WIGuide

Can be fixed, by a prop shop. Otherwise, you can replace it with a new or used prop as long as you know what you're looking for. If it were me, I'd buy a used stainless prop for it.

No, boat weights are listed in hull weight, so it will be boat only. Anything you add to it will be extra including batteries, fuel, water in the livewell, etc., etc.

Fish them as is out of the package. If it comes with a split ring you can tie directly to it and do it tightly without any loop. If it comes without tie some sort of loop knot. Also don't swap split rings to switch lures. You'll wear the split rings out and they'll break on you. Also, as someone else mentioned, if you busting off, it's most likely due to the knots your tying, or you're using too light of line. On a side note, welcome to the forums, If you haven't already, head on over to the introductions section and introduce yourself!

That wouldn't be too bad of a starter boat. One thing you want to be careful of is what 40 hp it has on it. I believe early 90's was before Force was bought out by Mercury, and those were the years OMC was building motors for tracker as wll. Mercury or OMC are fine, but if it's got the Force, that drops the value considerably.

Welcome to the forums!

They're quite the fish! At times it feels like you hooked a freight train. My biggest is only 41 which is just barely a keeper up here, but it attacked a 12" smallie when I was reeling it in. Never got a hook in her, but she hung on and when she'd let go just kept attacking until I got in in close enough to get in in the net. Congrats on catching your first!

They're great bait's and in most situations, I have a 4" tied up wacky style and a 5" texas rigged. It's hard to argue with their productivity. Congrats on gaining confidence in a new bait though!

What do kind of boats do your uncle and grandpa have? What do you think of them, (likes & dislikes) and what would you want to improve on them? These are questions you should be asking yourself when looking on getting a boat for yourself.

Get the standards, I had the mini's on my last boat, and although they work, the spring inside them to retract the strap is crap. Maybe they've fixed the issue, but with the ones I had the feature was toast in under a year. I called the company and they replaced it no questions asked, but about a month after I replaced the first one the other one went. Replacement lasted about the same amount of time. When I took it apart you couldn't even tell there was a spring in there, just fragments of rust. They are still usable, but you have to ratchet them back down to retract the strap. I've kept one to use as the safety strap on the bow which it works well for. The regular boat buckles are built to last. My dad has a 99 Ranger that came with them from the factory that still work like new. A shot of WD40 a few times a year keeps them from getting sticky. Definitely worth the investment.

It might work better to hook you two bank up to both TM batteries, and buy a single bank onboard charger for your starting battery.

x2 on what Adam said, no reason not to throw them on the same rod.

There's nothing wrong with doing it. Be sure to use decent ones though, the cheap ones at wallie world will fall apart. I don't use them much anymore, but I used to use them all the time. I'd pick up some BPS fast lock ones with a ball bearing swivel attached. If you get a different brand, look for ones with that style of design to prevent them from falling/pulling apart.

Welcome to Bassresource!

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they are. Your fuse box should be in the drivers side rod locker up against the front side of the console. If you pull it off there's a sticker inside showing a diagram of all the fuses as well as what they're for. My dad had one pump die on his 99 519. It was a while ago now which is why I'm not sure, but I think we got it to turn back on again by replacing a fuse only to hear that it was grinding. Anyway, that'd be the first thing I'd check.

I believe some of the older ones had a plug and a separate overflow hole. On yours you overflow tube should pull out to drain it or unscrew as slow said. I do believe you overflow drains out the back though and not into the bilge area. You could modify it if you wanted, and either way it's going to use the same pump. Adding a flow-rite valve you can change things around so it will be a recirc system and only slowly add new water once full, but it's not a necessity. If you don't have one, you could also add a timer switch so it isn't just on or off, it will cycle and be on for a few minutes and then off for a few. That way it's constantly replenishing water but not filling it up so full that it runs out on deck.

I would have to say not really a GREAT deal. I know new boat prices have went through the roof in recent years driving up the price of used boats, but it's made by a company that wasn't around long and it's also 28 years old. You can see from the pics that the fiberglass is oxidized, the carpet has seen it's better days, the trolling motor is probably around 20 years old as well as the locator. That being said it's probably not a bad buy if the boat is structurally sound and if everything works. I would hit him lower than what was previously mentioned. I'd shoot for $2,500 -2,600 in hopes of getting it for $2,800-ish. He'll probably give you a line about he spend x amount on tires and seats, but remind him that that doesn't add to the value, it only restores the value that should have been there because things should be working in order. For reference, I got a great deal on this, but after tax and registration fees I was in this 97 Ranger Sport R70 with a 97 130 on it with onboard charger, 2 older locators, keel protector, and an 82 lb thrust tm for $3800 Those type of deals aren't out there every day, but if you look hard enough and long enough you can find them

Jeff has pretty much got this one covered. I will add that a motor is going to add more stress to the transom than a trolling motor will, but they are built to handle that stress, so there's no need to worry about adding an outboard.

Nice fish for sure!

That's some crazy stuff! I've had issues with some crazy drivers up by be too. Nothing to that extent, but apparently there are a lot of people around here who take being passed as some sort of a personal insult. A few years ago I was working a different job and I'd run across this one guy who drove a black Pontiac Grad Prix GT who would never use cruise and would be all over the board with speed anywhere from 50 to 61 or so. Not being a morning person and usually running a little late for work I'd pass him and it was usually once I got about 1/4 mile ahead of him apparently he'd just floor it. He'd go flying past me somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 and he'd usually get around a mile up ahead before he'd let off. It didn't matter if it was the middle of winter and nasty roads or not he'd do the same thing. If you didn't pass him he'd gradually slow down and then speed back up again. In the last 6 months I've had issues with a few other road ragers where when you pass them regardless to how slow they're driving they'll either speed up when you try to pass or once you get around them they'll speed up and tale gate you, usually with their brights on if it's dark. I could see if I had been riding their bumper or something, but I always try to give them room until the first available passing zone. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but most of the people who have done that have been driving Chevy Impalas so I don't know if they just attract that type of buyer or what haha.

First off, welcome to the forums! You should head over and post in the introductions section. As far as hook selection, you want to make sure the hook you use fits the bait. The size should be chosen by the thickness of the bait usually. You want enough space between the hook point and the shank of the hook that when a bass bites the bait can collapse and there's still enough space to hook the fish. If you're looking for a few soft plastics to start with, I'd suggest a few packs of 5" Yum Dingers and 4/0 EWG style hooks (I prefer Trokars but for a broke college kid any good sharp hook will work).

I've had it happen before, actually just retired one at the end of last year because of it.

Good luck!

I'm not sure I'd consider it cheating, but it's unethical for sure. Our club, and the state events I've fished all have that rule Lund explained, stating if you receive a ticket for any unlawful operation on the lake, you are automatically DQ-ed.

You might want to check out your rules very closely as a lot of tournaments don't consider a hung bait as a line in the water. There are variables as to how long I'll try to get a bait back. If it's a tournament I won't usually mess with it too long, but I'll work on it for 10 minutes or so if the bait is expensive enough or if I was killing them on it and have nothing similar. If it's something cheap like a worm and hook, I'll snap those off pretty quick. With a telescopic lure retriever though it usually gets it off in less time than it took to troll over to where the bait is hung.

Date, time, lake, weather conditions, water conditions, water depth, structure/cover it came off, what I caught the fish on, length/weight of the fish and species.What I tried that didn't work, if I fished with a partner I'd want a place for notes on what they did and if it worked or not.