Cmiller

I would like to do some panfishing in some local ponds. Anyone have any good recommendations for baits? I have heard of some people drop shotting

I fished out of a tracker 1542 Jon boat last year, it worked okay at best, the flat bottom really limits you to calm days. I sold it at the end of the season and upgraded to an older 17' ranger for not much more money. If you shop around you can find a lightly used older bass boat for the price of a Jon boat

siebert always seems to have the best prices that I have found.

Undiluted vinegar works well too

I have painted three Mercury lower units on my boats over the years. I have always used the Mercury phantom black paint. It is easy to apply and holds up awesome. Well worth the 12 bucks a can. Make sure you take your time and scuff up the whole lower unit with a scotch brite pad and wipe it down with acetone. A paint job is only as good as the prep work that goes into it.

I was planning on doing that since I need to remove the decals to buff the top cap anyways. It's not super faded so it should shine up very nice.

All of the small outboards I have owned have been premix and it has never been an issue. I recently bought a ranger of the same era as you and plan on deleting the oil injection. I have a mixing bottle and plan on keeping it as well as a gallon of oil in a storage compartment

The shadow rap and scatter raps have both been excellent producers for me on any body of water I have tried them on provided the conditions are right

I have been looking for an older ranger with Mercury v6 power for a while now. I finally found a 1984 330v that fit in my budget and is in nice shape. I picked it up this weekend. It runs really good, and is in decent shape. I plan on buffing the gel coat and adding some new electronics as well as a trolling motor.

Give a local plastics place a call, or ranger boats. I have heard they have excellent customer service.

I am looking at buying a used bass boat this weekend in the st louis area, and I am wondering if there is any lakes that are still open in the area that I could take the boat for a ride on before I purchase it.

Welcome! I recently moved back to Madison!

I watched a pike devour my favorite shadow rap right next to the boat this summer. It swam away slowly, almost taunting me

I have a pflueger president, supreme and president limited edition. The limited edition is a great value with a sealed drag, two spools and carbon handle all for 80 dollars.

They had some scatter raps and some rattling raps at the one closest to my work. Picked up a handful of them in the colors I use.

Shadow raps worked very well for me last spring. This winter I have picked up a few kvd jerk baits to try as well. Carbon and clown were the two best colors I found in the shadow rap

Sounds like they are definitely hit or miss. Maybe I will pick up one or two to try. Worst case scenario I have some cool looking display pieces.

One of the local stores just started carrying the gycb hard baits, I was wondering if anyone has used them at all, specifically the jerk baits and square bills

Have you thought about getting a good tune up from a professional? The old mercs are very reliable when well maintained.

I tend to reach for watermelon red flake or green pumpkin on brown and green colors of jigs.

I don't fish the dd line, but I have had excellent luck with all white bandits, as well as strike king xd series in southern WI.

Caught this on thanksgiving morning on a scatter rap fishing the weedlines. It measured 40" and weighed only 12 pounds.

I usually only carry a 7' medium baitcaster and a 7' medium spinning rod when fishing from the bank. I have never found the need for anything other than those two.

I would tend to disagree with this statement, I have owned multiple used mercury 2 strokes and they are very very reliable when well maintained. My current 20 horse which is a 2001 model starts in one pull no matter the weather. The key to a reliable outboard is keeping the fuel system clean and using good fuel.

Having worked at gander mountain I would steer clear of the vortex reels. I have taken some put of the package that were missing screws. Gander mountain by me has daiwa lagunas on sale for 29.99, I picked a couple up and they feel decent for the money.