cadman

I haven't been out in a couple of weeks either. Boat was in the shop and piked it up Thursday. Going to Powers Lake this Sunday. Hopefully the boat will have no issues. I'll let you guys know how we do later tomorrow.

On something like this, I would just get some lacquer paint that matches closely (model paint) and use a small paint brush and touch it up. The fish won't know the difference if it really doesn't match exactly.

This is the correct chemical name for it if you want to buy a quart. Thanks for posting I couldn't think of the name of it at the time.

Just be very careful the vapors are very bad for your lungs. Do not put the bottle to your nose to see how it smells. Put in a couple of drops and mix it in quickly and it should be more liquid. If not put in a couple more drops. You don't want it like water. I am really surprised that he will send MEK through the mail. That is a no-no. However it should help with your issue. You can also by MEK I believe in quart cans at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards or your local hardware store.

If it is the glass bottle, put a couple of drops of MEK in there. Do not breathe the vapors. I have had 2 small bottles, one opened and one not opened for two years. No problem. You must keep the bottles closed all the time. Do not leave open. Apply as quickly as possible and close jar.

Depending on what the construction is and material, I can also get you a price on a hundred count. This way you will have something to compare to. It may be cheaper to fabricate here in IL instead of Florida, you never know. Any bait can be sold as your own invention as long as there is 10% design change. So taking three concepts and incorporating them into one, would be good enough.

Primetime, like I mentioned don't post pics, don't tell anyone. Even if you don't decide to make these available for production down the road, if someone sees your idea they will beat you to it and then you will wish you hadn't done that. On another note, when you are ready, you can PM me and we can work out all the designs and try a few, to see if it works for you. I have had a few ideas stolen from me, and well that was the end of that. All my current stuff that I do will die with me to the end. I can't afford to do mass production, and I don't trust anyone else to help me, so I keep it to myself.

First of all if you have a really good idea, don't post any pics on the i-net, your idea will be stolen in minutes. The only person you can trust is yourself. Now I am in sheet metal design. I make all my own molds as well as all of my own blades. There are several thing you can use. Stainless steel comes to mind as the first material. Then I would try aluminum. On the aluminum, I would use 6061T6 aluminum. It is very hard to bend, but it is machinable, strong and very light. If you have any other questions and would like to discuss further, you can PM me, and I can probably get you some designs. Also if you are looking for some stainless steel, I can probably get you a small piece free of charge. All you have to do is pay for shipping.

If you are looking for a one part paint, well it is not going to happen anytime soon. I had a chemist make me some, and although it quite impressive powder paint, it is very expensive to make . Even in batches of 50 lb boxes. I dropped the project and decided against it due to cost.

Just, be careful so you don't break the rattle collars when you put them on the jig. Use some water or vegetable oil so it slides on easier. If by chance you do break one, you can still hand tie it onto the jig by making one wrap over the skirt tab, one wrap over the arms and another wrap over the skirt tabs. It takes some getting used to but it does work. Finally when it comes to the rubber rattle arms, in all actuality it is easier to tie these on with thread.

I use the rattle collars that have the flapping arms. I put the rattle collar onto the tabs. I then put the skirt onto the jig. Push the collar as far as I can up against the head, and then I wrap my wire over the skirt as well as over the collar legs. This way the skirt is tight as well as the rattle legs and they won't fall off unless a bass pulls off one of the rattles. See attached picture. The collar at the top of the page is the one I use and the rattle on the bottom of the page. Rattles and Rattle Holders.pdf

I'm really sorry to hear about that, that really sucks, and I apologize for assuming you didn't ask ahead of time. Now my situation is this, in our subdivision, we are not allowed to keep any boats, cars, vans or any other vehicle in the same spot for more than a week. Reason being is they don't want people working on their cars, outside and making it into a repair shop. Now I do keep my car out there but it doesn't sit out there covered with leaves and garbage all around. The vehicles have to be driven regularly. However we can park a boat on the side of the house, with no fence or canopy. However the boat has to be parked on a paved area. It cannot just be backed in on the grass. There are no permits needed to park your boat on the side, but the village inspector has to approve it before you decide to park your boat there. Again they don't want people leaving there boat with all the grass overgrowing the property and making it look unkempt. I live in northern, Illinois and I keep my boat in a storage place that has a security system night and day, and I put my boat in garage, that I lock with my own padlock. My space is 25' deep by 10' wide at the door. I have a 619VS Ranger parked in there with a swingaway tongue, and there is plenty of room side to side, and fits no problem in length. I did put a provision in my contract, that I need access to the gate 24/7. Reason being is that sometimes I need to get the boat in at 9:00 or 10:00 pm, and the office is closed. So they did give me gate access to that. You just have to explain, that you need to get your boat in and out any time of the day or night, as you do tournaments and you can't keep your boat on your driveway. I currently pay $225/month. Now many people are going to say that whoa that is expensive, and yes it is. However, I don't have to deal with any neighbors BS, and my boat is in a garage, so I don't have to cover it, and it is safe and secure. I don't have to worry about sun damage, or anyone trying to steal anything off of my boat, or kids damaging it. One other thing, and that is you can store your boat outside in a fenced in storage yard, but my buddy did that, and someone put bullet holes in his hull from outside the fence. There was a problem with his insurance and the storage facilities insurance, and now he keeps it inside as well. I have looked for cheaper alternatives, however I have not found any yet. Yes, I can probably buy another boat in 10 years with what I pay for rent, however it works for ma currently. I wish you good luck in finding a space.

Not to be an ### but why didn't you look into your local zoning laws before you made the purchase???? Anyway, I also cannot keep my boat on my driveway. It has to be on the side of the house on a paved driveway no grass. I keep mine in a storage garage. I pay a lot, but it keeps the boat from getting ruined in the sun in the summer and the cold/snow in the winter. I have a 2007 Ranger and it looks like the day I bought it.

I change in the fall as well, for the winter season here. Don't want any water sitting in the lower unit if there is any.

Went out to Lake Beulah on Sunday. Fished for 6 hours and we got 7 fish. I got (2) 15"ers and my wife got a 14",15", (2) 16" and a 17-3/4" largemouth. She had a good day. Fishing was very tough. Pic of her 17-3/4" bass.

Went out to Lake Geneva today. My buddy fished there the last 6 days and the smallies are on fire. However there is a small window that has been working there and that is from 3:30 am to 5:00 am that's it. Anyway we were on the water on our spot at 3:30 am. We got 20 smallies from that time till 5:00 am and then they shut down like clockwork. I assume they just moved out. Anyway 15 feet of water with a 1/4 oz dropshot , 1/0 hook and a dropshot worm. Smallest was 16" largest was 19". Once they shut down we moved around, and picked up some largies, biggest was 17" on drop shot and jigs. Everything shut down at 9:30 am. We fished till noon with no fish after 9:30 a.m. Excellent day on the water.

Well Lake Elizabeth in Twin Lakes was disappointing today. We got only one 14.50" bass and 12 more all around 10 to 12". Also got one rock bass and 2 northern pike around 20". Very windy and hard to hold boat on the lake. Maybe tourney day will be less windy and possibly better quality fish.

Welcome, I'm in northern, IL

Hey Dave, Welcome, a lot of good info to read in this forum.

Anyone know anything about Lake Elizabeth one of the Twin Lakes in WI. I have a tourney there in 4 weeks and I'm looking for some spots and techniques. I am going there this Sunday to fish it so I will post some results.

Nice fish Paul, seems you have the "Chain" figured out.

As far as I know, it is open 24 hours a day. If the attendant is not there, there is a cash box in front of the attendant's booth.

No doubt some days are tough. I've never gone there in consecutive days and gotten a lot of fish over 18" per day. Delavan is very similar to Geneva. Geneva can be on fire for a week or two then it seems to die. They are both phenomenal fisheries if you can deal with all the traffic.

Delavan has a lot of big fish in it. The key is to go fish there at night. You would be surprised at the multiple numbers of 4'sand 5's. On the flip side Delavan can be hot for several weeks and it also has days where it is like the Dead Sea. But you have to remember that their min is 18" one fish, so there are a lot of smaller fish under 18"

Fished Brown's on Sunday for 6 hours, got 8 bass all on jigs and a Paca Chunk along with one snakey northern. Minimum size on lake is 16". We did not get a lake legal. All fish were between 14.50" to 15-3/4". Overall not a bad day of fishing.