crazyjoeclemens

^^^X2^^^ I just spent the weekend out on the Illinois River, chasing channel cats. If the current doesn't push your bait right into the brush pile, those channel cats will wrap your line around a stump just for kicks and giggles. Catfish tackle is a lot cheaper, but I think its the same concept - some of the structure that fish like to associate with tends to be a little snaggy. That's why you hear people say you gotta get hung up now and then, if you're gonna catch some fish.

Everything I've read about crappie rods has said that the longer rods primarily help with casting those light jigs farther and (as mentioned before) they help protect lightweight fishing line by acting as a shock absorber. If you think about the fishing rod as a simple lever, a longer rod gives the fish more leverage to pull on. However, I honestly don't think you'd notice any difference between a short and a long rod, when it comes to fighting a fish. That said, all of my panfish rods are in the 5' to 6' range for portability, so take that for what its worth.

I was driving through Louisville on I65 yesterday morning, and saw some guy loading his kayak back on the trailer after it had fallen off and went skidding down the interstate. It was scratched up pretty bad, but it looked like it would still float. I think yours will be OK, if you're just bumping into a few rocks on the river.

So, here's the thing - optimal tire inflation depends on the tire and the weight of the vehicle that sits on them. If you want to figure out the exact pressure, you need to use the chalk method described earlier in this thread. If you don't want to use that method, the number on your sidewall is your best bet. If you inflate tires to the sidewall number, the worst thing that will happen is you'll wear the tread off the middle of the tire a little faster. If you just guess and underinflate the tire, you run the risk of having a blowout. In short, use the chalk method or inflate to the pressure listed on the sidewall - just don't guess.

I inflate trailer tires to the pressure listed on the sidewall. While checking your tire pressure, don't forget to inspect the rest of your trailer, too. I just had a leaf spring snap on on my boat trailer on my way back from vacation yesterday. Let me tell you, it is not easy to find a set of trailer springs in the middle of Kentucky. If I had taken the time to pull the wheels off, check the hubs/bearings, and inspect the leaf springs for cracks before departure, I might have saved myself from an expensive tow bill. Unfortunately, being in a hurry as usual, all I did was check the tires and give the bearing buddys a few pumps of grease. Lesson learned!

Long story short, I'll be taking a trip to Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley in a couple weeks, but my boat needs some work before I go. My goal is to replace the bilge pump with an automatic unit, so it can sit in a slip for a few days with no worries. I've been looking at the Rule automatic pump that just uses load sensing electronics to run/shut off. Has any one used this model or are float switches still the preferred equipment for water removal? This job should be pretty straightforward, since the existing manual pump still works - it just makes some terrible noises when it starts up. The not-so-easy job I'd like to complete will be rehabbing livewells. Right now, I have a fairly bad leak, which I believe is coming from the livewell plumbing, particularly the cable-operated valves. Basically, I'd like to plug the front livewell, so I can use it as dry storage (at least for now). Then, I'd like to completely overhaul the rear livewell - replace the cable valve and the aeration pump. At the moment, the aeration pump is totally non-functional. I'm hoping its just toast, because I'd really rather not get into the wiring, unless I absolutely have to. That said, does anyone have any pictures of their older Ranger livewells or any links to resources for that sort of thing? I'm gonna have to dive into it head first, but it would be helpful to have something to look at, so I have an idea of what I'm getting into.

Central IL here. I'm probably more of a hunter than a fisherman, but I enjoy both just as much. Back when I had a lot of free time, I used to hunt quite a bit. I used to hunt deer, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, coyote, and dove every year. These days, its mostly just deer and coyote. I keep telling myself that, one of these days, I'll get to dust off one of my .22's to chase some squirrels again, but that never seems to happen.

I like to launch early on days the lake isn't too busy. If someone is there, so what? They can wait their turn like everyone else. Mistakes happen when you start to worry about them and rush yourself, so don't worry and just pay attention to what you're doing. If you want an instant confidence booster, just wait for a holiday and head over to the ramp that the powerboaters like to use. The first time you see a couple of people trying to launch/unload their party barge with the trailer jack-knifed across both ramp lanes, you'll feel a lot better about how you're doing.

That is a major bummer, but its good that no one was injured and your daughter wasn't scarred for life. I've done the same thing (the plug part, anyway). Fortunately, we were only in 4' of water on a warm day so, after my initial panic attack, I had the good sense to just hop overboard and install the plug. I'm actually glad I did that to myself once, because it got me thinking a little more about safety. I now keep a spare plug in just about every compartment on the boat. I also keep a dry bag with a change of clothes and a couple towels on board just in case I get wet, for any reason. You never know what can happen out on the water, and hypothermia is definitely no joke.

x2 That looks like some outstanding work.

I was faced with a similar decision when I bought my boat earlier this year. I don't have any kids (yet), but the wife likes to go out on the lake with me on occasion. Since its just the two of us, I went with an older Ranger. Its geared more towards fishing, but there's plenty of room for her to lay out and get some sun. Its also an older boat, so I was able to pay cash for it, which made the whole idea easier to sell. I know, sooner or later, I'm gonna end up getting a pontoon boat (we're not into skiing or tubing). My goal is to hold onto the Ranger, even if it means having 2 boats in the shed, because I really don't like the idea of loading/unloading a party barge solo. I guess, in a way, my ranger will be like your old Jon boat.

I pretty much follow the directions on the article you read. I usually just give it 1/3 to 1/2 throttle. It doesn't take much to get it going. Mine is pretty cold blooded, so it does take a while to warm up before I can drop it in gear and move. As mentioned, once its been run that first time, all it takes to start is a quick touch of the key.

I recently bought a 1991 375v for $4500, and I'm quite happy with it. Generally speaking, its well-used, but in good shape. On mine, the motor had a recent rebuild (verified), which was the main selling point for me. Batteries only have a couple seasons on them and still run strong. The hull is solid - it just needs a few minor gel-coat repairs. The electronics are outdated, but in good working order. The carpet on mine is worn and needs replaced, but I'm not too concerned about aesthetics. I guess, if it were up to me, hull and motor condition would account for 90% of the value of the machine. The rest of it is either an accessory that can be fairly easily removed and replaced or simply aesthetic. If you can, have a specialist look it over and verify motor and hull condition. Other than that, its like buying anything else used, you're kinda rolling the dice one way or another. The one good thing about old Rangers - they were built pretty solid. As long as it wasn't wrecked or run into rocks, there's not likely to be anything wrong with it.

I've heard peanut butter is the worst thing to use for bait. Apparently its so aromatic, that it will draw mice in from a long way off. Your best bet is to clean up any spilled feed or other easy sources of feed in the building. Then, place some of those black plastic box-type bait stations around the perimeter of the building. Also use the Tin Cat type traps without bait inside the barn. Place them along walls where mice tend to run. They tend to run right in them, rather than going around. Unfortunately, the mice may be a chronic problem in your boat - once they leave their scent somewhere, it seems to act like a calling card for more to come check it out.

Water is the real problem. Ethanol just amplifies that problem significantly. Ethanol doesn't actually attract water - it repels it. There's always trace amounts of water in gasoline, plus your boat is operating in a high humidity environment. Most motors don't have trouble with a little water in the gas, as long as its well-blended. When you add ethanol to your fuel tank, it forces the water out of the mixture. This causes the water to separate out into larger beads that can cause your boat motor to run poorly. You don't notice it at high RPM's, because it tends to suck those droplets through fairly quickly. You really notice the water at idle, or when trying to start it up. Since we cant always keep the humidity/moisture out of the fuel tank on our boats, its easier to run 100% pure gas, to minimize the issues that moisture causes.

My home lake is so muddy you cant see anything in there, and I've run up on a bunch of tree stumps with the trolling motor. Fortunately its never been more complicated than throwing it in reverse and kicking the trolling motor up to 100%.

No, it shouldn't matter. Deep cycle marine batteries have the same internal chemistry as your car battery. They're just built a little different to withstand repeated cycling. Any good quality automatic charger should work. I would get one that's capable of putting out at least 6 amps. That should get a drained battery charged back up in a couple hours. A 2 amp trickle charger would work, but you'd have to keep it hooked up overnight to get the job done. You might have a little trouble staying under $30, but you can surely get something in the $50 range.

Deep cycle marine batteries should be charged ASAP after use. I'm not an expert on batteries but my understanding is that, due to the chemistry of lead acid batteries, leaving them discharged or in a partial charge state can drastically reduce service life. I always plug my onboard charger in just as soon as I get my boat back within range of an outlet. I usually leave it plugged in until it switches over to maintenance mode. If I'm right back out on the water the next weekend, I usually won't plug it back in. If my boat sits for a couple weeks before I get to take it out, I'll plug it back in for a top-off charge overnight. When it comes to winter storage, I don't have any access to an outlet where I store my boat, so I usually pull the batteries and put them on a shelf in the garage with one of those 1/2 amp battery tenders hooked up.

Keep an eye on the local classified papers. My wife bought an old 14' aluminum V bottom boat for $50. Its held more beer than fish, so far...but a boat like this one could get you on the water for cheap. Just add a transom mount trolling motor, and it'll take you anywhere you want to go.

I have one that I use for coyote hunting. I ended up putting a sporter-style thumbhole stock on it, in order to get a longer length-of-pull. I'm 6'5" and those original SKS stocks are meant for a much smaller wingspan. The only other mod I made was one of those Barska scope/receiver cover kits. Its not fancy, but it will make a 4" group at 100 yards, and that's enough to work with where I hunt. Anyway, my dad kept the original stock on his, but he sanded off the crummy varnish and refinished it with some quality stain. To be honest, it looks pretty darn good that way, but I've never been a huge fan of tapco stuff. If the original stock fits you well enough, you could consider refinishing it.

I wasn't looking to make any radical changes. I'm just not familiar with boat plumbing components, and thought I might need to do some research to find out if there are new, more efficient systems being used today. If things haven't changed much since 1991, it should be a pretty straightforward job. As far as things I know I need to do - at the very least, the valves need rebuilt or replaced. It doesn't matter whether I have the levers set to fill or empty - water will run in and out of the livewells in either position. When I hit the switch for the aeration pumps, nothing happens, so I need to check wiring on those. However, If I'm going to dig into it, I figured I might as well replace the pumps and all of the hoses that I can easily reach. While I'm digging around in there, I'm also definitely going to upgrade to an automatic bilge pump as well. I tested the original, and it still moves a lot of water, but it makes an unpleasant sound when it starts up. That's one thing I consider critical equipment, and I don't want it to crap out when I need it most. Now, the boat has both front and rear livewells. The one thing I haven't decided is whether I should rehab both, or if I should just do the rear well and use the front for dry storage.

Well, my initial thoughts were to wait until winter to do any real boat work, but I'm apparently not capable of leaving anything alone...so I'm already planning to rehab the livewell plumbing on my Ranger sometime soon. I haven't even had a chance to look at whats there (that would require pulling the batteries and lifting the battery tray out), but I was wondering if anyone had any resources I could look at for tips and suggestions on how to get started. The boat is a 1991, and I'm sure some things have changed since then, so I would like to do some research on what manufacturers are doing now and what kind of parts/systems are available. Thanks!

I've only used Minn Kota trolling motors, but I'm extremely satisfied with performance and reliability. I have a small aluminum boat that I use for small lakes that don't allow gas motors. I power it with an Endura C2. With two large deep cycle batteries, it'll run a heck of a lot longer than I care to be out on the water. It also has plenty of power to buck a decent headwind, if it happens to get breezy while you're out there.

That's one sharp lookin' boat. I'd be proud to fish out of it, and I wouldn't worry about it scaring anything away, either. Just keep fishing with it. It'll get dirty again in no time.

I also wouldn't worry about the Cranking battery, if it's still working well. It's not connected to your TM batteries, so its age/condition wont affect them in any way.