Elkins45

Is Lake Dorr worth a trip to fish? Can I use my 50hp boat there? I’m searched the web but I can’t find if there are HP limits on this lake.

Have any of you ever stayed at Seminole Lodge (FL) since the hurricane? I had a reservation at Three Rivers State Park campground in December but a family issue forced me to cancel and there’s no more availability for months. I remember seeing Seminole Lodge had a website a few years ago but it’s gone now. I think the hotel and marina are still operating but I wouldn’t mind getting some independent reviews before committing to spending a week there.

I store my boat in a barn during the winter but it’s at the end of a rugged and remote road, so during the season it stays in the front yard. I try to keep it covered to limit weather and UV damage but my fabric covers never seem to last even a full season before they develop holes or long tears. It’s a 16.5” deep V. Is there a decent cover that doesn’t cost a fortune? At this point I’m tempted to just buy a few heavy duty tarps. They don’t last very long either but at least they are cheap.

Most marine anodes are zinc.

My Lawn Boy two stroke mower would start cold but not restart when hot. The problem turned out to be the ignition coil. Once I replaced it everything was fine.

Are the lake maps that used to be available under Tools ever going to come back? I found them really useful and I mis them.

I’m probably going to camp at Salt Springs if there’s a spot available.

I have the luxury of planning a trip almost any time. What would be the ideal time to fish Lake George around the Salt Springs area?

I used to jug fish for catfish in Duncan and Sugar Bays during the summer. I would camp on the shore of LBL. It was hot but a whole lot of fun. I never had as much success with bass as others seemed to have.

I’m just north of Frankfort.

My trailer came with 13” wheels. Unfortunately 14” is the smallest Goodyear Endurance available, so I will need to buy different wheels. There’s only a 2” diameter difference between 175/80-13 and 205/75-14 so I’m hopeful there’s enough clearance for the larger tires under my plastic fenders.

How does it do that? Do you have to install TMPS sensors in your trailer tires?

I’ve owned my ‘new’ boat for five years now and I’ve had two tires fail in that time. One failed explosively at 70mph and took the fender with it. It ripped the frame stub almost completely off. I had to hammer it back into position and weld it before I could put on a new fender. The other one was about two years old and probably only had about 4000 miles on it when it decided to break a cord in downtown Atlanta during rush hour traffic. I was only going 10-15mph trying to merge onto I-75 when I noticed the boat was shaking pretty hard. I got out and checked the tire and it was fully inflated but it was obvious something was wrong. If you’ve never experienced the joy of changing a trailer tire on the side of a major interstate up against a concrete retaining wall while crazed drivers whiz by then you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve come to the conclusion that all 13” trailer tires are garbage. I found a nice set of 14” wheels on Facebook marketplace and I’m going to replace my 13” C-rated tires with 14” D-rated Goodyears. I figure the extra $20 per tire for a known American brand is probably worth it. I’ll be happy if I never have to change a tire on the side of the road again.

Anything will be fine in this low speed/low pressure application. You could use unsalted lard and it would be OK.

With all the supply chain issues the best thing might be a recovery as long as they don't damage it much. I understand boat stuff is in high demand but short supply right now.

Off-topic, but I had a new Okuma spinning rod that broke on the first small fish it caught. I asked them to replace the top section and supposedly they sent me one. After a couple of months I contacted them to see if they had forgotten and they said they send another one. Never received either. Either they need a new shipping company or they just told me a story to make me go away. No more Okuma for me. As far as never again lures I have to say it would take real desperation before I would throw a senko again. I've never had any luck with them. Yes, I realize I'm the only one who can't catch fish on a senko. Never had any luck with an A-rig either, and those things are a lot of work to throw. Feels like muskie fishing!

I’m going to be there for four days so I should get the chance to try a bunch of different stuff. I’ve never fished with shiners but I think I’ll give it a try.

Any recommended lures or techniques for this time of year?

I have a reservation for South Moon Fish Camp which is on the St. John’s just below Lake George for week after next. Any tips or advice on how to fish the river this time of year? I figure one or two days I will run up the river and fish Lake George, maybe scout some spots for a future trip, so any Lake George tips would also be appreciated.

Any recommendations closer to the north end?

Any recommendations on a place to stay on Okeechobee that's on the water so I don't have to launch and load every day? I don't need fancy, just clean and safe. Anybody ever use J&S Fish Camp? What about Angler's Waterfront Motel? I found both thru Google but you really can't tell much about a place from a website.

As much as I love to bass fish I'm not particularly good at it. I figure if I'm not going to catch anything then why punish myself while doing it, so I won't fish in the extremes of hot and cold. I do musky fish in the fall when it's a bit nippy but that's generally considered the most productive time around here.

If I were starving to death and had to catch a bass to survive I would fish a 6” worm in purple, blue or black rigged Texas style. But I suck as a fisherman so who cares what I think? My deceased uncle said a grenade tied to a railroad spike was a pretty good producer, but his supply of grenades dried up sometime in the late 90’s so he pretty much quit fishing after that. ?

Anyone with a decent pocket knife and a hardware store nearby can whittle a walking-type lure from dowels and buy a bag of screw eyes to attach the hooks. There’s no easier hard casting lure to make that a walking topwater. You could make a whole box full of them for $20 plus some paint and hooks. If you have a belt sander you could really crank them out. Hmmmm....I’m smelling a project coming on.? Wonder what I could use to make a wooden plug rattle?

A Choppo is the first topwater lube I've bought in years. That's not because I don't like them, it's because I don't lose very many. The only way I ever lose a topwater is if it ends up in a tree. I'm still partial to a black Jitterbug as a solid body lure but most of my topwater fishing is with an unweighted floating worm on a light hook. If I'm lucky I might catch two fish on the same one, but usually they get pretty torn up by the first fish. The good floating worms are getting harder and harder to find and my hoarded supply is starting to dwindle.