nicksmurf111

Ok, dumb noobe question...what do you do about powering through lilly pads? I've seen various places in the past where you can launch a boat in lilly pads. The lake I've been fishing/hunting at recently has acres of pads in one of the coves. I fished it the other day and did pretty well. When I'm hunting there in the fall, the pads are thick and wrap around the outboard. I need to lift the motor out for them to fall off. A little information, I have a 12ft aluminum row boat with a 9.9 short shaft. I haven't purchased a trolling motor yet. I plan to get a slightly larger boat for hunting because it's not ideal to fit 2 adults in a boat this small...but a 9.9 is sure fun an a little 12ft boat. I think I will be building a pole with a foot on it to position the boat while hunting, but that wouldn't help much bass fishing. Do people take bass boats through pads or avoid them? Are the weedless trolling motors really that weedless? Although I doubt I'll get one any time soon, does vegetation clog up a jet drive lower unit? Is it even appropriate to disturb pads?

I do whatever is more convenient for me. The core charge is usually like $10. I usually swap the battery in the parking lot, so I pay the core charge then do the swap. I think you can actually get more scrapping the core, but I don't care to. Not all the Walmarts by me have automotive service, but they all have batteries. Last time I went to Tractor Supply, because I wanted to get an Exide rather than Everstart. People like to say that Walmart stuff is sub-par, but I don't know if it's true.

If the carburetor has fuel in it (squeeze the bulb till it's firm, see above), and it's choked, it should start with 1 to 3 pulls. If not, get it serviced.

As long as it's wide enough to be stable, it should be fun. I hope he's getting a good deal on it.

No, I don't. The laws are convoluted. I'm never the passenger (I think I've taken my 5 year old on every boating trip in the past year). And, my current boat is too small, I'll probably trip and fall out.

If you are looking for affordable rods, don't discredit Shakespeare and store brand rods. It all depends what you want to cast. ~12lb line with a medium heavy rod will have trouble casting lighter baits. I specifically switched to a 7' light rod with 6lb test to cast light lures while doing a lot of river fishing (while others were using noodle rods). But I can't use that around cover in a lake...

I reel it in so there are just a few inches slack. I put the hook on the keeper. Then reel in more to put the bail right side up (line roller up). Last, I turn the spool by hand to straighten out the rod. I don't necessary mess with the drag unless I'm storing the rod, tying the line while I don't want a wind mess, or if I need a line-out clicker while taking a nap (not really for bass fishing). The above assumes I'm using mono or flouro.

On the older baitcasters, the pawl came out the under-side of the level wind (under a cap like rippin-lips wrote). I imagine the low profile reels are similar.

I just picked up the 35 size and think it's sort of big...I think the 30 size would have been the best all-around size for bass fishing.

I was able to get a new title for my boat with the last owner's registration. For trailers, my state wants to tax everything, so you need receipts (new materials), plans, inspection, notary, wait for the state to review the paperwork...and so on.

Sounds like you made out. Does the trailer need to be titled in your state? Some states only require weight slips and pictures to get a license plate on a utility trailer. My trailer cost almost 3 times as much, only because I needed to buy one with good paperwork.

Woops, sorry. I was thinking of a different motor. But it should run with a bad fuel pump if you squeeze the bulb to re-fill the bowl.

Also, dump the fuel in your lawn mower or something (use it up quickly) and start with fresh fuel. That helps sometimes.

It probably has a choke detent ball in the carburetor. Has it always done that? Having to do with it not running; I bet you got dirt or water in the carburetor. I'd pull the carburetor and remove the bowl. Remove the float and needle. If you have had any trouble with it flooding, replace the needle and seat and make sure the float isn't leaky. If not, inspect the needle for wear. Look for dirt in the bowl and the jet. Either blow it out with carb cleaner, replace the bowl gasket, bowl screw gasket and mounting gasket. Level the float. Replace the fuel filter and any old fuel lines. If the minimal doesn't work, or you think it's really clogged up, do a full rebuild...dipping it in carb cleaner per the instructions. There are a lot of small passages. I've worked on tons of carbs and I'm not even very competent with them, so be careful and find a professional if needed.

I'd assume it's like building a rear end for a car (which I've done recently). Don't touch it unless you know the details inside and out. If you need to set backlash on any of the gears, or reset up old gears, and get it wrong, it won't last very long. I'm pretty sure you do need to set backlash...so yeah, read the service manual first.

As long as it's inside the house, out of the sun. I have some mono and flouro that's over 10 years old, on small spools that I never finished, that are/were still fine. I don't like small spools. If I'm fishing regularly, I've been known to change mono regularly, maybe every 6 trips/days.

That should be pretty easy.

Do you have a 9.9 to strap on that thing? Mine flies with one...over the max hp on the tag, but fun.

My brother-in-law had a slightly older one, it could smoke both front tires.

I've learned: don't buy something if it doesn't meet your needs for the foreseeable future. And outboard engine parts can't be purchased on every corner, especially if they are long discontinued. I'm already looking for a larger boat after purchasing something cheep to get me on the water.

Oh wow! I have a very similar boat, and it looks like the exact same trailer. I've been looking for a wider 14'er though. I like going hunting, and sticking a 300lb hunting partner in the front of my boat makes it float like a bathtub. VERY nice work!

Yeah, a full sized car should be able to handle that. Does the Deville have the adjustable air ride on the back? Don't forget to go easy on the OD gear.

Just wondering, what do you plan to tow it with? If you have a full sized truck, just get a class 4 hitch, then you can tow anything up to what the truck is rated at up to 10,000lbs with weight distribution and electric brakes when necessary.

I've eaten bluegill and catfish. The bluegills you need to scale. And they have tiny bones that are a pain. For catfish, don't keep the large ones, only eat the medium-small ones due to pollution. The older they get, the more concentrated the pollutants get.

Catfish love chicken liver if you can keep it on the hook.