BigMouthBasstard

I put my onboard up front but I also moved both the trolling batteries to the front to help me get on plane better. My motor is a little underpowered. I have shortened the power cable which will allow for less loss in energy. The longer the wires the more power is lost through their travel to the motor. I have had no problems with rough conditions. I dont run through waves at 70Mph though either so dont hold me to it, rhino might be right. Id say ive have cruised in 2-3 ft waves occasionally and had no issues in 2 years. best of luck.

So I know many fisherman, especially tournament anglers have stickers or t-shirts etc. that advertise their sponsors or favorite lures. What are some of the favorite things everyone has as their own 'individual touches' to either thier truck or boat. This can be window decals, lucky towels, anything really that makes it unique or lucky. I personally found this sticker at work and thought it would be funny for my boat. I put it on the back of the motor and put the HP sticker over the '4' in this photo. I will try to remember to take a picture of it on the boat.

I agree that sound like a great decal.

Am I the only person that gets extremely upset when driving to the lake? I have alot of money invested in my rig and boat and people on the road insist on following a few short feet from my prop at 70 mph on the highway. I mean im not driving like a grandpa, yea it takes a bit longer to accelerate up to speed with the boat's weight but geeze. I have insurance just in case something happens, but it still grinds my gears every time, not to mention its dangerous. Anyone else?

Thank you for the info.

The EPA has proposed a ban on all lead products in fishing and hunting. this would cause the price of ammo, jigs, weights, etc. to go haywire. This is the letter I recieved. September 2, 2010 Dear Cabela's Customer: Occasionally, an issue of such importance arises we feel it necessary to contact our loyal customers. With our fishing rights at stake, this is such an issue. On August 23, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and others to ban lead from ammunition and fishing tackle, including sinkers, jigs, weighted fly lines and components containing lead, such as brass and ballast in lures, spinners, stick baits and other fishing products. On August 27, the EPA denied the petition regarding ammunition, but let stand the petition to ban lead in fishing tackle and has opened a short period for taking public comment. Such a ban would cause prices of fishing products to skyrocket. Alternative metals can cost from six to 15 times more than lead, and most do not perform as well. For many, fishing would no longer be the affordable sport it is now. Please join Cabela's and Keep America Fishing in opposing this ban by submitting your comments to the EPA no later than September 15, 2010. You can easily do so by clicking here. It is a fast and easy way to assure your opinion is heard. Cabela's is working in conjunction with the American Sportfishing Association and Keep America Fishing to protect our tradition and heritage of fishing. Thank you for your help. Sincerely, Cabela's Heres the link http://capwiz.com/keepamericafishing/issues/alert/?alertid=16355526&cmCat=email&cm_cat=6089&cm_ven=email-nl&cm_pla=HA-0100&cm_ite=16355526&eid=16134899&cmp=I100902A&seg=FI1&cnt=6089&ctb=16355526

It is almost a shame i have to talk about it already so soon after discussing the spawn but, I am directly affected by the turnover on a twice a year basis being from Wisconsin where it ices and thaws. I appreciate if someone can break down the phases of turnover and what it means in terms of: how it will affect the fish and what I need to do to overcome this natural event without moving to Texas. I would like to get a dumbed' down version compared to the scientific versions I always find. Thank you for the help

Chatterbait, split tail trailer or remove the skirt and put a fluke or money minnow on the chatter jig mechanism swarming hornet underspin 1/4oz with a zoom tiny fluke kalins swim jig 3/8oz

"One thing I have been doing lately which has helped me is tieing a short piece of leader material (~12", #30 flouro) to the main braid. This has three effects...1.) you get the added abrasion resistance of flouro 2.) the leader material is very stiff and helps prevent the weight from wrapping around the line as you're flipping 3.) the junction knot acts as a natural bobber stop, pulling the bait down. This allows the weight to go thru itself first, then the falling momentum of the tungsten weight can help pull the hook/bait thru the slop." The leader knot really makes me nervous. what know should i be tying for a line-to-line application.

The fishing was awesome, the catching was not so good. From my favorite show; family guy when peter buys a fishing boat and sets up a stand at the seafood market- Hennisy, a competitor of Peter, grabs one of Peter's fish from his stand and throws it, Peter runs to get it back and while he is up, Hennisy puts a sign that reads "I had sex with all these fish" over the sign that read "Peter's fish." Peter comes back, and a man approaches his stand. Man: Wow. So how do you do it? Peter: Well, how nice of you to ask. First, I put the ol' worm out there, and they go at it, so naturally they struggle a bit, so I jerk em around and then they just lay back and accept it.

Use the military mentality towards fishing when faced with adversity: Accept the tough times and that 'normal' fishing habits are no longer acceptable; i.e a week off work to spend thousands of dollars to fish a good lake Adapt to these changes and find a way to get on the water Overcome; fix broken equipment or sell old equipment laying around to get money for new things. fish lakes close by or with a canoe or kayak. Use the time to refine your finesse fishing skills and practice patience. it doesnt have to always be stick and run style fishing, especially for non-tourney practice. If it means buying baits that are not name brand to save a few bucks here and there do it. or go online to bulk parts catalogs and assemble custom lures for a 3rd of the retail price. Reuse mono for backer on other reels. re-melt ripped plastics and make new creatures. Be creative and have fun with it. bottom line there is no excuse not to be able to go fishing ever. It is simply an unwillingness to accept, adapt, and overcome the adversity.

I am currently trying to expland on my fishing limitations and have began to punch thick grass mats on lakes that look like a soccer field in summer. I want to punch bc you cant fish much else but a frog and I haven't been getting a reaction from the topwater frogs due to the thickness of the mats. I would like to know what people are using as far as weights, hooks, rubbers, and skirts. I am currently using a 7'9" heavy action st croix with 65lb. power pro, a 1oz weight with a gami superline EWG 3/0 hook and a berkley chigger craw. I researched and saw some special flipping hooks and punching skirts that could be used. are the skirts necessary and why would i need the big barb on the top of a non-ewg hook? I just want to know what some guys that have been successful at this technique are running, and some tips for getting the bait all the way to the bottom. I seem to have some trouble even with the big weight.

in 2007 i fished out of a 14ft starcraft aluminum with a 9.9 Mercury, no trolling motor and drifted weed flats. We took 1st and 2nd that day and went no more than 500 yards from the launch. Since then I have upgraded but it was fun beating everyone with 50k bass boats.

I have a 12V BPS trolling motor I got for 100 bucks, im not sure what your weight limit is, but a 12V battery and troller will be pretty hefty sitting in the back with you. may be 'riding dirty' plus a pain to haul in and out of the water, but would be better than paddling. good luck! i love the goet out on the water bass boat or not attitude. keep at it.

I use evinrude/johnson 2+4 fuel conditioner on my merc. no issues. Plus the 89 octane should eliminate the need anyways. Its the 87 with 10% ethanol you gotta worry about. fuel conditioner can get expensive if your using your boat every week you most likely wont need it. I go by a 90 day storage as a need for conditioner. thats about the time the gas will really be affected by the water build up. that stabil marine is a lethal injection for your outboard. Call mercury customer service and they will tell you what to put in it if you are doubtful of the recommendations here. not sure of what kind of fuel nozzel is on the nitro, but place a peice of charcoal under the gas cap to absorb and water that may come in, you wouldd woud be suprised what this can collect. be careful tho, you dont want any charcoal running throught the fuel system.

I have the same problem with my trailer right now, but its just the blinker on the right that went out. I thought it was the bulb but no luck. So I got a tester from farm and barn come to find out it is something on my rig that is bad; fuse or wire. Those testers are like 15 bucks and test both trailer and truck, not a bad investment if you have seeveral trailers like i do. Best of luck!

3in gulp leech on 1/8 oz jighead 4in tube in brown/orange (craw) 4/5in Kalins lunker grub 1/4 oz jighead Mepps black fury in-line spinner spro bonzeye frog- popper

I'm in northern Wisconsin and it just got done raining 22 out of 30 days this month. Last night the air temp was 32 degrees and the water is about 45 degrees. Not very good fishing weather to say the least. I fished in IL this past weekend and it was exact opposite weather; 107 degrees 85 degree water. It was only about 7 hrs away.

Thank you for the advice Guys.

38" Northern Pike- White Chatterbait, 39" Musky- Zara spook. didn't weight them.

Look at the jeeps with the diesel. 4X4, great torque, great gas mileage towing downside is the price of fuel but they last longer than gasoline motors. otherwise id say toyota hylander v6. pulled a 19'6" triton with a 200 through the mountains better than my smallblock Silverado did. personally, i buy American if I have the choice.

Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for pinpointing an area to start on a river. I am more familiar with lake fishing. The whole entire shoreline for miles and miles is all sloughs or eddys with laydowns primarily as the structure and numerous limbs sand, and rocks for cover. Everything looks great but only a few spots have really produced. I can't seem to find a pattern as far as baits go. I have almost any type of lure you could imagine and have thrown the box at em. The most success has been on sandbar dropoffs where there is and eddy and warmer water but only a few fish on the wood. I appreciate the advice.

double bladed white/chart got a 19.5 in. smallie just under 4lbs. not a high percentage bait for me tho. its just not in the strike zone long enough. i like the poppin frogs better. good luck.

St. Croix Mojo Slop N' Frog with 65lb. Power Pro. You can horse em out of narly anything with that combo. its like running a broomstick with piano wire.

I use braid for heavier lures (over 1/4oz) in situations where the cover is very thick; weeds, stumps, anything that could potentially break mono. Fluoro is pretty good in these situations also but braid is strong for its size, i love it.