Fishing Rhino

Right after they are hooked, largemouths put up a good fight. I believe the difference is the largemouth gives up, or tires, much quicker. My favorite pond that once held only smallmouth of the bass species now has only largemouth. Apparently someone introduced them into the pond during my forty year hiatus from freshwater fishing. In the spring, when they were on the beds, we'd catch smallmouth up to five pounds. One Saturday in May, we caught four or five of them. We were "sportsmen" back then using four pound test line. It would take nearly thirty minutes to bring a five pound smallie to boat.

I have a BPS Extreme combo and a Nitro combo (apparently discontinued). I was satisfied with the Extreme but wanted something with more snot so I picked up the Nitro. If the Qualifier is anything like the Nitro, go for it. I can "heave" the Nitro with everything I've got and not get a backlash, without thumbing the spool. The difference is dramatic. I use 20 pound braid on the Extreme, and 30 pound on the Nitro.

I did the gallon size freezer zip lock bag, and put a mix of plastic into it. The finesse worms "melted" or disintegrated and some of the different colors bled into each other. The chartreuse worms absorbed some of the pumpkin color from those in contact. I should have tried the worms with the color blends. They may have been the next "best thing".

Great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While venting won't hurt, I'm not sure it's necessary for your application. Power bilge vents are a necessity for inboard motors for several reasons. Fuel does evaporate from carburetors. Hardly used anymore. All the wiring for the engine is in the same compartment as any gasoline fumes that may have accumulated, so if any thing sparks when cranking an engine, boom. Ditto for battery fumes. I'm assuming your six gallon tank is the one that came with the motor. That means you must have a hatch to access it. All you need do is open that hatch for a minute or so to allow the fumes, if any, to dissipate. If the tank is a built in, use a piece of copper or plastic tubing to vent the tank. The vent can be inside the boat or outside with a through hull fitting. Three things. You'll need a cover over the vent to inhibit water from entering the vent. You also should put a loop in the vent tube. It will trap any water that might get past the cover. The tube should also slope down to the vent, which allows any water that might splash up into the vent to drain out rather than down toward the tank. Keep in mind, battery fumes are also explosive. The cautionary statement that comes with batteries tell you to keep open flames away from batteries. Sparks as well. When jumping a battery you should always make the ground connection last, away from the battery. This tells me that battery connections, once secured, do not spark. Generally, a bilge has two vents facing in opposite directions which allows for air circulation. Depending on the wind or movement of the boat, one will be intake and the other exhaust. It provides circulation whenever air is passing around them. A marine supply house or boat dealer should be able to supply the appropriate parts.

I don't know where the batteries are, but the best place is at the stern. It "bounces" less than the bow, which rises and falls more than any other part of the boat. The further back in a boat, the less shock from slamming the waves. If you've ridden near the bow and the stern in rough water, you know there is a considerable difference. If they make gel cell batteries for your application, consider them. They are generally more expensive, but in most applications they are superior to the standard batteries. For cushioning, I suggest you look into industrial floor mats used to cushion concrete floors. You need something that will stand up to the acidic fumes discharged from battery vents. You could also consider using silicone under the battery. Get some tubes of silicone from a hardware store or builders supply store. Take a couple of pieces of plywood larger than the pad you need. Put a piece of wax paper on one and spread the silicone (thicker than you need) on the wax paper. Put a spacer the thickness you need at each corner of the plywood. Place another sheet of wax paper on the silicone, then the second piece of plywood, then put a weight on the plywood to press the silicone to the thickness you need. You could probably press it down and leave it at that. In its gel state it won't spring back. Allow it to sit for a couple of days or more to set up. Using a metal straight edge (a builders' square is ideal), trim the pad to size with a sharp utility knife. The thicker the pad, the longer it will take to cure. I've used this technique to make a silicone gasket between my truck cap and pickup body. Works better than any of the foam or rubber tapes that are used by the places that sell and install truck caps. After several years, the silicone remained in place. The tape gasket always works out after a few years, or less. It will separate easily, though some of the wax paper might end up on the silicone. Unless I'm mistaken, cured silicone is about impervious to anything. Be sure to use a plywood of sufficient thickness that will not distort when you place the weight on it. Silicone withstands abusive environments including heat very well. It is used to provide a seal on many parts of racing engines, withstanding serious heat and vibrations while maintaing a working seal between engine parts. Been awhile, over ten years ago, since I bought batteries for my lobsterboat. But, I used sealed, gel cell batteries. They had no vents. Those batteries are monsters. It takes two men to handle one safely. I believe the size was 8D. A twelve volt battery weighed in at nearly 200 pounds. My boat took three of them, two for cranking the big diesel and another to power the electronics and lighting.

Spinnerbait. Very versatile, nearly weedless, can work it over rocky bottom, through lily pads. Works in the shallows or deeper water. The best for me are the Strike King spinnerbaits. Three types seem to be equal. The first is a "bleeding bait" that I believe you can only get at WalMart. I've seen bleeding bait Strike Kings elsewhere but the one's at WalMart have a red wire. It's supposedly a special. Don't remember the fisherman, but he's wearing a WalMart fishing shirt. The next is the Red Eye Special with a small Colorado Blade (Silver) and a small willow leaf with a holographic image of an eye and scales. I use the all green willow leaf version, but also have a half green, half white willow leaf version. The third has a medium size silver Colorado spinner and a copper colored Colorado spinner. All are green/chartreuse with some white and red in some of the skirts. The bleeding bait is on a baitcaster. The other two lighter spinnerbaits are used on a spinning rod with 20lb braid with 20lb flourocarbon leader. I've got some Terminator spinnerbaits, but they haven't produced like the Strike Kings.

Here's another option. Rolls very easily, and folds up for storage. http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?page=heavy-duty-boat-cart&categoryId=34179&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&parentCategory=8331&cat4=5490&shop_method=pp&feat=8331-tn&np=Y You need to consider the type of ground. This would not work well in soft sand or mud. I've rolled it through the woods, over lumpy, bumpy, and semi-soft mossy ground without a hitch. This rig includes an attached pump, just in case. Not bad for $99.00 plus any applicable tax and shipping. I like the wider stance. It's very stable and has never exhibited any tendency to tip its load to the side.

Leaking like a sieve? Is it leaking because it has been worn away in places, or because of electrolysis or galvanic action which have eroded the metal. If it's either of the last two, Bass Tracker might be right. The hull would be structurally compromised, and leaking would be the least of the problems. Aluminum can become porous from electrolysis and/or galvanic action. While some products may stop the leaking, they will not restore its structural integrity.

There are two types of fiberglass resin, polyester and vinylester. Do not use polyester resin as paint. Contrary to popular belief it is not waterproof. It can and will absorb water. In a relatively short time, checks and cracks will develop as the plywood shrinks and swells. Epoxy is a much better choice. It is waterproof and more durable than polyester resin. I make fiberglass race car bodies and body panels. I use polyester because it is the cheapest, and perfectly suitable for something that does not have a long life expectancy. If it rains on a panel, or water gets on the side without a gel coat, it will turn a milky white. Will water leak through the panel? No, but bear in mind the panels vary in thickness from 1/16th to 1/8th" thick. Rolled, brushed or sprayed, you'll have nowhere near that thickness, and water will penetrate to the wood, destroying the bond. Below is an excerpt from an article about the advatages of epoxy over polyester and vinylester resins. What contributes to this better value..? Epoxy resins have performance advantages over polyester and vinyl esters in five major areas: n Better adhesive properties (the ability to bond to the reinforcement or core) n Superior mechanical properties (particularly strength and stiffness) n Improved resistance to fatigue and micro cracking n Reduced degradation from water ingress (diminution of properties due to water penetration) n Increased resistance to osmosis (surface degradation due to water permeability)

Here's what I'm experiencing in southeastern MA. I'm catching smaller bass along the withering emergent vegetation. All summer you could hear the smaller bass feeding back in the hyacinth. They were feeding on insects attracted to the blooms which are now gone. They were also likely feeding on small fish who were in there feeding on insects and seeking shelter. It seems to me that the small bass have abandoned their former haunt because the insect hatches and those that were attracted to the blooms are gone. I hooked up my fish finder and found the larger fish to be in the five foot depth range where the bank begins to level out. As the surface water cools, bass seek warmer water in the deeper areas. I doubt at 64 degrees they are feeling any discomfort. If the pads you fish are in the shallows 2 - 3 feet, try a spinnerbait, casting out from the pads, or in slightly deeper water parallel to the beds of lily pads. You can cover more area with a spinner bait. If you find them at that depth, switch back. They may prefer the Senko. Then again, sometimes they "go off their feed" for a few days, or at least so it seems.

Thanks. It works better than I ever imagined a canoe could.

I do fish mostly alone. When I do fish with another, removing two screws is all that is necessary to remove the rod holder from the center cross brace (thwart). The unit for the rod tips is held in place by two hand spring clamps. As set up in the photos the boat is set up "backwards". I paddle with the stern facing forward. The reason for doing so is that the "front seat" is closer to the middle of the boat to allow leg room for the forward paddler. There is little difference if any between the bow and stern. By paddling stern first, I am closer to the center of the boat which keeps the bow from rising out of the water and having the stern squat. It also provides room behind me for the sea anchor bucket and the anchor. That is the one drawback to the setup. It is a one person rig.

The seat is from LL Bean. It works great. There is an adjusting strap on the right side to adjust the back tension to your liking. The orange (ammo style) box houses the fish finder. It is the portable Eagle Cuda model. The transducer has a suction cup mount. The mount in the box is for use on the stern. I used a couple of lengths of 1/8" x 1" aluminum to make it work on the side of the boat right beside where I sit. This allows me to remove it when I'm in shallow rocky water, or to remove the weeds it harvests. I'll post a photo of it mounted on the boat so anyone interested can copy it. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q155/HomarusAmericanus/Picture034jpgedit.jpghttp://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q155/HomarusAmericanus/Picture034jpgedit-1.jpg

There are two types of "private lakes". One type amounts to a hatchery or fish farm. The other is a natural pond or lake which is surrounded by private properties with no public access. I am fortunate enough to have access to one of the latter. The fishing is better than the public access waters around here only because it is not fished as heavily. But, they will not hit anything that moves. There are days when you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of fish caught/landed. Other days you can catch five or six per hour. Their average size is also larger than the public access waters. You still have to work for 'em. Working weedless lures through the grass and lily pads or casting into small pockets in the water hyacinth, or under trees along the shore can be a necessity for success. Catching fish not only keeps the interest and enthusiasm up, it also keeps you focussed, and alert.

As it is now, they won't. The tips are kept in place with bungee cords during transport. The butt ends by plywood pieces with a hose along the edge. These are held in place with vice grips. The plan is to make a strip of wood with an edge cushioned for each side that can pivot and be held down by a bungee or some quick acting arrangement. I have made a couple of modifications to the original which held all the rods in a straight horizontal line. I like the curved style better. It's not as tall at the sides. At the rod tips, the plywood with 1/4 inch dowels pins is held in place with a couple of hand spring clamps. I put a piece of reinforced clear plastic hose from the hardware store over the edge, then drilled through it into the plywood for the dowels. The dowels are glued in place. I should get with it and make the retainer for the butts, just in case.

Thanks. That's what my canoe is. I also carry three tackle boxes with me. I've got to get another to replace the large one in the photos. It's too tall. The plan is to get one that will slide under the gap between the bottom and the center brace. I'll attach a cord to each box, then push 'em forward out of the way using the paddle. Then I can drag 'em back to me. Now, I have to lean forward, over the cross member to access the large box. Behind the seat is the mushroom anchor which is stored in the drift anchor bucket. A small net is stored beside them with the handle resting on the seat to my left. A couple of bottles of water are also kept in the bucket. The bucket also stores the pfd. A watertight rubbermaid container is used to keep keys, cellphone, etc. to keep them from getting wet, and it will float should the canoe ever be capsized. Use a sharpie to put your name and address on it. Then, trace your name and address on the underside of the transparent lid and you don't have to worry about it wearing off on the outside. The other item I would suggest is a heavy duty boat cart. I got one from LL Bean, and it is great. Center the canoe on it and it rolls as easily over the ground as a shopping cart in the supermarket. The one I have has what looks like knobby small bike wheels. It handles uneven ground well, unless you go too fast. Push or pull, it works as well either way.

Thanks. Like everything else, a canoe has its niche where it is better than other boats. It is best on small, or sheltered ponds/lakes and some rivers. It is at its worst when exposed to windy conditions. When it is calm, the resistance of a lure as you retrieve it is sufficient to pull the canoe through the water. Some, spinner baits in particular really drag it along. The technique I use is to work the shorelines of the ponds I fish. The canoe is positioned twenty to thirty feet from the shore. This allows me to work the lure in an area right up to the shore up to sixty feet or so from the shore. I fan cast that area with 5 - 7 casts. When that pattern is completed, the canoe will have moved 10 - 15 feet forward, provided there is no wind. This allows me to find where the fish are holding, and then to work that area. When it's breezy or windy, I have a five gallon bucket rigged as a sea anchor. It slows the drift of the boat considerably. The downside of the canoe is that it gets tiresome sitting in one position for a few hours. When fishing in windy conditions, I spend up to 80% of the time keeping the boat in position, especially when fishing upwind. Where I fish, it's too rocky to use a trolling motor. On some windy days, I'll back the canoe into the water hyacinth and cast along the shore and outward. After a few casts, I move the canoe thirty feet or so along the weeds and back it in again. Some days require the use of the anchor. On those days, a jon boat with a trolling motor would be preferable. On larger ponds and lakes, I'd prefer some type of bass boat.

I went to the FAQs about posting multiple images in one post, but I'm still having problems. Here's another.

I wanted to post more than one image. Hopefully this works.

Yes, it can. In fact, a canoe has some advantages (and disadvantages) over a full fledged bass boat. I spent considerable time thinking about how to make my canoe as efficient as possible. I can have eight poles rigged and ready to fish within arm's length. Each rod is entirely within the canoe. No need to worry about plants or branches snagging them while working tight to the shore. It's easy to fight a fish from a canoe. Nothing in the water for a line to get wrapped around. When the fish is at the boat, you are already in position to grab or net it. With a canoe, you can fish in extremely shallow rocky water, where few other boats can go. Here's my creation.

While your at it don't forget to run some plastic pvc pipe down each side (one for pos and one for neg wires & drill a few din holes in the bottom side to let moisture out) & fiberglass that in for electrical wires and such (makes running wires so much easier), i would also plumb in my live well stuff along with a drain for a cooler (run it to the back of the boat where the main drain plug and bilge will be located) since the process you are using will make a perfect built in cooler some place in the boat. Please post pics of ur build process. Good Luck!!!! Thanks for the great suggestions. If and when I get started, I'll post photos as the job progresses.

If I did it myself, the materials for coating the boat with the plastic material would be over two hundred dollars. Carpet would be less than that. If it is good for 5 - 10 years (I suppose it depends on the product's quality) that's good enough for me. I know carpet would definitely have the advantages of sound deadening and comfort (better cushioning). Then, there is always the potential for making a mess with the coating. Kick the pail over, dribbles from the rollers, etc. If I do the project, I will be building the boat from scratch. I do fiberglass fabrication so it will be a natural. The jon I envision will be 12 - 14 feet long, have an inch thick foam core on the bottom and half inch on the sides. That will provide stiffness, and save weight. It will cut the thickness of fiberglass needed significantly. It will be four feet wide at the bottom. Must fit between the wheel wells of a pickup. I'll need a trailer for the finished product, I'm sure. But, a lighter version without all the decking, may be light enough. I've got a roll of Kevlar with enough material to make a few hulls. So................... I don't know if you've ever seen a damaged Boston Whaler. I've repaired a couple for some guys, and the "skin" is not even an eighth of an inch in thickness. A sixteenth would be more like it. Yet those boats are very stiff because of the foam core. Extra thickness at the chines and wear runners on the bottom will protect the thin skin. The bugaboo for me will be planning the layout for the compartments under the decks. Once those sizes and layout are determined, I will be able to partition off those compartments with fiberglass over foam panels. These will support the deck without the need for a lot of framework. The planning will be the most difficult part.

Thanks. I believe that's the same material as Rhino Linings. It seems to me that could be preferable to carpet. It would be easier to apply/install, not as subject to being snagged by hooks, and damaged or worn areas can be touched up by applying a coat to those areas. The downside is that it won't dampen sound as well as carpet. Got some serious thinking and research ahead. Do you know if carpeting is installed with an adhesive?