Avalonjohn44

Beautiful boat, congratulations. If that is the Mercury 115 2 stroke, I just got the same motor. The break in is simple, very well laid out in the manual.

My all time top producing crankbait. This is a stock pic, mine has about half the color left and is still catching fish like the day I bought it:

Not inside the park, only at some lakes near the Disney run hotels in the vicinity of the parks.

Try the SK Ocho. Cheaper than the original, very similarly constructed. Plus they smell good. BTW, IBTL

Just got back, there are a lot of no fishing signs up now. I did not check Ft Wilderness, but the signs are all over the place at the Pop Century/Art of Animation, Polynesian and Grand Floridian resorts. No signs (yet) at Caribbean Beach resort, or the Port Orlean's resorts. I meant to check more resorts but those were the only ones we went to look at... I frog fished at night a few times at Caribbean Beach's lake and nobody bothered me.

Pretty certain the seller is a nigerian prince.

My bombers don't have eyes, just blank heads. I think it looks like a Hart brand spinnerbait. Sexy Shad skirt..

Sorry to jump in, but found California is not required to label their ethanol gasoline. So be careful with that 91 octane: http://www.fuel-testers.com/state_guide_ethanol_laws.html

Meet him at the lake, have him run you around for a few hours. Pay for gas. Then say you need a mechanic to look it over. It will take a few days, but if it checks out, good for you... Remember, it's your money, you call the shots. If he balks, walk away, there will be other deals.

Tied between 4.5" Robo Worm Straight tail in Salt and Pepper Chartreuse or Black Grape. Both on a drop shot, my go to presentation this year. Runner up - Rage Tail Thumper 7" Green Pumpkin on a shaky head.

Trackers are fine boats, no frills, but that saves money. I just got my first boat, a Tracker 190TX, it is all I have ever really dreamed of. Anything I am missing out on I can add or upgrade later when I can afford it (an convince the wife that I desperately need it)... If you can afford it, and have a little left over for unforeseen circumstances, do it. Don't break the bank and leave yourself no room for hidden problems or upgrades.

The Ocho is pretty dense and sinks comparably to the Yamasenko. I think you meant the Strike King Zero, the elastec version of the senko which has a maddeningly slow (to me) sink rate.

I got a ton for almost nothing at walmart last year, used them to make jika rigs. Haven't had one bend or break yet, biggest on the rig is around 5 pounds. No problems.

This was exactly my experience too. I called multiple dealerships, not one returned my call (except the local carolina skiff dealer). Emails too. Tracker was responsive both email and with calls... Its funny, I was looking for my boat from March to late June, bought my Tracker last week of June. I just got my first email response from a ranger dealer end of Sept... Crazy.

Consider a model lower on the Tracker boats. The Tracker 190TX has been in production for years, it is the same length and nearly the same boat but with a slightly narrower beam. No transom issues on the 190TX. I got one in June, it has been fantastic so far. Plenty of room and storage, stable, fast and a dry ride. Trackers have a great warranty as well.

I know you want some more reasonably priced glasses, but consider saving up or looking on Ebay or Amazon for deals. Some folks believe (or convince themselves) that there is little difference between cheaper sunglasses and the expensive ones, but not me. I lived on walmart specials, strike kings, BPS and other rack glasses for years. I had lenses peel apart, frames snap/bend, hinges come undone, lens film scrape off when I cleaned them, poor fits, cheap materials and headaches from looking through junk lenses... One pair melted in my car. Seriously. Had them in the overhead glasses compartment, and the frames melted together. I'm done with those.. We don't accept cheap gear for our rods/lures/boats etc, so why be cheap with what you put on your eyes? Keen eyesight is a somewhat important part of our sport. I have both Oakleys and Costas and I'm an Oakley fanboy all the way now. I have Oakleys in Prizm Shallow Water (You can get them in a variety of sunglass styles, I have Half Jacket 2.0s). I can't tell the difference between it and my 580 glass Costas lens as far as looking through it. I prefer the Oakley for a number of reasons: 1 They are far lighter. They cause me zero discomfort on the bridge of my nose, ears or my scalp if I raise them up for a while. 2 They grip my head better and don't slip off, even when I lean over or make unexpectedly sudden movements unlike the costas. 3 My Oakleys don't fog up like the costas do. 4 The Oakley frames that I have make have no drag and make no sound in the wind. The costas are 'loud' when I am running my boat. It bugs the hell out of me.

I fished from a kayak for years, wish I would've moved up to a bigger boat sooner. I could never seem to carry enough gear, got blown around a lot, and constantly worried about tipping over and losing my gear. If you can get a jon boat or some bigger used, I would do that.

You're in VA, open carry. Just the sight of a firearm helps keep would-be antagonizers away.

I caught a giant watermelon rind a few weeks ago on my whopper plopper. Though I had a good one...it looked so much like a fish... Other stuff - freshwater clams, seagulls, plastic bags filled with muck, a purse, my sister's neck...

Think of it as an opportunity to buy some Oakley Prizms instead.

Just looked on the map, Hendersonville is surrounded by rivers, lakes and impoundments. Looks like Heaven to me! Good luck with the move.

I am really partial to cranks. Rapala Glass Shad Raps, Strike King KVD 1.5s, Bandit 100s or 200s, Rebel Craws/Wee Frogs. Aside from that Senkos from 3in to 5inches will catch anything that's out there.

Good advice. I'm gonna try it this week, going out Friday.

I definitely would have considered one for all of the small lakes near me... Pretty awesome little rigs.

There are some programs you can donate gear to, a google search turned up a few. http://fishingforlife.org/pages/reel-em-in http://www.wish-a-fish.org/involved/default.html A little research will tell you if they are legit or not. This seems like the best way to make sure your old gear gets maximum use and does a little extra good.