Woody B

We've had our first cold nights here. The low a couple nights ago was 26. It was 32 when I launched my boat this morning. Water temp is down 5 degrees to 63. The lake isn't showing signs of turning over yet. It's low, we've had very little rain for quite some time. Fishing was slow, but I guess steady. The Bass weren't schooled up. That's strange, since spots are usually schooled up year round. I caught 8, all spots. A few were what I call "micro bass". Little super aggressive 10 inchers. The first and last (both pictured) were the biggest at ~16 inches. First was at 8:32, last was a 10:42. I saw a couple people duck hunting.....so I'm guessing duck season is in now. I also saw a deer swim across a really wide channel. A co worker is deer hunting today so I sent him a video of the deer in the middle of the lake. While I was watching the deer a really fast bass boat came by, heading right toward the deer to stay away from me. I was just idling. I blew my horn and pointed toward the deer. He swerved to miss it, then turned around, came back toward me and yelled "thanks". We have plenty of deer/automobile crashes here. I suspect a deer/boat crash would be bad. Bass were scattered and hugging the bottom, mostly around 10 to 15 feet deep near channel swings. I caught 5 on a Shakey head, 2 on a bladed jig, and 1 on a lipless crank. I also caught a smallish Yellow Perch on a lipless.

Regardless of brand the best bass boat has an aluminum hull. Fiberglass is for bath tubs. I'm perfectly happy with my inexpensive little Tracker. If money were no issue and I was going to buy a glass boat it would be a Caymas. They aren't the fastest but they ride like a Cadillac, and fish like an aircraft carrier. However, if money wasn't an issue I wouldn't buy a glass boat. I'd probably go with an X-press. Vexus boats are nice too but past history of cracked hulls would scare me a little.

If you like your friends I'd recommend going to Motorguides web site and looking at the reconditioned ones. My Tour Pro was reconditioned.

The motor you have listed doesn't come with I pilot. The upgrade kit comes with several parts that have to be installed. If you add i-pilot to a Powerdrive you'll no longer have a foot pedal to use. The upgrade kit is ~$460 https://trollingmotorparts.com/minn-kota-powerdrive-i-pilot-upgrade-kit-bluetooth/ I-pilot offers basic GPS functionality. I-pilot Link will sync with many Humminbird sonar/gps units. Have you seen or use a Powerdrive on anything? I believe one would be a pain to deploy and stow on a Bass Raider.

I have two 50 amp hour Ionics for my trolling motor and a 125 amp hour Ionic for my electronics. I already had an onboard lithium compatible charger. Going 24 volt would have required an additional purchase for me. Also, if I had a problem and was in a rush I could pick up a 12 volt battery pretty much anywhere. (or take the one out of my truck) My boat is a Tracker Classic XL. 24 volt Motorguide Tour Pro trolling motor. I don't fish where there's much current but fish in the wind quite often. I fished 3 hours last Saturday, and 5 hours last Sunday, in the wind. My 50's were at 72%. I didn't think I needed 100 ah and Lithium Hub said I didn't need 100 ah. I went with the 50's and decided if I needed more I'd just add two more 50's.

Get the custom cover. I've got the custom cover when I bought my boat. A friend of mine got a ~$200 "universal" cover. His boat sweats under the cover. Mine doesn't sweat. It's also easier to cover and uncover the boat. I don't usually tow with mine on, but I have.

Me too. Obviously this isn't possible in some places due to climate. I always get a little nervous every new month, and week until I catch one.

If I didn't have to work I could come there and fix your car......then we could go fishing.

~8,8 pounds if it's all $1 bills.

In the past couple trips I've caught a few small White Perch that I didn't use pixels on. Yesterday (I'm saying) I caught a decent size Blue Cat. I thought for a while I had the biggest fish I'd ever caught. It was hooked in the tail making it especially strong. It wasn't trophy size so I took my pliers and shook it off next to the boat. I didn't want to slime my boat measuring one I knew wasn't trophy size. I caught a medium size Yellow Perch today on a crank. Every time I send Mrs B a picture of a Yellow Perch she responds "that's a pretty fish". There was a HUGE Muskrat swimming around my boat for a while today. I was talking to it, like I do most animals. I guess it was swimming around listening.

I caught 6 Bass and 1 Yellow Perch today. (I'll post the perch in other species thread, it wasn't big) It took me an hour to get the skunk out of the boat. I was getting short strikes, and lost a couple Bass. The last one I lost was decent, maybe 3 lbs. I got it to the boat and was getting ready to lip it. It was barely hooked in the top of it's mouth.....just a little flap of skin. After that I cut an inch or so off my Bladed Jig trailer. I didn't lose any more. 5 Bass came on a Seibert Bladed jig, with a cut down Manns Classic Spinner. The other Bass came on a shakey head. Perch was on a crank. I'm pretty sure the 2nd Bass was a Largemouth/Spot hybrid. They aren't as common as Meanmouth bass but it does happen. It had a Largemouth mouth, same size cheek scales as the rest of it's body, but a Spot dorsal, and a flat Spot tongue with a tooth patch, instead of an oval, slick LM tongue. The last one will be my last Bass on October 2023. (unless they cancel work tomorrow or Tuesday LOL)

Mine came from Lithium Hub.

Stuff breaks. "They" keep making lower units smaller and smaller for less drag, and less prop slippage. I suspect the lower is the most fragile part of most modern boat motors.

You will only find (catchable) fish in the water. Beyond that all the other hocus pocus is just hocus pocus. I fish when I can. I'll be on the water ever chance I get, as long as weather conditions don't make it unsafe. If I struggle to catch fish I place the blame directly on ME, not the weather. It's my belief that someone is always catching fish.

Everybody and their brother throw spinnerbaits around here so I usually stay away from them. For a bladed jig I believe you want a trailer that doesn't have "much" action. Too much action will take away from the blades action. I usually use a Manns Classic Spinnerbait trailer. I believe a Zoom Split tail is the same basic trailer.

Bass and humans are very different. Studies have shown that the average bass can survive 10 minutes out of the water. Of course that doesn't mean keep them out of the water that long. A 7+ pound Bass was probably near the end of it's natural life span.

We on third Summer here. It's in the 80's as I type this. I thought I was really going to catch them today. I launched my boat at 7, and caught four before 8. That was it for bass. I caught a couple White Perch (no pictured) and a fairly decent sized Blue Cat. I thought the Cat was a WHALE. It was hooked in the tail. I'd guess it to be 10 to 15 pounds. I took my pliers and shook it off next to the boat so I didn't have to deal with the slime. 2 bass were on a bladed jig, the other 2 on a shakey head. Cat and perch were on cranks. The bass weren't big but at least none were tiny. The one bleeding in the picture was hooked in the tongue with a bladed jig. I suspect it survived just fine.

Old thread, I may have already posted this in this thread. The money aspect of it amazes me.....meaning the people who complain about live sonar being so expensive/making it too expensive to fish. A while back a guy came up talking to me at the landing about it. I guess he saw and recognized my transducer. He called it live scope, but I have active target. I was getting ready to load my boat but offered to take him out for a look at the screen. The cove where the landing is was full of crappie so I showed him the crappie swimming around. Back at the landing he said he didn't like it, thinks it should be outlawed. He couldn't afford it, and it was running the cost of fishing up. He had new looking Vexus VX 21 with a 300 Mercury. He also had ~20 St Croix rods sitting on the deck. His engine cost more than my entire boat, motor trailer, all of my sonar equipment, trolling motor ect. The rods he had on his deck cost more than all of my sonar stuff. I see people with Kayaks and Jon boats with live sonar. I also see people with $100K+ boat that don't have it. It's not about money.

(Everyone) Going forward always pay attention to the bunks hanging out under the stern of your boat. The winch stand moving a little isn't a big deal. (until it's rusted in two) The hull hanging over the end of the bunks isn't good. This could crack a fiberglass hull. It also could bend, or crack aluminum. A dent on the underside of the hull near the stern will probably have a big impact on performance.

If you ever end up with a reel overboard, but still have the line in your hand snatch the line really quick for just a split second to create a backlash on the reel. This will get it back in the boat regardless of how good or bad the line is tied to the spool.

Maybe there's more to "thick" vs "thin" bass than just location. A-Jay is thin, his bass are thick. I'm "think" my bass are thin. LOL The interesting thing for me it "most" of the Alabama/Spotted Bass I catch are fat. Most of the Largemouth Bass I catch are thin. There's plenty of forage so it's not like the Spots are eating all the available food. I caught a 22 inch long 5 pound Largemouth back in June. Last Winter I caught a 4 pound 15 ounce Spot that was 19 1/4 inches long. Some of the smaller largemouth I catch are fat, but the bigger ones are almost always thin. The only thin spots I catch are 10 inches long. I've only caught 1 fat, and big (by my standards) Largemouth this year. It was 6 pounds even and only 20 inches long.

You can only do what you can do. Even IF they increased your pay you can't be in 2 places at once. Don't work yourself to death.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act insures a manufacturer can't void a warranty due to someone doing their own repairs and maintenance. The only way this could void the warranty is if the repairs/maintenance aren't done properly, and the manufacturer can prove it. You need to keep records showing the required maintenance is performed. There's nothing wrong with letting professionals handle it, but "they" can't refuse covered warranty repairs because you done your own maintenance, or had it done at "another" repair facility.

Rain doesn't bother me. Some of my best days have been when it's raining. Lightening does bother me, as well as winds that get super high. I have an app on my phone that alerts me of lightening in the area. The lake I fish most of the time is near an airport. The big jets sound similar to thunder, so I'm kinda numb to it. That's what the app is for. I look at the forecast and plan where I'm going to fish based on this. I have several friends who live on the lake I fish most of the time. If bad weather if forecasted I'll either stay near the landing, or fish near some of my friends houses incase I need shelter.

It's my belief the "damage" from a properly built septic system to a nearby lake is overstated. The "stuff" contains nutrients that actually help feed part of the food chain. Too much soap into the septic system (or routed straight into the lake) is a problem. The good news is modern laundry soap doesn't have as much harmful stuff as it used to have. The other good news is there's no way new construction would get passed by the building inspector if the washing machine drain was separate from the septic system....going straight into the water. Nitro based fertilizers cause algae bloom. This, and the problems caused by herbicides are usually caused by farming activity upstream, instead of lakeside houses. Sewage spills from dairy and hog farms upstream are a bigger problem here than "most" problems caused by lakeside residents. There's always exceptions though.