Busy

I would like some input on upgrading my trolling motor. I currently have an old shakespeare wondertroll 606. I have not been able to find out what the thrust is on it. The thing I like the most about it is that it uses almost NO battery power throughout a whole day, however, it cannot move the 16' aluminum boat I have in any wind and it is mounted at the back of the boat. I have put together some guidelines for what I want but am having a hard time finding motors that meet them. -12V only (its a light boat and I dont want two batteries in it) -cable steer (i read it uses less power than electric steer) -variable speed (again to save power since I'll only have one battery) -bow mount I have found two motors that fit this 1) Minn Kota Maxxum® 55/BG Freshwater - Bow Mount - Trolling Motor - 12V-55lb-42" - ~$670 2) Watersnake Shadow Bow-Mount Trolling Motor, 44-lb. thrust, 42" shaft - ~$400 Do you know of any other motors that would suit my needs? The watersnake looks small and would be easier to mount but I'm having a hard time finding reviews on them. The price is very agreeable. The Minn Kota is pretty much out of my price range but $400 is still too much to spend on something that won't hold up. I would like to be able to get around 12 hours of run-time before draining the battery. If this can be achieved without having variable speed I would like to know that. The battery only powers the sonar screen and the TM (rope-start engine). Here is a picture of the bow on my boat. I could probably make a mount but let me know if you think it's a lost cause. http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll249/Busy_J/Boat001.jpg

Great to empasize passing! The ball moves faster than anything out there! Passing backwards is ok too, make the other team chase the ball, not you. Good that some of them are playing defense. When they can stay spread out around the field and pass well the game will get much more easy. We always put empasis on triangles. Three guys around the ball want to make a triangle and not a line. That makes passing much eaiser and gets kids moving without the ball. I got to work with some young kids a while back and we just practiced shooting. Just having someone to help show them the form made them improve a lot in a short time.

I have one and find it comparable to my Shimano Citica 200e. It is louder but casts about the same. For the money I think it's a good reel but I imagine the Citica will outlast it.

Anywhere that has beer

Bue, I will be going with my boss in his boat so you can update the list.

on the the first post does busy-boater mean i am a boater or need a boater? Im trying to get my boss to go in which case ill probably boat with him but im trying to see how this thing shakes out too, its looking like a pretty good turn out so far!

I got it in the mail on Friday & I've read about half of it. I'm going to start the exercises tomorrow.

Shelter dogs can be ok. If you have the time I would consider getting a puppy if you are not experienced with dogs. It is much easier to train a dog from 9 weeks on than it is to train a mature dog that was rescued. Even if you are looking for a companion pet dog and not a dog that has a job to do there will be a ton of training involved, come here, get down dont get my clothes muddy, go outside, sit down, etc... We rescued a yellow lab off of the road that had been around awhile. I imagine somebody dumped it where we live at in the country. This dog was emaciated and hungry. He had trouble with the oldest dog we had and needed VERY FIRM leadership to get some of that alpha dog out of him. He made a very sweet dog in the end but it would've been easier to get his behavior right from a puppy. Currently, we have had a mutt of some sort that we rescued from a local vet. He's probably mainly black lab but mixed with some sort of sled dog; short ears and curved tail. He was obviously abused but he is not a mean dog at all. This is by far the most difficult dog that I have ever worked with. He has a great desire to please but he is completely people shy. He has made me learn a totally different approach with disciplining. Even raising my voice at him used to make him timid for up to two days and he wouldn't have anything to do with me because he was scared out of his mind of being beat (and I never beat him). Its taking a LONG time to bolden him up. Again, getting his behavior right from a puppy would've been much easier. You may not want to take on either of those two dogs because they are very trying. Im all for adopting pet dogs but they definitely come with their own challenges.

I don't know if high pressure is bad as long as it is consistent. Rising pressure can be bad but like others said it won't tell whether or not to go fishing.

The events are all new to me and without a horse I will only be doing Hunting Tests with my Irish Setter. I am a walking hunter and believe that this will be my best and cheapest way to get him on birds in the off-season. Hanover Yakker - You have a great looking and well accomplished dog! I am not a traditionalist. My tastes do not prefer a flushing dog and I will make my Irish Setter steady to flush and, hopefully, wing but I will not try to get him to be steady to shot. For this reason I will probably never attempt the Master Hunter tests. He is showing a good instinct to retrieve and I encourage this by playing a lot of fetch with him. The command I use is "fetch" and I am not releasing him until whatever I throw hits the ground. I'm sure he will break early in the field but this should help him be steady to wing I am thinking. I will be more than happy if my setter picks birds up for me! Oddly, I've had two black labs and a yellow lab and none of them ever took to fetch like this dog has so I have high hopes that he will grab my birds. The "it" factor is many things. I think the easiest dog to train is a loyal dog. It is really fun when they click in the field and then everything makes sense to them but I think the main thing is having a dog that just flat wants to please you. I will likely get some odd looks at the Junior Hunting test because if I go two days, he may well be on a cord the second day! I'm more interested in working him in some birds than I am about passing the test. I'm by no means a trainer so I may have to PM you when it comes time to "whoa"! Retiredbosn - My dog is not registered in the FDSB, although his parents may well be. I think you can be registered in both and that if you meet the AKC reqs. you meet the FDSB reqs. due to the AKC being more stringent but I may be wrong on this. My Irish Setter is registered as an Irish Setter with the AKC although he is definitely field bred. He would likely be worthless in a comformation competition. I am not really concerned with field trials or dual championships lol. Just want the birds. I agree the differences in field bred and show bred dogs are striking! I sure hope mine points with a high tail! He is gaining confidence and going further out which I think is good but I certainly don't want him casting 500 yards! He can do whatever he wants in the mean-time so long as he comes, sits, and fetches and it'll be easier in the future to reign him in than teach him run big. The big-running dogs are fun to watch but I've seen some that can't hold a bird too well which is pretty useless if it takes you 20 minutes to catch up with him lol.

I just got the convict conditioning bodyweight training book and it sounds similar. I'm not a big fan of pumping iron. Good luck with the program!

I wont use a ned rig, just half a senko glued onto a small jig head

I am on the Oakley bandwagon. I have a pair of Oakley Crosslinks with bronze polarized lenses. I went round and round between Oakley, my eye doctor, and their custom lense maker before getting these. Most Oakley frames do not support a very strong prescription. I kept getting lists of frame options that were available to me only to find out they couldn't make them. I have been very pleased with the Crosslinks. I got them in Satin Rootbeer/Team Orange. http://www.oakley.com/products/6995/26347 Beware oakley prescription sunglasses, polarized, with AR coating and everything will cost you an arm and a leg but I think this is a good option for people who can't stand contacts.

Not pictured is my English Setter. Yes the picture is of my Irish Setter pup. I think that's what I wrote. I'd really like to have an Irish Red & White Setter some day but yes they are hard to find and very expensive. I really like the Setters for upland birds. Nothing like that tail sticking straight up on point!

My English Setter is nearing 14 years old and has been deaf for several years but he does really well with keeping an eye on you and taking hand signals. He can only hunt for a few hours at a time now so I bought a field bred Irish Setter recently. I have been working him without birds some and he is coming along ok. He has a lot of Brophy blood in him (although he is not a Brophy dog), including two very reputable dogs in Brophy's Absolute Power and Brophy's Center Fielder, both Registry of Merit Sires. Hopefully he will turn out ok. I am getting anxious to let him on a bird in April when he will be trying to pass his first Junior Hunting Test. That will be when he gets on his first bird and I cannot wait! His name is Reilly and he was born on 9/11/2012. Here is a picture from a few days ago: