Al Wolbach

Not my idea of country............................but you are right about her public image....Al

First new car- 1965 Ford Galaxie 500XL(red) 390 4 speed Second new car- 1969 Plymouth GTX(yellow w/black vinyl top)) 440 6 pack Third new car- 1969 Chevy Z28 Camero(orange w/white stripes) 302 4 speed(M22) and yes, two in the same year. I wasted a lot of money in my youth. Sure wish I still had the cars, but the memories will have to do..............Al

Brian, all of the brands you have listed are quality brands and should serve you well. The life of a trolling motor battery is determined as much by the maintenance as by the brand. That is part of the reason for so many different recommendations. A Walmart battery last a year with one person and 5 years with another with about the same usage. The onboard charger that came with my bassboat will fry batteries and I am lucky to get 2 years from a set of batteries, regardless of brand.(the boat is a 98 model Champion). I purchased a portable smart charger about 5 years ago and have not changed batteries since. There are good smart onboard chargers now that were not available at the time my boat was built. IMHO, you get what you pay for with batteries as long as they are properly maintained...............Al

Marine starting batteries are designed to take more shock and vibration than their automotive counterparts. The offroad vehicles we see on TV normally run AGM or gell cell batteries for the same reasons, plus they can be turned upside down without damage. Marine batteries are just built to handle a little more abuse from rough water.......................Al

As long as you don't fish a lot of weeds you will be fine. My 20' Champion came with 67lb MG Brute and it was fine until I fished lakes with heavy weeds.............Al

Traveler; If the wind is blowing 40 mph no one should be on Guntersville, or most other lake for that matter, unless in a protected area. The upper end near Scottsboro might be ok, on or near the river. But I would have been looking for a bar to wait out the wind. When I am running a chop I keep the bow down also. That is usually all it takes to maintain a fairly smooth ride. What I was addressing with the "bow up" was really rough water. Water you are crossing when you should have stayed home and the entire crossing you are cussing your bad judgement and wishing you were home or in that bar I mentioned. Let me explain that Champions ride bow higher than most other bass boats. When sitting in the water at rest the bow to stern angle is steeper than most other bass boats. This is especially true of the 203 which is the model I have. But you can get your boat to this angle underway with the trim switch, just trim up a bit. When I am running in this really rough water I want the bow high enough that very little or no spray/splash is coming over the bow. I'm talking "running" as just a few mph, just making headway. Never paid much attention to the tach but probably not more than 2000 rpm. In effect using the hull to shield youself from the weather/waves as much as possible. Does that explain?

One thing you learn quickly, there is no dry travel in rough water, so put on your rain suit and go, but go slowly and keep the bow high. Moving directly into or with the wind will help but is not usually an option. It is much smoother to travel with the wind than into it but that too is not always an option. A crossing wind is killer and usually the roughest since the waves and bow splash both get you. I have run a zig zag course to try to avoid the crossing wind/waves, with limited success. As suggested above traveling the leeward side of the lake is good, if an option. I have done this on Lake Istapoga in Florida, which is a round lake, in order to run the boat with the wind to my back across the main body of the lake towards the launch site. This rarely is an option though. But any time you can run with the wind. Usually when it is really rough you are in open water so it is relatively safe to run slow with the bow high. This will blind you to your course of travel so you will need to slow to an idle now and then to get your bearings and make a course correction but it will shield you from some of the weather. Unfortunately GPS don't update often enough to be very helpful when going this slow so slow down and look is the only answer that I know. One suggestion I would make is before you make a trip across rough water is clear the decks of all rods/reels, tackle bags etc. You do not want to stop to secure a bouncing rod or piece of equipment. I even lock my rod lockers to prevent them from bouncing open. Once on Guntersville in rough water I had several rods strapped down on the bow but the locker lids were bouncing so high(even with hyd closures) I was afraid they would break the rods, so I had to stop. BTW, I have one of the better rough water bass boats, 20ft Champion. Experience is the only real teacher but I hope this helps. Stay safe. Sometimes waiting out a storm is the best option...............Al

Very cool. Thanks for sharing............................Al

Fishing Rhino has given good advice. If your RPM were low enough to shut down your engine on impact I do not think you damaged the shaft, but check it anyway. No warranty on props but you can ask, they may have a used one laying around and willing to give it to you or sell at a good price. I suspect you have an aluminum prop and they can be repaired by a prop shop as can a stainless prop. If you don't know of a local prop shop your dealer can probably send it to one for you. Bear in mind it may cost a little more and may take longer to get it back. A new aluminum prop will cost around $100-150 around here and repair $50-75. I would look for a stainless prop on various flea markets or Ebay. Stainless props are much stronger and you may see a small performance gain since the blades do not flex as much as aluminum. You can probably find a used ss prop around $200. Just be sure to match the size and pitch. The prop shops in my area also sell used props so this may be another option for you.............Al

I have a 1998 203DCX w/225 Yamaha. I ordered it in 1998 and plan on keeping it forever. My two best friends have a 206 and a 176(I think) and both love theirs as well. If the 196 you are looking at is well maintained I believe you will really like it. We all are discussing repowering our boats now with 4 stroke Yamahas.As stated above the ride and handling are second to none but with that you lose a tick of speed. In my area(East Tn) you compete in tournaments with Allisons and Bullets and when the water is smooth you can't beat them to a hole. But when the wind picks up, or boat traffic, and the water gets rough the Champion shines. I have never had a fishing partner that did not comment about the smooth ride. The storage is about average I suppose in volume. Rod lockers are a little longer and larger than most boats and the dry storage is truely dry, no matter what the weather. Overall they are well built and have a faithful following.............Al PS I'm not sure what the width of the 196 is but my 203 is about 90 inches and my buddy's 206 is about 95 inches. The narrower boats handle a bit better, ride a bit better and are more responsive but the 95 inch boats fish a bit better. My narrow boat rocks a little more if a big guy moves suddenly from side to side. One of my fishing buddies weights near 270 and when he makes a long cast I feel it up front. This is not a real problem but at least you are aware. However, I would not trade my Champion for any other boat. It's not often you see a Champion for sale because their owners will not part with them.....

After you replace the fuel filter run a heavy mixture of Seafoam through it. This will clean the fuel system and may cure the problem. Yamaha recommends Ring Free but I prefer Seafoam because it is much easier to find and it works in any gasolene engine......................Al

Done, no problem..............

Tournament and gin clear water is a no brainer. Light line floro or at least a long leader of light line floro. Tournaments are not a place to experiment. If you prefish try both, if you don't prefish eliminate any doubt by fishing floro....................Al

You can add a lot of depth to the blast by wrapping toilet paper around the handle about 15 times before dropping in the water. Never tried it, just saying...........................

I prefer the Ugly Otter

One point Sam may have not made clear is you need to know the value of the boat, motor, trailer and contents individually. The insured value of each is necessary in case only one is damaged or stolen, ie, your trailer stolen while you are fishing..........Al

Say thank you to Seafoam. The stuff works......................Al

What I have been taught here in East Tennessee is the Rock Bass can be easily identified by their red eyes and small size..............................Al

You can get one at a number of places including BPS, Cabelas or Gander Mountain or even Sears, Wal-mart, Sams or Costco depending on your area. Around here Northern Tool and Farmers Co-op have about the best prices that I have found. Nearly every business that has tires will carry trailer wheels and tires.....................Al

That should work well. Just be sure to mount it so nothing can slide around and break that valve. I used teflon tape on all of threaded fittings when I installed mine..............Al

You must mount the bracket that holds/supports the filter to the boat. I would suggest near the gas tank in an area that is easy to reach in order to change the filter without spilling much gasolene. The filter should be mounted after the squeeze bulb so you can use the squeeze bulb to fill the filter after installation/change. Check your boat to see how much extra fuel line is available laying in the boat. You may need to buy extra fuel line to install the filter ass'y depending on where you mount it. You will need 2 SS hose clamps. Easy install.............................Al

Ditto- I would jump on that now..........................Al

Thanks for the input guys. Great video J Francho. Thanks again guys......................Al

I flip the East Tennessee lakes with 20lb floro and for about the last 20 years have used the Trilene knot with good success. However I have been giving some thought to trying the snell knot for the above purpose but I an not sure of the knot strength with floro. Does anyone have experience with the snell knot and floro? Thanks..............Al

It works, but I would not throw it from shore.............................Al