tcbass

I know this is a relatively new lure so I haven't been able to find any youtube videos on how to fish this lure. I tried one today and quickly skimmed it across the water all day. I got one hit and that was it. I could have probably switched to a Ragetail Toad or my KVD Sexy Dawg and caught some but I was adamant on attempting to catch a fish with the Skimmer. I will say that it's hooks are extremely sharp. Probably sharpest out of the box that I've ever used. So, how do you fish the Ima Skimmer and what are the best conditions (water with chop or flat calm)?

I can say that without a doubt my 2 most successful lures are a weightless Senko held on by a 1" piece of hose and Ragetail Toads. I have caught more bass with these 2 lures than anything else. A KVD Sexy Dawg (could be replaced with a Heddon Zara Spook) makes honorable mention. I've caught a ton on mine. If it wasn't so weedy where I fish it would probably replace the Ragetail Toad as one of my most effective lures. Fish just can't resist it. What are your 2 most successful lures?

I started a thread awhile ago stating that I had really met all my equipment needs for fishing and hunting. Months later now I can say I still have no bait monkey cravings. I finally went fishing this year for the first time. Crazy, I know. But I got a new house and other things have kept me from fishing. I took out of storage a box of fishing lures that I had ordered from Tackle Warehouse last fall and had never opened it. It was the last group of lures that I really wanted to order. It was nice opening that box today. Felt like Christmas Day. In it was: - Cavitrons Buzzbaits x3 (can never have enough of those) - Replacement Skirts x2 - Zoom Superhogs x2 - D&M Double Hammer Buzzbaits x2 - Ima Rattling Roumba x2 - Ima Skimmer x2 It's actually a lot of lures. lol. I'm like, "Wow, I must of spent a bundle." lol. I did order it on their 20% off sale, so that was nice. So, I guess one of the ways to keep the Bait Monkey away is to order some lures in the fall and when you receive them put them away and don't open them until the spring. That way you feel like you went shopping and spent money and at that time, you haven't spent any money, it was spent awhile ago. Even though I didn't need to feed the Bait Monkey, I will most likely be able to keep him at bay for another year. I have lures that are still in their boxes that need to be used.

I have a Terrova and love it....except that I need the remote for spot lock, otherwise I'd never use the remote. I love the foot pedal. Next boat will have an Ulterra on it. Remote is thus unnecessary and it has auto stow/deploy.

Just heard the same thing from a friend. Maybe you guys are right.

Don't think so.

I checked. Didn't see any crack on the motor or near the spark plug, or the spark plug itself. 2000 Mercury 115 horse.

Cracks near the plug or all over the engine block?

I started getting my motor running for the spring. Changing out the lower unit lube and getting it started and changing out spark plugs. It would start and die with the old plugs so I put in new plugs (NGK) and it started up and ran fine. When I went to the back to look a it I noticed that it looked like water was coming out of the lowest spark plug. It didn't look mixed, just clear water. Talking to my friends about it and they said bad seal, head gasket, or cracked block perhaps. Then I realized that I didn't run the gas out of the motor last season. I do always put Stabil and Seafoam in the gas every time I fill up. My friends said that gas doesn't freeze, water does (duh, on my part) but they said it could be many things. There is also a black board that appears to hold a bunch of wires and stuff against the motor. It seemed to have a bit of movement which I don't remember from before. Could that be a sign of a cracked block? It could also just be my mind thinking that it's loose when it always has been like that and is actually supposed to be like that. Where the red plug and yellow plugs are are the plastic board that seems loose: Here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls_0y-Zxao

Someone who changes theirs in the spring say they open it up in the fall to see if there is any water in the lower unit, and if not, they then close it up and change it in the spring. If there isn't any water coming out they're good. If water comes out they know they may have a problem and bring it into the shop.

I know some do it in the fall before they store their boat, some do it in the spring, and others do both (even though they change out lube that that was put in to store the boat but never turned on). I read that doing it in the fall prevents storing your boat with use lube and contaminants which could be bad for it. When do you change your outboard/inboard's lower unit gear lube?

Maybe open up the hooks a little bit too. Sometimes making the hooks go farther away from the body helps. Crazily one of the best lures I've found for lilypads/topwater is a Ragetail Bug (structure bug). 3 of us were fishing pads with topwater frogs and having the exact same problem you were having. I don't think it was a problem of size though because the bass few bass that we did get out of there were big, about 2lbs each. So we caught like 3 that way but missed about 10. I think the problem was the lilypads being too dense. Sometimes they'd blow up in an opening and get the frogs, other times they'd miss an opening and just throw the frog in the air. We retrieved slower and even let the frogs sit on the pads at openings. I switched to a Ragetail Bug and quickly caught 3. It's a smaller lure so maybe that helped. Although the Bug is supposed to be a bottom lure I've actually caught almost all the bass on it on pads. Weird, I know. I just put a hook on it and use it like a topwater frog.

Of course you can flip over. Just like anything with speed. I took a turn too sharp one time in my new (old) boat and almost did that. Never again. Now I just take wider turns at high speed.

It says both.....so can I just use the cheaper non-resistor ones? Also,....is this an EFI motor?

Where would I find what the manufacturer recommends? I have a 2000 Mercury 115 horse.

I've always used standard spark plugs which cost around $2-$3. Then someone said that I should use resistor spark plugs if I have electronics on my boat such as trolling motor and fish locator. I have both. The resistor spark plugs cost $7.49 each. Yikes! This is what NGK says about resistor spark plugs: I haven't had any problems since I first started using motors however, at the end of last season my motor was having a rough time starting. The spark plugs were new that year. One guy I know changes spark plugs twice a year, but I've always done it every 2 years. Maybe the rough starting was the spark plugs. So, do I need to use resistor spark plugs? And how often do you change spark plugs?

I'm wondering if condensation or wet conditions could be a factor. Do outboard motors need special 'marine' spark plugs or will regular spark plugs work?

That's a fuel stabilizer?

Thanks for your input! Nice to hear it from a maker of the product.

I've had a 2000 Mercury 115 horse (2 stroke I think) for about 2 years and I've always put Stabil and Seafoam in each tank when I fill up. I was told that gas starts to break down in about 1 week and if you want put Stabil in after that it's too late. I put Stabil and Seafoam in each time I fill my tank up for that reason and because if something happens to me and my boat needs to be stored the gas will be prepared properly. Recently though I've heard that you shouldn't do that, what you should do is completely drain the tank each season before you store it. (I know those of you in certain states don't have this problem as you can use your boat all year long). So which is best for when storing your boat and motor: 1.) Put Stabil in the tank prior to storage (I usually have 3/4 to a full tank) 2.) Empty the gas tank I haven't had any problems yet, but that doesn't mean I won't.

No Bass Pro even near me sadly. Like states away.

I have both Cabelas and Gander....but they seem to only carry a few pairs.

It seems to be a general consensus that Costa sunglasses are the best although they are also one of the most expensive. I've decided that I want a pair of these glasses but when I started looking at them I realized that they have about a billion different models and when I've gone to places that carry them they only have about 4 pairs. How could I find somewhere where I could find many more models of Costa glasses? Also, what do you think is better for fishing, glass or plastic lenses?

Don't they work without them?

I figured some of the guys here have experience with enclosed trailers. I'm looking at getting a 6x12, 6x14, or 7x14 multi-use trailer. This would be mostly for moving furniture and stuff and perhaps fourwheelers for hunting and off-roading in the future (hopefully). The dealership I stopped and talked to carried like 23 brands of trailers. He said that Hallmark is his biggest seller. He also carries Aluma and others. I'm looking at a trailer with a rear ramp so I can load stuff easier. I know bigger is better but the other use for this trailer is moving furniture for a business and sometimes having a spot to pull into can be hard, so a shorter trailer would be helpful there. New also seems to be almost the only way to go because I noticed that there is hardly any used trailers out there. Two things were brought up was a beavertail ramp (so that a UTV with roof lights can be driven in it) and a sloped front. He said the beavertail was nice if you got a UTV with lights and that he didn't think a sloped front really mattered. He said it all depends on what your pulling it with and it's aerodynamics. What do you guys know about this stuff? Any info you might want to throw out there from your experience? Thanks in advance.