moloch16

Hmmm I'm not sure about this. $25 to ship a pair of sunglasses? These glasses don't look any better than what I can buy at Wal-Mart. Just because they claim the glasses MSRP for $200 doesn't mean they are worth what they claim.

It's easy to convert it from transom to bow mode. Just unscrew one bolt underneath the head, turn head 180 degrees, screw bolt back in

You could try a Big Foot Switch but that wouldn't help with the steering.

What kind of boat do you have?

I used outdoor grade paint, like you would use to paint your house. I haven't seal a whole deck however, and maybe paint isn't good enough. Maybe someone can help us understand why epoxy resin is the right stuff compared to paint or Thompsons.

Good work! Question: How will you turn right with the trolling motor? Unless you have a go-go-gadget arm doesn't seem like you'll be able to turn the motor to make hard right turns?

Thanks for the info guys. I picked up a 55lb motor at Dick's Sporting goods last night. Woohoo! The web site says $260 but at the store they were $230 and then you get a $60 rebate. I'll be able to flip the head around to use it bow mounted on my 14' rig or flip it back for transom mount on the rental jons. That's a sweet deal. Can't wait to try it out. I'm real excited that I won't need to crank the 'big' motor as often

The Eagle FishMark 320 and FishMark 480 are nice units as well. If you find a better deal on one of those don't pass it up.

It doesn't matter what color the bottom is, it's the sudden massive shadow appearing that spooks the fish (if they're shallow)

I have a 14' Jon. I'm thinking about upgrading my trolling motor which is a 20 year old 28lb thrust transom mount. I'm think about buying another transom mount but then flipping the head and sticking it on the front. Is 55lb too much power for a Jon? I'm worried the thin aluminum on the front of the boat won't like the pressure, or the clamp won't be able to hold the motor on the boat when it's wide open. I'm also worried that the slowest setting will move me much faster than I'd like to move on the slowest setting. The reason I'm thinking about going with 55lb is: * I want something that may be used on a bigger boat in the future * Sometimes I rent a boat at the local rent-only ponds and it would be nice to get across the lake quicker Thoughts?

I use the Portable Eagle FishMark 320. The FishMark's are the best bang for the buck in the 'cheap' sonar arena. The portable version runs $200 Here's a link with more information on the unit. Also check Cabelas, they sell portable setups for a lot of sonars that don't aren't usually available in a portable format.

I recently bought my first boat (14' Jon with 9.9 motor) and thought it would be great fun to go out fishing this winter. I went fishing in the fall when the water temp was down to about 55 and was amazed out how frigid even that water is. (I had to put my hand in up to my elbow to add/remove the fish finder transducer). When I got home I parked the boat for the winter. I'm the sole income for my 4 kids and wife, they don't need Dad drowning in some frigid lake, PFD or no! Can't wait for it to warm up a bit more. Itching to take my boat out but I'll do it when it's safe

Can you post some pics of the creek? I'm curious what environment grows these monsters!

Which Symetre is the right size for a 7' MH rod? I'm thinking the SY2500FI? I want to make sure I mail order the right size Thanks!

Thanks for that link Catt that will help a lot!

I plan to do some Thanksgiving fishing this weekend. Take a look at the weather though > http://www.wral.com/weather I'll be going Friday or Saturday right after a stiff cold front. The weather has been unseasonably warm (65-70) and will take a nose dive into the 50s right before I go. Any hints on how to proceed? Do you think the fish will all go deep and stop biting? Water temp I'm guessing is 60-70 degrees (It's been a couple of weeks since I went fishing so don't know for sure). I drove by the lake last weekend and most people on the lake were still fishing shallow. Oh and I'm going to my home lake Shearon-Harris in North Carolina.

I'm looking at the Symetre as well. It seems everyone sells them for the same price ($79.99). Is this the sale price or will they get cheaper soon?

Amazing as it may sound, you can catch bass on a $60 rod+reel combo. You don't necessarily need a $200 rod and $300 reel

Thanks for the replies everyone. The one time I tried braid unless the sun was just right it was impossible to see, especially with wind. Going fishing tomorrow and I just replaced my braid with some fluorescent mono. Back in my comfort zone : I'll add a flourocarbon leader if I think the fish are spooked

Just ordered it from Amazon. Thanks for turning me on to this book, never heard about it before this thread.

I finish a lot of plastic (i.e. weightless Senkos, pitching and flipping worms) and that's when I really want to see the line. I also like swimming spinnerbaits up to some structure and letting them drop - another time that line watching is essential. I plan to fish jigs this fall and winter. When I'm fishing crankbaits and such I don't think the line matters as much since I'm looking for the reaction bite. I fish lakes in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The water around here stays pretty cloudy - maybe 5 feet of visibility when it gets really clear but usually much less.

I'm a fanatic line watcher and use to use a lot of fluorescent mono, but recently switched to some less visible green mono (and black braid) based on the theory that if it is easy for me to see the line, it's easy for the fish to see the line too. I can hardly see the line now so I'm not as confident when fishing. Should I switch back to fluorescent mono or is there some other line that is great for line watching but less visible to the fish? Two lines I'm currently pondering is the new fluorescent braid and the Berkley Vanish. The Vanish seems pretty expensive however. Your help is appreciated!

If you have the operator's manual for the motor see what that says. One thing you need to do is spray some fogging oil in the cylinders to protect them from rust. A quick google search turned up this interesting link: http://www.classicglastron.com/gl-outboard-winterizing.htm I have a 9.9 which I store in the garage. I plan to just start run it once a month during the off season to keep things lubricated.

I've heard great things about the H20. It should serve you well and do what you need it to do. My research shows that all hand held GPS do pretty much the same thing and it's hard to go wrong with any of them. I recently bought a Magellan Explorist 100 when it was on sale and does just fine. This is as basic as you can get and it does everything I need I hoped it would do which is: Mark structure and fishing spots Log my route so I can find my way back to the boat ramp Tell me how fast I'm going Tell me how far it is from fishing spot A to fishing spot B Your H20 will do the same, probably better than my Explorist 100

There are several units you can buy in a 'portable' form. They are usually mounted to a built-in battery pack and come with a suction-cup tranducer that is easy to install and remove. I use the Portable FishMark 320