surfer

I'm exclusively braid. I enjoy 10 lb suffix on my 2000 Tierra. When I have problems it is never the braid breaking. There is always something else that fails first. Leader breaking at the leader knot, or just 2 days ago I straightened a clasp and a 6lb got away just feet from the boat. The 10 lb braid held fine. But I'm done with clasps.

Rules #1 While using the ramp nobody else can, so do just what is necessary to launch and then get out of the way. Everything else should be taken care of while out of the way of the ramp thereby allowing someone else to use the ramp. There is only one ramp and this is what must be done to get as many boats in and out in the shortest amount of time. #2 refer to rule #1 Saftey note: Roll down your windows while backing. If someone sees something you don't they will yell to try to prevent an accident. You will want to hear them. One thing I see from time to time is a truck under water. Not sure what causes that.

if you are sitting a good ways back, like 5 ft or so, from the handle then i like the long handle with universal joint. you get a good range of steering with just a little motion of the stick. you have to straighten out to adjust throtle though. if you are close in then the universal joint is not any great advantage.

it depends on how important the $100 is to you, but you will be happier with the 55lb

just judging by thier size and batery power i woud not think they are very bright for underwater lights.

http://www.gatorbass.com/ This guy is friends with my neighbor so I am always hearing fishing stories from him. Apparently toho is on right now. One 10 lb this month a few 8 lb fish per week and a couple of 5 lb daily. I imagine other guides who specialize in toho are doing similar. I don't know lake Windsong, but if their tackle is in bad shape then the pressure may be very light. You could probably show those fish something they haven't seen before.

yes. the smaller screen on the SI does not show the true potential of SI. the resolution is much more detailed on the bigger screen.

The longer shaft will NOT limit you to deeper water. The excess shaft will be above the rail of the boat per your adjustment.

I dont know if that exact one would work, but i would think you could rig a simple PVC with floats that woudl be as effective or better and cheaper.

If you can afford a 101, 3 batteries, and a three bank charger I'm going to speculate you could afford a bigger boat. A 101 is overkill. It is a huge trolling motor and would be in comparison with throwing a weightless senko on a heavy rod with 40 lb braid. You will be prepared for anything, but you will sacrifice usability. get a 65. with one big battery. most user friendly set up and most thrust available for that setup while still more than you need for a 12 ft aluminum boat.

Each type of anchor has its advantages and disadvantages. Mushroom. Little better than a hunk of metal. Holds in light wind, but not in current. Snags the least amount of weads. Can be rinsed clean by just bobbing it up and down in the water. It is what I use 99% of the time. Forked anchor holds in sand, much stronger than mushroom. With a 10 ft leader of heavy chain holds even better. This is the standard for current or heavy wind. Will bring large amount of weeds up with it and must be picked clean by hand. I have one in the boat in case I need it, but have not used it yet. Other anchor designs are more situation specific.

You will hate the traffic. But after about 5 years you learn the patterns and just avoid it. I have lived in Orlando for 33 years and I never get stuck in traffic anymore. fishing's great. salt and fresh. 8-)

Calm water and matching the boat speed and graph speed are the two biggest things for me. If the boat is rocking the picture isnt as sharp.

The wall mart battery powered stern light works fine. Mine failed after a year though (cheaply made). So I took a good L.E.D. water proof flash light and glued the white cone on it and stuck it in my rear pole holder. Super easy maintenance from here on out. $2 for batteries once a year.

Thanks Catt. That was a good read.

Nice show and high def to boot.

There are 3 main factors. 1 your physical condition 2 water temp 3 gunnel height A rope with just a single foot loop would be more than enough for me, but I'm in Florida, a competent swimmer, only 8 inches of freeboard, and still a little bit athletic. Test out your rope on a good day when you have some help with you and consider the factors.

I tried a craw fish jig with a blue black creature trailer and got nada. My buddy was using watermelon seed fluke and got 5 one lbers. Only fished for an hour before superbowl.

In this vid you can see just how slow a snake in the water is. I don't want to make it sound like its no big deal because this critter would have my undivided attention until he or I left the area. But you can see how easy it is to gently push the snake away. Or like this guy, whack it a few times. Not my style though. http://another site/tv_play.asp?id=119

Snakes in open water will try to get on your boat for a rest. They are tired of swimming. Don't panic. The snake will climb up and then sit still to rest. Take your oar and slowly scoop under him and flip him back out of the boat. Or if you are one of these animal lover snake handlers let him rest for a while. But I recoment getting him back out quickly before he is well rested and capable of a good defense. Correct. Gators are not aggressive. Don't ever feed them. It causes them to associate humans with food witch then leads to dogs and kids being snatched from shore. But never from boats that I have heard of. You think you got problems, I'm a surfer swimming with sharks. ________\_____,\_________ ___________

cool. thanks for all the advice and stories. i will try a few of these next time i am out.

You don't NEED a circuit breaker. Just a safety device. I don't have one, but I don't run my motor through thick salad or the mud and I have heavy gauge wire.

Yes on the console mount. I spent $30 on a gimball mount so I can spin it around and see it from the front also. The left and right become reversed then. Not as convinient as having a bow mount also, but not to hard to glance over my shoulder when I want to know somthing.

one dedicated crancking and 3 for the TM should be fine. the fishfinders dont draw enough to hurt a battery in 8 hours. As long as your not running the TM wide open for 3 or 4 hours you should be fine. a single spare battery will do nothing for your 36V TM

I am looking to expand my techniques at this spot. My home lake (Lake Conway, Orlando FL) is fairly pressured. It big and there is a tournament once a week during the summer. Right now the water is getting clearer for lack of rain. Visibility is at least 14 ft when the sun and wind cooperate. The picture below shows the clarity and the weeds. This spot is several hundred yards from the nearest shore and receives less pressure than the shorelines. I catch most of my bass here and I see 10x more bass here than I catch. The weeds are typically about 5 ft tall with 10 ft spires coming up through almost to the surface and sometimes to the surface (see picture). While crank bates and flukes work, most of my fish come on either a watermelon seed color senko type worm or a black and yellow road runner with a tiny flutter blade under it (it's a pan fish bait, but bass love it here). When my lure is close to the boat I can see it, work it, and sometimes am lucky enough to see the attack. I am fishing mostly around the spires and on top of the matt that is 8 or 10 ft deep. I think it is 5 ft of hollow underneath the matt. I know weights can punch through it easily, but with the water clarity I have concerns with the weights. How do I fish under the matt? What are some techniques? And in general what would you do?