jeepcrazy

Ok I'm stuck. My trolling motor on the new boat is running backward. Yes...BACKWARD. Dunno why...it doesn't even have a selection for backward. My batteries are hooked up correctly near as I can tell, and all the wiring in the front seems to be in order. Any ideas? Motorguide bow mount 40lb

Hey guys, Is there a Bass club for the Shenandoah Valley in VA? I see there are lots of clubs that focus on other parts of the state, but we've got some great (albeit electric only) lakes in the Valley that we could have some semi-organized fun on, right? Not sure if there are any prohibitions on that sort of thing, but having some local folks to chat & fish with would be great too. I'm in Front Royal and have traveled upwards of 2 hours to get to new, fun water. -JC

Didn't work...the heads were different on the motors and I didn't want to take a chance on screwing up one of the shafts. Ah well.

I went to a 54 from my 30 on my old Jon boat and I was very glad I did. It cut my travel time across Lake Frederick almost in half. Definitely worth the upgrade for me.

Thanks for the replies. The 30lb is foot control, the 54 is hand control. I guess I'll take one apart and have a look at it this afternoon. I was hoping someone had attempted to tackle it. Does Motorguide publish a parts guide for their motors? If there's a schematic it'd make figuring this out much easier. Thanks again. JC

Hey folks, The "nused" Xpress H51 I brought home today has a Motorguide 30pd bow mounted trolling motor on it. I've got my Motorguide 54pd transom mounted motor (both 12v) sitting in the garage. My question is this: Could I (even theoretically) change the heads/internals on these two motors such that I could get the benefit of the 54 pound motor but use the bow mounted characteristics of the one on the new boat? Is it extremely complicated? What would I have to change in order to achieve this? Just curious...new 54 pound bow mounted hardware can be a little expensive. (Even though I do want one with a transducer built in...those are sweet!) Thanks in advance! -JC

Hey folks, I'm the proud owner (as of today) of a 2004 Xpress H51. She's very pretty, I'll post pictures in another thread after I take them tomorrow. My question is, what was the warranty before 2005 and is it transferable? I was told by the local dealer that the warranty has always been 5 years and that warranties are transferable, but in looking on the Xpress website I see that this was "new for 2005." Now of course I'm worried because this was my justification for paying a little more than I really wanted to for this boat. It is, however, immaculate and I'm VERY excited to have my new boat in the driveway. Thanks for any information you can provide! -JC

Around here they generally show on the Outdoor Life Network. (OLN) You can find more information on their website here: http://www.olntv.com/ The schedule is a little wacky, but you should be able to find most of it with your TiVO. Thursday of this week @ 10AM is Hank Parker, followed by Larry Dahlberg and Shaw Grigsby. Friday @ 10:30AM is Bill Dance (it's a repeat from earlier in the week) From 3-330 is Roland Martin (his has been one big advertisement lately, but I digress...) which also happens to be a rerun from earlier in the week. He's buzz baiting this week, and not with the 2 foot long one Bill Dance used last week either. Babe Winkleman is Walleye Fishing later on from 630-7. Then the Tour De France is on all week, so we'll be a little light on fishing shows for a week or so.

I just picked up a "nused" MinnKota trolling motor that has a weedless wedge prop on it. Is the Weedless Wedge "2" much of an upgrade? Is it worth it? I have a 54 pound MotorGuide that's 4 weeks old and broken, yay. I called MotorGuide and they want me to take it to Richmond (2 hours away) which isn't going to happen. Hopefully my local marina will be able to help me out. This MinnKota will make a nice spare in the meantime! Any advice is appreciated! -JC

SS Giggity (Family guy fans will get it) My wife hung a banner across the side after I finished fixing up the boat that said "Cross Cuntry Tour" ;D

Hiya folks... Thought I'd post my experience with Humminbird today. I have a Humminbird 525 finder on my jon boat, and it's been on the water exactly 3 times. I noticed yesterday that the transducer was a little cockeyed, so I inspected closer to find out that one of the arms connecting it to the mounting hardware had snapped off. I haven't run over anything, and it was mounted just hard enough to keep it snug moving through the water. Heavy weeds (I found many in my lake) were enough to move it about, but I wouldn't think they'd break it. I spoke to Humminbird's customer service and they are more than happy to SELL ME a new transducer for $45! I declined, but that's just because I was able to rig it back up using the other wing for now. Hopefully I'll continue to get service from this unit without having to lay out more cash. (Saving for a new bass boat next year!) I'm not entirely pleased over the entire experience, since I just bought this unit. I'll likely make a different choice next time I have the occasion to purchase a fish finder. -JC

I'd definitely contact your local DNR to ask a biologist about it. Here on the Shenandoah River we've had some very serious fish kills in the last two years. They're still a mystery at this point, but sores on the fish have been reported. I'm sure they're unrelated issues, but I'd still report it just to be safe. Our fish kills were all adult smallmouth, btw. -JC

I dunno whose "monkey" this is...but they need to put him BACK IN HIS CAGE! That little monster cost the wife and I $350 on a little (ok...all day) excursion up to the Bass Pro Shops in Baltimore. The upside (I suppose) is that the wife is really enjoying fishing and wanted a tackle box and some things of her own! <insert the sound of the Bait Monkey snickering> The downside is that she wanted one of everything in the store, lol!

Absolutely!, I love it when a forum is full of information and good folks, and light on the B.S. Just goes to show what a great bunch fishermen can be. I was fishing the toad relatively fast across the surface, but just fast enough for the little guy to kick up some water. As Skewrl stated, it wasn't long at all after the bait hit the water that he'd latched on. I missed a really good fish shortly thereafter, but I had too much slack in the line and missed 'em. (He was big enough that when he hit, I saw his head come out of the water...that was cool!) He hit it somewhere around the middle of the retrieve. I've been studyng the Carolina rig section as well. I've got a few leaders rigged up and ready to go, so next trip I'll be seeking deep structure and dropoffs for this technique. I've still got quite a bit of reading to do! -JC

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a bit, reading and trying to listen and learn before I speak. I just wanted to thank you guys for all the information! It paid off this afternoon in the way of a 5 pound bass on a Watermelon Red Horny Toad. I know he's not going to win me any cookies, but he was a winner to me! Prior to coming here and reading all about these cool little baits, I'd been fishing "Artemus Clydefrog" (my wife's name for this little creature) without success for a couple weeks. Repeatedly I'd miss strikes and work myself to death (subpar reel, but the replacement is on the way) getting it to the surface. Armed with a snub-nosed Toad and larger hooks, the first big strike today didn't get his hookset for 2 seconds, and WHAMMO! After tugging his tubby butt through 2 miles of hydrilla farm, I had my first Artemus Clydebass. Thanks very much for sharing all this info! I really appreciate it! I'm now working on learning to Carolina rig. My favorite lake is very clear, and pretty deep in places, so it seems like a good tactic to learn. -JC