surfer

Yep. You need the round tank for the shad from what I understand. And for the bass you just need it a couple inches longer then the bass. Your tank looks like it is about 16 inches across so you would only be able to put a couple of 14 inch bass in it.

1 they all live up to expectations. 2 aluminum 3 wider 4 your bed is 6ft plus the length of the tail gate. No problem. Since you are only using the boat in an electric only situation hull thickness will only add unnecessary weight. You will never be going fast enough to damage your hull. If you don't mind used check Craigslist.com for a used one near you. I think $500 should get you what you are looking for. If you have the room for it you might consider 14 ft and as wide as will fit in the bed of your truck.

I think you are right about not knowing what fish for the most part. However, fish behavior can help out. I know crappie tend to hang in schools so most of the time when I run over a cloud of fish I assume it to be crappie. I have heard of guys with lots of experience with high dollar color graphs being able to distinguish individual fish based on subtle color differences. Catching the fish is the only way to know for sure. I mostly use my graph to locate cover and structure more so than targeting a fish. But if I run over a suspicious fish I will throw whatever lure I have tied on at him.

When you say it ruined a smile trip, did it get you away from the ramp but not back tot he ramp? Would you have made it to that fishing hole if you were using electric only? My point being that once you are accustomed to being on plane it might feel like you are crawling if you switch to electric only. I could not go back to electric only unless i was strapped for cash. You could get a very reliable 5 hp for the price of the trolling motor you are looking at. But if the lakes you fish are under 500 then you should be able to cross any one of them in less than 15 minutes with that 80lb trolling motor.

I was under the impression bouncing and jarring failures would be sudden such as a plate breaking off inside the battery or the casing cracking. How would it cause gradual weakening?

i use sufix. i think it is 6 strand.

While technically bouncing is bad for batteries I have never actually heard of anyone having a bouncing or jarring related battery failure. Why fix something that aint broke?

I recently upgraded to a 17.5 ft boat on a float on trailer. I keep it in my garage. Hooking up to it, running to the lake, launching, and the reverse of the process to get back to the garage is a good bit more cumbersome with this size boat than my prior 14ft. I am here to ask advice on technique and or systems that make this procedure easier for a solo mission. Once I am on the lake the solo part is nice. To start with the trailer jack is broken and dose not jack up or down so I will be replacing it. What should I look for in a trailer jack? Tongue weight is only about 200lbs. The retrieval winch is cable instead of strap. Does that mater? There are side guide rollers. So that helps. What else do the solo launchers here on BR do to make things easier? Thanks in advance. Surfer

I cant speek for quality, but BPS is 15 minutes from home so i like it the best.

Assuming riveted, you can grind the heads off of all the rivets. Then test for leaks and tighten the rivets if they leak. At least that is what I did. Yes there is some structural reason for the seats and there is probably some flotation inside those seats also. Adding the flooring should help stiffen the boat back up. Make sure to use 2 long stringers under the flooring for this stiffness. Since you have removed more than half the flotation from the boat it will probably sink if flooded or flipped. Wear a life jacket. At least that's what I do.

Simple answer is 5 is 20% more then 4. That is enough of an upgrade in power that you will notice it. The main thing I look for in a small outboard is to make sure it is enough to get you on plain. I cant answer that part.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_27337?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT&cmid=PP_P0_1 I'm not advocating the specific brand, but 100% I am advocating a hydrofoil.

LM 7.25lb Mattbaits Ultimate Blue Gill.

i havent been at this too long, but i think there is somthing to this prefrontal = falling baromiter thing.

nice catch. i like the dollar bill to put it into perspective. that fish is money.

2nd hand report from a guy on the st johns. He said the fish were gulping air at the surface. lack of oxygen in rain water dosn't make since to me , but maybe. :-? i havn't seen any myself

x2 minus the deep water stuff. in orlando we dont have much deep water and no bass live there.

I bought this gaudy looking thing as a joke for when the fish will bite anything. If the bite was hot I was gona throw it and tease my buddy how I could catch fish on ugly lures too. To my surprise it works really good. I am not that good with spinner baits, but I like this one. I don't think it is the strongest as I frequently have to bend it back straight after catching a fish. http://www.lurenet.com/productdetail.aspx?id=byss38613

Pool noodles are a true closed cell. Second hand knowledge now becoming third hand as I tell you. I spoke to a guy who tied a pool noodle and a closed cell boat foam to the bottom of a swimming pool for a week. The pool noodle came up dry, the boat foam was water logged. If only we knew what boat foam he tested.

Travelin Man is on to something. Gheenoes are supposed to be very stable by all accounts i have read.

Cast and steady retrieve near some pads. It felt like I snagged a log and was reeling down on it. Then the log twitched. I rarely do more than the steady retrieve or troll.

What about the weight of the rhino liner? Pick up a gallon and multiply that by how many gallons to cover the boat. I have one friend who did it and yes it deadens sound nicely.

SR09 caught a 3.5 lber XJS13 caught a 6.25 lber This might be the lure you have. The SR09 looks similar to a Norman 22, but slightly larger. The XJ13 really looks like a salt water lure. I notice now on the Rapala web site these are in the fresh water category. At BPS they were in the saltwater isles.

last time i called on Turkey lake they wern't renting boats anymore. couple months ago.

I caught the swim bait bug, but after losing a couple of expensive baits ($20) I spotted some big Rapalas in the salt water section at BPS. $8 for trusted brand name big bait sounded like it was worth the test. Apparently bass don't know they are for salt water. My catch rate and weight with big saltwater Rapalas is similar to the few true swim baits I have tried so far. I think the swim baits have a slight edge for the moment. I have not had a lot of time on the water with each yet, but I am very pleased so far. I just wanted to share this incase there are other Rapala fans who are considering or starting swimbaiting. ps bigger bait does = bigger fish