RatONaStick

Thanks for the hard work Glenn. Merry Christmas

Yes, I did it earlier and did it again just now, same thing.

I'm still getting zero results.

Seems like the search function doesn't work. I can enter generic terms like boat or line and it returns zero results.

Big T Check out the new Stradic Fi. They just came out and have incorporated many features of the high dollar Stella. I just picked one up for my dad for Christmas based on a recommendation from Roadwarrior. Got it on Ebay, cost me $123 to my door. I know it costs a bit more than what you're willing to spend, but hey whats a few bucks more? I haven't used it yet but it seems to be really solid built and smooooth. Go over to Basspro and Cabelas websites and read the reviews on this reel. Everyone that has reviewed gives it 5 out of 5 stars, they claim it casts much farther than the old Stradic and farther than the previous model Stella. We should get together and fish Sutton lake some time.

I recently bought a MK Terrova 55lb with autopilot to replace the old worn out 30lb MotorGuide on my Bass Tracker. Supposedly MK fixed all of the problems with PowerDrive on the Terrova. Although I havent mounted it or used it yet I did hang it off the side of the boat to run it. It seems to turn pretty fast, much faster than I thought it would. The autopilot seems to work pretty good too, with the autopilot engaged I picked the unit up by the base and turned it back and forth real quick and it corrected as fast as I could turn it. The stow and deploy system was redesigned on the Terrova (seems to work pretty good) and the footpedal has both left and right buttons as well as traditional foot pedal steering. Granted the Terrova is more money, I paid $900 for the 55lb with autopilot. The standard version without autopilot can be had for a little over $600 I believe.

The transducer needs to be mounted on the pad(or vee as you call it). At speed the boat actually rides on the pad and unless it's mounted there it will never be deep enough in the water to get a good reading.

4biz Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

Hi folks I'm looking to throw some swimbaits this year, particularly Matts bluegill/baby bass and the 6" Storm pearl swim shad. Being in NC, I don't see the need for anything larger, at least not yet. I would consider myself pretty green when it comes to swimbaits, I have thrown some of the small Storm swimbaits(3" to 4") with success so I wouldn't consider myself a total newbie to them. Anyway, I'm looking at the Okuma Guide Select swimbait rods and am kinda unsure about which length and most importantly which power to get. I see they make rods in both 7' 6" and 7' 11" lengths and powers from MH to XH. I have done some searching and there does seem to conflicting opinions about which power to use with what. I know I've seen some reviews that said the MH is ideal for baits like Matts Bluegill and the like, then I read people recommending the heavy power rod for baits like these. So which is it? Would the MH be more suited to these baits or would I need a Heavy? Is there an advantage to one over the other? What about length? Is there a preference for one over the other? I really don't see the need to throw anything larger than these baits and if I do I'll end up buying another rod/reel specifically for them. Any advice would be appreciated Thanks Brandon

That's the VIN# - Vehicle Identification Number Depending on the year of the car the dealer has the key codes for each vin number. Some cars even have the key codes etched into the glass. My dad and I have done this several times. One in particular is my dads 02 Ford F150, this truck was a salvaged vehicle he bought from a salvage auction that we repaired. The keys were gone and all we did was take the vin up to the dealer and they cut a key for us right there. This key had a chip inside it and cost him $150.

I haven't noticed anything different at either Wal mart here(we have two super stores). I have heard that Wal Mart is going to stop carrying guns.

I have a Humminbird 737 with the quadrabeam and I think it's great. The main thing I like about it is the fact I dont have to cover nearly as much water while searching for cover/structure. In my opinion this is a good thing considering todays gas prices as well as the fact that I can spend more time fishing than searching. Another area I've found it to be extremely useful in is following old creek beds by allowing you to stay on top of it more easily. Because of the wide coverage area it gives more of an advanced warning before passing over the channel. Humminbirds quadrabeam actually has a narrow 20 degree beam, a 60 degree beam and two wide 45 degree beams on each side. Each beam has it's own mode as well as a mode that incoporates all of the beams together. Because of this you can pinpoint exactly where the object you are looking at is. I can't speak for anything but the quadrabeam but in it's case I would have to disagree with Josh about not being able to pinpoint what you are looking at. I will admit it does take time to get a good understanding of it and how to use it. Once you do learn to use it I feel it is a very valuable tool. If you do a search I think you'll find more info here about the quadrabeam sonar.

I think it's a joke, the particular user has all different kinds of videos spoofing different players. He even has one of Ben Roethlisburger that I thought was kinda funny, and I'm a Steelers fan. Check this one out about Mike Vick aka "Ron Mexico", it's hilarious. ;D In case any of you don't know what the whole Ron Mexico thing is all about "In March, 2005, a woman named Sonya Elliot filed a civil lawsuit against Vick alleging she contracted genital herpes from Vick and that he failed to inform her that he had the disease.[1] Elliot further alleged that Vick had visited clinics under the alias "Ron Mexico" to get treatments and thus knew of his condition. This led to a number of fans ordering customized #7 Atlanta Falcons jerseys with the name "Mexico" or "Herpes" on the back.[2] Due to the media interest surrounding the case, the National Football League disallowed the use of the jersey/name combination two days after the lawsuit" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick#Ron_Mexico_controversy

Hey, whatever floats yer boat. My father caught this cat using a 5" Senko and #3 Gammy EWG hook. Didn't have a scale at the time but we guestimate it to be around 20lb or so. This fish was caught using a MH action rod, 30lb braid and the drag cranked tight. The hook held up fine. This is all the proof I need.

What brand hooks were you using? I've only broken one Gammy EWG hook. I had gotten snagged and bent the hook, tried to straighten it out with pliers and it snapped. I haven't found any disadvantages to using an EWG hook. Although I can see where on certain baits the traditonal J hook might be better suited.

Are they worth it? I have no idea, never used one. One of these days I do plan on trying one out, but as of now I'm sticking with the group 27 Wal Mart battery (EverStart I believe?) I've been using. It was 50-60 bucks and has lasted me a year so far.

Minn Kota batteries are made by Trojan Check it out for yourself http://www.minnkotamotors.com/products/batteries/detail.asp?pg=mk31dc I can get the Minn Kota MK31DC at my local Boaters World for $149.99. This is the same battery as the Trojan SCS225.

Bill That's a sweet setup. If you don't mind me asking, how do you like that Merc Classic 50? Had any problems out of it??

HPBB You do bring up a good point about the particular type of boat and the area causing a demand for that particular boat, that very well could be a fair price. I'm not in that situation so I wouldn't know, here every boat seems to command a premium. My advice would be to check around to see what these types of boats are bringing. If that seems like a fair price and the boat/trailer is in good shape then it may very well be a good deal.

Robert I have to be honest I *** you, I'm Italian and have always been fascinated by the high end Italian sports cars, from Lamborghini to Ferrari, Maserati and Bugatti. Although I have never driven a car with the type of trans we are speaking about I think I can understand what you mean "disconnected". To me It would almost seem close to driving a car with an automatic trans. One of the joys of driving a car with a standard transmission is being in control and deciding yourself when, where and how hard you shift etc. The clutch is a big part of that, being able to decide how to apply the clutch, when and how hard you apply power to the road as well as being able to modulate and use techniques like heel-toe braking etc is really a big part of the experience of driving a car with a manual trans.

Honestly, unless they will lower the price I would pass on that. I think the price is high considering the trailer is rusty and it has such a small outboard. I paid $2500 for my 87 TX-17 with a rebuilt Mercury Classic 50hp and a trailer with ZERO rust. The boat came with a Motorguide trolling motor that was in good shape as well as all the safety stuff, vests, rope anchor, flares, two fire extinguishers, etc. The boat in is great shape considering it's age, it only needed the carpet replaced, some very minor wiring work(mainly the terminals at the batteries) and some cleanup. And this is considering the fact that I'm on the coast where boats are in high demand and usually bring a premium.

I don't consider anything learned until I get on the water and catch fish with the particular technique etc. I have gotten excellent information from other people, like my father, this website and the internet in general, as well as magazines and tv shows. However, upon receiving that info I only consider myself having an idea of how it's supposed to be done.

Man, I'd give my left nut to drive one of those cars. The transmissions in these cars are sequential, similar to a motorcycle transmission. I can't speak for that car, but I know that on many these cars the only time they need to use the clutch is on take off. If any of you have any experience on motorcycles you know that aside from taking off you don't absolutely have to use the clutch. These transmissions don't use traditional synchronizers like a regular standard transmission. Instead they use what are referred to as dogs or engagement lugs. A synchronizer in a traditional transmission actually has a braking surface on it that slows the rotation of the gear to give the synchronizer assembly time to mate with the engagement "teeth" on the gear. Don't confuse the actual gear teeth to the synchronizer teeth, they are two separate things. The reason for this is the gears in a manual trans are always spinning and the design of the synchro assembly and the small engagement teeth require the gear to be slowed down for engagement. Otherwise you will get the grinding sound usually associated with missing a gear. *EDIT*... I could have worded this a bit better so I probably need to correct myself. The braking surface on the synchronizer doesn't actually slow the gear, what I should have said was that it equalizes the speed between two components rotating at different speeds. A sequential gearbox has large engagement lugs on the sides of the gears. Because of the design the gear isn't required to be slowed at all before engagement. Due to this it takes less time to engage the next gear and is the reason these transmissions can be shifted without depressing the clutch. The downside is that these transmissions are clunky and tend to be noisy. For those of you that ride motorcycles, especially Harleys', im sure you have heard the clunking I speak of when selecting a gear. On some of the high end exotics and race cars, like a Ferrari Enzo, the computer actually controls the clutching during take off. These cars don't even have a clutch pedal. Check it out http://cars.about.com/od/thingsyouneedtoknow/a/ag_howDSGworks.htm http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/gearbox/tech_gear_manual.htm

KU You did ask about 5th gear and towing, evedently you got what your asked for and quite a bit more. ;D I'm sorry to the rest of you guys but Way2Slow is so full of "it" his eyes are brown. I guess by quoting him and contradicting the falacies he mentioned I was the one who started "crap". Rediculous, I wasn't the one who started making snyde remarks like a child. I wasn't the one who couldn't take critisism like an adult. Falacies like "If you did break 5th in your Honda, it's easy enough to fix, just unbolts and bolt another on, only take a few minutes but will cost you approx $300 for the parts." The OD in any Honda is not an external unit he makes it seem like. The OD in a Honda is just like the OD in any other vehicle and is just two more gears just like the rest of the gears in the trans. One gear is on the mainshaft, the other is on the countershaft, with one of these gears having a synchronizer assembly. To replace the gears you have to remove the trans and nearly disassemble the entire transmission. I know because I have actually rebuilt standard transmissions. I seriously doubt he has ever seen inside a Honda trans let alone ANY trans. I can provide a diagram for proof as well. Plus, I think it's awfully convenient that after the fact he supposedly replaced the "OD unit" as he calls it in his nephews Accord. If that were the case why not mention that from the beginning? And if it is "truth" it's only a half truth. I'm willing to bet even IF something did go bad it wasn't the gears themselves it was the synchronizer that went bad, which is from poor shifting. Not heavy loads in 5th or a poor design. For someone that's built "Aries" hemis you would think that he could actually spell Arias correctly. I doubt he even knows what an Arias hemi is or what it's based on.

I was wanting to actually discuss the issue, not turn this into a ticking match which you seem to have turned this into. My comment about the rpms was an example to show the difference in total revolutions an engine would see in an hour at that particular rpms. At what point did I say that a Honda running at 4000 rpms at 55 would drop down to 1800 in 5th???? IT WAS PURELY AN EXAMPLE, which you evidently missed. We're not talking about a Mack truck, nor the type of stress loads that would hurt a Honda in the situation given. You know, a Honda small boat/trailer running in 5th on flat ground. I have rebuilt my fair share of engines, including performance engines and both standard and automatic transmissions. I have seen what heavy loads can do to bearings, rods and cranks as well as shift main caps around. But we're not talking about those kind of loads are we? No, we're talking about a Honda, small boat/trailer, 5th gear on flat ground. Now, with all your infinite wisdom, would you care to answer the question you avoided? What is it going to hurt in a standard trans to tow in OD??? Or can you answer that question? Somehow I doubt it, and you'll just go on about all the stuff you have supposedly built. And if you can, why not disprove what I said about the clutch instead of trying to belittle me? From what I see your true colors are showing.