Jig Man

I assume that your dad is in his 60s. I don't know what your budget is but small boats are often harder to load than larger boats. They also ride rougher and can't take wind and waves like larger boats. I'm not advocating any 20'+ boat but I'm in the already retired group and would shudder to think of being caught out in a storm in a BPS panfish boat. If I ever go to a different boat than the one that I have, I'll be looking at an 18' V bottom with about a 150 four stroke motor. It is small enough to handle and large enough to not feel cramped and to be safe. There are lots of them out there in all kinds of price ranges but the tops in my book is the Lund 18' fisherman series with a Merc 150 Verado on it. He should also get a trolling motor powerful enough to cross coves and buck wind so look for at least and 80# thrust. Get something he would use, not something he would regret and just leave in the garage and go play golf.

If you do some searching you will find all kinds of molds out there. Bear's baits, lure craft, janns netcraft, barlow's, Jacobs, bait junkies and on and on. Don't think you will save money with making your own baits. It is very rewarding to catch fish on something you have made in a color or size that you know that no one else has. You can make your own molds from plaster of Paris, rtv silicone, regular silicone and corn starch, and resins like bondo fiberglass resin. What you can do is endless. It can go as far as your imagination can take you. I suggest you spend some time at www.tackleunderground.com . Be sure to read the don'ts for newbies it may well save you time money and perhaps personal injury as the material you are using will be from 330° to 370°.

I had problems with the glass so I switched to a cheap microwave and Nor Por cups. I use them all the time now and my Pyrex stay in the closet.

Allen it was either 10 or 12. It has been so many years that I don't remember for sure.

I used JB Weld to fill in the gap on one of my molds. Before it dried I put an oiled piece of house romex on it, closed it up and let it cure. When cured the romex came right off. Now I use pieces of romex for pins when I pour that cavity. Pull them out after painting and glue in the fg 9 after skirting.

You might get a good used reel in the flea marker here. $80 should get you a used Citica or Curado.

Test drive them both then decide.

War Eagle just happens to be the brand that I use and have wrapped with braid.

Logan is right on the money with that technique. I have been doing it for some time now and have never had one brake since I started. I even wear the skirts out and replace them while the wire stays good. I don't use half hitches I just wrap it and glue it.

I only run one battery for the motor 250 Vrod, 3 Low HDS units, Power Poles, live wells, lights, Point 1 antennas, etc. The other batteries are used for the trolling motor. I have Optima 31 series AGM. I have AGMs for several years and don't plan to have anything else.

I always use a trailer. I often use both at the same time.

Get what you want and have them mount it since you have limited experience. The mounting board's best use to me it keeping drill holes in the boat from being below the water line.

Most of them had about a 30# thrust trolling motor. For the engine most cranking batteries would work. Look for reserve capacity on a deep cycle. Get 180 RC or more.

I stop in the parking lot and completely unhook the boat. When my partner backs me in the boat slides off and he can go park. When we leave he backs the trailer in I load the boat and he pulls away. My boat is always unhooked before backing down the ramp and has never been hooked back up until it is in the parking lot. I haven't timed it but my guess is launching/loading takes less than a minute.

I have a hds 12 on a Dekit Mounted on my Nitro. Solid as a rock.

Take the time to book it out with NADA guides.

350° isn't a magic number. The mold and way you are delivering the plastisol can make quite a difference in the delivery temp. I have open pour molds that go around 325° while laminating a small crappie minnow with a double injector needs to be around 375°. You will just have to pay attention to how things play out. When you reheat do it in short 30-45 second bursts. The lighter the color the shorter the bursts.

A friend of mine had a boat like that. He took out the seats and made a frame like suggested and built lids. He had a really big front deck and lots of storage when he was finished.

North Star batteries are supposed to be really good batteries. They are made less than 10 miles from my house. I tried to buy some and was referred to a dealer in Virginia. I called them and the price was way too high when you consider shipping which was crazy since they are so close. So I just went to Auto Zone and bought Optimas. They are doing fine.

I ran a 225 Opti for 14 years. I did meticulous maintenance like changing lower unit lube 2x yearly, dumping water separating fuel filter at 6 months and changing in yearly. Keeping necessary parts greased. Changing impellor at least every 3 years and completely checked over by my comes by tech yearly. When I traded it off last summer it was still going strong.

I own one. I tried it for drop shot but couldn't keep the bait in the cone so I took it off and haven't used it in years.

I do a lot of color mixing my self. When you do be sure to measure into a designated amount of plastisol and measure by the drop and write it down or you will forget and never be able to recreate your color. Sometimes only a drop or two can make a big difference. One of my favorite colors is with 3 oz of plastisol and 1 drop of each of 2 colors.

When I owned a Champion I had to do some seat work. I checked the distance to the gas tank and found less than 1" of clearance. So my advice is be careful. You might also call the mfg and ask your question.

There are lots of places to buy colorant: Jann's Net Craft, Lurecraft, Bear's Baits and on and on. I have bought colorant from all of them and don't have any favorites. Check out some of their web sites and see what they have to offer.

The last time I used Expeditor it cost $100 but was fast and operator error not warranty because they don't warranty stupid.