Christian M

This is what it looks like after my winter restoration.

Yea i sure did, I've been looking around Craigslist & all the 9.9's in decent shape that aren't antiques are around that price range. I definitely lucked up. Since buying the boat I swapped out the original trolling motor for a 55lb MK, put a humminbird 581i HD/GPS Combo on the deck, & swapped the batteries out for Optimax AGM's. Now I'm just waiting to hear back about a kicker bracket for my transom mount 55lb MK

That seems expensive for a 16' Nitro. I live in jersey & the there's a similar 16' Nitro w/a 40hp for $2000. Its a little older & needs a trolling motor but as a comparison it still seems like a lot. As your first boat have you considered aluminum? You can get a REALLY nice aluminum bass boat in that price range.

So I pulled the trigger on a Bluetop 31, 1125mca, 950cca, & 155ra. I took my boat out yesterday & pushed my 17' boat in 10-15mph winds for over 6 hours with no trouble. On a calm day I expect the get a couple more hours out of it.

Nice Pickeril, congrats! They can save the day sometimes when the bass are turned off. Personally I love having a big Pickeril on the end of my line. The only advice I would lend is try not to let them touch the ground or handle them unless absolutely necessary. Their slime coat is their immune system & when you handle them or let them touch the ground, it really stresses the fish & can kill them. The best way to release a big one is to grab its head right behind the gill plates & carefully remove the hook. Nice catch tho man, that's a good lookin fish.

I don't really run anything outside of the norm, my trolling motor is 12v, I have 2 fishfinders, a livewell, running lights, and Im planning to install a stereo. I guess I just want to have the most battery power available since I fish 99% electric lakes. Also I plan on adding my 55lb trolling motor in the back as soon as I get a kicker bracket to mounted

je, thanks for the input. This is my second boat, the guy who I bought the boat off of was doing things all wrong. My last boat was electric only, no gas engine. I had 2 trolling motors, each which had their own deep cycle batteries. The radio, lights, accessories etc. all ran on a separate battery. I would always put my batteries on the charger as soon as I got home, and the charger I had on my last boat was 2 bank digital with an auto off. I stored the batteries indoors on top of a wooden trunk all winter after I topped them off. I think the issue with the lead acid I have is that it was a store brand battery and I may have just cycled it out. There are several lakes around here that are too large to be electric only, but because of the amount of boat traffic, unfortunately they are. Now that I read my post I wasn't clear about my new boat. I have 3 batteries on my new boat, Im just buying 2 new ones. I'm planning on having a blue top strictly for my trolling motor, a yellow top strictly for my fishfinders, running lights, livewell, & bilge, etc. and the red top will be strictly for my engine. The charger I have now is a single bank, but it has a sensor for Standard/AGM/Gel and an auto off when the battery is fully charged, I'll replace it with a similar dual bank ASAP. I've had lead acid batteries that have lasted me a few years, but I've heard of people having Optimas for up to 10 years. The red top I have has been going strong for 4 years and still charges right up to over 13.5 volts and holds the charge forever. I guess Im looking for others who have AGM's and how they have held up. I feel like if I can get a few more years out of the batteries then its worth the extra couple hundred. I will keep the Ac Delco batteries in mind for sure. thanks again

A few days ago I was on the water with a buddy fishing a local lake that we're both pretty familiar with. It was one of those days where the weather kept changing from sunny to cloudy, windy to calm, warm to chilly. we hit the water at about 3pm adn started off throwing our spring confidence baits. He was tossing a jerkbait and I was shakey heading a straight tail green pumpkin worm. After a couple hours all we had were a couple small pickeril and one perch off of the jerkbait. After seeing the perch I decided to break out a bait that I had played around with over the winter in anticipation of spring. A small 3/16oz spinnerbait with a pumpkinseed skirt, #3 chartreuse single colorado blade, and a chartreuse grub trailer. I tweaked the lure a bit by adding some copper wire around the collar to keep it from falling apart and give it a little flash and since I knew I was going to be fishing it it through some grass, I put a screw lock on the trailer hook, screwed in a dark green grub, and sort of T-Rigged it so it wouldnt get snagged. I backed off the bank about 20-30 feet since the water was faily clear up shallow, and started tossing the spinnerbait as close to the bank as I could, letting it sink, and reeling it back really slowly. After the second cast...BANG, I landed the first bass of the day, a healthy 3lber, a cast or two later another healthy bass. After about my 6th bass my buddy tied on a single blade white & chartreuse spinnerbait. After a few casts he landed a bass and after that it was one after another. In that last hour we must have caught about 15 between the two of us, which is decent for this lake especially in spring. It definitely felt good to unlock that pattern and see a bait that I had tweaked get the job done. Reading all those articles and posts over the winter paid off, and I'm hoping it continues to as I've been hitting the pattern and out fishing my buddies so far this spring.

I owned a Scanoe for a few years, I just sold it because I stepped up to a 17' Tracker PT. I already miss it & I'm shopping for a Kayak to take its place. I'm pretty sure Radissons are a bit wider than Scanoes, but I would definitely invest in either a small trailer, or a good set of roof racks and a canoe loader (Cabelas sells them for about $100). I loved fishing out of my Scanoe, but dreaded loading it up on top of my truck. The other thing I would get ASAP is a comfy swivel seat since you're back will be killing you after a day of twisting around to control the motor. Rowing/paddling a canoe with such a wide beam can be a real chore. I remember getting caught in the rain on my Scanoe with no battery power left and having to row about 2 miles...it wasn't easy...Get yourself a bail pump just incase you get caught in the rain. Another key to fishing out of a square back canoe (especially solo) is weight distribution. This I cant stress enough, the better your weight is distributed throughout and along the canoe, the more stable and smooth your ride will be. I had my scanoe rigged up with the battery wires running up the gunwhales so that I could place my battery(s) in front and my gear in the middle. This way it counter balanced my weight (about 190#) and my 55# trolling motor. Stablizers are another option to consider, since I saw you mentioned you like to go from sitting to standing. If you're handy you an make some out of PVC and boat bumpers or even 2L soda bottles. I used to fish standing out of my Scanoe with a buddy all day without them, you just have to make sure you've got your sea-legs on. Other than that you're gonna have a blast customizing and fishing out of your canoe. One thing I loved is that you can get so much closer to the fish without spooking them and you can get into places boats just can't. Having a 6lb fish pull you around for a few minutes is really fun. Just remember to ALWAYS wear your PFD. The last thing you want is to fall out with your motor on high and noghting to keep you afloat.

I am buying new batteries for my boat this weekend and I need a little input. I bought a 96 tracker about a month ago and since then I have replaced the original trolling motor for a 55lb MK powerdrive and added a fishfinder on the deck. The boat only came with 2 batteries, one for ALL of the electronics, and one cold cranking for the engine. This doesn't come close to being enough battery power for me. I like to spend all day on the water when I take my boat out (up to 8 hours) and most of the lakes around me are electric only. I have already replaced the lead acid cranking battery for an optima red top, but my lead acid deep cycle just went flat on me. I found a D34M-950 blue top for $220, which I would use strictly for my trolling motor. Now I am debating whether to buy a yellow top for my accessories, or just another lead acid deep cycle. I also have to buy a new on board charger, since the one that came with the boat only has 1 of the 2 banks working. I have a 15amp single bank digital charger which I can use in the meatime, but I would really like to have at least a 2 bank on board charger since the red top will hardly ever be used. I've heard really good things about their longevity and I would rather invest the money in a battery that will last several years vs. having to continuously replace and maintian standard batteries. My main question is do you guys think its worth me spending the extra money for the blue & yellow top batteries?

Powerbait twitchtail goldshiner, new waders, and a new circuit braker for my TM

I already took mine back to the store explaining what happened and thankfully they gave me $70 store credit. When I looked there was only 1 Carrot Stix on the rack, looked like a return. Got me a Shimano

This week I had a Carrot Stix Wild snap below the first guide while casting a light spinnerbait. I came home and called e21 & no amswer, all I got was a general email. I decided to email and the email immediately bounced back saying the email address is permanantly inactive! Thank goodness I saved my reciept because my only recourse was to go back to Dicks where I bought the rod last June. They only gave me $67.40 toward the rod, so I ended up getting a Shimano Cellus. There was only one Carrot Stix on the rack & it had no price on it. Is the company bankrupt? Does anyone know what's going on? I'm not the only one who this has happened to...

When I gut hook a bass real bad I get my longest pliers, go in behind the gills, turn the hook the opposite way it went in, and pull the hook out through the gills. This works pretty much every time, even when I'm with friends they'll hand me the gut hooked bass and after a couple minutes of holding the bass under water, it swims aways no worse for the wears

Holy cow look what I started...Hey Wayne no hard feelings man. My apologies if I came off like a jerk, I was having a rough week and it was just text that got lost in translation. I appreciate you trying to help cause I'm no expert on Marine electronics. I went with the 581i HD/DI Combo. I wanted to spring for the color unit, but I figured I had better live within my means. Besides, I'm just a weekend warrior so I think it will suffice. I'll take the extra money and get a decent marine stereo system. 90% of the time I do installs myself. I'm pretty savvy when it comes to mobile electronics, but I was having a hard time snaking the wires to the battery from the deck, and the electrical panel didn't have any extra slots for new accessories. That taken into consideration I took it to the local car audio electronics shop for installation. The owner is a certified scuba diver so he does a lot of marine installs. We kinda thought through it together and decided the easiest, cleanest, and most cost effective way to get power was to splice into my accessory switch (which has nothing on it except a 12v plug). We soldered the wires in, used a 3 amp inline fuse (As called for), and used some moisture seal tape to protect it. It works fine, I just have to flip my accessory switch then turn on the unit. All in all I'm happy, again no hard feelings, if you have any advice please share.

I've been painting my own lately, and they've been working out pretty well for me...but I have to say my most productive squarebill is one thats been in my tacklebox for years, the Rapala Flat Rap 1'-3' Yellow Perch. I cant find them in any stores around here lately, so I'm really careful when I use it, and if it gets hung up, best believe I'm gettin it back. Just last summer I was bumping it off some submerged timber when the bill got pinched in the roots of a tree. It was clear water so I tied my boat off to the tree, and dove down 12 feet to get it back LOL!! I love that lure

Hey Snakehead, I wish I had read those two post before I began as well. The color wasn't an issue for me because I've been painting since I was a kid and when I got to art school I had to take a color theory class where we had to paint our own acrylic color chart. If I recall correctly it was 256 squares (every color in the spectrum) and we were graded on color accuracy and craftsmanship. Every .5" square had to be taped off. The lines had to be clean. no freehand I remmeber my first airbrush was a Paasche VL Siphon fed, when I tried to use it for the first time, I called the little art shop and said "something is wrone with my airbrush, everytime I go to spray it just spatters, and I cant get a decent line out of it" lol. When I think about him hearing me say that I just have to laugh at myself!! Those are some sweet lures BTW. Right now I order blanks and paint them, I try to get as many shapes and styles as possible. I dont wanna corner myself into being a one trick pony so I do shallow, deep, topwater, big, small and anything else that looks interesting. I want to buy an Iwata, but for now my Talon really is a sweet brush.

Snakehead- Awesome rundown! this is one that I just pasted from another member asking the same question, I figured some reinforcement wouldn't hurt My first piece of advice would be if you are serious about getting into airbrushing, find a local Art shop /supply store and take some classes before you drop all this money on something you may not even like doing Getting into airbrushing lures is a great art from. However, like fishing, airbrushing its not cheap, and if you are serious about it, its not just a hobby. I know there are guys on YouTube showing $20 airbrushes in action, claiming they work. That simply isn't true. If you really want to put out some quality work, you're going to have to spend money. More Importantly, its not an easy thing to do. You will need to develop your skills. That includes understanding how every part of the airbrush works & how to make adjustments. You will have to develop your skills as far as brush strokes and technique. Also, like snakehead mentioned, you will need in depth knowledge of the color spectrum. How to properly thin paints. How they react when layered. There are Opaque, Transparent, Iridescent, Pearlized, Metallic, Flourescent... There are 2 types of airbrushes you will have to decide between, the first is siphon fed, and the second is gravity fed. Most siphon fed airbrushes cost less and are good at painting larger areas, but lack the capability to paint fine lines and details. The gravity fed airbrush, on the other hand, is good for painting both larger areas and very fine details (take Snakeheads advice & go w/gravity fed) You can buy different size needles, caps, and tips for both types, and I suggest you do buy spares because parts can be delicate and you don't want to break or bend a needle while in the middle of a lure.. When shopping for your starter airbrush, there are 3 major companies that you'll want to take a look at. Badger, Paasche, and Iwata. Badger, in general, is seen as the "cheaper" option, but if you get into their higher end brushes, they put out some decent equipment. Paasche is next, but not inferior to Iwata. I know professional artists that will only use Paasche, and others that will only use Iwata, it comes down to what you prefer, and what you can afford. I own a high end Paasche, you can check out a few of my lures on this site & decide for yourself. The next purchase you'll need to make is a compressor. You can go out and buy a kit compressor, a small, handheld compressor, which I strongly advise against. The major problems with these are that they constantly need to be running because they don't have an air reserve tank (extremely annoying), and they sputter while you're painting. I would recommend going out to your local Home Depot and buying a construction style compressor. There are several different styles and sizes, the most popular being a pancake style, but make sure that the one you purchase has a psi gauge and control. This will allow you to place the compressor somewhere away from your work station, this way you can paint in peace, and have a smooth air stream running to your airbrush. After you choose a compressor, you'll need to buy a moisture trap. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST. Without a moisture trap you'll have water spitting out of your compressor through your airbrush. Snakehead, I know I repeated most of what you said, but I'm sure we both have the same good intentions as far as advice. For other info, go to www.tackleunderground.com, they have everything and anything you'll ever want to know on tackle making. Good Luck!!

I know a guy sponsored by Megastrike & he rubs it on his hands. He feels that its a bit to strong to apply directly on his baits, but he swears by putting it on his hands to remove human scent.

Hey Joe & Javelin, thanks for the posts & Im gonna answer both questions in this reply. Javelin, I've been airbrushing since I was in art school and I've been collecting supplies for years. If you want to get into airbrushing, you need a few fundamentals. -Art Table & as many createx paints as you can afford along with airbrush cleaner -Gravity fed airbrush, Paasche,Iwata, Bagder...I use high end Paasche, others use Iwata (both very good). -Compressor, Preferably 10 gallon or more, in a separate room from where you will paint. -Moisture trap to catch all the water the compressed air contains. -Epoxy or moisture cure urethane for clear coat. PM me and Ill give you a full rundown and try to help you get on your way. you'll need around $500 if you wanna get a serious setup. Joe, I buy plastic blanks, but am in the process of learning to build balsa & cedar plugs from scratch. If you look at my posts you'll see these lures with clear coat in sunlight.

Ok Wayne, Seems as though I struck a nerve there. My apologies for not including the "DI". Seeing as how that's the only black & white Humminbird unit named Humminbird 581i HD which is a GPS Combo, I didn't think it was that big an issue, even you figured it out. And yes I am aware of what the "i" represents. Its a built in Unimap GPS antenna, but IT IS COMPATABLE with Lakemaster & Navionics cards. Check for yourself. Also, I was referencing my MinnKota PowerDrive 12V 55lb thrust foot controlled trolling motor. If I purchase the Co-Pilot for it, then I can link it up to select GPS units, the Humminbird® 581i HD DI Sonar/GPS Combo may, or may not be one of them. Also, I am well aware that the Lowrance is Down Scan Imaging only, that is the reason why I said "not many other features" I went and looked at both units in person and played with them for about half an hour each. I was just hoping to get someones helpful opinion. I didn't put this post up to get burned or schooled by someone trying to make me sound ignorant. I'll make my purchase in the morning as planned. Thanks for your helpful input Wayne.

I recently purchased a 17' Tracker Pro Team. It has everything I need except for a deck mounted Fishfinder. There is a humminbird in the console that I plan to upgrade later on. My TM broke down so I had to purchase a new circuit board, which put a dent in my Fishfinder budget. Long story short, the two units I've narrowed down to on my budget are Humminbird 581i HD/GPS Combo- Larger Screen, Higher Resolution, Black & White, which I really don't mind, but do understand is close to obsolete...$300 w/upgrade capabilities Lowrance Elite 5-X DSI- Color HD Sonar, larger screen & good resolution. $300 not many other features As I said, I don't mind the B&W screen on the Humminbird, it is more convenient for me as I already have the TM transducer mount & it is GPS compatable w/my Powerdrive. I do like the Lowrance Elite 5-X, but it is very limited as far as options go. I plan to go buy the Humminbird tomorrow am, opinions please, am I making the right choice?

I own a Nitrous & thats a $40 reel that has served me well for 3 years of hardcore fishing. I also own 2 codes, a smoke, an HPT TE, and the KVD , I've never had a problem with any of them. I also love my Diawas, Wright McGill, Abu Garcias, & Shimanos. I think a lot of it has to do with how a person maintains their reels. I rinse mine off after every use, keep them lubed & serviced, & I keep them up on wall racks when not in use. I'm not saying that there aren't reels that are lemons, I've had a few come out of the package as garbage. I've also had reels go on me that had to do with my own carelessness...(dropping them in sand, not lubing them properly, not tuning them properly)

Dude you made an excellent choice!!I have that same reel on a St. Croix Rage rod & its the best combo I own. My PB came on it (6.53), and I broke my clubs lunker record with it (5.13). I Absolutely love the performance and the looks are second to none! YOU DID NOT MAKE A MISTAKE...

Sounds like your circuit board or control board is going bad. I've seen that happen with motors before. That is if you are using separate batteries. If you're just using one battery for everything that's probably the issue. You not providing enough power for all of the electronics to work properly, and so they shut themselves off.