dizzy5868

You can't beat the 480, the bird may have more pixels but the 480 is alot clearer. The bird 565 always seems blurry to me, not very crisp. I had the same problem with it loosing bottom at higher speeds. I had the 565 at my console and got rid of it, I put a 320 there now with the ducer mounted in the bilge. Works great even at 60mph. I have a 480 on the bow. If you want to find structure, spend the extra $$$ and get the 480.

Thanks for the help guys.

The only pans I can find have a non stick coating. will these still work?

Heys guys, I just got a lee pot and I have about 250lbs of tire weight lead to melt but no mold. Besides buying a mold, what else works? I can get all the lead I want for free. Can I make a mold? If so out of what? any ideas?

I usually carry 20 rods on the boat at any given time. Tackle, I always carry 4 of each hard bait, cranks, spinnerbaits, topwater ect. Plastic, The colors and brands that I use, I carry about 50 each and 250 of the most popular bait at that time of the season. Hooks, no less than 100 of each type that I use. Tube jig heads, I use 70% of the time, I carry about 500 mixed, 1/8 1/4 ounce in different hook styles (sickle, 570,630) I pour my own. Always have extra line. For guiding I don't use expensive rods and reels. A $40 setup is about max. No junk but cheap. you don't want the newbee droping your your quantum pti into the lake. 3 people in a boat and fishing gets messy esspecialy with novice anglers. A good lure retriever is essential. The key is to put clients on fish as fast as possible with the shortest amount of running. I usually ask if they want quality or quantity. That will tell me what they are expecting. Most guys just want to catch fish, even if they are just legal. you will get some guys that want a trophy and you have to be upfront with these clients about their chances, no guarantees. Most clients are beginners and want to learn, so teaching them without treating them like beginners is key. Make them feel equal no inferior.

Opinion. Thats all it is. Tournaments actually help a fishery. As you stated we are catch and release unharmed, most states require catch reports so they can track how a lake is doing and if it needs stocking or new regulations. Some people just think tourny anglers are plain ignorant and sometimes we are. I'm not saying I am but there are some anglers that take the attitide that their in a tourny and they should have the spot over somone who is not competing. It has nothing to do with the catching it's about the fishing. The easy way to describe it is regular anglers think of tourny anglers the same way we think of jetskiers and water skiers, an annoyance.

Check out this website, It's not for coolers but just substitute the tank. http://www.flow-rite.com/marine/e tank.

If you have a harbour freight near by they sell some that are cheap priced. You could also order one online. I think there about $20

My friend had the same boat and motor, his was an 1986, we ended up running a 15 pitch prop stainless and put a power trim plate on it. Top end with 2 guys was 36-38 mph. The trim made all the difference. We tried every prop from 12-17 and 15 seemed to be the magic number. Without the trim he pretty much got what you are getting now.

Sorry to hear about your freind, my prayers go out to his family, why don't we make it a point here on this board to at least post a reminder about jackets every week. Nothing special just a reminder, as we get into the season we tend to forget about all we have read over the winter.

Definatley sounds like the magnets. I have never heard of this happening before. I would contact the manufacturer, I'm not sure but it might be under warranty. If not I would make a big enough stink on the phone and tell them you fish tourny's and need the motor. I don't know about Motor Guide but Minn Kota is very helpfull for us tourny guys. I had my lower unit fall off my shaft last year after hitting some rocks in the river and it stripped out the shaft. I called Minn Kota, explained everything, told them I fish alot of tournys and 3 days later I had a new shaft Fed Exed. They don't want people bad mouthing them in the tourny world, so they are usually willingto help you out.

Tom, The only way to find out for sure is at wot. I would have to agree with the dealer and go with a 23 pitch. Turning that 26 is just too much prop for that motor, it will get you moving once you get her on the pad but the motor is probably bogged down. Go for the 23.

The question here is what is the WOT rpms? By going down in pitch you are increasing your rpms at WOT. You need to find out what your recommended wot is and then go from there. going from a 26 to a 19 is way too much at once. That would increase your rpm by @1400 at wot. Of course you could be overpropped but not that much. I would guess you need about 23 to be ok. Each pitch change is @200 rpm up or down as a rule of thumb.

Smallies in water 20-40' that are schooled up are easily taken with spoons. You need a decent graph to locate them. You can use a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce kastmaster spoon in gold or silver depending on the forage. Just sit over the fish and drop the spoon down to them. Depth is key here, you need to be in front of the fish. I use a cheap clip on line counter to make sure I'm in the strike zone. Once you get there just rip the spoon up and let it fall. Keep a fairly tight line on the drop, more or less follow the spoon with your rod tip to the water as it falls, most stikes will come as it falls. You will just feel a faint tick in the line. Vary your rips, 2 fast short rips then 1 long one. It takes patience but once they start hitting, you have a limit in 10 minutes. This is technique that has lost it's popularity but works, I'm sure there are many tourny anglers doing this and not saying. This also works well where you have docks that are over water that is 10-16' deep. Pull into the slip quietly and just flip the spoon into the corners of the slip and jig it. Alot of times the smallies will suspend just under the edges of the docks. If your good at casting or flipping, try finding pontoon boats that are in some water 10-12', flip the spoon under the pontoon between the long barrels, do not hit the tanks, if you do move on, this will "ring the bell" and echo through the water and spook the fish. Takes practice but works real well on high pressured lakes. Most guys are afraid to fish like this because of losing baits, so these fish don't get the pressure. Good luck Rob

I caught a rock the size of a baseball while fishing for smaiiels one day, I have sitting on my desk. Hooked it a crank and landed it. I thought it was a slammin smallie at first.