Woody B

My Ionic has been great. I've only had it 5 months so it's several years early to tell if it was "really" worth it. I'll always wonder if a cheaper 1 would have been just as good. One of the reasons I went with an "expensive" one is the bluetooth. I rarely even look at it anymore though. Both batteries, trolling motor and cranking that came in my boat were undersized. My 88 amp hour trolling motor battery was done after 6 hours or so. I would occasionally run my cranking battery down too. I combined them into one big cranking battery and went with a 125 amp hour lithium for my trolling motor. I've never run it under 60%. Let us know what you decide to get. I'm please with my ionic, but will always wonder if I could have spent less.

I've got a couple BPS rods. A Carbonlite 2 and a Patriot. I like both of them. One of the guide inserts fell out of the patriot. It was due to abuse/ bending them putting them in, and getting them out of my locker. I'm sure BPS would have warrantied it but I don't expect anyone to warranty my abuse. I've got a friend who recently retired and started building rods. He's repairing the guide.

I've never done that. My Dad and Grandfather were building contractors. I worked for them when I was a kid. I learned a bunch just from watching my Grandfather. He never "looked" like he was in a hurry. When nailing sheathing is just sounded like he was tapping with a hammer. No few taps, start a new nail, then more taps. It was just steady. Kinda like bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam. My Dad would like like a maniac like bambambam--------bambambam------- but in the end my Grandfather would get more done. I learned that slow, steady and methodical would out do fast and wreckless pretty much every time. I'm an auto tech. I do most jobs faster than any of the people I work with. They say it looks like I'm moving in slow motion. There was this HUGE guy that worked for my Grandfather, then after my Grandfather retired he worked for my Dad. I was 15 or so, and was up on a roof doing something. The roof had the tar paper on it but no shingles yet. (probably 6 in 12 pitch or so) I was walking along the roof and stepped on the top of a row of tar paper. I probably stepped above the nails, it came loose, I slid down and fell right off the roof. This HUGE guy was right under where I fell off. He just reached his arms out and caught me before I hit the ground then just kinda stood me up. He said he had caught my Dad and my Grandfather before when they fell off a house.

The cost of manufacturing the solar panels and wind mills is high. They have a relatively short life span, and the cost of disposal is high. The only reason their in use is due to taxpayer subsidies. Hydro electric is actually more cost efficient than wind or solar, but it's less efficient than pretty much any other source. I'm a fan of hydro since most of the lakes I fish on were built for it.

When I saw the thread title I though it was about my photography skills. Regarding the picture of the hook buried in my skin. It looked worse than it was.

I go fishing when I can. Sometimes I catch a BUNCH. Sometimes I don't. However, I have fun regardless of how many I catch. I bought my boat in Dec 2021 and started back fishing after 30 years. I've caught bass every week except 1 since then. I think there's a song that says "A bad day fishing is better that a good day of anything else" or something like that.

I had a couple. My Grandsons marveled over them so I gave them each 1. I replace the 2 with 1 Daiwa and another DC. The "trick" to using a DC (or a Daiwa SV) is to adjust them correctly. Both require the tension adjustment to be really loose for the braking system to "shine". Just tight enough to take the side play out of the spool. If adjusted this way you HAVE to thumb the spool when the bait lands. My Daiwa Zillion SV is hard to backlash in "normal" situations. I make minor brake adjustments depending on conditions and lure weight. I can cast the DC further, especially when it's windy. Normally I keep the DC set on 1 or 2. (it goes to 4) Sometimes in the wind I set it to 3. Set on 4 I can skip docks really well. I "think" the previous cast is what "charges" the DC system. You'd better be ready to use your thumb on the first cast of the day, or after making several short flips. I've also found that it works better if the reel is held handle side up during a cast. Not every reel, or brake system if for everyone. If you set the tension adjustment like most reels on a DC (or a Daiwa SV) you're not getting the "good" out of them. I was spooling my DC a couple weeks ago with a 8XD on a calm day.

FWIW I'm a former GM World Class Tech. I was also Volt certified. Volt's have an 8 year 100,000 mile warranty on the hybrid stuff. The way I see it the price of the car divided by 8 is what it cost per year to drive it. (at least $5K per year) The only time the "math" even comes close to working out on EV's in when someone else is paying for the charging. Even if there was 0 charging cost, and 0 gas cost it's still pretty expensive in the long run. However, Volts are a hybrid, not a pure electric car, so they use gas too. IF (big if) someone managed to always stay within their battery range between charges the engine will still occasionally start for what's called "maintenance mode". It will burn some gas, and still require oil changes and other maintenance. EV's (and hybrids) are simply a feel good myth. Much like wind and solar power.

If it's any consolation the fish you hear jumping are probably carp. You aren't going to catch them if you're fishing for bass.

Most of the ramps I use have it clearly marked where the ramp ends on the docks. This won't help if there's a hole in the concrete. A month of so ago some people with a pontoon boat had back their trailer off the end of the ramp. They were towing with a 2wd Tacoma. They couldn't budge it. I hooked my truck to their Tacoma and was able to pull it all out. (unloaded trailer) The end of the ramp was clearly marked on the dock. They had backed in way too far.

I'm with the Captain on this one.

It wasn't "that" bad. I was hooked pretty good though. The other treble was in my shirt sleeve kinda pulling against the embedded one. I had done one of my famous tree casts. It came back right at me. I ducked, turned and covered my face with my arm. I cut the end of the hook off, got the other out of my sleeve, but couldn't do anything with the embedded one. I usually keep my knife razor+ sharp, but I had cut a bunch of carpet with it yesterday. I spot locked my boat then sit there and sharpened my knife. After I got it sharp I made a small cut and just pushed the hook through. The barb worked good. It wasn't coming back out that way. I bet there were fish in the water laughing while I was dealing with it.

I normally use (original) Stren or Trilene XL. A couple weeks ago I needed line. My local tackle shop was out of Stren and XL. I bought a spool of Trilene Big Game. (People around here rave about it) I think I got a spool of flouro. Knots slip, it's stiff and is super weak if it get's a nick. Oh....... it sinks too. "How it's made" is a super show. I haven't the fishing line one though.

This thread was started almost 7 years ago. Has the sky fell yet?

I caught 16 average size bass today(biggest one 18 inches) and one great big grumpy old man.

I don't mess with the props. I sharpen or replace the front 2 hooks, and install a short #4 EWG hook on the rear with a split ring. This helps hook up ratio for bass, and keeps some bluegill from getting hooked. The bigger rear hook make the rear sit just a little lower in the water. I think this helps hook ups too.

Crawdads!!!!!

I'm with you. He was an entertainer, but I prefer musicians. A few of these guys are friends and picking buddies of mine. https://youtu.be/UJg1X0t90eg

Regarding pull cords. My 50 Mercury has a pull cord taped under the cowl. It also came with a wrench to remove a shroud to attach the pull cord. I've never tried to start it with the pull cord though. Being a computer controlled EFI engine, with an electric fuel pump it would need "some" voltage to start. I suspect the stator wouldn't generate enough current to start using a pull cord, with a completely dead battery. A 60 Mercury has the same powerhead as mine. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the biggest engine with provisions for a pull cord. I've had a dead battery once. I keep a NOCO GB40 (jump box) in my boat to jump it if needed. The best decision I ever made was going to lithium for my trolling motor. The trolling motor battery (as well as the cranking battery) were undersized from the factory in my boat. I have them teamed up as one big cranking/electronics, pumps, lights battery now. I'll probably go with a lithium cranking battery when they die. Regarding lead acid battery types. Regular flooded lead acid batteries are getting less and less common. Compared to other type batteries they're messy, fragile and require regular maintenance. All AGM batteries....by design are somewhat "dual purpose". Any AGM battery, even a deep cycle one will likely be damaged if it is discharged beyond a certain point. FWIW lithium batteries are damaged by too deep of discharge also. However, there's more usable energy stored in a lithium battery than a lead acid battery. (of the same amp hour rating)

I caught my PB Smallmouth 40 ish years ago on a T-rigged Lizard. It was on Lake James during the spawn. There's a section of Lake James called James bottoms. It's a big flat where the Linville River comes into the lake. They were spawning, the water was clear and there were huge Smallmouth everywhere. My PB was 6 pounds on my old "De-Liar" scale. It was 22 inches long. That's not the huge one, or even the good one from that trip. I took a 12 year old kid with me that day. He threw out a lizard in front of a BIG smallie. She picked it up by the tail and moved it out of the bed. He was wanting to set the hook. I saw what was happening and basically grabbed him in a bear hug to keep him still. She picked it up, by the tail his next cast also. On his 3rd cast she engulfed it. She was 8 pounds on my scale, 8 pounds and an ounce or 2 on a grocery store scale. She's mounted on his wall now. He's a lifetime fisherman, has a super nice Ranger boat. He's the person I call for advice when I have trouble catching bass. He deserves a bunch of credit for that Bass. Obviously some luck was involved, but a 12 year old super excited kid made 3 back to back perfect casts. (with an Ambassador 5500C and an Ugly Stick)

I'm not a pro golf fan. I'm not a fan (or hater) of any pro sports. I saw a video this morning of Daly playing Zac Brown's guitar in front of Zac Brown.

From what I've read Alligator Gar were nearly wiped out in the US years ago because some thought they would attack humans. We've got a few longnose Gar around here but I don't think there's any 'gator Gars in NC. I think it would be cool to catch one.

Batteries, and battery types are complicated, but don't necessarily need to be. I spend real money on a trolling motor battery, but use whatever for cranking. (50 horse motor though). However, I recommend either keeping a jump box or a set of jumper cables in your boat. I keep a NOCO GB 40 in my truck, and transfer it to my boat when I'm fishing.

I wouldn't go back even if I could. I've made mistakes, and I've learned from them. The mistakes I've made and the struggles I've had are what have made me into the person (and fisherman) I am today. I'm happy with who I am.

40+ years ago an old man told me to put my hand at the center of the bottom of the steering wheel. Move your hand the direction you want to trailer to go.