Dirtyeggroll

Pictures fixed!!! I always wondered how people posted multiple high res images into on post! Now I can finally do it! Sweet!

Yea BR does not like when I post pictures from my phone always says they are too big, and when I downsize them it’s turns them sideways. Idk why BR has such a difficult picture posting mechanism. It’s my only gripe about this forum. Too many steps involved to post multiple pics... I know I know space is $$ and original photos take up a lot. I can upload them individually as a bigger size and they are fine and oriented correctly. if any mod wants to reorient the pics please go for it.

Since I’ve visited the 8-lb club, but boy it feels good to be back! It’s been a weird week and a slow one at work, which is a much needed change of pace for me. I also finally got my boat back after some repairs and maintenance and upgrades to some lithium batteries compliments of Capital One (BPS club points). I have been itching to get the boat out to see how it runs with the decreased weight and tune up and found out earlier this week I’d be off on Friday! With the cold snap we had last week there was only one lake certain to be thawed that I could open up the big motor on, a power plant lake. Due to a bit of compounded fatigue, I slept in a little, later than I usually would like on a fishing day, however I wasn’t really planning on too much fishing, really just a trip to get the boat wet. It also took me longer to load the boat due to all of my gear being out during the repairs (wow I have too much!) I finally made it to the lake around 9 AM. For the first time since I’ve owned it, the boat turned over and stayed started after the first turn of the key! A good start to the day. The motor is 2001 125 HP 2-stroke and previously required some massaging to get warmed up. After backing it off the trailer and parking the truck I was ready to see what it could do. Throttle down and the bow never even lifted, it was immediately on plane! Maybe gained 1 MPH to speed after shedding ~150 lbs of battery weight. The water temp was 60 and the wind was a nice 10 mph but out of the east and overcast so I decided to try to crank some wind blown banks. I cranked and cranked and cranked and threw swimbaits and a jig and didn’t get the slightest bit of positive feedback. No bites. I’d fished for about 3 hours and was about ready to call it quits, after all i was happy to have gone out to get the boat wet. There was one more bluff I wanted to fish because all of the gulls and cormorants had been swirling over it all day. I zipped over there and there were far more birds than I thought. I was also marking numerous returns of large isolated spread out fish. I imagine they were carp, drum or catfish. I started out throwing a chartreuse chatterbait then an orange Flat 75. No luck. Then I decided to do something that @Russ E and @Bluebasser86 had previously suggested at this lake in the summertime, throw a black trick worm. I grabbed my terminal tackle box and pulled out a black @Siebert Outdoors dredge shakey head, screwed a Zoom magnum finesse trick worm on to the lure keeper and buried the hook. I tossed it a few times, getting it wedged between some rocks and successfully shaking it free without having to move the boat to the shore. Then I cast and it was stuck! I shook it a few times to try to free it but it wouldn’t budge. For a second I thought I felt it move but wrote it off to the movement of the boat in the wind. I pulled again, and this time it did move but felt like a big limb slowly coming up. Then it made a hard steady pull back! This lake is known for big flat head and I was sure that’s what it was. I thought, this will be fun. I spend about 2 minutes getting it close to the boat and when it gets close I do a couple of laps around the boat with it before I see it, AND THEN I SEE IT, NOT A FLATHEAD, but a gargantuan football bass. She must have seen me too because then she dove and zzzzzziiiiipppppp goes the drag on my spinning reel, spooled with 10lb powerpro and 6 lb blue label leader. I keep calm, when she came up her mouth was open and I could see the line disappear into her mouth so I knew she was hooked good. “Where’s the net?... right where it’s supposed to be.” I work her for another lap around the boat and swoop her right into the net! An 8.04 lb behemoth of obese fat mamma jamma bursting at the gut big ol bass!!! Woooooooooo!!! I knew she was every bit of 7 lbs, a number I had been trying to break for the last several years. I get her on the scale and I immediately see and 8, never dropped below and ultimately landed at 8.04! The last time I caught an 8lb fish was when I was 8 years old and caught an 8-8 on a bobber and minnow. Welcome back she says! Nearly 22” long and nearly 20” in girth! Forgive the livewell pic, it was filled shortly after but I think that picture really demonstrates her size, she barely fit!

Looks fairly clear too

Mine come off pretty much anytime the boat is not in the water. No need to subject them to the extra vibration of trailering, the risk of them getting stolen while stopping or who knows what debris may float down the road. I keep them all locked up in a Plano gun case which sits in the back seat of my truck locked and out of sight for brief stops or goes inside with me when stopped for the night somewhere.

Yes you can do what you are asking if and only if the Helix 7 and 9 are both “N” units. you can share all data transducer, temperature and GPS data (except for map cards) between all Helix N units.

As you walk through the doors there is a black and white picture of what appears to be the founders with a bunch of fishing gear and rods on shelves and displays, however, as you enter the doors you quickly realize things have changed as there is not a single item of fishing gear in the store.

Using braid? Could be slipping on the spool.

Make friends with the guy. Ask to fish with him next time he comes around. Invite him over for BBQ Share some intel with him. Start looking forward to bullsh*tting with him when he comes your way. There are few people who respect you more than your friends.

Boat is in the shop getting routine water pump maintenance. All the gear is ready to go back in!

Use a transducer mounting plate and first start with it level. If one side has a bad picture then you can adjust, without making more holes in your boat if you use a mounting plate. Think of the transducer signal like a beam of light coming out of the sides of the transducer, you want that light to reach the structure on the lake you want to graph. If the beam hits something on the boat then that’s the return you will get. Regarding the wiring, I recommend an isolated circuit of wiring to the battery. This circuit should include a switch to cut power and the manufacturer recommended fuse.

I was fishing with a buddy last spring when he swung on a fish and snapped it off. I cast a dark sleeper out to the same rock pile and caught a fish with his jig in its mouth.

Do you mind sharing your leash / harness setup for the cycle. I have a couple of mushers that I'd love to setup to pull the bike.

I’ve never seen a bass wear sunscreen or sunglasses, but who knows.

The SI transducer will need to be leveled and made sure to have no obstruction on either side. Other than that the install is very similar.

I have a whole arsenal of Tatula Elite rods. All of the tips are indeed very soft. What model specifically were you looking at for your jig rod. I primarily use the Andy Montgomery 7’1” skipping jig rod. It’s very sensitive. When I first got it I did lose a few fish due to the soft tip not driving the hook well enough. I have since learned better techs for setting the hook which has eliminated the problem. The Cody Meyer ML spinning rod is basically a noodle. I currently use it for Ned rigs, but it is incredibly difficult to be accurate casting with it because it’s so floppy. I need to play around with different presentations and weights to use it for to find a place for it in my Arsenal.

Sounds like you have an advantage of being close by to run in and check the stock yourself while others might look online and give up. Many of the Spring Sale items are in store only anyhow.

Anyone got any info on the BPS spring sale yet?

You will be fine without powerpoles. you can always add them later if you change your mind.

I picked up a second jig / bladed jig box to organize my blades jigs because it worked so nice for my regular jigs. Over half of them just slide around because the gap is just slightly too wide between the posts. Hopefully they either come up with a workaround, or change the box a bit to make it more universal for jackhammers. I also hope they make a flex box in the regular and thin size.

If you’re only or mostly fishing no gas lakes then you will likely never notice. I don’t have that boat and have no experience with it being pushed by a 25 hp motor, but I imagine it’s slow to get to plane and that it won’t do more than 15-20 mph.

I use high gear ratio for bottom contact and top water. I also use an 8 gear ratio reel for squarebills - and I catch a lot of fish on squarebills - probably the single most productive technique for me.

Is there a reason you have opted for the 25 hp motor? Personally, starting with the biggest outboard possible would be at the top of my list and supersede all other “upgrades” - everything else is cheap and is to add in comparison later on.

2 Humminbird helix G4N 15’s (one SI+ and one CHO) at the console, 1 Humminbird helix G4N 15 and 1 Humminbird helix G4N 12 (one SI+ and one CHO) at the bow and a MEGA 360. Add the MEGA Live when it becomes available. Ultrex 112 IPilot link trolling motor. You can network it all and even configure the graphs to show the engine data with NMEA with the G4N units.

Spider Manning - Shortly after Tom Brady wins his 7th SuperBowl, Peyton Manning comes out retirement to chase down the title for the GOAT. After throwing four interceptions and losing his first game back in the NFL he steps on a spider on the way out of the locker room. He wakes the next day with rejuvenated strength and an extra sense for the for the movement of the defense. Can he claim the title as GOAT, capturing a SuperBowl ring for each leg of his mutant origins or will his aspirations be squashed!?