DaubsNU1

Great information @Kirtley Howe! I really appreciate you taking the time. I'm sort-of-familiar with 2 stroke carbs after diving in to my 1979 Lawn Boy many, many times(!) Marine mechanic did say the needle was sticking a little when he did the carb kit earlier this spring. I will dive in to the carb next week.

It's a 1974 Mercury 200 / 20hp two stroke. Carburetor rebuilt this spring. Last two times on the water the initial start and run have been great, normal as usual. After sitting for a while, motor refused to start...and leaking fuel in to the water. Fished yesterday, same thing...ran great off the dock...then refused to start, leaking fuel. Got home a pulled the cover...fuel sitting in bottom, leaking out of motor. I am thinking the float has a small hole...making the boat run good off the dock...but as fuel sits in the carb...floods out and leaks. Am I wrong?

I rig the tail down.

I have a Garmin on my boat, it does well and I really like the touch screen. Brother has two Humminbirds connected to his Ulterra. It is a sweet set up for sure. Guide buddy of mine runs Lowrance. He does well. Head to your local store and mess with them, compare side by side. Good luck.

^^ #Truth! ^^ I would add.... Better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.

I like them and have probably 10 in my tacklebox. Blue chrome Rattle-Trap is favorite, but I do have a few others. Pike seem to like them as well, and I do remember catching a Musky on a Rattle-Trap back in the day.

When I fish with my Brother (back problems), and my Dad (82 years old, shoulder replacement), we do a lot of trolling & bottom-bouncing. I would rather be casting. If given the choice between casting, and fishing with Dad and Brother...you can be darn sure I'm going to be trolling that day!

Frances Case in SD last year this time. Uncle big LMB fisherman, threw spinner baits at smallies for two days...didn't catch a thing. Me and brother were hammering them on NED... He eventually switched to NED and started catching fish.

T-rigged worm, spinner bait, NED and wacky Senko.

I've been thinking about upgrading from this to a Lund Adventure, or Alumacraft...they get pricey pretty quick, even the used ones. Guessing I'd spend near $30k to get what I want, with the trolling motor and electronics desired. Will probably keep this old boat for a while...it fishes the lakes near me very well. And it's paid for : )

I was the "fat kid" as a youngster...always seemed to be dieting or trying to lose weight. Stopped drinking soda / caffeine in high school....felt better Stopped fast food after college...felt better Stopped eating wheat / gluten when wife had to for medical reasons about 5 years ago....felt better Stopped eating processed foods about a year ago...felt better (lots of meat, vegies, fruits, nuts, whole foods) Stopped eating foods with vegetable oils this winter...felt better Have maybe one drink a month...feel better Trying to cut out cheese (and do feel better), but it is SOOOOO GOOD! Started walking the dogs ~2 miles every day...feel better I'm going to be 56 this year. Thankful to be alive, and feeling good. Find your path.

Bass-thumb got so bad a few weeks ago that I could not open my phone with the thumbprint detector (isolated incident, but I wish that happened more!!) Agree, lip them vs. netting them. My brother fishes walleye a lot...and always asks if I want the net when hook a smallie. I say, "nope, I'm going to lip him..."

Great point! I am left handed, and learned to fish holding a spinning rod in my right hand, and reeling with the left (I think that's all they had back in the day). Got my first casting rod and reel, and they were set up opposite...casting with my left hand, reeling with the right. This works really well as I get older....when one arm gets tired, I switch from casting to spinning. I really hated casting rods when spooled with mono. When braid came out, and I managed to figure things out (i.e., less back-lashes), it was a game changer. Then found myself not liking how mono handled on a spinning rod.... Then I found this site, and spooled up my spinning rods with 10lb. bright yellow braid, to a fluoro leader. Again, game changer! My boat holds 6 rods...I normally take three casting rods, and three spinning rods. Covers all my needs!

For what it's worth...I'm still fishing multiple Cabela's branded rods I purchased in the early 1990's. All have cork handles. Never treated them with anything. I have pretty oily skin. All have held up just fine.

Check your trailer tiers for max speed rating. Did first big trip with our 5th wheel...buzzing along in Montana doing 80-85 MPH...talked to buddy...then realized my trailer tires were only rated for 75 MPH max. Oops!

Drive through Nebraska...wait, not any better than ND and SD : )

Most of the lakes in my area have lots of vegetation / moss, or flooded timber. Darn near impossible to throw a C-rig without getting in a whole lot of mess. I love pitching jigs and T-rigs. Or working a T-rigged powerworm through cover. Hard to beat.

Super wise words from @A-Jay here! I could not agree more! I am lucky to have an long-time college buddy as my insurance man. Known him for 30+ years, hunt and fish together, great friend...he's saved my tail many times with his industry insight. Call your insurance company and get them on this now.

It is exactly this challenge that keeps me coming back for more...EVERY...Dang...TIME! Same with chasing waterfowl, Muley, turkey, roosters, etc... It it were easy, predictable, and consistent...they would call it "catching" vs. "fishing." And "killing" vs. "hunting." It's a challenge...and we love a good challenge.

Outstanding video Glenn!

I'll follow up @king fisher with this report....local lake...all caught on 6th Sense Crush 50x crank: 1. Pretty pink goggles...weight unknown 2. Carp, 2lbs-5oz. 3. 20" LMB, 4lbs-6oz.

Disclaimer: I don't fish a kayak, and have never fished a tournament. Probably 7 of 10 kayak fishermen I talk to fishing kayak tournaments on my home lake have a wacky rig Senko tied on. Coincidence? Or just a really good "go-to" for putting numbers on the board? If not a Senko, what are you using to put fish in the boat come tournament time?

Two lakes are close to the house...one is a 5 minute drive, the other a 10 minute drive. I like them very much. There is a lake that holds bigger bass about 30 minute drive. I generally fish those three lakes. There are probably 4-5 good bass lakes in the area I could fish, most within an hour of my house.

Outstanding!!

I ran mono on all my spinning gear until finding this forum a few years back. Could not understand why someone would run braid-to-leader. Tried it...did not like it one bit. Kept trying it...still did not like. Made myself use it on smallie trip to South Dakota...then it clicked! Now all my spinning rods are rigged with bright yellow PowerPro 10lb braid, tied to 8 or 10lb fluoro leader. Casts a mile, super sensitive, fish don't seem to mind one bit.