aceman387

I made a rudder for my pond prowler out of an old trolling motor i had left.I took the top head off and the motor off the bottom so all i had left was the clamp to attach to the boat and the shaft or pipe.I then took a scrap of 1/4 Plexiglas i had lying around ,i think the size was 8x14 .I then went to the hardware store and bought some 1"conduit hangers,these hangers come with a nut and bolt so it made it simple to attach the Plexiglas.You simply attach the hangers to the old trolling motor shaft and then drill some holes in the Plexiglas to accommodate the nuts and bolts that come with the hangers.I made one this spring and its held up so far.

Congrats john!

During the work week i am shore bound and when i shore fish i just bring one rod and i strap on one of those Berkley waist type tackle boxes.I keep a simple lure selection mostly all soft plastics (senkos ,brush hogs, jigs) with maybe a white pond type spinnerbait for something fast moving.I try to keep everything light weight and simple., of course in the trunk of my car it looks like a frigging mini bass pro shop.

I just took up jig fishing myself a couple of months ago,mainly bitsy bug jigs in 1/8 oz, and 1/4oz sizes,green pumpkin and black& blue colors.This has been my go to lure this summer because i have been having a lot of fun out fishing all my senko loving friends ,they may out do me with the numbers but i have out done them with catching the bigger bass.I'm tempted to sell off all my worms and just stick with jigs and baby brush hogs.

I fish a lot of strip mine pits that are deep and clear and have had my best luck with a 4"watermelon colored senko worm or yum dinger and a watermelon single tail grub rigged on a jig head and throw it out and jig it back in.I always use 10 # power pro braided line in the moss green color and have never had a problem catching fish even on flat calm sunny days with slow moving lures.Don't be afraid to try other colors because i have caught a lot of bass in the pits on black colored worms also.

I have a friend who hunts and he will rake up acorns and put them in 5 gallon buckets and transport them to where he hunts and dump them.Last year he found a guy who had some apple trees and was just looking for a place to get rid of all the apples on the ground so my friend took all the apples and did the same with them.

I wonder if that thing sways in the wind as your climbing it. I would hate to get up near the top and start getting stomach cramps.

Grab some baby brush hogs in green pumpkin color.

Best reply i have read in a long time.

I am not much of a night fisherman but when i do go out i always spray myself with deep woods off .I heard those thermacell work pretty well but it has to be calm with hardly any wind .I had an old timer tell me he throws some moth balls in the bottom of his boat for when the biting flies are bad maybe they keep mosquitoes away also.

I tried 6#trilene 100% fluorocarbon on my spinning reel and hated it. the line was sensitive but was so stiff and coily not to mention it cut my casting distance considerably so i took it off after a couple of outings and replaced it with power pro braided line and love it.

I like power pro also.

If its weedy i will Texas rig them weightless because they are heavy enough.If weeds are not a problem like this time of year i will wacky rig them.

I use the McCoy mean green on my spinning reels and love the stuff ,its the best line i have ever used.

This year so far i have been going out with just two rods rigged ,one with power stuff on it and one with finesse on it.I have just started finesse fishing with the charlie brewer slider worm set ups and have been having fun with it. I prefer the slower fishing methods like this ,it seems to bring a meditation state over me.

I recently have been fishing a new forest preserve pond by me that has a lot of rocks on the bottom and have noticed the rocks fraying up my spool of power pro braided line so i switched spools and put on a back up with mcoys mean green line which seems to handle the abuse of rocks better.

I use only spinning equipment myself.I do own one bait caster set up but haven't used it for years.I mainly fish clear water and find spinning reels perfect for my finesse fishing.

I have a couple 8ft pond prowlers and love them.like red said the wind can be tough so this past winter i switched the top of the trolling motor around so that i can sit in the front of the boat and have the handle face me and steer instead of sitting in the back .I haven't got a chance to try this new set up but i researched this idea on line and by sitting up front i should have better control in the wind .If i have vast improvement i will let you guys know.

when i bank fish i use one of those Berkley strap on tackle boxes that has a belt that goes around your waist. I also carry two rods with me one for fast moving lures (spinner baits,crank baits etc) and one for slow moving plastics (worms, jigs crawdads etc.) I usually carry a good selection of lures in my trunk so when i pull up to a pond or lake I'm prepared for whatever i might need . I usually throw a couple rattle traps in my tackle box a couple spinner baits some 4" senkos some 4"Berkley power worms and a couple jigs ,that i would think would cover a lot of bases .I like to keep a small but diverse selection of lures in my trunk so i am prepared for any weather or water condition.

I'm a big fan of power pro.i use 10#test in the green color and i use it in the crystal clear strip mine pits that i mainly fish and have no problem catching fish on it.

The best lure i have found in that type of water is a 4"watermelon colored senko worm.i always wacky rig it with an o ring.for a faster moving lure i use a 3" watermelon colored grub rigged on an 1/8 oz jig head.

I wonder how many of these people pictured are still alive.

welcome from a fellow Illinoisan. (south side of Chicago)

mccoy make great line. i had on order from the local bait shop some of the xtra clear but the woman ordered mean green color by mistake i still bought it from her and love the line ,no problems with it.

I should have worded it better ,come mid summer i throw on a cheap columbia set myself . from the picture they look heavy duty ,hopefully heavy duty waterproof.