BaitMonkey1984

I have a 2001 Ranger R81vs. It is in overall great mechanical and aesthetic shape for a boat of any age. It looks for the most part like a boat only a few years old. However, it is now in reality 17 years old so it needs some TLC. Recently I have installed new seats,new trailer tires/brakes/lights/bunk boards, new graphs/radio, new trolling motor batteries pretty much everything has been replaced in the past two years. The carpet should be done before it is shrink wrapped for the winter. The trailer fenders were significantly oxidized and it was really getting on my nerves. I had tried rubbing compound, polishing compound, and waxing several times. It never lasted more than a day or two before it was back to heavy oxidation. I was recently contemplating getting the fenders repainted or wrapped, as new fenders were over $1,500 and I didn't want to spend that much on the fenders. I was also looking at spending an entire weekend trying to wet sand the fenders. Here in MA our summers are short enough and I was not looking forward to the prospect of missing a weekend of fishing and wake boarding to wet sand. So although I continued to research how to wet sand, I looked for other potential solutions. Somehow I end up watching this Youtube Video for Leprechaun Magic. I am immediately skeptical as soon as I see the word magic. JJ's Magic is the only Magic I have been impressed by. The Video impressed me and it was ~$50 for a bottle. I had nothing to lose more than the $50.00 and a lot to gain. So I received the package and applied the product- standard wipe on wipe off product. Well, this far 48 hours it has impressed the heck out of me. The photo below shows a treated vs non treated side comparison. You will note that there is wax in the non skid pads from prior attempts to fix this product. My only issue is longevity of the product. I am interested to see how long it lasts before it requires re-application. Has anyone else used this product and can speak on this issue? If not, I will certainly report back here periodically to update this post. However, I am truly impressed thus far. Disclaimer- I am in no way shape, form, fashion affiliated with or sponsored by this product just wanted to get this simple solution to what I believe is a common problem boaters have out to the masses. .

16ft v hull with 7.5 hp game fisher given to me by my Grandfather when he was too old to use it. Upgraded to an 8.0 hp Mercury. 19 foot Ranger 2001 R81vs with yamaha 150hp that is currently undergoing a major restoration

WRB my boat had that weird middle seat/step up. I will be replacing the bench seat with two chairs and a center console/step. My question really is has anyone here had to build a wooden deck to close off the gas tank compartment and then bolted the seats to that wooden deck. I will of course be carpeting the wooden deck.

I have a 2001 Ranger R81vs that I have had for about 10 years. It is in great condition, and hull looks great, engine runs strong Great boat. The inside was meticulously maintained by prior owner and now by me. However, as it is 17 years old the interior needs a redo- seats and carpet to be specific. I purchased the High Back Bucket Seats and center console from bassboatseats. https://www.bassboatseats.com/collections/bass-boat-seats/products/l100c I was hoping my local marina would be able to install the seats, but they wouldn't because it would require some custom fabrication. Essentially, when the old seats are removed the gas tank is exposed. Im thinking that it should be simple fix, create a wooden deck over the gas tank, secure it to the boat, carpet it with marine carpet, and then bolt in the seats. My question is- am I foolish to think it is this simple. If anyone has undertaken a similar project, any tips, hints, etc would much be appreciate.

A buddy of mine was out on Long Pond near the Souther end checking ice thickness today. He said it was 4 inches thick and will likely be out tomorrow fishing.

Bill send me a PM. I see your location as simply Northeast in your profile, so I am unsure as to the exact state where you reside. However, I am an attorney in MA and can potentially be of assistance or at the very least provide you with an unbiased referral to someone who can be of assistance.

Ok, so I broke down today and made a purchase. I was driving by Cabellas and needed mushroom head jigs. Again, they didn't have a single pack. I see the Bargain Cave and peruse through. A Hydrowave Mini regulalry price at 135 marked down to 70. I know they go for around $100 so I decide to try it. Cant pony up $500.00 for the regular unit because I am skeptical. I cash out and the hydro wave mini rang up as $35.00. Excited to see if it produces.

I can usually tell the difference between smallmouth, largemouth, pickerel and all other (catfish, perch, bluegill) with around 85% accuracy. As previous posters have said its a feel based upon years on the water. It probably took me about five yeas of fishing before I could tell. However, occasionally I still get fooled. I would say its one of those intangibles that can't be learned it is just based on feel. some get it some don't. I kind of am nostalgic to the days when I had no idea what I had hooked until it jumped or I got it in the net.

I have faith I will return to my old self. Also, I have a two car garage with filing cabinets and overhead space filed with more terminal tackle and soft plastics then my local Dicks Sporting Good. Not kidding. So I will be ok for a while.

Hunting with both bow and rifle. I also like to do anything that gets me outdoors such as hiking, camping, etc. Any time I can get on the water is good too and my girlfriend picked up a nice wakeboard boat so I now am splitting my time between fishing and wakeboarding and waterskiing. With a short summer, there isn't enough time for everything.

I took out my tube box last week for the first time in years. Before I got pretty good at catching fish on a texas rigged craw I threw tubes quite frequently. Have not used one in quite some time. It was fun using this trusty lure even if I didn't catch them all that great. I really like the powerboat 3.5 inch tubes and the Smash Tubes from Havoc.

I realized I was dropping about $100.00 on tackle a week for about three years. I was buying just for the sake of buying and further realized that the great majority of these baits while looking cool, were not being utilized. So I stopped buying random baits and have spent less than $100.00 this summer. I wish you the same luck, it is actually easier than most think.

Yes, this littering issue drives me crazy. I simply do not get it. I will now in my older years make a conscious effort to remove at least one piece of trash every time I am out fishing, hiking, hunting etc. I understand that some is inadvertent but fail to understand what is clearly blatant littering. Just a few weeks ago I was hiking a trail in the white mountains that had a free shelter you could camp at. It was a large lean to with room for 10 people, fire pits, some fire wood already cut etc and some people decided to leave there empty beer cans and other trash in the shelter. I cannot fathom how people can consciously little in these gorgeous areas such as mountains and lakes and ruin the aesthetics, and especially puzzled they will destroy areas where the state is providing great services at no cost. Rant over.

No one knows this secret. There are technically three public launches if you look at a map. The one public ramp is located in Tyngsborough, MA near the Fleur De Lis Club. The Ramp is public, and after years of the Club claiming otherwise and multiple police involvement the town put a sign stating that the ramp is public. The problem here is that there is no public parking. Furthermore, the road to the ramp is narrow. I keep my boat docked in the lake, but I have seen people parking on the side of right the road of Elm street after passing Oak street. Their is a pay ramp located on Passaconway. All in all, difficult lake to get into. After 1:30 P.M. most days are filled with jet skis and wakeboard boats, so get there early.

Agreed. I have done this once before, as we all have. However like 12pound bass I realized my mistake instantly and corrected the issue. Despite immediately fixing the situation, I would not be surprised that running the motor with the leads reversed would drain the battery quicker then normal. I would charge up the battery and bring it to Advanced Auto Parts anyways to check the health of the battery.

Docks. Docks. Docks. Specifically wooden docks, with several cross braces, and ideally with grass/weeds wrapped around the dock posts. My favorite docks also include the big wakeboard boat hydraulic lifts. They have several parts, are a big (22 foot lone and 6ft plus fee wide) piece of cover, and also have lots of hoses in the water which translates into something akin to a manmade brush pile. Just take care not to hit these $180k boat or the hoses.

I fished my home lake long pond which is located both in MA/Nh on Saturday. For two hours I had the lake to myself in the rain. Caught 10 bass and 2 nice pickerel. I decided to keep the fish in the live well for a picture. All fish were caught on a white and chartreuse spinnerbait or chatter bait. One of the better days I can recall in quite some time.

Not as often as I hook a big bass. Happened to me today, a 5lber which is a great fish here in MA hit my flipping set up. I rolled and kept her down for as long as I could, then she jumped and did what she needed to do to survive. Seems like the bigger they are, the easier they come off.

This thing tex rigged with an un pegged weight will catch me lots of fish all year long. Deep or shallow. Open water or flipping. Funny thing is that the regular chigger craw that simply doesn't have the middle two extra appendages is a dud around here. Crazy that my homelike bass will kill this bait but not one so similar.

I want chatter baits to do well. I do. I throw them over and over and over with limited results. I used to love throwing spinner baits and did really well, still do. The problem is that I can't get over the perception/noise that the chatter bait is a much better choice. So I tend not to throw it, then when I do, in all white or bluegill pattern I usually do pretty good. But still, I just want the chatter baits to do what everyone hypes them up to do.

So I have been on the losing end of this when trolling sewn on smelt for landlocked salmon in Maine a lot of times. For Bass Fishing I usually rig up whoever is going in my boat with what I am using, and what has been working so this very rarely occurs. This year though, we had the best jerk bait bite on my home lake for 2 weeks pre spawn. They were killing a deep rapala shadow rap and a live target jerk bait. I had been out during the week and located a transition area and hammered them on these two baits. I took my Dad out that weekend, had the exact same lure tied on for him. I caught 11 and he caught 0. And the area was so large that it wasn't like I was back boating him. Same line, cadence etc. I laughed for the first 6 fish then tried to get him one. I set him up with a good approach etc and even stopped casting to good looking targets. My takeaway was that the difference was due to casting abilities. I use casting gear and am able to make longer and more accurate casts. I am going to work on becoming more accurate because I have seen the difference a good cast can make.

I would also look at the TH mArine Loc-R Bars. They will keep your lockers secure. You never really understand how vulnerable your property is until some low life teaches you that lesson the hard way. Hope you had a decent bourbon or two to ease the pain.

Kudos to you. I have a neighborhood kid who loves to fish and always asks me to take him out. Kind of hard to say no when he sees that my ranger is more often not in the driveway then in the driveway. His parents recently purchased a lake house so he is now going to be able to fish regularly. The kid has always loved to fish but only got out a few times a year. So I asked him to explain the water clarity, vegetation, etc. I told him to come on down and he got some nice braided line, hooks, weights, and a bunch of soft plastics that I don't use for various reasons. But I also made sure to give him stuff that was going to work, so he could catch some fish. He seemed very happy and I am happy that I am helping him out like my grandpa helped me get started. Plus, it is good to know that those baits i paid good money for are being used and not wasting away in my garage. If everyone did what they could, whether it was rods, bait, line or time this world would be a better place. Get the kids outside into the outdoors.

I am a domestic relations attorney specializing in divorces, modifications, and contempt actions. It is typically very contentious work. I am going on five years of practicing. Fishing provides me with the ultimate release and I am able to recharge after only a few hours on the water.

I fall somewhere in the middle here. I generally give people their space. If there is a party, or lots of people on the beach/ dock I will generally pass right by it and return to it later. If there is one person on the dock I will generally feel the person out as I troll on over to it, only getting as close as need be to present my bait effectively. After saying hi and making a bit of small talk, if I get the feeling they are OK with my presence I stay, if not on most occasions I will leave after a few casts (except for my favorite few docks). Most people are very friendly that I encounter and enjoy talking to them about them fishing, sports, etc. Now, as others have stated if there is someone who is skilled in placing their bait in tight quarters, skipping, flipping, etc although I may not like the fact they still may error and hit my boat I understand they have that right. In regards to individuals who are not skilled once they start getting too close to the boat, I generally ask them politely to guess what a bright new shiny wakeboard costs. When I tell them the cost, they usually get the message and give proper space due to their skills.