RyneB

Other than my Mr Buddy heater and Frabil flip over shelter, Maki Plastics were the greatest purchase i made. Those things will catch anything that swims. They outfish my live bait almost every outing. Check them out. Rig them on a small glow teardrop and jig it slightly.

If the ice is over a 8 inches, i suggest a power auger. When i hand augered i would work my arse off and start to sweat, and it would make for a long day. If it is something you plan to do a lot of. Get the following to make like a lot easier. -gas powered auger -portable shanty with a sled (you can usually get good deals on them after ice out, or check ebay) - Mr Buddy portable propane heater (the single greatest thing i purchased for the ice) You can get all this for around $600 if you shop around.

You want glass or aluminum? I have a 2002 Tracker (aluminum) and a 2000 Ranger (glass). Both have mercurys. I take great care of the 150 on my Ranger, but never service or maintain the 40 Mercury on the Tracker. Both outboards perform flawlessly. I like my Tracker for what it is. I fished out of it for 11 years, then i bought my used 2000 Ranger and they are 2 totally different boats. I got the Ranger for $10,000 with do Down Imaging units installed. I paid $11,000 brand new for the Tracker. So if i had to do it over again, i would get a nice, well maintaned used glass boat over a new aluminum if prices are similar. If you dont mind saying your price range, it is kind of hard to understand what youre looking for. Some of the best bass fisherman i know have a 9.9 on a Jon boat. My adivce is get the best of what you want to afford. I caught just as much fish in my tracker as i do my ranger. The ranger just gets me there faster and i can store A LOT more gear. To me, storage was my biggest necessity.

good job. whenever i go into wal mart i check the fishing aisle. I have found some crazy bargains.

cabelas is running a sale right now on there 6.5 inch money minnow for $2.99. I picked up a few packs. I prefer Strike King shadalicious or the money minnow. When i find them on sale i buy a bunch of packs. One time i found shadalicious packs on sale for $1.99. Needless to say i bought 13 packs.

i had a Tracker with a 40 hp and 47 lb thrust trolling motor. Never once did i feel the 40 hp outboard was under powered. Of course i always want more speed, but it would do just fine on big reservoirs and rivers. As for the 47 lb trollling motor, it did just fine in calm water. When the wind was bad and there was a chop on the water, it was a bit of a struggle. By no means was it a reason not to buy a boat though. Good luck.

I dont care what would bite my hook. There is no way i would ever ever go out in that. If i ever did go out on that. I would have a life jacket on and be huddled in a corner somewhere with my eyes closed and crying my eyes out.

well my father in law has all the spinning outfits and long rods. I purchased a Abu Garcia inshore i plan to use for casting inland waters and the surf. According to the websites and reports, blue fish are the top fish.

I had a Tracker Pro Crappie and it sat outside uncovered. It never got water in the compartments, and it wasnt sealed up too good. Im not saying you have a problem, but i have a 2000 Ranger and a 2002 Tracker and both have been in some heavy rains and the only time that water gets in the storage compartments is when i open them in a storm. If i dont open them, they stay bone dry.

The strip pits i fish have dropped a few feet, but fishing hasnt changed. My local small river is almost dry. There is barely anyone water in it. Just a few spots where it is deeper that is holding a foot or two of water. No flowing water whatsoever. You can walk across most parts and not even get your calfs wet.

Im heading to North Carolina for a family vacation in October. We are staying in the Outer Banks in Frisco. My wifes dad has all the surf rods and such. But i would like to bring a setup to cast with. Would 50lb Power Pro be a decent line? I figure a few spoons,plastic shrimp, some white swim jigs, a couple jerkbaits, spooks. Anything that i absolutely need? Also, can i use a fresh water baitcaster in salt water as long as i wash it every night? Thanks for any info you guys can give me. I have never saltwater fished, so this is going to be a learning experience.

thanks for the heads up and sorry about your trailer. Like you said, good thing you werent on the road.

You can swim whatever jig you want. A swim jig usually has a narrow grass type head for swimming through vegetation. Where swimming a big football head is more likely to get hung up on the vegetation.

thats how i felt when i went from my tracker with a 40 to my ranger with a 150 and didnt trim the motor down and i gunned it. I had a mess in my shorts.

mega strike.

Koppers Live Target Mouse. Its not a popper, but i get some amazing strikes with this bait.

i agree with the above posts. If you really want to pour, by all means go ahead and do that. When i decided to start tying jigs i was ready to buy all the pouring material. That was before i ever even tied a skirt on a jig. I decided to buy a few strands of skirts and used some old heads i had from jigs that the skirts fell off. It took me about 15-20 jigs for me to be happy with the outcome. After I got comfortable with that. I bought some powder paint, a small oven ($20), and bought about $60 worth of heads from Cadman. The first few heads i tried to paint came out terrible. I got some advice on here and went to work, and now I am happy with the outcome. I figured by the time i bought a pot, all the lead and hooks, i was better off buying 100 or so heads from Cadman and painting, tying on skirt, and installing weedgaurd. I have more jigs than i will ever need and started selling some to my local bait shop and some friends. By all means do what you want to do, but if you have never tied skirts,painted or installed weedgaurds. I suggest starting with those steps. Then if you want to pour your own lead, you will be ready. Good luck and have fun, jig tying and buying skirts is a very very addicting hobby.

Thats my problem. Im not used to having a boat with speed. So now i find myself driving around wasting gas more than fishing.

i only have a 6 foot 6 spinning rod i use for my shaky heads, small jigs, drop shot etc. I absolutely love it, it is my favorite rod. I would like to swith all my rods over to Ducketts but it would be too costly.

this is my 2000 Ranger R81VS with a 150 Mercury. Just got it last month

I use a 3/8 oz head usually. Black/blue is my favorite color. Rage craw trailer to match skirt. I throw my jig anywhere and everywhere. I only throw a brush head into timber. Seems a football head gets hung up in the brush. A football is good for rocks and other open water type structure, just not good around trees.

I understand about the fuel bill. My previous boat was a 2002 Tracker with a 40 Merc. I would put $20 in it and it would last me a looooong time. When i bought my Ranger, before i took it home i stopped to fill it up. $72. I about fell over. My truck costs over $100 to fill, the boat is $72. I need a loan just for a day on the lake. It was so much easier and cheaper when i had a Jeep and a Kayak. Still have the kayak, but it just cant hold the amount of gear my Ranger can. lol

Nice reel

Does a faster hull mean a less stable one?

throw a wax worm in there on a ice jig, you will find out right away what it is. Bluegills on beds hit bait with extreme violence. Some of my favorite fishing is using my 3wt fly rod and working bluegill beds.