Mak

so i looked it up and all the pictures and descriptions of aligatorweed match the stuff in my lake. and its an invasive plant from south america.

if by heavy animal you mean me, then yes. i put on some waiters(sp) to clear a path for my jonboat and instead of going through it, the plant just sunk some and i could walk on it. if i were to lay down flat and distrubute my weight evenly im sure i could be completely above water.

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so for the past 3 years theres been a plant taking over the shallow, nonmoving parts of my home lake. and this last year its gotten out of control. its now consumed about 60-70% of my favorite spot. its a viney plant, thats really thick. way to thick to be able to fish with anything. its not rooted to the ground or anything it just has these real fine thick hair-like white roots that float in the water. and it grows unbelievibly fast. all of the plants that you see in the pictures are floating on top of 1-3 feet of water and none of it is on land. and the dead plants in the middle are the last of the remaining lilly pads that used to be there. im guessing the viney plants take all the nutrients from the water, because all the other lilly pads in the area are in really bad shape, almost like they were in the winter. and i live in southeast virginia, is it supposed to be in the waters at all?

i wont have to worry about other boaters because on the lake the most hp allowed is 12, mostly jon boats with trolling motors and a few carolina skiffs are all thats on the lake. and whatever i do im going to completly submerge it a few feet under water. and about the pallets. will stores just give them to you?

my home lake has very little cover other than shallow water lillypads, some stumps, and this really thick viney surface vegetation(impossible it fish) that seems to be taking over the lake. and i wanted to build and sink some kind of cover near some a bottom structure in about 5-10ft of water. (lake is barley over 10ft at its deepest). so what kind of materials should i use to build. i was thinking either pvc pipe or wood that is either held down by a cynder block or just pushed into the 2 feet of mush and mud that makes up the lake bottom. and what should it look like, mabey like a submerged dock. any suggestions would be appreciated.

im looking to buy a trolling motor to replace my 1.2 hp 1967 outboard because its too loud and has too many problems. i had been looking at some minn kotas with 40lb thurst and 36in shaft ($165) for awhile. and i came across a add in a magazine today aobut a 45lb thurst 36in shaft ($170). does anyone have either of these motors. and how much stronger is the extra 5 pounds of thurst.

today i was fishing for carp because they were feeding heavily, then it rained. and then they did the after rain feeding too. so i was catching them while they were alot less scared off eating. anyways i was fishing with bread off the shore in about 2-3 ft of water. and i can sometimes see them when they come up close. and i noticed a fish swim up about 5 feet from where i was standing, it wasnt a carp because it was so small. so i figured it was a bowfin (it was). and ive caught one on bread while reeling in before. then i took my pole and plopped my bobber and bread right infront of it. and it sat still for a second or to, then struck my bobber fast. it moved so fast i got anxious and tryed to set my hook almost instantly and the bowfin did a flip out of the water. then i set my hook back in and found out where it was because it stirred up some water. (it was still within 5 feet of me) then i waved the bread infront of its face instead of letting it sit on the bottom. and it hit it again, but i waited a second before setting the hook. and it jumped out of the water, and the pressure i had on the pole pulled it onto land. and after i released it, it stayed in the same spot. but i didnt try to catch it again.

i caught 2 carp today and after i release them they lay upside down. but i give them a push with my pole and they swim off. and all the carp ive ever caught do that, and some bowfin, and poking them allways gets them to swim off normally. mabey they got caught and never got poked with a stick?

makes alot of sense. but i fish areas alot that brokejew was talking about. tons of carp, and good amount of bass, but its not a good spot until postspawn

does anybody have one of those fishfinders? are they any good? it sounds like the best i can get for 150 bucks. so im gonna try to head out and buy one sometime this week.

took me about 15 missed hooksets last year to figure that out. as soon as the surface broke or my frog went under id "set" my hook and pull it away before the bass had even gotten it in its mouth.

ill try the tapered head and bolt way, unless my dad knows a welder that could help us out.

i think that you should keep your plasitcs in the original packaging, espically if its powerbait or something prescented, even not scented. because ive found that when u put then in tackle boxes when its hot that theyll kindof melt together and the colors will bleed all over. i always keep my plastics in theyre bags, unless i use them pretty bad. then ill cut off the tails or something to make a good trailer for a swimming jig or spinner bait

when the water is cool ill throw in a jig or soft plastic most of the time. try buzz baits along the weedlines, and i try fishing spinnerbaits like i fish jigs when its miserably hot for the fish. on normal temerature days ill use any type of texas rigged plastic (worm, lizard, craw). im starting to like fishing frogs around the lily pads too. but with frogs you have to fish them real slow. like make alot of noise with them and then let them sit on the top for a while while giving them a few twitches. most bites will come while theyre just sitting there. for fishing in the pads look for holes, patches that stick out further that the rest of the pads, gaps that go into the group of pads or if theres a small group away from the big group, thats where most of the bass will be waiting to ambush prey.

i bought some crawfish plastics and horny toads the other day, but my 3/0 hooks are too small for a texas rig, how big of hooks should i be using. or should i just use something other than texas rigging? thanks, kyle

the main section of my lake that i fish get it real bad when everyone is fertilizing their lawns this time of year. and the only thing that i can use to get around it is a texas rigged plastic, and i still have to clena it off every few cast. and i cant even use cranks without the lip and hooks getting covered with the stuff. if i were you, id just try to fish in a clearer part of the lake where there isnt any. or wait til it all goes away. and do you have small welcomemat-like patches of the algae floating around?

the jon boat i have has 5 ribs in it, and 2 are cracked in half, so i bought five 4ft 1 1/2in thick flat aluminum strips. i want to take out the old ribs and put the new ones over where the old ones were. and re rivet them, should i make new holes and just seal up the old ones, or try to use the same holes. and what type of rivets should i use for this project. and where could i get some. thanks, kyle

ive been looking for a decent sized jon boat 12- 14 ft 36 - 48 in. and i was talking to a friend about it and he said a jon boat washed up in his backyard last year during a hurricane. and hes had it sitting out in his front yard so someone could see it. and it has no numbers on it to find the owner. so he gave it to me. and i cant complain because its free. even though its not what i wanted. its a 12ft 30in aluminum jon. it has 5 support beams going across the bottom and 2 of them are snapped in half. i want to redo all of the support beams with a stronger aluminum, and i want to put in about 3-5 more. where can i get those? and what are they called? and whats a good thing to use to seal up cracks and weak spots? and i want to add bass chairs in the middle and rear bench, but i need to add more support to the benches. thanks kyle

im heading to lowes to look at some wood soon for building the deck on a jon boat. i know im gonna need a 4 x 8 x 1/2 to 3/4 of marine plywood. but what type of wood should i use for the support? thanks kyle

ok thanks

i called the guy i was gonna buy the boat from back today and told him i wasnt interested anymore. and it didnt bother him because he had 2 more people looking at it. im gonna buy a copy of the local trading post on the first day it comes out and look for a boat with about a 40 inch or more width, i dont think i need any more width than that because im only 130 pounds. thanks for all the help tho. and those outriggers cost more than some of the boats i was looking at. and i know that most of the time v hulls are wider than flat bottoms, but does that mean that theyre more stable?

im about to buy a jon boat 14'x32'' and i want to add some things like 2 bass seats, electronics, ect. and i wanted to add a small deck on the front about 6 feet long, but im pretty sure the boat will tip way to easily. is there any way to make the boat more stable, or should i just wait to find a wider boat. thanks kyle