into to water far enough to completely float the boat off the trailer. Getting it off that way is easy, getting it back on that way is nearly impossible if there is any wind. You might get it back on with someone holding it in place while you slowly pull out of the water. But --- Is one fishing trip worth putting a permanent scratch :(in your first boat?

It's called rust converter. I used it on a very rusty trailer and then painted it with high quality industrial enamel and it held up very well. As stated above, wire brush it aggressively and make sure you have enough thickness of steel left to support the boat.

I have finally found another Orlando Clipper owner . I guess I don't have the only Clipper in existence anymore. Mine is a 13.5' fiberglass open type fishing boat that my Dad purchased new and picked up at the factory in Orlando in the early to mid sixties, I think. I installed a deck on mine similar to yours. I will post a pic of mine as soon as I get a chance to clean her up. Looks like you are having a ball building your boat. Good luck and keep it as light as possible. I used stainless steel screws for all my wood - wood fasteners. You were wise to get rid of all the steel in the boat. Did you check it for leaks before you started installing the deck?

I had been using cheap batteries from a local battery store and not getting good service from them. I bought 2 Trojans from Batteries Plus and they are stronger and run longer than the others. They are expensive, but if I have the money when it's time to replace I will buy Trojans again. It is also very important to follow good charging practices to get maximum battery life.

Don't coat the outside with fiberglass or anything else that will keep the wood from drying out if/when it does get wet on the inside and it will. Google the "Rot Doctor" and look at their Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer. I don't know if it will work on OSB but it will rot proof wood and plywood. I used it on a fishing boat deck that has sat outside in the weather for several years and it is still holding up. It is expensive and may be more than replacing the OSB but it would save you the labor of redoing the deck. It penetrates the pores of the wood and keeps it from rotting on the inside. Does a much better job than thinned down resin, I have used both.

The crappie need to be harvested to keep their numbers down. I understand they will overpopulate a small lake and hurt the other fish species if not kept in check. The bass can not stand that kind of fishing pressure and I don't know about bluegill.

Not only does the price of gas affect where I fish, it also reduced the number of 2 hour trips I took to deer camp last year >. If all these folks that drive SUVs would get a Honda, it would reduce the demand for and then the price of gas and I could afford to drive my F-150 ;D. I wouldn't even mind if they cut the speed limit back to 55 like they did in the 70s to reduce demand for gas.

My son was cleaning out the crawl space of a vacant house and found a wooden box with a bamboo fly rod in it. It has a tag on the handle that says "Vicki", and a crown on the tag as well. At the bottom is the word "Japan". In the box are a butt and middle section and three different tips. There is also an assortment of flys. I would say it was never used and it appears to have been sold as a kit. I cleaned the mold and mildew off of it but the wraps are coming loose on the guides. The cork handle is in good shape and except for on very small crack in the bamboo it looks to be sound. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about it. I think it may be an inexpensive kit, but you never know.

Don't waste time using the baits and techniques you usually fish. Listen to what he tells you and then do it and keep on doing it. He knows the lake and the fish. You should be hitting them at a real good time. Have fun, and make sure your line is good. There are some nice 8-) fish in that lake.

Caught March 18 at Lake Varner in Georgia, 7 lbs- 6 oz. Georgia State record is 22 lbs - 4 oz. 7.375/22.25 X 100 = 33% Someone turned my camera sideways :-[.

My son Tyson always outfishes me, so it was particularly gratifying to catch this big female. She put up quite a fight on 8lb line and a not so heavy spinning outfit. He still caught more fish than I did, but I got the big one. He converted my 14' fishing boat to an electric boat tonight and is headed back to Varner in the morning to redeem himself. Randall, if he is on your spots tell him to go find his own fish . We had a great day with Randall. He is a great fisherman and guide, and I was amazed at how well he knew the lake. I mean the whole lake, not just the shoreline. I realized I didn't know the water I usually fish that well so I have some work to do. Who knows, I might take what Randall taught me Tuesday and catch a real largemouth on Lake (Spotted Bass) Allatoona. Thanks, Randall for a great day of fishing.

One last post. I owe Bill Dance a debt of gratitude. My son was watching him on TV when he was 5 and started begging me to take him fishing. I did and we've been fishing together ever since. That was in 1987. Bill's not the only TV fisherman he watched but he cetainly had an influence on my son, and it was a good influence. I wonder how many other kids he got hooked on fishing?

Hang in there, if you stay quit for a year and save the money, you could buy one of those fancy new side imaging sonars that all the pro's have on their rigs now. Whenever you get the urge to smoke, log onto the website instead.

Fishindaddy, please add me to the list. I modified my first post on page 2 to include the type bass. I left it off the original post. Is my picture fuzzy enough :-/.

Move to Bartow or Cherokee County Georgia instead of Maryland. Lake Allatoona - 15 minutes away; Lanier 90 minutes; Weiss - 90 minutes; Oconee, Sinclair, and Westpoint - 2hrs, Guntersville, Logan Martin, and others within 3 - 3.5 hours. Plenty of clubs here and plenty of pot tournaments. We also fish all winter if we want to; I've only broken ice once to get in the lake. If you hunt, fish, drive a PU, and learn to talk slow you will fit in fine .

You guys had me hooked solid this weekend. I was checking the website every chance I got all weekend long. I couldn't wait to get home from work tonight and check the coverage. Great job and thanks. This added a personal touch to what ESPN was showing.

Glad to find someone besides me that fished with Fliptail worms. My Dad knew and fished with the guys who made them and we had a generous supply. My favorite was the purple Big Daddy Fliptail. We fished them on a wire guard weedless hook with 3 or split shot 14" up the line. Caught a lot of fish on them including one 11+ lb bass out of Lanier. My Dad also had Dalton Special topwater plugs and Woble-rite spoons. I also remember some topwaters with spinners front and back too.

One of you guys need to loan Timmy Horton a good warm hat, even though he does look kinda warm inside. Anybody know if Locks of Love takes grey hair? I've always wanted an excuse to grow a ponytail. I would also save money on haircuts. 8-)

Count me in. Largemouth and spotted too if they count.

Memory No. 2, camping out on Rattlesnake Point at lake Seminole with my dad, watching the glowing eyes of the racoons surrounding our campfire at night, and fishing the seepage ponds around Lake Seminole. Memory No. 3, watching the fog on the St. Johns River in Florida as I rode to Lake Dexter with my dad. Catching our limit of shellcracker there. Watching a water hyacynth float disappear under a bank of hyacynths and setting the hook hard after letting the bass run, stop, and start again. Landing my first 8+ lb bass with my dad and Buck Dillard as our guide on the St. Johns. Catching St. Johns schooling bass two at a time on a Dalton Special with a Marm tied behind as a trailer, and throwing back in the school and doing it again with a cast on my broken arm. I guess I have several favorite memories