Rockytop

I usually drive my 2013 F-150 super crew 4x4, it's the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost. I average about 17 mpg but I live on a mountain and it kills my fuel mileage. I prefer to pull the boat with my 08 Tahoe but it's got a little lift and only gets about 13mpg. My hunting vehicle is a 97 S10 blazer with a set of mudders on it. I get about 15 mpg in it. I usually drive my wife's Honda Accord to work to save money on gas. I carry my rods in my boat or the back of the truck if I'm not using the boat. I have trouble posting pictures on here, they all say they're over the MB limit.

I ordered a new Millenium for my Ranger the week of Thanksgiving. I got the B-300 palma horse for $70.

Invest in a good lightweight paddle and a comfortable seat. I sold my Bonafide SS127 yesterday, I haven't seen a kayak seat any more comfortable. If I buy another someday It'll probably be another Bonafide.

I quit everything from August of 1999 until the spring of 2001. My dad got killed by a drunk driver the weekend before I was supposed to start playing college football. It took the joy out of it for a while but I the Lord put some people in my life that got me through it.

I got lucky, my Mom bought my Tennessee lifetime license when I got married in 2005 at the time it was $1650 I think. It's paid for itself since then and I don't have any idea how much licenses are now. I bought all three of my kids lifetime licenses on their first birthday for $200 and I believe that has gone up now.

It's a lot easier to pull wire in conduit than boats and vehicles. I pulled some NMEA 2000 cables in it a few months ago and it was a pain.

I will. It may be a few months I'm just in the planning stages now. I've got to make sure Santa takes care of the kids first.

Fishing tips from my grandpa. #1 Keep it wet. You can't catch em if it ain't in the water. #2 If your line's moving set the hook. The sob ain't got it in his hand. #3 Don't miss a sunrise. It could be your last. #4 All the money in the world can't catch a fish. ( I heard this every time I mentioned getting a new rod, reel, etc.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm looking more for advice on what brand of lights to get and some boat specific install tips. My boat doesn't have any wood in it that's why I'm a little leary of drilling a lot of holes. I'm thinking if I run the wire for my deck lights under the gunwale I can tuck them up in there the way mine is made. I didn't think of tieing into my existing running light circuit but now that you mention it I'm going to. I was going to pull a heavier gauge wire to the bow anyway because I'm thinking about getting a Gobe light to use up front. I don't think it will be a big deal I've been a journeyman electrician for 20 years I just hate the thought of drilling holes in my new boat.

I sold my old Stratos 285 Pro XL over the summer and bought a 2016 Ranger RT188. I night fish a lot and I'm wanting to add deck lights, compartment lights, and possibly some black lights to my Ranger. I've been looking at the Bluewater LEDs and the cheaper ones from Bass Pro. I'm just looking for suggestions and maybe some Ideas on running the wire to the rod box and other compartments without drilling many if any holes. I've got the routing for the deck lights figured out but that's about it.

I'm not brand loyal at all. I have Lew's, Abu, and 13 Fishing reels. Falcon, Duckett, Cashion, 13 Fishing, and some old All Pro rods. I get what feels good to me and what I can afford. I service my reels every winter and still have some cheaper reels that are 25+ years old.

That's how I do it.

Do yourself a favor and buy a good one. I bought a cheap one from Academy to haul my Bonafide SS127 on and it was useless. I recommend a C-Tug. You may find a deal during the black Friday sales.

I think any new 4 stroke or even a two stroke from any of the major manufacturers would be hard to go wrong with as long as it's treated right and maintained. I've got a 2017 Yamaha 115 VMAX sho on my Ranger rt188 and so far it's been my favorite and I'll never go back to a 2 stroke.

My Bonafide SS127 has a weight limit of 475 lbs. With me and all my junk I'd say I'm pushing 350 if not 375 and It's as stable as it would be with my 11 year old daughter in it. I can stand up and move around or whatever I need to do in it. I'm going to have to sell it though because my shoulder has give out on me and needs replaced. I would get a pedal kayak but my knees are next on the replacement list and I just refuse to put a trolling motor on it and have to pay to have it registered. I'll just stick to my bass boat for now.

I just do it for fun and to teach my kids

This is the kind of varmints I like to catch.

My grandpa used a string with foot markers and a 1 ounce weight and spent countless hours going over some of the lakes we fish and drawing maps of ditches, humps, creek bends, and all kinds of underwater structure. Then as I was growing up we had an old Hydra Sport with a Humminbird flasher in the console. Now I've got a 2016 Ranger RT 188 with Lowrance HDS Gen 3 units at the bow and console networked together with a Navionics card, side scan, down imaging, 2d sonar and GPS. I swear I caught more fish as a kid fishing with my dad and grandpa's. I'd take that 10 to 1 over any live sonar or side scan.

On my old Stratos I had a Humminbird 998 and a Lowrance HDS 7 at the Console and at the bow I had a Lowrance HDS 7 and a Lowrance Hook 7. I used the Humminbird for side scan and HDS 7 at the bow for mapping and sonar. On my new boat I have only Lowrance units and I have them connected with a NMEA 2000 cable and I like the way I've got it set up a lot better.

I don't want to make it sound too good. Some people come and won't leave.

I like to give my business to small businesses when I can. There are a few good tackle shops close to me and If they don't have it you more than likely don't need it. Soddy Custom Tackle and Scottsboro Tackle are my two favorites. Scottsboro Tackle has a website and you can find their swimbaits at Tackle Warehouse. The swimbaits are a little expensive but they are my favorites.

I use a fluke, a paddle tail fluke if I want to fish a little slower, or a Zoom Fat Albert grub. I keep it fairly simple but I think your bait fish looking swimbait would work fine as long as it's soft enough work with chatterbait and not against it.

I agree with the other guys on here about the Booyah pad crasher Jr. and the SPRO if you want a floating frog but I catch a lot of fish with a black Zoom horny toad in the creeks and small rivers that I fish. If there are small mouth you can't hardly reel it fast enough a lot of times and if they miss just let it fall and they'll usually pick it up.

I'm not sure about Humminbird but I have two transducers on my transom for my Lowrance HDS 7 at the console one is for the down/side imaging and the other is I think and 88/200 Hz for the regular sonar and it will read depth when I'm running. I have a different transducer on the trolling motor that will do everything but side imaging and then I have them hooked together with a NMEA 2000 cable. I'm not sure about Humminbird but I have two transducers on my transom for my Lowrance HDS 7 at the console one is for the down/side imaging and the other is I think and 88/200 Hz for the regular sonar and it will read depth when I'm running. I have a different transducer on the trolling motor that will do everything but side imaging and then I have them hooked together with a NMEA 2000 cable. I think you can do something similar with the Humminbirds and do what you're wanting.

This summer I went from a 1996 Stratos 285 Pro XL with a 1997 175 Evinrude Intruder to a 2017 Ranger RT 188 with a 115 Yamaha SHO and I don't regret it for one second. The Stratos had 20+ mph on the Ranger and a little better ride but I like the Ranger a lot better. I went from no less than $25 a day to 3-4 days for the same amount plus it takes less fuel to pull it and I'm not buying a gallon or two of two stroke oil a month. If I fished lake Michigan or something like that it would be different but I'm comfortable with it on all the Tennessee river lakes that I usually fish.