evrgladesbasser

That's why you don't beleive everything you see on tv or read in the paper...

Whenever I try new lures/ techniques I fish in spots that I know hold fish. This way I am confident the fish are there and I just need to figure out how to catch them. Good luck and keep at it!

If the lakes are fairly small do you really need to mark it with a bouy? Seems like you could find the spot again without a marker. Why waste the money?

It. Scrap you have to realize these people may be in the same boat as you... they don't know their way around the lake. Hence they are sticking to the safe areas. What you did by slowing down is exactly what I would do, this way your not pushing them into the timber you talk about, additionaly you are not rocking their boats around unsafely. Safety is my main issue, like I said I fish with my kids a lot. You will never here me complain about people scaring fish away as they pass, my issue is people flying by me at top speeds. This puts me, my kids, and my boat in a dangerous situation in my opinion. What would happen if your steering goes at 70mph (and your 15ft from my boat)? There is just to much that can go wrong and it's not worth geting injured. So I always pass by people at a no wake speed unless they wave me by on a plane. Like I said before abide by the golden rule and all will be well, but put my family at risk and hope you don't see me at the dock.

Sounds like an unfair advantage to me........ :-/

I like it!

1.5 - 3lbs is the norm in this area. Anything over 5lbs is a good day. 7lbs is a wow day! Glad you had a good time. What did you hook the 7lber on? Just curious, I suspect live bait but please enlighten me it's been years since I saw one that big down here.

I would have to agree with bocabasser about the alley. Fish out of any boat ramp on the Alley and you will have more luck than Holiday Park. I've been fishing off the alley regularly since March and catching 20 to 30 bass per trip has been the norm. @SoFlaBassAddict- you can take your boat out there as well, you don't have to go far to tear em' up. Holiday Park and Sawgrass Rec are different stories though. They have a lot more traffic, hence a lot more pressure on the fish. Good luck, and if you decide to hit up the alley send me a message and I will let you know what's been working for me out there. I've been going out there about twice a week so I could give you a good head start.

And one more thing... Me, you, and all those people your worried about are not professional fisherman. We do it cause we love it. Don't get caught up in " Keeping up with the Joneses". If you go fish and have a good time, then you've already won. Don't lose sight of why you fish in the first place........

Just by reading the subject my answer is FISH! I did take the time to read the rest though. In my opinion, go fish the tourny, and let your rods do the talking. Is anyone gonna laugh when you pull up with the big fish or heaviest bag??? Plus if you fish a tourny with a non-boater, trust me, they will be happy to be fishing on your boat. One more thing, about geting to the "spot" before other people with faster boats. This always concerned me when I started tourny fishing too, but you can find other ways to catch fish. Sometimes it's a matter of going farther than anyone else, and even though it may take you an hour to get there, your fishing alone. Just my .02

3000 lbs on a bumper hitch? :-? yes, and it it had a 300lb tongue load limit. i pulled it pretty well but now i have an expedition and i cant tell its behind me. This may get me in trouble but I just can't let it go. Come on! "I can't tell it's behind me". How many times I heard that and it's a bunch of Cr%p. You can tell when anything is hooked to the back of a vehicle unless you drunk, on crack, or drive so slow you would never know anyway. I have an F-250 SD and can tell a difference in driving and handling when I have a 15' boat attached. I disagree with you, I pull an 18ft boat behind my truck and can't tell it's there. Given I'm driving a 2500HD with a 15000lb tow rate, but still, my truck doesn't miss a beat. I do have a reese hitch, and YES, I would recommend that to anyone who is going to tow. p.s.- I don't drive drunk, on crack, and definetely not slow

Congrats on your new boat! What kind of Jon boat you selling? I'm looking for a cheap one for the lake behind my house.

Thanks to everyone who helped solve my issues. I ordered and received a new prop for my boat. I went from an aluminum 13x19 to a SS 13x17. I have water tested it two times with a lot of weight in the boat. I am very happy with the results. My boat comes out of the hole much quicker now, it gets on a plane within a few seconds. My rpms are still running within the manufacturers recommendations at 5200 WOT. Way2Slow I really appreciate your input, I looked into the Rakers you recommended, but they were a bit out of my price range. I went with a Stiletto Advantage (at about $250) and I am very happy with it thus far. Thanks again everyone.

If your question is about what kind of boat meets your descrition, I think a Jon Boat is perfect. It's light weight, some have handles in front and back, and they can handle a trolling motor. They can be stored leaning against a fence or house, and best of all you can find them dirt cheap. Try craigslist I found my boat there for a great deal, especially in these times.

Triget, I notice the same thing when fishing, but let me reassure you this has been going on for years and years. I fish south florida, which is mainly a lot of canals. People fly by at 60-70 mph within 20 ft of my boat and think its ok. I personally have no problem flicking them off or giving them a piece of my mind as they fly by. The wake puts my boat into the rocky banks and makes it flop around unsafely, many times with my kids in the boat. And I have NO problem doing it in front of my kids, as I want them to know this is NOT OK. If people would just follow the golden rule............

First off thanks for the great info I really appreciate it. I did some online searches for the Raker 2 with little luck. I found the regular Raker quite easily though. Do you have a good site you buy parts from? What you mention about the "bogged down" motor sounds like my exact problem. My thinking is to go with the prop with less pitch (the 18P), since this is what will give me more hole shot power. I already have a hydrofoil so hopefully a good prop will help. The prop on there now has no writing on it besides the size so I have no idea what it is. Again, thanks all for your input.

@ Nitro- Yes I was carrying more weight than normal.. A partner with more gear, full livewell, and fuel tank 3/4 full ( I usually only fill to 1/2). So I'm thinking what your saying makes sense now. So the question now is how do I solve this? Would a prop with a different pitch really get me up on a plane better? I just looked right now it's a 13x19. @ Way2slow- I always tuck the engine fully when I take off then trim up when I get on a plane. Never had an issue til now. Lets say I'm a bit underpowered, if I use a different prop am I going to get better rpms during the hole shot? As I said the rpms are only running between 1800- 2200 during take off. Once it finally plains (if it does) the engine surges and the rpms go up to 5500. The manual states operating rpms should be 4500- 5500rpms. I usually dont run top end at 5500rpms, usaully 4800- 5000. 5000 rpms puts me between 35- 40 mph and thats fast enough for me. 5500 rpms moves the boat at about 45mph which is to fast for me (I'm just a wuss i guess). So.... where do I go from here?

Yes I was fishing with a partner I usually fish alone. However, I have fished with a partner before and not had this problem....

Hey Everyone, Just had a first time ever problem with my boat. While on the water it was taking a long time to get my boat up on a plane. The rpms stayed low while trying to get on a plane, between 1800 and 2200, once on a plane the boat would open up and run great at around 5500rpm. My gut feelings about this were these: 1. I have a prop problem 2. Engine is not geting good fuel 3. Compression problems 4. Fouled spark plugs After inspecting the prop I found no issues or defects. When I pulled the plugs I found that all four appeared to be fouled with a lot of oil (very black) on them. I did a compression check, all four cylinders have 114-116psi in them. So my questions are these... Do you know if these compresions are normal? Would the spark plugs being that gummed up cause problems geting up on a plane? How often do your plugs foul out? And I haven't pulled the carbs yet, can I run regular carb cleaner in my fuel to help clean up whatever may be in there? Thanks for your replies they are much appreciated. p.s. this is a 1991 Johnson 115hp, 4 cylinder 2 stroke pushing an 18ft nitro.

Drift sock on the back of the boat, steer with the TM on the front. Wind at my back. I love windy days it keeps everyone else from going out... ,more fish for me

Well it doesn't really keep them away but they won't bother you... in a word... beer. Lots and lots of beer. I've been fishing the glades a long time and have yet to find anything more effective

Maybe it has something to do with oxygen content???? You say they are always near the shore regardless of where the waters edge is, is this where the most vegetation is? That would provide the most O2 content I beleive. And If the temps are cold then the vegatation in the shallows gets the most sun causing the most photosynthesis right? Not posistive on all this but makes sense to me, why else would a bass be so shallow unless it was suffocating?

The screws are just really tight. The slots are still in good condition at this point, but my fear is messing up the slots. I used a large flathead that fits well but they just wont budge. I considered using an impact but I'm not realy familiar with lower units and don't want to damage it by striking it. At this point it's looking like my only option though. If I keep trying the large screw driver I feel like it's gonna mess up the slots, then my only option would be what??? taping it out, and I know that's a pain in the butt. So are impacts usually used in this situation? Thanks for the help!

Hey everyone I have a Johnson 115. I was trying to change/ check the oil in the lower unit but the screws wont come out. Any suggestions?

Where is Garcia? looks like fun.....