Bazoo

Yes, there is a placard. It doesn't list the boat's weight, it says 540lbs/3 persons, or 610lbs persons/gear/5hp motor. First post has a pic of the boat. I can do others, if desired.

So far, it's been this one. Got him on a buzzbait that @Jig Man sold me for cheap, then I added a chartreuse skirt. I think he was 5 pounds compared to my box, but my scale was being contrary for some reason. Every time I went to weigh him, it showed a pound, or ounces or nothing, but when I weigh something like my box it works.

I have a great deal of respect for many of the members here. I'd love to go fishing with many of yall, even if it was a slow day from the bank. Just being around someone that wants to talk about a mutual passion, someone with experience, what a gift this is. I have always had a good deal of admiration and respect for old folks. When I was a kid, they took the time to answer my questions and talk to me. When I was 20ish, I was friends with a gent who was about 80 years old and owned a tractor repair shop across the road from where I worked. I went over of the mornings and we talked tractors and life. He taught me many things, including that friends can come at any age. He didn't get in much of a hurry, and he always supported my projects even if they were a little far fetched.

Thanks @MAN. I have been looking, but I cannot find the weight. I cannot find anything about them actually.

I recall this reel being around $110 new back then. I'm pretty sure I bought it from basspro mail order too. This looks like it best I can remember https://www.ebay.com/itm/285492993999?hash=item4278b55fcf:g:69EAAOSwgYxlFN0C&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwHDET41SmucauAnbAyuwyw7Uts%2BN07%2FoEju1BN2xctMGw9te0sUVqIJaO58sMtW7ZtjBPBs8KJmEtP84aQDi13ppogfWy1fGtx8D9UcGN6rhDdzXsoDOaFAhfomFqB%2FvKhqxb1fSkcmZpbbiZsU%2FZBC3FjuPdauU4oviYK6%2F2qURWgHiy42zsht1mC0QOMKOASxA6yh8d0EGGdGHMzoMzarnoQosxRZcytSWHGmfpKIadNM3Jq5qm%2FsVozMeVcctrg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR57nurbjYg Perhaps I'm mistaken about the numbers.

Thanks for the replies. I looked up both the Pro Max and Silver Max 3600 and it was neither of those. They are too smooth and blended on the left cap.

Twenty five years ago I bought new a round Abu Garcia Ambassadeur reel, and learned to use a baitcaster. I cannot remember the model number, but it was a narrower reel, and it had a thumb bar. I do not believe it to have been a 4600, though my internet searching shows this is an identical size. I've been researching the 4600, and Ambassadeurs in general. The reel I had was silver, with grey trim and handles. I want to say the number started with a 3, though I cannot find the exact model. It wasn't a higher than normal priced model at the time. I don't need one as I have 3 baitcasters currently, but I am seriously considering getting one sometime (probably a 4600 as they are common on ebay). What rod does everyone like for their round reel Abus? I'm thinking 6'6" or maybe 7' medium medium as an all around rod. Mostly I'll be throwing spinnerbaits, some crankbaits and some topwater, probably a texas rig, but mostly spinnerbaits. I won't be throwing huge baits like glide baits or flipping/pitching with it. One thing I know, I want it to be cork and not rubber grips. My current all around rod is a medium Abu Garcia Black Max, and I find it to be pretty good for most of my needs. For whatever reason though I have the itch for one of the round reels, and I'm in the process of drooling over them, reading about them, and figuring what I'll want to go with it. Thanks for reading, Bazoo

Thanks for the update. It sure sounds like a heck of a year. My condolences for your dog. We lost one 2 years ago and it was pretty rough. I cried like a baby when I had to put my cat down. I currently have a boxer; she don't know she ain't a people.

Congratulations! Awesome fish, thanks for taking me along on the ride (the story). Did you ever figure out how much your scale is off?

Wow, thank you for sharing that. Some great things to consider.

If you're handy, you can remove the blade from a spinnerbait. Just open the loop on the end, remove the extra blade, and close the loop back with pliers that have a good radius. It's easy enough to shorten the wire too.

Shame I ain't around your area Phil, I'd love to go fishing with you. I really enjoy the comradery of fishing with someone, and making new fishing friends. I do fish with others most of the time. Partly because of a friend that lives with us and is always tagging alone, and partly because of my son, who can't fathom dad going fishing without him. When it's just me and him it's very special for us. I like watching Roland Martin. He gets as excited as a kid when he's talking about bass fishing.

I'm up to page 57 now. Lots of good info. The anchor locks of which I speak are like this. Though the ones I'm using were old and rusty and I've refurbished and painted them. Here's how I'm currently moving my Bass Buster. I can lift it up by myself, but its right at my limit. Usually a friend helps me, and then benefits by fishing from it when we get there. I want a hitch and trailer, but... for now, it works We are using paddles only, and not getting into big water. I'll have to title and register it before I can use a trolling motor, unfortunately. My boat has pretty tall side rails, and I'm working on figuring out some horizontal rod holders for it. I figure 2 rods on each side, and it will still allow the cooler and live well to be opened, though not quite fully. Anyone out there made this modification and want to share?

That was wild! Thanks for sharing.

I appreciate the verification Tom. I've not heard of that before, but my boat does show that evidence for support. Hmmm, thats something to think about. Thanks. The foam I have looks like a very dense styrene.

Thank you very much for the information and tips!

I appreciate the replies. The real seat is not snug fitting to the rod. It wasn't centered to begin with, with the epoxy filling the gap at the top and the rod touching the reel seat where the trigger is.

Thank you kindly! My buddy caught a couple of bass on it, then lost it due to a bad knot. We are hoping we'll come across it again since he said he slung it out in the lake.

I have this cheap 5'6" Zebco rod that has come apart and I'm looking for some tips. The rod is in good shape and was given to me by an old man at church who said it was his dad's before he got too old to fish. While I have 2 quality casting rods (one thanks to @Dan N), this rod being fiberglass and short serves me when I bank fish up creeks with heavy cover. I can get a dandy roll cast with it. I don't actually fish with it that much, and since it isn't my normal rod, it serves yard practice duty a lot with my boy. It appears the epoxy is still well stuck to the rod blank, but has let go of the seat. I want to repair it, but I do not have any rod building specific supplies and only a little knowledge. Will standard 2 part epoxy from the hardware store suffice? I think I could get away with roughing up the old epoxy instead of trying to remove it. I don't know that I could remove it, as I picked at it a bit and it's solid. I can probably work a piece of sandpaper inside the seat to rough it up though. I still have the butt cap which I removed to see if I had blank through handle construction. I'm thinking I will remove about 3" of the foam from the rear, and add a length of 1" dowel rod to extend the grip about 3" past the rod blank. I want a longer grip portion to brace against my arm, and for aid in casting. I appreciate any suggestions and tips.

I found a very deteriorated Paw-Paw What-A-Frog a while back. It was a hard decision, as I considered keeping it as is, but the hardware was in surprisingly good condition so I decided to go for it. Here it is after final fitting. now to find hooks and figure what color I want it to be. The wood is Red Cedar. I used my pocket knife for much of the work.

Howdy, would you be willing to expand on this comment further? Are you saying that with a boat that has wet foam, water will eventually drain to the bottom of the foam? My bass buster has wet foam if I feel in the drain holes. It also has a livewell access hole. If I feel there, the foam is less wet, as I always allow it to rest at an angle with the drain holes towards the bottom. Also from the access hole, the foam that is higher in the hull is dryer. This leads to me to believe that I could stand my boat on end, with the drain holes down, and it would eventually drain out. I've been researching how to handle this issue, since my boat is a bit heavy. It's not so heavy it cant be moved by men, but heavier than it should be. I am considering various things, including disassembling the halves and removing the saturated foam, as a last (wintertime) resort.

I've had a lot of success with the Spit'n Image in the past. I haven't had much lately, though the same is said about most things fished on the heavily pressured public lake I attend. I've never fished an actual spook, but I found one earlier this year and got it cleaned up enough to use. I think I tied it on once. I've been intending to give it a fair chance though, but other lures previal. One of the things about the Spit'n Image, is it will go below the surface very slightly and still walk a few feet, then it'll pop out and make a splash and will jump out of the water.

Cool, thanks for sharing. I don't have cable so I don't have any way of keeping up with the classic anymore.

I went to Freeman Lake today, with intent to fish into the rain that was forecast. I had one nip on my buzzbait, but it was pretty slow for a couple of hours. It started raining right before I was going to pack it up, and wham a 5lber decided it was safe to come out for the buzzbait.

Thanks @fin, thats actually how I came across a possible for strike king, a google search. No the hooks are not chrome, they are blackened, but I'd bronze wire brushed them to clean them up. My buddy caught a couple bass on it, and then, lost it again unfortunately. Here's a screenshot of the only pic I found that matches. The description and link takes you to Strike King, but the current Strike King pics do not match. I'm thinking perhaps it's a very old strike king squarebill?