SHaugh

I've lost too many grapnel anchors to ever buy another one. The river I fish is too full of trees and sharp edge rock. I came up with a disposable anchor idea that works pretty good. I have my rope through a zig zag cleat with a spring glue clamp on one end. With that I can grab branches or grass. When I need to anchor away from shore I use one I made myself out of concrete. Just mix it up and shovel some in a plastic bag. Put a wire loop inside it. then form it into a sausage shape. When it's dry just take off the plastic. Costs about a buck. Then I clip my clamp on the wire and throw it in. If it gets stuck the clamp will just pull off.... one more chunk of concrete in a river .... and I'm out a buck instead of 15....

I used a 10 foot boat hook with the bow rope looped over the end of the hook. Push the boat off with the pole... let it drift back and then haul in up the side of the trailer. That was so I didn't have to tightrope walk up the trailer to get it off. worked great.

The trouble with foam is that they always use the cheapest junk they can find or worse that poured stuff that is destined to become waterlogged because it's very weak and porous. My advice would be to use the blue foam insulation from home depot. It's laminated with plastic so water can't easily get into it. Just make stacks into blocks that fit tight where you want it.. wire them together or use clear packing tape... that stuff will last for decades if you keep it out of the sun.

We're back too. Had a great trip and did try your advice. Caught a few on the rip-rap along 431. Did well along the opposite shore from the campground. 10 feet of water with crankbaits seemed to be the best choice for us. Thanks to all.

Planning on a trip to Guntersville next week. This will be my first time there. Looking for any advice about where to fish or how. Planning on putting in at Honeycomb campground. I'm not asking for your best spot...... but maybe your second best ? Please assume that I'm a complete Noob...Which will not be far off..... especially on that lake.... Any advice would be much appreciated.

Get good at predicting the weather. Choose days that you know will be calm... Don't go if it's anything but dead calm... if you choose your days wisely you will find there are more than you might imagine.

For my back the only solution was to get a decent chair. The trouble with boats is that the chairs are all junk. Nothing comes close to a real office chair in terms of all day comfort... My advice would be to junk that boat seat and get a nice mesh office chair like this: pull the casters off and it makes a very stable seat. Lumbar support.... adjustable height... removable arms.... Mesh back is nice when it's hot. Also the ability to move it around on the deck is something you will appreciate too.

I've wondered about this problem before. I have a 30 lb motor that I can run all day on an $80 Walmart battery... 6 - 8 hours trolling on speed 2. And still have plenty of battery left to get back to the ramp. I bought a 40 lb motor and doing the same thing on the same lake it only lasted about 3 hours and had totally drained my battery dead. (Which is why I remember rowing back to the ramp so well).... So the question in my mind is why is a 30 lb motor so efficient ? Questions like: Why not try a bank 4 30 lbs 12 volt motors instead of a big 24 volt motor ? Why not just buy a 30 lb motor for your fishing maneuvering and leave the big motor for only traveling ? Some ideas to think about...

Reading your post again I don't think you're doing the math right. Each 12 volt battery gives you 105 amp hours. Or 4 batteries x 105 = 420 total amp hours. Each 6 volt battery pair wired in series will yield 225 amp hours , so you will have a total of 450 amp hours with four 6 volt batteries. the difference between the 2 is only 30 amp hours. You will not double your run time you will only gain 7% total capacity or run time.

When it comes to batteries you can almost do it by weight. four 65 lb 6 volt batteries are going to give you more juice than four 55 lb 12 volt batteries. The benefit that you will derive from the golf cart batteries is that they are made from better stuff... which is why they cost more. 6 months down the road the 6 volts might retain more of their capacity than the 12 volts because they are better batteries.

It's pretty easy to see if you put what you are talking about side by side... Batteries are pretty much the same stuff no matter what voltage. More stuff = more electricity. 2 of these expensive monsters of course is going to give you more electricity than 1 12 volt marine battery: http://www.amazon.com/Trojan-Volt-Battery-T-105/dp/B004UJXPYU but it would be just as easy and cheaper to run parallel 12 volts up to the amp hours you want.

When it comes to run time, amp hours are amp hours. So if the amp hours on your 2 - 6 volts in series is larger than the 12 volt you will get more run time. The advantage of 6 volt golf cart batteries is that they are made very well, true deep cycle batteries, and designed to last a long time. They will usually hold their capacity over time longer than cheaper 12 volt batteries. So if the cost make sense then I'd go for the 6 volts.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/146051-mini-pontoon-build-along/?hl=%2Bdiy+%2Bpontoon

It would work on most bottoms. If you designed the tines to be broad like knife blades it could probably be even less than 2 feet apart. The weak point would actually be where the boat connects to the shaft. but you could over come that easy enough by bending the top of the shaft into an L shape that connected to the boat on 2 points. Might need to make the shaft telescope some to allow for up and down ... The actual force on a boat is not that strong.. even in a strong wind... only a few lbs...

I know it's hard to put the brakes on something like that once you got it rolling.... Regarding caliber I'd suggest 5.56. Cost of ammo is what it's all about. look at how much those other rounds cost.... The reason you buy a gun is to shoot it... not sit back and worry about whether it has knock down power while it's hanging on a wall. In my experience 5.56 is powerful enough to kill anything on this planet. Killing is all about shot placement. Get a gun that you can shoot a lot and get to be an expert at making a hole where you point it. If you wing or gut shoot any critter those other calibers aren't going to make a bit of difference. If you hit the vitals a 5.56 does everything you need it to do.

Also not trying to tell a guy what to do, but I will offer advice. It sounds like you're pretty new to the whole AR custom gun craze. What you will find is that your taste and appreciation for all those possible accessories and variables will change drastically over time, once you've had more experience with the gun. If it was me I'd start out with a good quality stock built 5.56 gun. Save my money for 1 or 2 years down the road when I really had a good grip on what I liked and didn't like, then sell that gun and go for the custom. You would probably thank me if you did that....

I've had a lot of fun messing around with Duracoat: http://www.duracoat-firearm-finishes.com/ Super easy to use.... near idiot proof. Just get that little aerosol spray bottle kit. A gun with that much "character" is probably a good candidate for a camo finish, but if you don't like that idea they do have parkerized grey and other choices that will do wonders filling and minimizing some of that character. Finish is incredibly durable and protective... cheap too.

Milsurps are enjoyable because you can literally feel history when you hold them. I've had them all and spent way too much money on them as well. Garands, 1903's etc. What kid didn't grow up with the image of a Garand being the ultimate mans rifle? John Wayne..... etc... I could try to save you that money by telling you that they are all really about the same in the end. Each has it's own weaknesses and strengths. Each has it's own rich history. My advice would be to find a good shooting Mosin or Lee Enfield no4 and call it a day. You won't find another gun with more palpable history, and they will not break your bank account either.

Fishing chances on Lake Michigan proper is just about limited to salmon charters, and perhaps some shoreline / pier fishing for the same. Lake Macatawa that runs right through the middle of Holland is supposed to be a decent lake for bass, crappies etc. I bet you can find a boat rental on there. http://www.fishingnotes.com/fishing-report/mi/Lake-Macatawa

pretty easy to make your own... for a lot less than $80. One that you can take apart and make as long as you want. Just buy a 10' stick of 3/4" EMT and cut it in half. Then buy one of these: http://www.ysbw.com/Canopy-Fitting-3-4-Coupler-p/2055.html Plug up the business end of the emt with a plastic cap.. http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4PT-Thread-Plastic-Blanking-End-Caps-Round-Tube-Insert-Black-5Pcs-/231299468540?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35da85ccfc put a bicycle grip on the other end: http://www.amazon.com/Clarks-C83-BMX-Grip/dp/B006EPDA4I/ref=sr_1_60?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1418246393&sr=1-60 Rig a loop in a cleat where you want it. Use 2, front and back if you want to stay still.... No single anchor pin is going to keep you from pivoting .. regardless of how it mounts.

The point here is that any of those rounds mentioned including a 12 ga slug if shot horizontal to the ground is probably leaving that piece of property. You don't want that under any circumstances. On a small piece of property you need to design your field of fire to be safe. Being high in a tree will make any of those rounds safe. Pass through or misses will hit the ground. That's the answer you want I think... not which gun.

late but I'm in.... good luck your way.

striped bass... http://cameronmccormick.blogspot.com/2011/11/picture-of-indiscriminate-interval.html Do I win anything ?

If your fishing includes sitting on a boat, You can't go wrong with these... I sat for 5 hours in 38 degrees last weekend on my little boat... no gloves... keeping your core overly warm is the key to lasting a long time outdoors.... insulated coveralls are how it's done in the working world... no polypropylene wonder shorts will do it as well... http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/carharttreg%3B-mens-quilt-lined-duck-bib-overall-600934599--1

If you cinch the knot tight before you use it, it's not going to cinch much tighter. The reason he can tie a palomar and have one break easily and another one be strong is all about how you cinch the knot. A dry cinch can heat up the line and damage it's structure. If you wet the line with saliva it will cinch down with no friction and not damage the line. I threw out the arbor knot idea because I think people have overthought knots way too much.... especially with the super strong lines we have now. The Davy knot is another quick one that is more than adequate for 99.9% of the events you are likely to encounter on a days fishing trip... I usually manage to do that one wrong too many times... so the arbor knot is one that works as well and is quick and brainless to tie.. if I have to count wraps and think about bunnies going in an out of holes I'm thinking too much about knots...imo...