TOXIC

On most injected 2 strokes you will have 2 oil tanks. One in your bilge that stores up to a couple gallons and one mounted on your motor. The oil pump moves oil from the bilge bulk tank to the smaller tank on your motor as needed. When your bilge bulk tank gets too low normally that's when you will get your low oil alarm or light. That lets you know you only have the oil in your smaller engine mounted tank remaining and you need to add oil soon. You only fill the bilge tank and some boats have remote oil fill thru hull fittings and others you have to remove the bilge bulk oil tank cap and fill there. It's difficult and even with my thru hull fill, I have to be careful not to overfill or spill. On my bilge bulk tank there are fill marks to tell when it is at the proper level. Whether you have the remote fill or have to dive into the bilge to fill, a funnel is your friend. Just check it often while filling.

On your picture, you can see to outer outline of where the plug housing used to be. There's probably a thru hull insert that was epoxied in there at one time. Mine is threaded and the plug unscrews from the housing which is screwed and sealed to the hull.

Throw a Senko!! Did you see a bed? If so soak a bait on the bed.

Probably a spawning pair or at least getting ready to spawn. Bass for the most part shut down during the spawn and to get them to bite, you have to put your bait directly on their bed or nest.

It drives me CRAZY that my boat will not fit in my garage and I have to store it outside. Add to it that it's black and absorbs a lot of heat and that when I bought it, it had been stored outside unused under a bad cover for 2 years and was absolutely full of mold and mildew. I have remedied the mold situation for the most part but still have to chase it once in a while. I am the same way about my truck. When I brought it home brand new off the dealers lot, I clay barred it, sealed it, polished it and waxed it. Everytime I come off the water, this is how my boat gets stored.

Just to add, I could give a hoot what others think of me while fishing. It's a standing joke to watch me go "on point" when I'm fishing a Senko and I feel like I am getting bit. I get in the zone when fishing a Senko and my "minds eye" is watching what the bait is doing underwater and if it changes from normal, I go on point.

I like the drawn out anticipation of picking my Senko up off the bottom and feeling "weight". A lot of years on the water goes into my decision on whether or not to pull the trigger. I amaze my fishing partner all the time by how I can tell the difference between a leaf, some grass or some wood on my Senko. I don't know how I can but I can. And it can be just a very small amount for me to be able to sense the weight difference.

Good Deal. I have 1/4 oz Ned heads for the deeper stuff. In reality, I never thought there was much of a difference between the Ned and a Shakey Head except for the smaller bait on the Ned.

In the Northern lakes I fish, Michigan, Wisconsin it depends on a few things. First and formost, the type of "weed" or grass that is growing. Cabbage, milfoil, sand grass, eel grass, and a few more species all exist at different depths from 15 feet to 2 feet. The only way to know for sure is to get out and graph it or throw a bottom dragging bait and see what you pull up.

Is it going to be seasonal? Lots of down time if it is. If not, you have to do a lot of re-stocking from summer to ice. I had a very close friend that owned a Tackle Shop in Michigan. It drove him to drink and finally it took his life. He tried to be viable in many ways. Carried a lot of bowhunting equipment and became a certified trolling motor repair center as well. I got to hear about the pumps going out on the live bait tanks during storms and losing thousands of dollars in bait (even though he got alerted and was in the shop within an hour. Kind of soured me on what I also thought might be a fun business to be in.

If I put anything caustic on my gel or hull, it gets a follow up coat of wax and/or sealer.

Your motor should only be charging your starting battery where all of your accessories should also be connected. There should be nothing on your trolling motor batteries other than your trolling motor. There are products out there that will connect your big motor to charge the Trolling Motor batteries after the cranking battery reaches full charge. There are also battery jump switches that allow you to loop in (via the switch) your troller batteries to start your big motor in the event your cranking battery won't. I have 4 batteries total (3 TM, 1 cranking) and I have a 4 bank on board charger. I would never rely on the big motor to keep the cranking battery charged up. It takes just as long to charge with my on-boars charger as the trolling batteries that get no help from the big motor.

Touchy subject you bet. For a number of reasons. Mainly because trailer rims are harder to balance and you can't really feel an out of balance trailer tire. But for me there's just no way I'm pulling anything at highway speeds without balanced tires underneath it. Tire cupping/uneven wear and vibration that will eventually affect bearings and trailer components are all good enough reasons for me to balance them. If I didn't make long pulls, it may not matter.

Ahhhh.....The hunt for big fish. Couple of things I learned guiding in all conditions and pretty much 3 seasons every year. The trophy fish don't run with the schoolies. They don't act the same or inhabit the same haunts. There's a lot of factors that come into play but I have 10 citation fish (over 8lbs) out of my home water. Most of those citation fish were caught exactly where they shouldn't be (normal reasoning). Big fish hunters know that the big girls are truly different. IMHO, night time fishing is is better because of the low light in shallow water and the baitfish become easier targets. When I am in Wisconsin, the crawfish only come out at night and they litter the shallows....easier pickins on a favorite food source.

Endurance cost for my double axle $435.96 and that's without mounting/balancing and because of their increased PSI rating, I more than likely would replace my valve stems with high pressure ones. You also have to make sure your rims can handle the additional pressure but I'm pretty sure most do. I would be concerned with older steel rims though. I'll still replace all of my valve stems with the new tires. Cost for Power King $237. Originally I ran Marathon's for a number of years without problems. My last set were manufactured in Canada. The fact that Goodyear ended production of the Marathon tells you that the reputation caught up to them. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't reappear with a new name. If I had not gotten the recommendation from a very reputable trailer shop, I would have never bought the Power King. My experience aligned with the trailer shop owner so that tells me that their QC/Manufacturing process is better and that I didn't just "luck out" with a good set of 4 on my last purchase. I have read the horror stories and personally know more than a few boat owners that have had bad experience with the American made tires as well. My overall opinion is that there is a lot of variance in all "Trailer" tires so every purchase is a crap shoot so to say. I have not heard anything bad about the new Endurance and they may have upped their game to provide a better tire and if I had a single axle, they would be on my short list. The additional speed rating on the Endurance seems like a sales pitch to me since if you examine trailer blowout data, the #1 cause is underinflation followed by a number of other factors but exceeding the speed rating is not in there. First big pull on my new tires will be to Wisconsin and back from Virginia in August heat and that will be a good test!! I also opted to change the Marathon spare that is on my trailer. It's never been on the ground and is New Zealand made but there is no date code and the fact that I know its over 8 years old at a minimum made that choice easy.

It’s that time again for me to put new tires on my dual axle trailer. Always sparks a lot of discussion on brands and preferences. Here’s my story. First, I’ve never had a blowout. Never want a blowout since I have fiberglass fenders and it can be an expensive experience. I also tow long distance and with my luck it would happen out in the middle of nowhere. I am a firm believer on changing out trailer tires by age regardless of tread left. I take care of my tires, they are covered when not on the road and coated with 303 protectant on a regular basis. The tires I am taking off have a good amount of tread left but are over 4 years old. Here’s what the trailer shop owner that I take my trailer to told me. As a side note he works almost exclusively on very high dollar horse trailers, some with living quarters and retail in the 80k range. These trailers cover more miles and carry heavier weight than any bass boat trailer. His lesson to me was that you need to buy a trailer tire that can carry the load, keep them aired up properly and that wears out in the 4 to 5 year timeframe. If you run them any longer than that you are asking for trouble regardless of tread remaining. If you go out and buy a high dollar tire that still has most of its tread left at the replacement date, you wasted your money. He doesn’t carry tires but recommended Power King Towmax because he has mounted a lot of them and none have come back with blowouts. That’s what I put on my dual axle trailer almost 5 years ago. I thought about stepping up to the new Endurance tire but after due consideration, I went with the Power King again. Why? First I have a problem giving Goodyear a pass after they shipped production of the Marathon to China and the quality went down. Second, I don’t need the carrying capacity of the Endurance on my dual axle. Third, if these tires last as they should at almost twice the price of the Power King, then at the time they are scheduled to be replaced, they more than likely will have a lot of tread left. Wasted money. Yes, the tires I bought are Chinese as well but are hopefully manufactured to a different standard. I am also replacing my spare which is a New Zealand manufactured Marathon that is likely original to the boat (2005) and has never been on the ground. There is no date code on the tire to know for sure. Peace of mind. Take it for what it’s worth, that’s my reasoning.??

Does your high school have a bass fishing club? Are there any clubs near you that you could join? Experience is the best teacher but getting experience with an accomplished angler is invaluable. When end all else fails, throw a senko.?

That’s odd, I would have thought a jig would be number 1.

I am first and foremost a finesse fisherman. When guiding the goal is normally numbers over size and that made me use the best tool for the job. Plastics. I have branched out more but feel most at home with a fairy wand, light line and finesse plastics.

Lake St Clair. All over the USA side from the mile roads to selfrige to the mouth of the salt to metro to both big and little muscamoot. We stay on harsens island.

Obviously take both but I'll tell you what....on our trip to Michigan 2 weeks ago I could have fished 2 baits for the entire week and been plum wore out at the end of every day. A dropshot rigged with a Yamamoto Shad Shaped Worm in Natural Shad. A Ned rigged with a Yamamoto Cali-roll green pumpkin/red flake. Normally I only fish a Pro Senko on my dropshot setup but that SSW just flat tore them up all week. I just happened to have the Cali Roll and thought the paddle tail would give good action....and it sure did. If you throw either of these make sure you let me know how you did.

Another thing to remember about the SPRO Little John's is that the rattles are coated which make a different kind of rattle, it's more of a thump.

I have caught up to 15 hard fighting smallmouth on a Texas rigged Senko as described above. I'm not overly fond of screwlocks because once you tear the head loose, you cannot re-rig them. If you want a weighted presentation then you really have 2 choices, weighted hook with the screwlock or my preferred way which is a screw in bullet weight up front. Even those tear the head but I have found they are more weedless than the belly weighted hooks that have an exposed eye and the ring where the screw lock is attached. Either way works though. My main point in the explination above is to not blame the bait if you rig it wrong. It's the old saying, "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian".

You have highlighted the #1 complaint I get on the Senko during my shows and demonstrations. I've been with Yamamoto for 20 years and if I have learned anything it's that rigging is paramount if you want them to last through multiple fish and many don't take the time to perfect their rigging technique. Let's face it, you want to catch fish not spend time making sure your rigging is perfect. That is going to cost you baits. Here are a few of my tips for an upcoming Yamamoto article and that that I show when doing tank demos or seminars. Type of Hook. I prefer a light wire hook for the simple fact it displaces less of the material when rigged. I use a Gamakatsu Offset shank EWG hook (3-4-5.0) for most of my applications which is the hardest hook to rig. You have to make sure you insert the hook point the proper depth in the nose when you start the rigging process. Too far and your line will cut the excess head material in the Senko and lead to premature failure. Too little and it will rip too easy with the first fish or in cover. You want the nose of the bait to cover the hook eye exactly. No more, no less. This next tip is important....I always make sure my hook is wet before I start the rigging process. A dry hook will cause the bait to stick and will rip much easier. Now that you have the first part of the rigging correct, you slide the hook through the bait to the offset portion of the hook....critical point. I spin the hook as I slide the nose of the bait over the offset making sure not to enlarge the hole already in the bait. You have to go slow and squeeze the bait a little to ensure you don't make that hole any larger. If that hole gets enlarged, the bait will move and fail at that point. Now that you have the nose of the bait rigged properly let's move on to rigging the business end of the hook. Here's another major caution area. Gauging where to insert the hookpoint in the body of the Senko. You have to push the bait forward before you insert the hookpoint to make sure the Senko lies perfectly flat when the hook exits the bait on the opposite side. Misjudging this hook placement will cause the Senko to put undue pressure on the nose of the bait and force it forward (see line cutting above) or will pull it back causing it to rip. Once you get it right, make note where in relation to the "egg sack" (molded into the bait), you placed the hookpoint. If the Senko is not flat on the hook, this will also cause it to spin when you retrieve it causing line twist and it will also impede the action that makes the Senko unique. If you "Texspose" your hook (leave the hookpoint exposed) you are done. If you skin hook the hookpoint you have another consideration. How deep to place the hookpoint. If you go too deep into the bait, it will rip too much material when you set the hook and eventually cause the Senko to rip in the middle. Too shallow and you will not be weedless because the hookpoint will expose with very little resistance. I prefer to rig the bait so that the hookpoint when inserted into the Senko angles down slightly. That way when the fish takes the bait, the hook comes straight out of the Senko not tearing it. Finally, Casting. A weightless Senko is a finesse presentation. If you try and cast it 300 yards, more than likely you are going to stress the rigging causing it to rip in all of the pressure points which will lead to premature failure. I'll save for another day my tips for re-rigging damaged Senkos to get more life out of them.

One more question...do you hold your rod tip up or down? I'm just trying to figure out why one frog walks on your setup but another doesn't. There's not that much difference in the frogs.