Hale

matt...go swimming I already cleaned it all up and I tried taking pictures of it beforehand. The pics really wasnt showing the slime and scum that had accumulated on it in the few days. I have fixed my boaters insurance to include 20k personal contents protection (overkill..but better safe than sorry).

Everyone keeps going back and forth on this foul hook issue and the CA law. I dont know if the law your looking at is misrepresented or misread. First off they are refering to foul hooking as snagging the fish in an unsportsman like manner (intentionally snagging the fish with the hooks). Almost every state AND tournament organization has this rule. I have watched Ish, Ike, KVD, Dance, and all the greats unhook foul hooked fish and throw them in the live well. Because they had no control over that fish getting foul hooked on a blind cast. If you were to throw a cast net and come up with a bass in it..you must immediately release the fish (the same rules of catching the fish in a sporting manner apply here). I know they were sight fishing but how the fish was foul hooked was conducive to the fish swatting at the lure. How many polygraphs do you think they will be taking after they send in the application? I have many friends who have submitted some serious saltwater records. The amount of polygraph testing they went through was crazy! So if he fould hooked that fish on purpose they will find out. I cant wait for the record to come out of Florida...since its our strain of Bass anyway!

yuck, thats gross! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

1. terry Seagraves 2. Terry Scroggins 3. Charlie Hartley 4. Billy Bob 5. Mark Davis

VERSATILITY! Take any Elite pro that truly puts themselves into a specific category he doesnt win tournaments. KVD has been deemed a power fisherman...he will tell you thats not true since at anytime hes going to switch up to what is working.

There is the rule about communications on the water during the tx (cell phones, two way radios, etc). I have no problem getting info from friends in the same tx. If Im running to another spot and I see a buddy (competitor), Ill pull up and discuss whats going on..this happens vice versa as well. Ive never used the cell during a tx, but sometimes its been hard not to. I dont understand why the walleye guys (or anyone for that matter) would be upset about networking. I doesnt create an unfair advantage, an advantage yes, but not a unfair one since everyone has the same opportunity.

mercury! look at the sales number in comparison to the others and that alone says a lot...

40 sounds right just beacuse of the year the hull is. But you could get a lot more out of that 100...you could probably start seeing speeds upwards of 55 if you were to do the right things. But at that cost just buy a new boat. First, your speedo is not accurate. You will probably be dissapointed to find out its reading a few mph high (atleast). Always go by GPS on water speeds. Second, get a tune up. While its in the shop let them know your looking to get some more power out of the eninge. They can do some minor valve and carb adjustments that will unleash atleast a little more for you. Third, get a new prop. Visit your local shop that carrys props. See what they suggest and then see if they will let you try it before buying it. A lot of places allow this along as you dont scratch or dent the prop. This will let you find exactly what feels good to you. Fourth, your hull could probably be refinished. Im sure it being that age there is build up, roughness to the finish. This can take down almost 20% of the power out a boat. Again take it a shop (hull repair) and let them give you their opinion on it. It may be in good enough shape that you can do it yourself at home. You have to be aware of conditions when posting top end speeds: 1. Wind Conditions 2. Direction of wind travel in regards to boat travel 3. Number of people in boat and how much gear (approx) 4. How long does it take you to get to top end speed 5. RPMS at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) Isnt it easier to just go fishing?

Wow....this was the most far fetched thing I have read in a long time. It was like picking up National Enquirer at the grocery store. And the sheeple that just follow along with it.....

I had already cut some holes in the boat when installing electronics but I knew if I messed up it would be covered or repairable (unoticeably). But cutting these had me a little twisted at first. Now the cherry is popped and the next tutorial will be installing a recessed well for the TM pedal! The best part is having the wife come out to the garage and say; "what the hell are you doing to the boat"! ;D

alright...good news! I retrieved the rod/reel today. I first tried a big industrial magnet. At a minimum I figured it would attach to the hook and I could pull it up. And then I figured by dragging it I could feel something on the bottom. Well I really learned how to use my electronics over the last few days. Here in Florida there is not much deep water, so doing drop shot techniques and using the df is virtually unheard of. I got the thing dialed in so good I could see a fish fart! After scanning the area I ended up seeing it. The magnet didnt work as planned so I tied on a 1oz RatL trap (oversized hooks) with a 2oz bullet sinker. I backed off the location and on the third cast I caught my rod/reel. Whoo hoo! She needs some cleaning/maintenance but everything is still good to go! I want to thank you guys for being my support group ;D ;D ;D

During the classic I seen Rick clunn actually had a homemade setup. I didnt see what the clips were, but it was a thin rope/lanyard tied to a hookless crankbait. I thought that was a pretty clever idea...definitely different.

Welcome....those look really good. Exactly what I was saying; angle iron and a welder.

use fatter screws so they dig into the existing plastic. It wouldnt hurt to add an epoxy as well. Muddyman was right on about that too ^

I installed some flush mount perko style latches on my boat today. It came out nice and I put a quick little 'how to' article (with pics) together. Check it out: www.chris-hale.com/articles/latches.htm

LOL...funny that we both assumed it was a chick! ;D

bigcasino, that rack would be super easy to make. Do you or a friend have a welder? get some angle iron and make the square frame. Add the the pieces that seperate each tray. And then head to the powder coating shop. This would take less than an hour to make (not counting p.c.), and pretty cheap.

I just read this story on a technical support bulletin...It had me in tears laughing. (I cut the bottom half of the story out as it got lame.) I dropped my ipod in a small pool of water, took it out and everything seamed to work fine. When I put the headphones on I received this surge of electricity through my ears that was so painful that I almost p**sed myself. After I took the earplugs out I noticed that some of my skin had seared to the earpieces. People around me noticed that I was in a lot of pain because my ears were swelling up and looked like they were all burnt ( because they were) and then I looked on the screen and all these funny numbers started popping up.

Im stating this in regards to resumes in general (regardless of industry): You cant show someone one way or have a general set of guidelines. Resumes need to be unique and identifiable to a person and not a template. And again, that would put too much emphasis on a resume when in reality your resume shouldnt be getting you jobs, sponsors, etc. The resume should only solidify what you have already secured.

So heres the deal with insurance...(nightmare as usual). Boaters Insurance: I dont have personal contents protection (my fault), Homeowners insurance: to cover these items in the manner they were damaged they will only cover up to 1000.00. But wait, my deductible is 1000.00. The hell kind of sense does that make? Auto insurance: yeah right! yeah doug this was all after you left. I told Cory that it would top the day off if the truck was broke into when we got back.... So all is well for the most part. Garmin will fix/replace the GPS for 275. The IPOD is getting replaced for free. And Sony will send an estimate for the camera repair (they'll hit me hard Im sure). And I have an idea for getting the rod back... if it works Im headed to US patent office!

I use the BPS bags pictured above and they work great. But check this out, it may be more what you are looking for: http://www.ospreyproducts.com/tackleboxrack.ivnu

Not brave...desperate!

I headed out this mornin meeting up with BassnBlvd. We each had our boats and buddies. The parking lot was a bit shady so we decided to not leave any valuables in the vehicles...(details coming on that). Doug's started catching fish immediately flipping mats and we had a few that didnt get hooked up good. We ended up going our seperate ways....I caught a nice 5lber that appeared to be bigger so I decide to weigh her and all that. I had to dig everything out and I decided to toss her in the livewell (flipping on the manual fill switch). I get the pics, weight, and move on. About an hour and half later my buddy syas, 'wheres all this water coming from'? I look down in the floor and there is two inches of water. The bilge had completely filled and started filling up the rest of the boat. Well easy fix, no biggie. 30 minutes later the boat is empty. (my to do list just got longer for Friday..I have to find out what happened to the livewell and install a float switch on the bilge pump). A few hours later I hooked onto another nice fish and grabbed the line while lipping her..I set my rod behind during this. After shes unhooked, photographed, and released I go to grab my rod...and its gone! I don't understand? I guess I dropped it into the water?!? Well it was a week old Shimano Curado200 and Shimano Crucial...$350.00 sitting at the bottom of the canal. I do some rigging to drag the bottom...no luck. The depth finders are tweaed for maximum sensitivity and I think we have found it. I cant seem to hook it so I decide to take a swim. (oh yeah this is Florida and the gators were already spotted). But whatever, I needed it back....again no luck. During all of this, my partner decide to open the rear deck compartment where we stored our valuables to get his wallet. Its water tight...normally. There is a slit at the top of the liner for ease of removal. The water episode earlier caused this liner to fill up. Heres the good part: Items in this container: Garmin Nuvi 660 (900.00+), Sony DVD Camcorder (1000.00), Ipod (300.00), Keys (the car remote was replaced last week for 250.00), and then there was some other oddball items in there that arent ruined (firearms, wallets, etc.) We did catch a lot of fish..and some good ones. The day cost me about 2800.00 (excluding gas ;D). And here is how it all breaks down: Shimano Rod & Reel: 350.00 Electronics: 1450.00 Being a complete retard on the boat (total the above amounts) Still being stoked about the day's catch: Priceless Having to explain to the wife what happened: I think Im grounded now ;D (one of today's catches):

Ive been out there when other guys have had bass boats in with their mototrs trimmed out of the water...but i have also fished with "others" in areas clearly marked no trespassing...so calling is the best bet. But then again...sometimes its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission.

bocabasser, sign up on bassmatch.com. Bassn and I already have. Then we can pick our lakes/spots to fish a tournament head to head.