Avalonjohn44

Jawbone Frog.

Craigslist and local want ads, and don't forget look at Craigslists for neighboring cities/areas. There are several used boat sites too (although I found navigating these slightly maddening...). Sometimes your local BPS will have used boats that they got as trade-ins. If you are patient and willing to drive a ways, you should find a boat that suits your needs by the summer.

I have the same motor from 2016. The break in procedure is simple and laid out in an easy to understand manner in the manual. As long as you follow what it says, you are golden. Good luck, have fun with the new boat!

I think I figured it out. I think i add it to one of the the twelve empty connectors at the negative side of the panel:

I'm hooking my new depth finder up to the fuse panel but have nothing labeled as 'ground' that j can see. I have the red wire on the 3amp fuse, but don't know where to attach the black wire. Is it OK to just add it on to the black negative post coming into the panel from the battery or is there supposed to be a specific grounding post that I'm just missing? I had a boat shop put the transducer in, and they disconnected the old wires so I didn't see where they went beforehand... Thanks in advance!

Oakley Prizm Shallow Water is the way to go. Every bit as good as the Costa green (I have them in 580 glass so can confidently make the comparison). Where I give Oalkey the edge is they don't have the PIA Costa fogging problem and have a better variety of sporting frame options. Oakley sport frames stick to your head. Costas are hit or miss, mine slide off constantly.

You need to check local regulations, it varies from state to state, and maybe even by county... In VA as long as I don't use my motor, I'm free to launch in most electric only lakes.

Wow dk2429, that is a thing of beauty. Congrats!

Instead of my Tracker 190, I almost got a Mako 18LTS/inshore/flats boat. Problem was, after adding a depth finder, a trolling motor and upgrading from the under-powered 90hp they have on the base models, I was priced out of it rather quickly.... In retrospect, with the amount of time I hit salt water (nearly 0), I'm glad I went with the bass boat, but have to admit I still drool over those inshore bay boats...

If you have to ask... Boat trader has a new one for ~ $38.5k...

Looks good. That is what I was afraid of. I guess its time to put on my big boy pants and just drill into it. I don't trust the local shop marine shop to do the installation based on online reviews, and my BPS is a two+ hour drive one way which is a big PIA considering that this is something that I should be able to do. Thanks Wayne, as always you guided me in the right direction...

Spinnerbait, Roboworm on a Dropshot, Buzzbait, Ribbit Frog, Live Target Field Mouse, RC1.5 Crank, KVD 1.5 Crank 1 silent and 1 rattling, Baby Brush Hog, Senko, River2Sea S-Waver, Magnum Trick Worm, Red Shad Culprit T-Rigged Worm, Lunker City Sluggo, Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. Forget four. I can't do just four.

Any campground nearby is worth a look too. And usually cheaper than a hotel/motel.

I have a aluminum Tracker 190TX that I'm getting ready to remove my stock Lowrent DS Fish finder and put on a Helix 7SI with the HD Transducer. Since the mounting holes for the transducer don't match up (and since I am slightly terrified of drilling holes into my new boat) I've mostly decided on using a mounting block/plate. Since I don't want to put more holes in the boat, I want to epoxy the plate in place rather than screw it to the hull. Is this feasible as a long term solution or should I man up and just screw it down? Second question, if epoxy is a good idea, do I need to rough up the paint first, or just go ahead and glue it down? As another poster wisely said: Thank you in advance everyone and Wayne.

LOL

I want to catch some big South American Peacock bass. I had no idea until recently that there were several sub-species of peacocks out there, I think a nice month long fishing excursion down there would cover it. Would love to hook into a Pacu and an Arapaima too while down there...

Stanley Ribbit with a Double-Take hook is my favorite. I really like the Kietech Noisy Flappers too, but the Ribbit price is better.

Saw these at DSG the other day and bought a couple, they look fantastic and were only $4. They have some great colors that I haven't seen much of. Heading back today to grab some more. The only think I don't love about them so far is the closed off line tie, although this hasn't been a big deal for me with my 'walmart specials'... Any feedback on their performance?

Rattlesnake Floating Worms were true floating worms.You can still find them in clearance bins at KMart and on ebay. They are a bit stiff and the colors selection is not the best, but they float like the dickins.

Hooks like that used to come in Gitzit Tube and/or Gitzit spider grub packages.

I have only had my boat for a few months. Since then I've heard from more extended family and long last high school 'friends' than I have in the last twenty years put together. They're crawling out of the woodworks, like I won the lottery or something. They all want that boat time.

Look up a guy on instagram called PhoneyFrogsUSA. He makes resin swimbaits and has a really good looking product. He is very talkative at local shows, and may be interested in passing along a few pointers.

I have had some luck with them, but they are frustrating because you have to go so slow with them. I'm not known to be a patient man...

Congrats! I got the same boat last year at 46, you beat me by two years.

I grabbed one of the swimbaits this weekend, have not had the opportunity to throw it yet. I like the looks of it though, and that it has a hook hanger to add a treble to if you wanted...