Scott F

It could be from the drain plug or it could be from a cracked hose in the live well system or from a loose hose clamp. Could even be a crack in the hull. The only way to know for sure is to dig in and inspect the hoses and pumps yourself. You could also pay someone to do it for you.

As a service technician who drives around all day, lunch at fast food places was part of the job. I don't think Whoppers are that bad. I did stay away from the fries, sodas and milkshakes though.

What's your budget? Where do you fish? What are you going to pull it with? Do you have a place to store it? What else do you fish for? Do you have any experience owning or running a boat?

I started fishing (as an adult) because the golf courses near me were way too crowded.

About the only choice you have is to get a lawyer.

One thing many serious fisherman fail to understand is that the DNR has to take into consideration everyone who buys fishing licenses. A high percentage of those who buy fishing licenses are people who want to eat what they catch. When restrictions make it difficult to keep anything, those who eat, (who like bigger fish too) complain and stop buying licenses. The DNR has a tough time trying to keep everyone happy.

I seldom follow the pro tournament fisherman, but I certainly know who KVD is. How cool to spend a day in a boat with him during a tournament!! Great post!!

I must have hands like bricks. I can't feel the difference between my custom made G Loomis Rod that was $400 and old IM 6 rods that were about $60. At least on rods that have similar ratings. I buy nicer rods today, not so much because I can tell the difference but I have appearances I must keep up! ???

I've seen videos online where a guy takes one out of the box and squeezes it with his fingers and cracks it. I have been using mine in open water where they haven't been bouncing off of rocks and haven't broken one yet. They've been catching fish as well.

If you are replacing your braided line when the color fades, in my opinion, you're wasting a lot of money on line. If the line is too faded or frayed for your liking, you can always turn it around and put the faded section next to the spool and have the fresh end to tie your baits on.

That is an amazing fish. I have to chuckle though. As big as that fish is, he is still pushing it toward the camera to make it look bigger! ?

Just like they say about lakes, in a river, 10 percent of the water holds 90 percent of the fish. The problem with that is you might have to cover 9 miles of river before you find the one mile that holds bass. The good news is that once you find productive spots, they tend to always hold fish. Until a big flood changes everything and you have to learn the river all over again.

There was another thread here lately asking about guys falling out of the boat. I have a story but it is probably better posted here. A year or two after I purchased my first boat, this was at least 25 years ago, I was on a spring trip on Kentucky Lake. It was a warm day and my fishing partner and I were going to break for lunch and make the one mile run back to camp. Like I said, I had my new Ranger a little while and was happy with how stable the boat was. You could walk on the edge of the boat and it would barely tip. Compared to the small tin boats I'd fished in before, I could not imagine how you could tip one over. My confidence was far outweighed by my ignorance. Anyway, I pushed the throttle forward and the nose went up. Just before the boat got on plane and I could trim the motor out, one of my rods started moving and I thought it might fall out of the boat. As I reached for it with my left hand, I must have relaxed my grip on the steering wheel and the wheel quickly spun out of my hand and the boat turned hard right. The next thing I knew, I was hitting the water, having been thrown out. As I said, I was ignorant and neither of us was wearing a life jacket and the kill switch was not attached to me. I am not much of a swimmer but I came up, looked around and saw my boat still turning in tight circles in the middle of the lake. Luck was with me that day. First, that my partner and I were both thrown outside the circle that the boat was making. Second, that other fishermen saw us and soon plucked us out of the water. And third, that my boat did not strike anyone or anything else. A CPO got me on his boat and tried to stall my boat by throwing a bundled up rope in its path but it did not work. After about 45 minutes, the boat ran out of gas and stopped. The only damage done was to my partner who cut his chin on the way out of the boat. I was shaken up by what could have been a fatal mistake but thanked God we came out OK. Obviously, I learned quite a lot that day about the importance of life jackets and kill switches.

The number 1 difference between lakes and rivers is current. It takes a lot of energy for a fish to swim in current, especially in a big river like the Ohio so they do not spend a lot of time trying to fight the current. What they do, is to hide out in spots just out of the current. Wing dams, in big rivers, rocks and wood will deflect the current causing break lines and eddies. Drift your bait on the edge of the break line, and the fish will find you. As for boat control, either anchor, or position you boat in an eddy. If you have a strong trolling motor and the current isn't too strong, you can point the nose of the boat into the current and match your motor speed to the speed of the current. There is quite a bit more to learn about fishing rivers but for just starting out, if you can identify and fish nothing but break lines, you'll do very well.

Paying the full amount every month is the best advice but, depending on the amount and your financial situation, it's not always possible. Whichever you choose, the MOST important part is to pay on time. Late payments knock down your credit score faster than anything.

I find it happens when the line has quite a bit of twist. Remove the twist from the line and see if the problem goes away. If you don't know how to get the twist out, the easiest way is to troll along letting out line as you go with no lure on. When you get to line that still has all of its original color, wind it back on while holding the line between your fingers with a bit of tension.

What kind of electronics are on it. If the depth finders are old, you may have to spend a lot replacing them. Has the current owner been using it, or has it been sitting for a while? Did you try offering say $2,500?

The picture is not the best, but it appears to be a largemouth.

I have a spare bedroom with a walk in closet that is my "tackle shop" I lined the walls of the closet with shelves and all my lures are in 3700 & 3600 size Plano boxes. One of the good things about not having kids is that they aren't taking up room in the house that could be put to better use?

I never use a leader. Try it. You can always add one later if you are convinced you need it.

Since the lake is not very big and you will be there for a week, you should be able to cover all of it several times. If it were me, I'd look for any deep weed edges you can find and fish them as much as possible. You'll not only catch bass, but everything else in the lake as well.

No lure, regardless of price, will catch fish if you don't put it in the right place, at the right time. I was like you and questioned whether Lucky Craft baits were worth the price. I was on a spring fishing trip fishing for prespawn smallmouth when my fishing partner was out fishing me by a wide margin. He was using an LC Pointer. Other lures were catching fish but not nearly as many as the bait he was using. When I started using them, my catch rate went up drastically. In those conditions, the LC's were worth every nickel. For you, all I can tell you is buy a couple and give them a try. Or, use what you catch them on now and save your money.

I come from a family of 5 kids, me and my 4 sisters. My dad worked a lot and I did not get to spend a lot of time with just him and me. Dad did not take a lot of vacation time. 4 or 5 days in June when smallmouth season opened on the St. Lawrence and another few days for the opening of duck season. We lived in Northwest Indiana while I was growing up. The summer of 1965, I was 10 and I was going to Chippewa Bay, New York with my dad for the opening of bass season. We drove all night and arrived while the sun was just coming over the tree tops. Even though it was over 50 years ago, I can still remember it like it was yesterday. We unloaded the car and put our stuff in a boat in a dark boathouse and I had my first boat ride to Oak Island where my uncle worked as a caretaker of a large house and property on the island. Uncle Bill met us at the dock where he presented me with my first rod and reel, a Zebco 33 combo. For the next few days, dad taught me to fish for smallmouth, I explored the big house and the boathouses on the island. My bedroom overlooked the St. Lawrence Seaway and I could see the big ships brightly lit as they cruised past my window at night. The Thousand Islands area is just beautiful with the rocky islands, the mansions, and the river. One morning, dad tried to wake me up to go fishing but I was just too tired. After dad went out without me, Uncle Bill set me up with a bucket of minnows on one of the docks where I caught a limit of smallies all by myself. Dad was sure surprised when he found I'd caught more bass than he did that morning. One day we fished out of one of the big mahogany Chis Craft boats and I watched my uncle catch a huge northern pike that looking at the pictures, was nearly as long as I was. Those 4 or 5 days I spent with dad were the most magical I have ever had in my life. I got to back with dad five or six more times before he got sick and passed away. My life today is still influenced by that first trip. My house is decorated in a style that reminds me of the Thousand islands. I have my own boat and fish for smallmouth every chance I get. I am also an officer in the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance. Without that trip, 51 years ago, my life today would be very, very different. To say that that was a memorable experience would be an understatement.

I've never used marine grade silicone before. I don't keep my boat outdoors and don't use it in saltwater. The regular RTV silicone I've been using for years has always held up.

I've never had a problem with drilling new holes in my boat. If the old holes will be covered with the new trolling motor, I fill them with silicone. If they will be exposed, I put in a stainless screw with a grommet, washer and nut, adding silicone to the hole as I put in the screw. My boat is 28 years old and has had 3 different trolling motors, downriggers, and 6 or 8 different depth finders with transducers. I have a bunch of old mounting holes!