Mid-MO

I used my new Lee Precision Melter for the first time today. Worked fine for the first 10 jigs or so before it shut down and wouldn't ever heat back up. I had power to the outlet (other stuff worked that I plugged in). I waited until it completely cooled down and tried again - still wouldn't heat back up. Any suggestions?

I've called both Stamina and Barlow's looking for something that will work. They neither one had anything (one of the guys I talked to wasn't even sure what a Terminator skirt looked like). I ended up ordering some skirt umbrella's (which are designed for banded skirts) and thought I'd try to make those work. I've got the Terminator catalog - they have a nice selection of skirts (27 different colors) but aren't cheap at 2 for $3.99 (plus $5-7 shipping). I've never found a real big color selection at any Bass Pro or tackle shop locally. Sounds like you found a really good deal!! I might try to find some plastic tubing with an inside diameter big enough to slide over my hook and do some experimenting (maybe attempt to heat and flare one end).

I'm wanting to make some skirts that are similar to Terminators. It appears to me that they just wrap and glue the skirt around a rubber collar that is flared on one end. I've looked through Barlow's and Stamina's catalogs and the only thing I've found that is close is a skirt umbrella in Barlow's catalog (which I don't think is the same thing). Anyone got any suggestions or know where I need to look? Thanks

I bought the Eagle FishElite 500C yesterday with the external antenna. Anybody have any suggestions on the best spot to mount the antenna? Is it best to have it as close to the transducer as possible?

I just bought an Eagle 500C after looking closely at a Lowrance 332C (basically the same things). The major differences were the higher resolution, power, and compatibility that the Lowrance offered. I talked to a tech from Eagle/Lowrance and was told that for fishing in mostly shallow water that the difference in resolution and power wouldn't make much of a difference. You might want to call and talk to a tech (just be prepared to hold - I was on hold for almost 40 minutes).

I talked to a tech from Eagle/Lowrance on the phone about the internal antenna. She said she had done some experimenting with the internal unit and found that the actual case of the unit starts to block the GPS signal at a tilt of about 10 degrees. Just some information to pass along I guess.

Other than the screen resolution and power is there much of a difference in Lowrance and Eagle. Is everything else on the units made from the same parts? I don't think I have room betweeen the guages to mount on the dash. So I'll be mounting it beside the dash. I've heard that the internal antenna is less likely to have to be replaced than an external. Anyone know for sure?

I'm going to be buying my first GPS unit. I'm wanting to stay with Eagle or Lowrance and want to stay at around $500 for the unit. A color unit isn't a must - but something I'm leaning towards. I'm leaning towards the Eagle FishElite 502C iGPS for about $450. The GPS antenna for is is internal as I understand it and the unit will be as easy to install as a normal sonar unit. Has anyone used this or have a better suggestion? Also - I'm going to be fishing Missouri lakes- primarily Lake of the Ozarks and Pomme de Terre. Is there one map card that is better than another (closer contour lines, etc) for this area?? Anything anyone can add is appreciated. Thanks

Thanks

1) I fish a local city lake that is managed by the conservation deparment. Everytime I'm out there - there seems to be fish jumping and breaking the surface. When I see one coming out of the water - it always seems to have a yellow belly. What kind of fish is it? Yesterday I was in a couple of different coves where small balls of baitfish were on the surface. I'm fairly certain some bass were breaking the surface on them but never actually saw one (I could hear the tail smacking the water - kind of like a clapping noise). 2) I've been using a carolina rig a lot more as the summer goes on. Yesterday - I was fishing a point that had a large drop-off on it. I was dragging the c-rig right up to the ledge and then could feel it falling off the drop off. Right on top of the ledge I was feeling something different on the bottom than anything I've felt yet (chunk rock, mud bottom, brush pile, etc). The feeling was similar to what a crankbait feels like when dug along a rocky bottom. I hooked into a little branch at one point making me think it might be brush. To find out I threw a crankbait and texas rigged worm and couldn't find any brush. I also idled over it with my depthfinder and find any brush on bottom. Any idea what it is I'm dragging the c-rig over?

That is a lot of interesting ideas - I'll probably have to try a few.

Where are you searching - on the mesage boards? I tried that last night and again just now (using the white box in the upper right hand corner). This post is the only thing that has come up. Am I not looking in the right spot? Thanks

Just curious to see some ideas on what everyone uses (tree type, weights, rope/wire, etc). I saw a pretty good idea the other day - a guy uses old pallets, weights them down with cinder blocks and ties some limbs to them. Seems to be a pretty good idea. Any others?

I've got a 95 Nitro with a 75 HP Mercury on it. I really don't think the weight is out of balance (battery on each side, myself and a passenger - roughly equal weight, livewell in the middle, rods on one side and tackle on the other). I did adjust the trim tab on the engine - it didn't look quite square with the motor to me. It was starting to bounce a little and I only had it trimmed between 1/4 and a 1/2 on the guage - but I didn't have it a full throttle either.

Just curious to see what people think about these. I don't currently have one but am thinking about buying one and seeing what people have to say about them. Bass Pro has the Sting Ray Speed-XP Stablizer for $54.99. Is it worth the money? My boat leans to the left a little bit after I get on plane (and I'm pretty sure there is more weight on the right). It will level out if I trim it up some (but I also am having problems with it bouncing when I trim it up). Will the stabilizer help with any of this? Thanks

When I bought my boat it came with a Lowrance x-47 on it. The previous owner had installed it himself I think. I'm having problems with it on the water. When I'm trolling or moving fairly slowly it seems to be getting a reading most of the time - but not all the time. Whenever, I start the motor and am below wake speed - it gets a reading about half the time. I'm having problems with it finding the right screen setting - it bounces back and forth between 10 an 20' screens quite a bit. When I open it up and pick up speed it loses the bottom completely. I'm guessing this is all because it was mounted in the wrong place. It is mounted about 18 inches from the center of the boat and about 16" back from the outer edge. The problem I would guess is that it is mounted about 1" above the bottom of the boat. I know mounting instructions say to mount it so that it hangs below the boat to avoid as much interference as possible. I don't want to move it (and have those two holes in my boat) unless necessary. Is there something else that could be the problem other than the transducer location?

It is a 1994.

Thanks!

I've got a 75 HP Mercury on a boat I just bought used and put in the water for the first time today. Started and ran great all morning and afternoon. On the way back to the ramp late this afternoon, the engine lost power. It wouldn't climb above about 2200 RPM's. If I put it in neutral and gave it gas, the engine would run normal on the RPM's. When I put it back in gear - still wouldn't climb above about 2200. The boat had about a 1/4 of a tank of gas when I bought it. Mercury said it could be old gas that affected the carbs. As far as I could tell there weren't any problems with the oil or overheating. Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions? THANKS!

That is what concerns me too - that there could be structural damage. But from everything I've pushed on and looked at - everything appears to be solid. I did peel some of that caulk off last night (I'm going to take the rest off today) and for about 6 inches along that edge are chips. Some of them are fairly big ones but none of them have gone through the hull and they aren't visible from inside the boat. Once again everything looks solid despite the visual evidence. He has apparently replaced the livewell pump (new pipe running out of the hull) and switched the drain plug and fitting at some point. I had just assumed he had chipped that when changing those things out. I actually bought this through a marina on consignment. I called them and they were going to talk to the original owner on Monday and see what he says. How easily can something like this be repaired? Any idea what kind of cost I might be getting into?

I bought a 95 Nitro from an individual this spring. It has a small crack on the floor inside the boat back behind the bilge pump. The original owner had put some kind of patch over it that hadn't held (I pulled it off really easily in chunks). I crawled under the boat and looked for cracks/holes and didn't find any. The only damage on the outside of the boat is around the aerator and drain plug (this is kind of hard to explain). There is a right angle (an "L" shape) molded in the hull where the aerator inlet and drain plug come out. He has caulked along the bottom edge of that pretty heavily with the same stuff he used to seal around his new aerator inlet he installed (if that makes any sense). I had it in the water for about an hour this week and got a little water in the boat. I'm pretty sure it is leaking really slowly through that crack. The crack is appears to be more horizontal - running parallel to the boats bottom. When I push on the crack, I get just a small amount of water to seep out. I'm trying to decide what I need to do. Should I patch it myself or take it to a boat fiberglass repair shop (have no idea what that might cost)? It isn't leaking fast enough right now to hurt anything and could probably be sealed pretty easily. I'm more worried about the long term problems and if there might be some structural damage I'm not aware of. Everything feels solid though. Any suggestions/thoughts?? THANKS!