Russ E

that sucks. I had a similar thing happen at Clinton state park this spring. after a day of fishing I went to get my truck and noticed the dolly was down, the safety chains were unhooked, and my locking pin on the hitch was bent. This was on a brand new ranger trail trailer. I am glad I had a lock on the hitch or the trailer would have been gone. Luckily the only thing damaged was the locking pin. I had to cut it off when i got home.

1/4 ounce Bagley Shakyhead with a 6 inch Zoom trick worm

The most consistent creature bait for me is the Havoc Pit boss. I usually Texas rig it on a 2/0 VMC wide gap hook, with a pegged 1/4 oz. bullet weight. Most of the time I am pitching into brush piles and fallen timber. I will go up to a 1/2 oz weight if I am pitching or flipping heavy grass.

Thanks Glenn. always like watching Hank Parker . he is the real deal.

the local Bass Pro here is always well stocked. Local Cabelas is usually picked over. Cabelas always seems busy. Bass Pro is often empty.

welcome

welcome

I use the 130 most often. Occasionally use the 110. haven't had much success with the 90. It seems to have a different action. a lot of the waters I fish have a mix of Smallmouth and Largemouth. when they want the Whopper Plopper ,a Smallie will nail the 130. often times hooks are stuck all over its body.

In eastern Iowa where I hunted it was the Eastern turkey. All corn fed. they grew big. like the deer. Most farmers hated them, so it was usually fairly easy to get permission to hunt in the spring. Kansas is a lot harder to find land. Usually stuck hunting public land. they might have had Merriams in western Iowa.

Very true When I lived in Iowa, I was pretty serious about spring turkey. Water was usually still cold or Frozen. Now that I live in Kansas, April bass fishing Comes first.

not any one bait. while I have certain baits that produce more on a day to day basis, It is a combination of baits that Keeps the skunk master out of my boat.

i have a cabelas and a berkely digital scale. checked them both against my balance scale. both are dead on. not sure if either are waterproof. had to fish the cabelas scale out of the lake after a frisky Smallmouth ripped it out of my hands. it still works.

Bowhunt deer. sometimes bowhunt turkeys in spring. Lately spring is reserved for fishing.

Yes. for boat and Truck. the only boat ramps are on Clay county controlled land. You can buy a day pass at the gate to the ramps if they are occupied. otherwise you have to go to one of the marinas. a yearly pass for a boat truck combo is around $75.00

sometimes fishing reports and local bait shops can give you a little advice. I did a quick search for lake Conway Arkansas and this came up. Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir Bates Field and Stream (501-470-1846) said bream are beginning to respond nicely to worms and crickets. The anglers aren’t fishing very deep for them, just a couple of inches behind the cork. Crappie continue to be good in the usual spots. Bass are active around the shoreline, with white spinnerbaits working well. Catfishing is good, and flatheads are on the bite now. River fishing is great around the banks and lily pads, they say, in about 8 inches of depth. The redear are really doing well.

not really a problem of the 2 cycle. Just my forgetfulness in action.

in cold weather every 2 stroke I have ever owned was hard to start. my 4 stroke starts like a car engine. turn the key and it is running. newer 2 strokes may be better. my last one was a 2006. my biggest drawback with 2 strokes was, I always forgot to buy 2 cycle oil. Get ready to take off early in the morning and realize I had no oil and no one was open, besides convenience stores and they did not usually sell 2 cycle oil.

agree the difference is small anymore. I will say a 4 stroke is usually quieter. @Quarryman I noticed in another post you mentioned driving slow a lot with the outboard. one difference I have noticed is a 2 stroke generally does not like to idle much.

unfortunately the technology that makes it easy for honest people to buy or sell their wares, also makes it easy for deviates to do their thing.

if you want the true definition of the ned rig. learn from Ned himself. just do a search for Ned Kahde. there are videos and blogs of him sharing the technique

On the rt 178c there are 2 livewells one in front and one in back. you can use either one. only thing with this setup is, you do lose some storage space. If you could save the money to buy a boat without financing, you would be way ahead of most people your age. generally Rangers have a decent resale, so in a financial pinch you could sell it.

congratulations, sounds like you are on your way to a new bass boat. I was looking at the rt 178 before I decided on a fiberglass boat. Nice setup. if you get the RT 178c. there are multiple seat pedestal mounts on the front deck, so more than one person can sit up there at a time. there is also a livewell up front.

If you plan on going to college, I would think long and hard before getting tied up in a boat loan. Unfortunately many young adults get buried in student loans for the first 10-20 years after graduating. adding a boat loan may not be the best bet if that is your path.

i personally will not buy things off of Craigslist. had a couple friends get ripped off. a couple years ago a local father and son met a guy off of Craigslist by the local zoo, on a car deal. the father and son were murdered and the car was stolen. While there are millions of legitimate deals on Craigslist everyday, I prefer to not do business that way.

i have had my 17.5 ft. boat in 4 ft waves. While it was not the most enjoyable ride, I have never felt like I was in danger. Can't say that with the 2 mod v aluminum boats I had. Like @WRB said. make sure there is a reputable service shop,that has a certified mechanic in your area,for the motor you choose. good luck. If I lived by Okeechobee, it would be hard to ever get me off of the water.