DaubsNU1

Buddy had some good advice on towing. A farmer, he always had a regular cab, 8' box, diesel pickup. Tow ratings back then were around 14k for that set up...and he routinely pulled a 5th wheel hay trailer loaded with round bales, weight somewhere close to 30k lbs. This was around his farm, or on gravel roads (non-highway). Getting the load moving was never the problem...stopping was! And he recommended doing a "panic stop," so you know what to expect in an emergency situation. I did that with each of our kids when they turned 16...took them for a drive...said "okay, I want you to practice an emergency stop...hammer on that brake as hard as you can...want you to feel the ABS...and know what feels like."

Single axle. This dolly works well. Super easy to move.

I run 20lb Power Pro braid on my casting reels, no issues with digging or backlashes. All my reels are 20+ year old Shimano Curado's and Citca's.

Made this for my daughters years ago....no way I'm trading...

The little one does not like thunderstorms...chooses to hide under the bed. When the big-booms happen, the big one keeps looking for ducks / geese falling from the sky : )

One business in my small village...a oil and propane dealer. He keeps my 500 gallon propane tank filled throughout the year (heats my house). He re-fills my 20 gallon tanks for the grille and 35 gallon tanks for the 5th wheel. No problems.

Excellent! My Dad and Brother had an old Lowe back in the day. Very solid boat, served them well for 20+ years! Tight lines!!

Good words @webertime. I've struggled with the C-rig here in Nebraska. Soft, muddy / mushy bottoms, lots of green moss. Ick. I did have a little luck fishing the C-rig down in Missouri, mainly on rocky points. I appreciate your suggestions here.

Work discussion -- some estimate Phil Connors was stuck in the same day time-loop for ~34 years. If you could pick your own personal Groundhog Day, what would it be and why? For me a few days come in to play: Last day of a guided fishing trip on Lac Seul walleye fishing with good buddies. Our guide that day was the lodge owner. He logged every fish over 18". We put over 100 fish "on the board" that day...he estimated we caught ~250 walleye todal that day. Amazing! Early 2000's duck opener in Southcentral Nebraska public marsh, with my Dad, Brother, and good buddies. We shot a 6 man limit and my Yellow Lab Murphy was retrieving like a champ. Right spot at the right time...we were laying on muskrat hutches, our decoys were in 2" of water...and my Dad was sitting on a white 5 gallon bucket. The ducks just kept pouring in. Finishing the hunt, we were standing around counting ducks...and realized we were two ducks short...and a group of teal swung by (remember, we are all standing out in the open), my Brother says, "I got this...." swung his 12 ga. pulled the trigger and dropped two with one shot (show-off!) Four years ago goose hunting late in February on the Platte here in Nebraska. River had been frozen solid for weeks...we had about 150 shells on the ice...and the Canadas were flying that day! We shot a 9 man limit that day. One huge group worked right in to the decoys...we let them land...and got 16 from that one bunch. I'm guessing there were 50+ geese in front of us. Of course blind breakfast and lunch were outstanding...bacon, sausage, fried eggs, biscuits and gravy. Good times with good friends, telling stories in the blind, and smacking Canada's right in the beak! The winner, and my personal Groundhog Day: Easter 2024. The wife had to work...it was one of her last days at the medical center as she was taking a new job at the VA. I fished that morning...don't remember if I caught many...I do remember enjoying God's glorious sunrise...and a peaceful day on the water. I spent the afternoon organizing tackle, cleaning out the garage, and throwing pork ribs on the smoker. That afternoon all the kids and their significant others joined us for dinner. That was a great day I could live over, and over, and over again... What's your Groundhog Day?

Hey @A-Jay, what brand of rock guard / chip guard to you have? Me and Brother are looking to get something to protect boats.

All my spinning rods are spooled with PowerPro hi-visibility yellow, 10 pound braid. Seems to work well.

@Tennessee Boy, wise words!

I have mad respect for kayak fishermen. Unloading and loading by hand, sitting all day (I gotta pee about once an hour), twisting around to access tackle, maneuvering AND fishing at the same time...it's a lot. Thirty years ago what got me off the bank and on to the water was a belly boat, then a canoe. Space was limited, spent a lot of time positioning, but we could get in to water big bass boats could not access. It was fun. I really liked my old Rich Line...I could float in 3-4" of water...and did not care if I banged against trees, rocks, etc. Last week I trimmed up the Mercury on the Lund, and was running in 8-10" of water looking for shallow bass. Not a problem. Lund's site lists boat / motor / trailer towing weight at 1,984 lbs (yea, I probably have another 400-600 lbs in there). Something to consider. Most of the lakes in my area are under 500 acres, and 5 MPH limit. I see lots of kayak fishermen on these lakes. I do take the Lund to South Dakota and fish the big Missouri river reservoirs. I love the layout and versatility of my boat. Super comfortable, easy for my 83 year old Dad to fish, I can launch and retrieve by myself, heck, even the wife likes to join me...and bring an adult beverage + book.

You have a great set up there @bishoptf! I set up my previous boat with Garmin, and really looked hard at the Force TM with my new boat. In the end I opted to go with Humminbird and Minn Kota...and got pretty much exactly the same set up as my brother. We fish with each other so often, felt it was better that we mirrored set ups. I really enjoyed setting up my previous boat...I like learning new things, running wires, figuring out best bang-for-buck, etc. My boat was purchased used from Lund dealer...I haggled and worked out a deal on price, and got them to sell me all the electronics / TM / add on stuff at cost, with the agreement they would set up the boat for me. I'm sure they made plenty of $$ from the sale and overall deal. One thing my dealer strongly recommended, was the mounts for graphs. I was leaning towards RAM mounts, same as my Brother. They recommended Cisco Fishing System's Sure-Lock mounts. They are great! Give them a look. Keep us posted on progress. Exciting times for sure!!!

Eastern Nebraska got hammered yesterday...rainfall totals ranging from 4-8 inches(!) My home lake (220 acres) was four to five FEET higher than the day before. NE Game and Parks drained and renovated a 135 acre lake and was in the re-fill stage...it gained over eight feet of water in the past 24 hours(!), and is now full. I checked out a few lakes on the way home from work yesterday. Most boat docks were under water. Lots of muddy water. One of my favorite lakes had been 3-4 feet low for the past two years...I'm told it is full pool as of yesterday. I plan to fish this weekend, if I can get the boat in the water. Suggestions on a plan of attack?

Hey @gimruis for what it's worth: My brother has a 2020 Lund Alaskan 1800 with 90hp and the same prop...and makes 35-36 MPH. My Lund specs out 17'10", boat weight 1,144lbs (i'm guessing without motor == add 360 lbs for the 90 HP). My boat came with four blade Mercury Spitfire 13x 17P Propeller 48-8M8026590. It will make 38-39 MPH. If I plug in all those numbers to the Mercury propeller selector web site...I get the following results... I might pick up the Vengeance some day...for now, I am very happy with the 4 blade...hole shot is great, handles well. And I'm still faster than my Brother ; )

I like a little wind...and now that I have spot-lock, I will fish the wind blown side of the lake. I'm with @gimruis, if the wind is howling, big white-caps, I am playing it safe. Wind from the west, fish bite the best Wind from the east, fish bite the least Wind from the south, fish use their mouth Wind from the north, do not go forth (okay, not really here in Nebraska...we see north wind a lot...just get out and fish...unless it's howling)

Rattlesnakes here in Nebraska...Shot the head off one when dove hunting back in college days...took it to campus and scared the crap out of some friends. Kept the rattles for years. Fun stuff. Not so fun stuff: in high school, turkey hunting with my Dad and brother. Warm spring morning, I decided to take an afternoon nap down by a creek. Sprawled out on my back...noticed something didn't feel right... Looked up... And a snake was crawling RIGHT ACROSS MY CHEST! Bout pooped myself. Threw the snake off. About 4 feet long and green, we determined it was a green racer snake. Not venomous.

Brother tells story of his friend...back in early 2000's...got brand new Lund Pro-V with roller trailer. They did something similar...unhooked...and the brand new boat rolled off the trailer and on to the ramp. It took many guys a long time to get that boat back on the trailer. UGH!!

Great question @gimruis! ** Following ** Factory aluminum 4 blade on my boat has a very good hole shot, and tops out between 38-39 MPH.

Outstanding @bishoptf! Congrats on the new boat! Yep @gimruis, they never make garages deep / big enough...ugh! Unless you are doing a custom build, it's never big enough.

What great memories! Thank you for sharing!! Fortunate that my daughters loved sports...as a part time photographer, started taking pictures of their teams...and as they grew, so did my photography. Such fun when their high school basketball and softball coach allowed me field and court access...heck, I even had a press pass for a few years. I was under the basket when the won state championship basketball, and on the field winning state championship softball.

Ezy-glide "Stumpmaster" Thirty years ago a fellow fisherman introduced me to this lure-retriever. He was throwing crankbaits in flooded timber...I thought he was crazy...then showed me the stmpmaster. Peanuts. I have had one in my boat ever since.

Love me some Jitterbug!