alhuff

looking good man. keep us posted. Alfred

Dobi, did ya get the foam out? i would think that it would be able to be worked out pretty easy. if not you could always replace it, not sure how much the expandable foam would run ya. Good luck.... Alfred

I like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks guys, you all have shed light on things i hadn't thought about yet. for now i think hold off on this and just reapir the rivets with the method LBH used. Thanks again guys, it always helps to have more that one point of view. Alfred

a buddy of mine, hes learning to weld, has offered to split the cost of welding materials to weld the seams and busted rivets on my jon boat. question: is this an offer that i shouldn't turn down? let me know what you think... Alfred

fletchlu, you may want to contact your state's department of game and inland fisheries. they should be able to tell you what to stock and when and how you should go about doing it all and maybe even companies where to buy the fish. in VA they have all that info and more on their website, so TX should, i would think. Alfred

BassBird, i have a "V" bottom jon as well but the problem i have is that the supporting ribs, like the ones found in a flat bottom, don't extend up the sides of the boat. i'm not sure if the decks can be higher than the seats. i would think that making the decks higher than the seats will make it very unstable in the water. below is a link to a very nice "V" bottom boat with decks...i would love to do this. http://www.myjonboat.com/gerry.htm here the decks are seat level. hope the site works and let us know how the project goes.... Alfred

my .2 cents.....can't afford to more than that.... i would agree on not keeping the larger bass... smaller bass should be kept depending on the size of the lake/pond....you shouldn't keep too many the same goes for bluegill and other fish.... without checks the fish, all fish, will increase in number and decrease in size... Alfred

thanks cart7, i'll check them out. Alfred

yep i've been there a few times myself and it is a Homer Simpson moment...... Alfred

now that was funny...........i need to get me one of those boats ....115mph.... ;D thanks JT Alfred

"neophyte"...................i had to go to dictionary.com for that one... wouldn't never think anything like that demented.... Alfred

AMEN!!!! i would fish in a mud hole in the back hard if it rained hard enough right now. Alfred

i would have to agree with FlyRod.... i have caught more fish by not sticking to the norm and going out on that limb and seeing what would happen if a bait was used "outside the box" (cause its hard to use them while in the box) of conventional use. the only must do's in fishing is tieing on a bait and casting it out, how its worked is totally up to the person holding the pole..... Alfred

now thats funny right there..... Alfred

Russ, welcome aboard...........and we are not the ones with a problem, all those people out there that don't fish have the problems. Alfred

congrats on the purchase, you will love it................. Alfred

sounds like you had a blast man, thanks again for all the pics and sharing your experience with us. Alfred

it is true, fishing with others is the best way to gain knowledge.

i don't think they would cause a problem with the hay, that is trying to eat it.

cart7, i've heard the same thing about adding hay to the water to try and remove some of the mud. Valascus, it couldn't hurt to try using the hay, i would think its better than using chemicals. good luck, Alfred

i did a little surfing and found one club that had a website that was working, serval others had a link but it was a dead link..... http://www.stlbassbusters.com/ here is the link for Missouri BASS, contacting them may lead to finding clubs in your area. http://www.mobass.com/ Hope this helps, Alfred

i fished a very small pond the a friend of mine owns and in it there where nice sized cats and a large number of small bluegill, no bass... i suggested that they could control the population of the bluegill by catching alot of the smaller ones and allowing the others "room" to grow and by stocking bass.... we caught a number of the smaller bluegill and they stocked bass and within 3 maybe 3 1/2 years the bass grew, they grew large.... the largest bass that i've caught to date was around 7lbs.... i would follow what cart7 suggested...... i got the below article from the pond management site on the VA DNR website..... Harvesting All ponds have a maximum weight of fish the pond can support. In unfertilized ponds, you should be able to harvest up to 40 pounds of adult bluegill (about 120 fish) and 10 pounds of adult bass (about 8 to 10 fish) per acre per year. In fertilized ponds, you can harvest 160 pounds of bluegill (600 to 700 fish) and 35 to 40 pounds of bass (30 to 35 fish) per acre per year. In new or reclaimed ponds, do not allow bass harvest for at least 2 years after stocking to let the bass mature and reproduce. Bass are easy to catch, and in small ponds it is possible to harvest 70-80% of the bass in 1 weekend of fishing. Harvest 5 to 10 pounds of bass per acre per year. Restricting bass harvest will help keep the fish population balanced (the proper ratio of predator and prey fish). In a balanced pond, 40-60% of the bass should be 12 inches or longer, while 20-40% of the bluegill should be 6 inches or longer. A good rule of thumb for maintaining balanced bass/bluegill populations is to remove at least 4 to 5 pounds of bluegill for each pound of bass removed. Keep all bluegill caught. Most over-population problems are caused by small bluegill, and returning them only adds to the problem. Removing too many bass usually causes bluegills to become overpopulated and stunted. Overpopulated ponds are full of 3 to 5 inch bluegills that are thin and slow growing. Management options to correct this problem include: (1) winter water level drawdowns to increase bass predation on bluegills; (2) stocking additional predators; (3) draining the pond and re-stocking; (4) applying rotenone (fish toxicant) to kill a portion of the population; (5) seining to remove excess stunted bluegills. Catfish and trout can be harvested without limits in ponds because their populations are maintained by stocking, not reproduction. Hope this helps, Alfred

dan, that is great that you will be able to help with that. i bet there are some really nice bass in those ponds. we'll be waiting for the pics..... ;D Alfred

thanks for the feed back, it will be awhile before this gets off the ground. Alfred