Alex from GA

I'm with Harold in launching and retrieving my kayak. I fish rivers in it and it's always a steep down to launch and steeper getting to the truck. I'm in my late 70s and always go with much younger stronger guys. Launching my boats is not a problem and I often offer help to others.

I live and fish in N GA mostly. I'm about 70 miles NE of Atlanta and the summers are hot and the winters are cold but the lakes are open. I start fishing before sun up in the summer and quit about noon. When I'm here in the winter I'll fish from noon until dusk if it's above 50. There are plenty of places to fish with the streams and lakes around here.

I was an avid saltwater and trout fisherman until the late 70s when my buddy bought a tackle store in Burbank, CA and one of his customers took me bass fishing to Castaic Lake. Another customer took me to a buddy tournament with him and I caught big bass and we won the tournament. I still fished saltwater mostly and fly fished for trout in the Sierras but went bass fishing a few times a year. Then in '99 I moved to GA next to Lake Lanier and took up bass fishing seriously. I fish several times a week in either in Lanier or kayak the N GA rivers for different kinds of bass. GA DNR has a program called a "bass slam" that I have participated in for the past couple of years. There are 10 species of black bass in GA and if you catch 5 of those you have completed the bass slam. I got 9 last year and all 10 the year before. They give you a certificate and tickets to the GA Go Fish center in Perry, GA along with some nice stickers. Most of the friends I've met in GA are through bass fishing. I spend the winters fishing in FL mostly for bass.

Along with several rods and reels anchors and a phone I've lost over the years a couple of months ago I dropped the cover to my outboard in my dock in 4' of water. The bottom has about 3' of silt build up so I don't go in it. The next morning I got my underwater camera out, located it and brought it up with a big treble hook.

I have a friend that sold all his stuff and quit when he had a boating accident that almost claimed his life. He's back into it somewhat again after 3 years out. I'm an old fart, late 70s, and fish several times a week either on a lake or with a kayak on local rivers. I've been fishing ever since my parents friend took me to the Santa Monica pier when I was 6.

I have done this to a number of rods with much lighter guides and the rod is much more crisp in action. I use Minima guides as they are the lightest on the market.

If you wanted a cheap boat go with the one with the motor and sell it. It would probably bring $300 or so if it ran.

What WRB said except build supports instead of the tires.

You could always paint it with Tuff Coat or carpet the whole deck. Planing is when the boat goes from running in the water to running on top of the water. In that type of boat it's from about 10 mph to 16 mph.

Like Toxic said if it's a tube trailer be aware. Also check the axle. A couple of years ago I was coming home from FL and a tire on the boat trailer was crooked. A few more miles and the axle would have broken in half. I built a new axle and it's been OK ever since. The trailer frame is a C channel.

I fished out of a 9' sit-in for a lot of years until it got stolen then changed to a 10' fishing SOT Perception Pescador. I only fish places I can't get to in my real boat with the kayak such as rivers, creeks and ponds. I wear my tackle box and only bring an ice chest with lunch and beer. Usually only one rod but sometimes, if I'm not on real rough water, I'll bring two. If I could trade my latest for the first I would as it's about 20 lbs lighter and more nimble where I go in the rapids.

A little late but I just read this. I'm from the Gainesville area and fish Lanier and all the northern rivers almost daily. I've gotten the "GA bass slam" the past couple years. I moved from So CA 20 years ago where I fished mostly in the Pacific, but sometimes in the local lakes, Castaic and Piru, and the Sierras for trout. I usually fish alone but if someone wants to join me it's OK. I have a boat and a kayak.

I just threw a 1 lb spool of 15# mono away yesterday. I tie an overhand knot and if I can break it it's gone.

All older Mercurys have rotten wiring. Unless the rotten part is where you can't cut and splice it's no big deal to repair. $100 to $200 is a fair price for a motor with good compression and spark.

Bass Cat, Skeeter, Triton, Phoenix, Nitro, Procraft, G3, all have 21' boats with lots of storage and room. There are probably a few more also that I forgot.

According to stuff I've read a 1232 jon boat will carry about 400 lbs of people and gear. A 50 lb battery, a 25 lb trolling motor and your fishing tackle will cut that down considerably. I hope you and your father are lightweights. On the other hand my buddy has a 10' Coleman Crawdad and we fish a small pond in that. He's over 200, I'm 150 and we carry lots of tackle + the trolling motor and battery. We survived lots of trips. Go for it.

If the series 2 Hook has the same GPS as the original Hook IMO it's not worth buying it's so slow updating. My buddy's Elite is much faster.

My Fluke meter doesn't read the same as the HF ones but for a reference it'll be OK.

Mine finds the bottom great but the GPS is so slow to update that I'm looking to buy a different unit and use the Hook on the bow.

If you haven't bought your blank yet Get Bit is having a 30% off sale on Rainshadow blanks.

I need a main shaft from a Daiwa Regal 1500 or 2000 part no. G92-3601. All I need is one of the tiny bearings on the end of the shaft but it comes as an assembly. I've tried every place I know but maybe I don't know them all. Thanks

If there's a rod builder in your neighborhood try him or her. The $ probably will be the same.

The $12 or so plus shipping for the epoxy and the tip top glue would be better spent getting someone to wrap your guide and glue on your tip top. Now if you have a bunch of rods that need repair then go for it. I think most builders get about $10 for a guide wrap.

Mick gave you a good beginning. The thinner and lighter a rod blank is for the power the more sensitive it'll be and more expensive. Handles, guides and wrapping are where you can customize to your heart's content. I have a dryer I made from a bbq spit motor 40 or so years ago. As said before, rodbuilders.org is full of great information as well as vendors that sell everything you'll need to get started or build a custom rod shop.

There's a bunch of satisfaction in catching a fish on a rod that you built and a fly that you tied or a lure you poured and put together. And rod building is habit forming, I've been doing it for 68 years.