Quarry Man

haven't taken it out yet, and due to time constraints might not get to test it before the conversion is done.

I know there are a million threads on the stability of Jon boats already, but I have specific and important question to ask... in the beginning phases of my Smoker Craft Big Fisherman 14 conversion and I am trying to figure out how to build my deck. There are two built in benches. Originally a was gonna put aluminum framing in between with rod lockers along the side and other storage in the middle, but the benches are too close for a rod locker. now I am debating taking out the benches and framing the whole thing with aluminum. I want to know how stable the boat will be for two people sitting on chairs that are mounted at the bench's original level. My grandfather ad I will be using this boat and safety is the priority. We need it to be stable enough. Do I need a seat near the door for him or can I mount it on a level deck?

you should have tried to price match them if they were exactly the same...

I have the opportunity to exchange several of my Falcon BuCoo Micro rods for the new Falcon Lowrider Series of rods. I plan on getting five or six of them. I was wondering which of the rods you would get if you were only getting the casting rods. I want a dedicated Chatterbait rod, dedicated Spinnerbait rod, flipping/pitching light jigs to docks, and im not set on the rest. 6’10” Heavy for finesse jigs 7’0” MH Mod-Fast for chatterbaits 7’0” MH Mod-Fast for spinnerbaits 7’0” MH Fast for all-purpose 6’7” MH Mod-Fast for neko rigs ? 7’m cranking 7’2” h pr 7’3” h for frogs? link to all the options:https://falconrods.com/falcon-lowrider.html

https://postimg.cc/87shjjrN/f37ba3da

I have been having trouble uploading images lately

That makes sense, but there are two holes in my boat, both different, one is obviously the plug hole but I have no clue what the other does

This is great advice! thank you so much!!!! Another great point that I will continue to work on and think about!

much easier said than done. Definitely something I need to work on. I have a bad habit of hyper-analyzing absolutely everything, especially fishing!

I consider myself an above average angler, better than the occasional angler, but not quite/nearly at the level of tournament anglers and more experienced anglers. I catch my share of fish, but I don't fish huge lakes I tend to stir to the same few things. I am 17 and started fishing more seriously when I was 15. I have always loved the outdoors, and enjoyed fishing, but it really took off when I worked very hard to land a tiny 12" bass (seems so trivial now), but having my father motivate me to fish more often is when I became addicted. I started asking my uncle, commercial fisherman and avid angler, and other knowledgeable friends and family tons of questions. They gave me tips, spots, and even lures that helped me catch more bass. I soon figured out that there was a completely different resource, the internet. I started spending hours a day watching YouTube videos and reading articles online. I then stumbled accrues BassResource and I took the next step. I was able to ask questions and get answers very quickly receive answers from knowledgeable people. Thus really helped me to bypass as much of the learning curve as possible. I was doing research, interpreting it, and then applying it. Before long, I had upgraded from my trusty old ugly sticks to a decent spinning rod and 2 casting setups. I then entered the world of boating when I purchased a 10' Sears Jon Boat for $75 from a family friend. Flash forward to today, and after a 5 month period where I was pretty burnt out from working so hard, literally spent 2-3 hours a day doing proactive fishing related things very day for 2+ years. I have caught the bug again and can't wait to go bass fishing this spring (trout is great but doesn't quite cut it). I like to use the analogy of a med school student who knows absolutely everything under the sun about surgery and medicine, but lacks the real-world experience to be a true surgeon. Basically, I have spent so much time researching fishing and lures and brands and rods and reels and thermocline and all that, but I haven't spent enough time on the water to truly become a GREAT angler yet. I may be familiar with every item on Tackle Warehouse's website, but I can't find fish on Lake Erie in the middle of February. I hope that makes sense. I have spent time trying to develop all my fishing techniques, but there are definitely a few that I am pretty good at. Here they are: Drop Shot - when bottom is muddy, weedy, or water is clear (all depths) Neko Rig - shallow rocky moderately clear water Wacky Rig - around shallow structure text rigged keitech - cast and reel, shallow water, everything but very dirty water chatter bait - covering mid-shallow open water or casting to docks spinnerbait - covering water, casting to structures like docks and stumps crank bait - only use live target mini perch bait on spinning rod in really clear deep water swim jig - cast to cover reel through weeds topwater - I use all types, morning or evening only frog - thick vegetation midday, shallow heavy cover These are the baits I use the most and have high confidence in. I obviously use others, but these cover the majority of my fishing. I feel as if I can't catch them on those baits, I won't catch em at all. I want to get better at fishing jigs on the bottom (dragging), flipping jigs to cover, Texas rigs (dragging), and crank baits, both deepish an square bills. I have caught fish on all of these techniques, but I want to build confidence in them. I think my main problem is I can't picture the baits working on my lakes because the cranks would get caught in milfoil on the bottom and the lakes are shallow so jigs sink to fas, also limited stricture makes it hard to flip jigs. What can I do to become a better angler, and how can I build confidence in the other baits.

I record basic information about my notable catches, such as catching a lot on one bait one day, or a sizable fish. I fish small lakes so this is helpful. in 2017 I counted every fish of every species I caught and it was miserable. I went after numbers of fish, not quality and it was stressful, not fun. Now I only record important info.

My boat has two holes near the transom. One for the current livewell and one for the plug. I am gonna rig an auto bulge pump to the livewell hole probably

my friend has a 7'1" MH Bass X and a 7.3:1 tattle with braid. Borrowed it one morning fishing with him and I caught tons of bass on the buzz bait version of that KVD Spinnerbait, and then even more on that exact spinner. funny that the two of you have the same looking setup! love the Winn grips to and the alx zolo haha!

I guess 800 would be a bit much, but I don’t know what would be a reasonable cost

I am hoping to complete my new boat project by April 13. I just bought my second 14' V-Hull, a Smoker Craft Big Fisherman 14 last fall. I never got around to fixing it up until now. Last time, I used wood and copied the previous casting deck design, which works great, but lacks storage. I also messed a few big things up, like neglecting to treat my wood and using outdoor, bait not boat carpet. Basically, I am wondering if I should have the basic framing for my boat professionally installed by a metal fabricator? I know it would be expensive, but if its going to last, and be done right I'm willing to pay. I would probably say yes if they quote under $800, but anything over, I would need to think through. I feel that the time, tools, labor, and supplies would add up quick, and it might be easier to pay someone to do it. I am 17, and smart, but not particularly skilled when it comes to actually building the boat frame. My dad is handy, but is intimidated by this project and has never worked with aluminum. We do have a family friend that has most of the tools, and definitely the know how, but he lives in NYC and is very busy. I may see what the metal company I reached out to says, and ask my friend if he can do it for the same/less. oh, I forgot to mention that I would just be paying for aluminum framing, and could do the wood decking myself. please let me know what you think, I am open to anything!

thats what I am going to get, I am allowed to send the rods in and exchange them/get them repaired.

Agreed, some rods excel in some areas, but not others.

Love my tatula, I have 3!

Thanks for the input. I agree that black and blue can be used elsewhere, although I don’t do that. Believe it or not, dark purple/ June bug is the best color on my lakes! I try and throw the neko rig around rocky banks

Ok so one of my confidence baits is becoming the Neko rig. I threw it when I was a beginner and only used seniors. it was the third technique I used. I find myself picking it up when I am throwing a drop shot or wacky rig. Basically I use it when its too deep for wacky rigging and too shallow for drop shot. I am going to spend more time developing the technique this year, and I pick up 3 packs of Missile Baits the 48. I got green pumpkin, watermelon red, and bruiser flash (basically a glittery black/blue). I understand that black and blue is for very dirty water, but when do I throw one of the other two over the other? edit: forgot to mention that my home lakes average 4-8 feet where I throw the Neko rig and water clarity is about 3-4'ish.

I watched an interesting video the other day where SmallmouthCrush, AKA Travis Manson talked about the rods and reels he uses. He said that he likes to use all the same reels and similar rods because they have the same feel. Do you think this is a good way of going about it? or do you think that people should buy different rods that perform better for certain. techniques? I personally see the point he makes, and would say to keep reels similar but maybe use some different rods.