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Hey Kent, How'd this morning go?

OK so I read the story of RoadWarrior (Kent) and how he has a secret fishing hole only 8 miles from my house! I keep on reading to find that some jack*** took a 10+ fish out of there and that Kent normally catches good fish out of it! So I'm thinking....How come I dont know about this spot? Ive lived in the area for over 12 years? Really? Well, long story short......REALLY!!!! Talked to Kent on the phone a couple days before we scheduled to meet and he told me how he's catching good fish and what to bring... I brought everything he said and left the standard(bass pro tournament series squirmin worm 8'' electric blue/firetail) tied on. When we got there it was barely light...ok it was still dark (5:20ish) and the bugs were out! Kent took me out to the spot and we started fishing down the bank. Nothing for the fist couple spots then we come to this one spot and he tells me there is a hump that extends out about 30 yards and you wanna fish up the back side, the top and then back down the other! I started fan casting from deep to shallow and on about the 6th cast or so I fish up the back side and get to the top....(this might sound familiar to some of you if you have read roadwarriors stories before) but as I get to the top, I stop my worm, twitch it a little and my line starts screaming to the middle of the pond! Bam I set the hook and Kent immediately knows its a big one! Get her to the bank, take the hook out, couple of pictures later and she's swimming off! Kent said he has caught her before and she weighted about 6.3 but this time we didnt bring a scale! What do ya'll think? Oh yea and before I get to the pictures, I have to say a big thanks to Kent for showing me his spot and putting me on the fish! He really knows his stuff! We will have to do it again some time soon buddy! Jeff

will do! Its been raining a bit here so I havent worked on the boat in a week or so, and the couple days it wasnt raqingin I was fishing...lol Hopefully to get back to work on it soon and post the finalized pics! Jeff

Thursday I got skunked..... my fishing buddy caught one So yesterday I called up bassin901 and we went back to poplar tree lake.. Met up at about 4:45 and headed out... Started fishing the side of the lake I didnt hit on thursday and within the first 5 min hooked up a little dink on a sk redeye shad Kept on fishing and we both switch from crank baits to plastics.. Patrick hooked up with one on a tube, then i caught a nice size bluegill hybrid? on a baby brush hog I caught fish on baby brush hob, tube, sk redeye shad, and a fire-tiger spinner-bait. We fished until the mosquitoes ate us up and we were loading in at dark Bassin901 caught 7 and I caught 6...all in all it was a great day and I had lots of fun! Were definitely gonna fish together again! That is assuming he can stand fishing with me again! LOL

ok well I didn't want to post about it, lol but here it goes went out to a local lake(Poplar Tree Lake) about 125 acres electric only got out there about 5:15pm and fished until we couldnt see the bank anymore, about 8:30 and I got skunked... dont know if it was just too hot during the day (97 with heat index of 108) or what but I didn't catch a thing good news is I checked and not one drop of water leaked! I made a makeshift troll motor mount that has to be changed, and i needed a longer extended handle for it but other than that I am VERY pleased with the boat, now if I can just get my act in order....lol

I'd love to do it! bassin 901 check pm

billbo, thanks alot! where do you fish around here now? Will report back with what we catch and how many bites we get(mosquitos)!

Any tips for Thurs afternoon at Poplar Tree Lake? Never been, just want to get the "new" boat out and catch some... And lures, spots, help in general? Jeff

OK, I couldn't help myself and went ahead and added up the receipts! I have everything to finish the accessories including trolling motor, fish finder, rod holders, battery, battery box, seat poles, finger pulls for compartments ect.... The grand total I have in my boat is $1249.02 That includes $100 boat, $250 trailer, $110 battery, $140 troll motor and $85 fish finder...so subtract those and the total cost of redoing the boat has cost $564.02 Hope this helps anyone wanting to do their own, and I will post more pictures once everything is mounted! Planning on taking my maiden voyage Thurs afternoon! Will post results! Jeff

Thanks for all of the comments... I decided to angle the front and make storage under there instead of a casting deck because of the narrow bottom of the boat! At just 36'' i want to be safe first and foremost! I'm not sure how much added weight but the boat is rated for 4 persons so I would assume 2 people and the added weight wouldn't be too much! The only motor I have is a 9.9 which I am not going to use on this boat(for now)! Just a 45lb thrust trolling motor! I haven't exactly figured out the front mount trolling motor just yet, still searching pictures of everyone else's boats, but stay tuned! I hope to figure something out tonight and tomorrow! I have a running total of receipts but I have sworn to myself not to add them up until the first day I hit the water! So sometime this week I will post exact total of the build! Jeff

So today I finished the paint work, installed the carpeted flooring/sidewalls, installed hinges on storage areas, and put seat pedestal mounts in.......

And now for updated pics..... Carpeted all of the mocked up sides and floors... Sanded and prepped underside and sides for paint.... And then rolled on the cheapo bed-liner stuff for DIY'ers! Figured that would solve any problem I might run into with leaky rivets that I was unaware of and also help to deaden some sound from the flooring of the boat! Next up is to finish paint on the outside, install flooring and sides to the inside, mount seat pedestals, trolling motor switches, fish finder, and cup holders! Then make a trolling motor mount, attach it, and off to the lake! Jeff

OK first to answer questions... I wasn't planning on installing any additional support as there are ribs 16'' from front to back and I didn't think I needed any? Do I? Wouldn't additional weight make the slim bottomed boat more stable? Now for a question of my own.....??? Does having an engine on the rear help to control drift on windy days and does it act like a rudder to keep the boat straight when using the trolling motor? Jeff

What river are you fishing? Some thing you have to remember is Brown Trout are nocturnal feeders and are not as prevalent as rainbows! They are fun to catch! If you are fishing in a river I have fished, I MIGHT be able to help! Jeff

Im building right now, and I used regular 1/2'' pywood and treated it myself last night! Also picked up 30' x 6' to carpet the entire boat(floor/sides/deck and all) for $88 at home depot! They have 2 different types of indoor/outdoor carpet and have samples. I took both samples home and did a "hook test" on both to determine which one I wanted! Jeff

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awesome! Thank you very much and I will for sure hit you up on the opportunity to catch a few! plus it will give me some of your "secret" spots so I can take the honey there and she wont get bored! Jeff

oh ok...wow, I thought I had made a terminal error already and you knew something I didn't....Good to know! I'm sure I won't like something about it once i'm finished, but hey, I can always change it! Jeff

Sub flooring in and wired... Floor/walls roughed in before removal and carpet....

Live and learn? Am I doing something wrong? This is my first ever build.....if I am messing up please do tell! Jeff

she wont look like this for long... and after day 1!!

is Whiteville public? Jeff

any help for poplar tree? really interested in going there.. Jeff

Anyone have any updates on fishing there and any tips? What about anywhere else around Memphis? Jeff

Thanks again for the welcomes....trying to get posts so I can add pictures, everyone go check out my jon boat build under the boating thread... Jeff