martintheduck

Try some PUMA Tekkies light. I have a pair and they do me just fine. Have holes in the sole to drain water. Made of some under-armorey material so they dry out quick.

I've used some pretty old and faded plastics before. As long as they are still soft and wiggly, use em'. Just put them into ziplock bags and they should be fine.

The weight hits the bottom and the lure stays horizontal. You get WAYYYYYYYY better action with the jika. Now - each has it's own time and place to be used. I wouldn't jika rig a fluke and I will no longer t-rig a creature bait.

That sounds literally insane in my situation. I like pulling c-rigs through stumps and brush and just imagine a whacky getting hung even more than I already do! Next time I get a wild hair I'll TRY it... just TRY it.

Just wanted to take a second and say this: When it comes to worms, I've been fishing zoom trick worms for a while and have never strayed too far from them. Occasionally I've throw a power worm or some 12" larew's or Net's. Well, my tackle shop got in some roboworm's in a really good looking color (it's a dark purple with brown underside) and I said "what the heck, I'll try them." They looked close enough to my go to zoom worms (candy bug) that I figured these robo's will work. So, took the robo's out and fished them on a c-rig and hammered em'! The fact that they are loaded with salt was apparently beneficial, because every fish I landed ENGULFED the robo. I mean INHALED them. Buddy was throwing the candy bug zooms and wasn't landing anything, just some nibbles a cpl dinks. I am a believer in the robo's now. Great bait. Been fishing them now for a few weeks and they have taken the place of my ole' faithful zooms. The color I'm using looks SUPER natural when in the water in brighter conditions. The light comes through the worm and gives it a dark brown/pinkish color about halfway to the tail. Super bait. A++. Only downside to the bait is they are a bit more $ for less worms. I think like 10 in a package for $4.50? Oh well....

Been looking at those slop craws for a minute... so you're telling me they are good!?

I don't know about better DISTANCE but I am way more accurate with micro's. I don't know about this whole AG micros being garbage either.... only micro's I have are a Shimano Cumara and a Falcon Bucoo.... I prefer to use those two rods over anything else I have

Micro guides. Better sensitivity and better casting. It is aggravating though running line through those tiny things.

X2 I'm a big fan of Stanley Ribbits b/c they chatter on top water like a buzz bait, plus you can walk em like regular frog. Any popper is a good start IMO. I'll tell you what though, the top water bite is off where I'm at right now. I mean O-F-F...OFF!

Get some Mann's 30's on something other than mono

1oz lead painted lead weight (when I need to save $), punch skirt black w/red or black w/ blue, 4/0 EWG owner, Venom dream craws. I use 30lb braid (any brand) on a 7'2 M/H fast rod. I'd prefer a 7'2 heavy and I'm just waiting to purchase one. If you haven't done much punching before, let me just tell you my experience, there is a learning curve. I IMPLORE you, don't just go find a huge spot of mat and start busting through it. I've had good success on the borders of mat, smaller isolated pockets of mat, open pockets in big mat patches... I've never had much success just aimlessly punching through stuff.

I know the feeling. Went out all day during last full moon... we caught maybe 10 between 5:00&8:00. After that we didn't get ANY bites even. Fished a few underwater lights PACKED with shad, barfish, and bream, but we couldn't pull bites. On way back in at midnight, we stopped at the underwater light by the launch and I'll tell you... there were 5 different 6+ lbs on that light and I'll be d**n - we couldn't get a bite from any of em'. Tried worms, flukes, cranks, jigs, spinners, chatters and they wouldn't touch em'. It hurts....

Crawfish are done for the season - over - finished! It brings a tear to my eye

As far as fishing spinning gear is concerned, I have a trick that might help you out.... So - you have the rod in your casing hand...the reel is hanging under the rod. You grab the line with your index finger, open the bail, cast the line while releasing with your index finger... right? Well.... try flipping the rod upside down (so the reel is on top), pinch the line down onto the rod with your thumb (making sure you are just barely holding the line under your thumb), and make your cast. If done right, the line will just slip from under your finger.

I've always gotten skunked on full moons. We decided to just stay home... even though the idea got tossed around - "maybe the HUGE moon will cut the bass on hard!??! Comeon... let's at least try!" How did you guys make out?

X2. I use a 10lb mushroom I bought for like $20. SOOOOO much better than a grapple anchor or my many "ghetto rigged" devices. Just spend a cpl dollars on a mushroom anchor, maybe $5 on some rope and you'll love it. If you have an army surplus store in your area, go buy a bundle of paracord 550 - that's what I use to tie EVERYTHING on my yak and it's held up perfectly in the water... and it's light weight

As far as impeller is concerned, I've changed them before and it was pretty easy (more easy with a second pair of hands helping). That last part you wrote, about compression being an expensive fix... that's what I was really wanting to know. I'd be really stoked if it was something simple. I guess we will find out when I get it checked out (before buying it).

About to make my purchase this week on a 08' Tracker 170 w/ Merc 2stk 50hp. I will be taking it out on the water this week before making the purchase, and of course, I plan to have a professional give it the once over to check for issues. HOWEVER - The current owner did come off some information as we were talking, before we got out on the water. The pee stream is weak and the compression is not correct (I don't know if too high or low or what). He told me the water pump was just changed this year. It is possible that something is just stuck in the intake and causing a blockage for the stream, and that can affect the compression? What can cause the compression to get messed up? Sorry if this is a crappy question, I'm just completely ignorant when it comes to outboards at the moment. I'm sure I'll learn more as the years go on.

X2. I've had nothing but success with Picasso 1/4 tungsten shaky's.

Went fishing for reds and speckled trout with a buddy in south louisiana a few weeks ago. Got my braid caught in his $1,000 + iPilot troller and got as much as I could out and then he told me "just cut it and leave the rest in there." I was dead set and pulling the prop off, but he insisted to just leave it be. For his sake, I hope he doesn't experience a problem like this! Glad it all worked out for you! By the way, how do you like the Tracker? I just posted a thread about em' trying to get some feedback from owners. Have my selection narrowed down to a tracker 175 and an xpress h17.

Get a 70qt cooler, add some kind of aquarium aerator to it, and you'll need a battery to power it. I looked into doing this on my yak, and it turned out to be too much crap to be worth it.

I use a Cumara (for the high sensitivity) MedHvy 7'2 worm/jig w/ Xfast taper. 15-17 fluro w/ 1/2oz shakyhead. As far as a reel is concerned, gear ratio doesn't really matter for me. Right now I'm using a 7:1. When fishing a SH I only use the reel to pick up bits of slack line... no real "retrieve." Try a picasso shake-e-football. As far as big worms, I don't use anything bigger than a 7in on shaky heads. Found roboworm floating worms work frigging flawless for me. If I'm pulling big worms, I run a c-rig... and if they want a bottom bait, I'll shorten the leader and put on something like a 10in power worm. Might look into a jika rig too. Curious - what has you dead set on using a shakyhead in these situations? Is it deep cover? Slopes? Rocks? What's it looking like down there?

Yes. I made one with one ring and when testing it in a bucket, the hook/bait doesn't move very well. Adding the second ring REALLY increases the movement. I just fished it for the first time a couple days ago and HOT DANG - this rig is SUPER weedless. I was pulling it through thick slop and coming out clean. I really like this rig and can't wait to get back on the water with it.

Flat out, is your boat insured? Has it been beneficial? Have you ever made a claim? Who's your provider?

I will stipulate though... if it's overcast with some dark clouds, I'll throw an all white frog to contrast better with the dark sky.