Jig Man

I just bought color and really like it. You might think about buying the Lowrance 520c w/o antenna. You should be able to save about $150 then you could add the antenna for a Christmas or BD present. You would have gps already there when you installed the antenna. If you can't find the unit that way. I know a guy who had some a few weeks ago cause I bought one that way myself.

Both of you could be wrong. If he butted in line he was wrong. You keeping the boat moored when it could have been back off the loading dock was wrong. Why didn't your wife take the boat back out of the way while you were getting the trailer?

That would make me pucker up for sure. My former bass has an 18' with a suped up 300 on it. It will top end at 105 and is supposed to have an unbelieveable hole shot. I have never seen it on the water cause I was afraid he would make me ride with him.

Can you get the cables and controller with the motor or will you have to buy that stuff seperately?

When that happens to me it is because I haven't opened it all the way to the lock position. If that is not your problem, then you better talk to the reel mechanic.

There is no better fishing platform than a Ranger, however, they don't have the best ride in the world. I have only been in 1 Triton and was totally unimpressed. One of my buds has a 1994 Bass Cat Pantera II. He bought it new and after 13 years of hard use it still looks like a new boat. I have ridden hundreds of dry miles in it. It is the next best ride to my Champion 206 that I have ever had. Totally aside from the boats. My Champion has a tandem axle trailer and I hate it. I can't move it around in the garage by hand and it no where near tracks behind the truck. My bud's single axle Bass Cat can be moved around anywhere he wants inside the garage. If you can get a new Bass Cat for the same price of the used Ranger, I say grab it.

I use this one from Ztackle. It fits in my pocket like an ink pen. http://www.ztackle.com/products.asp?cat=302

I have tried to powder paint fg12 on my football jigs (straws, metal tubes, alum. foil). Nothing was satisfactory so I decided to make some plugs. I tried every size nail and wire that I have in the shop. All were too large or too small. My wife came out to the shop and commented on the pile around the mold. When I explained what I was doing, she said why not cut a toothpick in half and use it. My thought was ok this thing is going to burn and I'll have to drill them out. As it turns out she had a great idea. Every piece of tooth pick came out and when they wear out replacement plugs will be very cheap.

Get the BOGA. It can be certified. I bought one last year and use it instead of a net especially on crank and jerk bait fish.

Go to NADAguides.com and look under boats. You will find Rangers listed. Then go back to motors and you will find Merc. That will give you what the average retail price should be. Then you will have to decide how much to add to that considering the condition of the boat. I am sure he will want top dollar since most people are real proud of their stuff. Good luck. I hope he takes your offer if you decide to make one.

single tail grubs, twin tail grubs, critter craws, salt craws up to 7", small chunks, large chunks, beavers, etc.

I totally agree with rw. If it were mine, I would be looking at changing the gears to a higher speed. I bought a Curado with a 3:8 to 1 for cranking. It took all day to get a bait back so I went to BPS and bought 6:3 to 1 gears and am very happy.

I mostly fish lower lakes with clear water because the pressure is lighter. One day 6 of us tried a little unscientific experiment (4 used mono and 2 of us used braid). We were jig fishing in the same area trading spots as the day went along. I was one of the braid guys. The other braid guy was in a different boat. He and I caught fish but we got our BUTTS WAXED. That is when I started using leaders on braid.

If you have a $10 multi tester, you can determine which is which very easily. If you get the wrong one then you will be trying to run a 24v unit with 12v.

Bad grounds can cause all kinds of crazy problems. If you are grounded through the ball, I change it to the frame.

A friend of mine has one on his Champion. I don't know the brand but it doesn't work very well except in the middle of the day.

If your unit has the 2 red wires which are fused, maybe one of them has become disconnected or a fuse has gone bad.

Here's that link. http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if2806_HookRemoval/index.html

lol. Yup, my first optimax! Actually, my first motor made after 1988' :-? Optimax had a bad rap for a while. My tech says the biggest problem he has encountered is people not letting them warm up before they take off, especially in cold weather. When I start mine I let it warm to 120° before I head out.

I have that problem with tubes. I don't know of any way to avoid them when the fish are agressive. However, it is pretty simple to go through the gills with a pair of hemostats or needle nose pliers and turn the hook around. Then it is a simple matter of reaching inside the mouth getting hold of the hook and taking it out. Somewhere on here there was a GMAN post with pics.

I keep mine in a zip lock bag in the boat. When I go with someone else, I take a couple and put them in my life jacket pocket.

Early morning top water and buzz bait fishing, I keep the sun in my face. That way it is not in the fish's face. I get more strikes that way over sun at my back and in the fish's face.

I fish lower end clear water all the time. I use 10# mono or fluro leaders. I fish a lot of jigs, tubes, and craws. I don't get may bites with tops, buzzes, or spinnerbaits.

You will like that Xpress. It has the lift of a glass boat. I am sure it will run around 60 but remember it is a light alum. boat and can get squirrely.

I am running the ping at 100% when I am under power. I have only had it on the water once and next time out I plan to try a bunch of stuff even changing the heads to see if I can correct this problem. I am grabbing at straws to come up with a cure.