StratDude

I own my boat.. Fish many opens and a trail with a regular partner. But our annual divisional qualifier is a draw tourney. We have a 6 man club, so 3 of us go as boaters and 3 as nonboaters. So I've tried for 10 years not to get that reputation of being a crappy boater... Our state federation rules require that a nonboater gets the front of the boat for half of the day. I've offered them the front in the morning half or the afternoon half. Never matters to me. I own the boat, but not the water or the fish. Nonboater has just as much right to the fish as I do, otherwise, he wouldn't be fishing. And the objective is to try to win or place high enough to advance. Just because someone is fishing from the back deck doesn't mean they aren't good enough to catch fish or win. The mentality of "nonboaters are only there to learn from the boater" is hilarious. And when someone says "buy your own boat if you want to fish the front" is just as bad. If your feelings get hurt because the guy in the back caught more than you did, find another hobby. So for the OP's boater to claim that he had first chance at the water on the opposite side is ridiculous. He's fishing one side, so the nonboater can fish the other side without interfering with him. What if the boater missed casting at a tree? Does it get left for him to come back to it or does the nonboater have permission to cast to it? He got a case of butthurt because Chance_Taker4 caught fish and he didn't. That's fishing. If I was a nonboater and a boater pulled that crap with me, I'd just tell him to take me back to the ramp because I'm sick and can't continue.. He can't continue the tourney without a nonboater in the boat with him. So guess what? He has to drop out for the remainder of the tourney... Never let a boater try to rule you, your fishing technique, or the water you're fishing. He only owns the boat. Make your boater show you in writing any rule that you question...

I live right beside Stonewall Jackson. I'm hoping to get on the water tomorrow evening or Sunday morning. Went last Saturday for a few hours and caught quite a few. My 6yr old son caught an 11 1/2" largemouth. His biggest so far.

I like East Lynn in the spring and late fall. I've caught some great bass there in spring and fall. But we no longer use it in any of the WV Bass Federation tourneys. In the summer months, it's more of a night fishing lake for bass, in my opinion.

I already have 2 of the old classic 1911's. An Ithaca (made in 1942) that my uncle carried during Viet Nam. And a Remington Rand (made in 1945) that another family member was issued many years ago.. Both are still in great condition.. And still fetch a nice collector's price. They both will belong to my son someday.

We can hunt them at night with lights in WV from January 1st to July 31st.. I've killed more in the dark than in the daylight. I added an ATN HD Sight II scope to one of my rifles last year and it is amazing.

If he switches to another trolling motor, the plug may not work.. Better to install jumper at the batteries. The jumper in the plug is a smaller gauge and can "blow" like a fuse if overheated. Seen it happen several times from oversized wiring and upgraded trolling motor sizes.

To double the voltage of 2 batteries, you must connect them in series. You only need 2 wires from the batteries to the plug. One wire from the Pos of battery number 1 and one wire from Neg of battery number 2. Then connect a jumper wire from the unused Pos and Neg on both batteries. The reason the OP has 4 wires from his batteries to the plug is due to the type of system (variable 12V/24V) used with his original trolling motor and plug.

I read on another forum, from a Humminbird tech, that when a Helix and Solix are networked, only waypoints can be shared.

I've never owned a bassboat that didn't either already have a hotfoot or I didn't install one. Then again, I've never owned a bassboat that wouldn't go over 60mph either. In my opinion, it's like having hydraulic tilt and trim... Why not have it??? Being able to keep both hands on the wheel at speed is a bonus, even if you have hydraulic steering. I just installed one in my Ranger Tuesday evening after work. Less than 2 hours from start to finish. Way2slow, you can back the tension off of the return spring so that you don't have to mash the pedal all the time. I set the tension on mine so that it isn't difficult or uncomfortable for me or my wife to drive the boat, but still returns to idle if we let off on the pedal suddenly. I also installed my hotfoot on an adjustable slide plate so that we can both move it to suit each of us.

I hope Stonewall is the same this weekend... It's been high and dirty all week. Might try for a little while Saturday after baseball.

Same weather we've been having in central WV too RHuff. Water in the 50's everywhere. We had frost Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday mornings. Looking at the local tourney results, guys have been catching some good bags. Took 16lbs to win at Stonewall Saturday. And about the same to win Burnsville on Saturday. And at the Buddy Trail on Burnsville Sunday, there were several 3+lb fish weighed in. Big fish Sunday was 6.5lbs. Had several bags over 10lbs. My partner and I had 4 dinks and 1 keeper. And like you, we threw everything imaginable. Only things I got bit on were a jig and a dropshot. We're on the Kanawha River Sunday, launching at Nitro. I don't know what kind of game plan to come up with before we get there.

Anyone on here have a 24P 4 blade prop for a Merc they'd be willing to let me try? I recently added a 6" jackplate and 25P Tempest Plus to my boat. They definitely improved the handling and top end speed. But I think a 24P 4 blade would be better for days that my partner and I are fishing a tourney. My holeshot 2 weeks ago was sluggish after we added water to the livewells.

We fished the Buddy Trail tourney at Summersville on the 15th.. Wind was bad all day.. And the fish were deep.. Water temps ranged from 51 to 55 from what we saw. My partner and I are the weighmasters for the WV Bass Federation. So we usually come in about an hour before everyone else to get the scales and stuff set up and ready. It didn't hurt my feelings one bit to come in early that day.. Our Sutton tourney was cancelled due to the high water and all the debris still floating everywhere. Not sure when we'll make it up. We're at Burnsville this Sunday. No idea how it is right now. It was 14 feet high after the storms.

I didn't go Saturday, but several of my buddies were on Stonewall Saturday. One of them caught a 6 1/2Lb largemouth. I didn't ask what he caught it on. Wind was steady all day Saturday.

If I'm on the lake during spring gobbler season, I always have a rifle or shotgun in my rod locker.. We have large fields along a local lake that is all part of a WMA.. Perfectly legal to call a gobbler down and shoot it. I've also taken a few coyotes from the front deck on evening trips to this lake..