Long Mike

Semi thread hi-jack. I have an Escalade with a great big, gas hungry motor, but it pulls my boat with ease. Passing is no problem. Have you ever seen a bass boat on a trailer go past you at 95 mph?

The late, great, Doug Hannon, who claimed to have caught over a hundred 10 lb bass, said the majority of his catches were caught between the hours of 10 AM to 2 PM. That said, you will very seldom see me on the water before 8 AM, and very seldom, after 6 PM. Us old folks gotta have their rest.

Another testament to the old adage; "You can't fix stupid."

The box is mine! Mine, I tell you! No one touches my precious box!

I have a four bank charger, with only three batteries. I have two banks hooked up to the cranking battery. I've been doing this for a couple of years and have experienced no adverse affects. It just means that the cranking battery charges faster than the others.

Potential theft issues aside, and assuming that there will be a week or so between trips, I bring all of my gear inside where it is kept at room temperature. I don't bother slackening off on the brakes, because it is no longer necessary with today's technology. I just don't like the idea of my gear going through extreme temperature cycles. I figure if it isn't good for me, it can't be good for my gear.

I'm 68, an avid fisherman, and a Moderator on these forums. Some of us old farts know a thing or two about the Internet and about bass fishing.

There are several variations on Sloanzp's theme, but the key is a long rope tied to the bow of the boat.

Man, you have the worst luck with trailer tires.

Stabil and its relatives are good products, but don't overlook StarTron. Not only is it an excellent stabilizer, it also has de-gunking properties that, with consistent use, will keep your carburetors or injectors squeaky clean. I've been using it religiously for years and add it to every tank of gas. Come the end of the season I winterize my boat by trimming the motor all the way down to drain any water. That's it. StarTron does the rest. The boat is parked outside, under a canvas cover, so it is definitely exposed to the elements, including temperatures approaching zero. When the weather warms enough to take the boat out on the water, I know the engine will fire up almost immediately, despite the fact that it has been sitting there for months with a half tank of gas in the tank. BTW, I have no affiliation with StarTron, I simply believe that it has an outstanding product.

Unless you are planning to fish only the bays, I would not try to fish Lake Fork in any boat less than 17 ft. The main body of the lake can get downright dangerous if the wind comes up. Luckily, there are numerous boat launches around the lake, so crossing the main body is not usually necessary.

I have had my Terrova and iPilot for about three years and have had no problems with it at all.

Thanks for the input guys. I am now the proud owner of a new 1000 lb. jack. The difference is amazing. I no longer feel like a decrepit old man.

So, in that vein, does that mean that wire gauge is chosen because of its surface area? Secondly, if a surfactant was added to the water to eliminate the surface tension, would the same rule apply? Third, salt water is an excellent conductor of electricity, while fresh water isn't, yet all the fish in the seas survive, despite billions of lightning strikes. Which leads me to the conclusion that anything below the surface of the water, regardless of surface tension, is at ground potential, and is completely safe. Rebuttals would be welcome.

Yes, I can say eclectic, but that wasn't the answer to my question. Regardless, I appreciate the input from both of you.

At my age, testicles make a good cushion. They're not much good for anything else.

I have a 2004 Tracker 18 footer. I am no longer a young man, but can still, with great effort, lift the trailer off its jack, so I figure the tongue weight at about 100 lbs. As I age, I am having more and more difficulty in cranking the trailer up with the existing jack. Knowing Tracker, I figure that they installed the cheapest jack they could find, so I figure that it is rated for 400 lbs. So here's my question. Because I have an engineering background I figure that if I replace the existing jack with one rated for 1000 lbs or greater, the cranking effort for me would be much less, because the jack is geared to lift a much greater amount of weight while still being cranked up with the same one human power as on my existing jack. Am I correct in my assumption, or does it require more of a he-man to operate the crank on a jack having a higher weight rating?

Good one! LMAO!

It would be great to have the discretionary income to be able to afford toys costing $250K and up, but I don't. When I dream of owning a new vehicle I dream of owning a new Suburban or Escalade. I can afford to buy either one, but I can save a lot of money by buying a used one. The thought of buying a used exotic car of any make or model has never crossed my mind. Exotic cars are great eye candy and feel good to the testicles; otherwise they are completely impractical. But then, I'm 68 years old.

If, if, if. If a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its butt every time it jumps.

I went to the Zerust web site. The capsule will protect 3 cubic feet, so I would think that you can place it anywhere in the box that you want to, although Zerust recommends that it be placed in the center.

I suppose it would depend on the local rules and the conditions. I occasionally fish a near-by 1,200 acre lake that is the water supply for a local town, and is sign-posted as electric only, but it is not enforced. I suppose the cops have better things to do, and rightfully so. When I fish it, the big motor is tilted out of the water and I use my bow-mount TM to navigate. Needless to say, a bow-mount TM can make getting an 18' boat back on the trailer a bit dicey, so I fish that lake only in the summer, because I know that I'm going to be doing some wading.

Very nice work Chris!

I have always caught more fish when I was on the water. They were all caught at various depths, and with various lures, depending upon the conditions at that time

I generally use 30# braid for almost every reel, and size the Fluoro to the technique/species I'm fishing. I usually start with about a 6' leader. It allows for multiple re-ties.