Wayne P.

Thanks for the question Nitroman, I have a "piece of junk" Javelin that has been gararge kept since 1993. I put it's quality of construction, and performance way ahead of any Nitro. Since the bankrupcy of OMC, Javelins are no longer made, but they would be my first choice for another boat if that were not the case. I would chose a Triton for any future purchase. I have driven and been a passenger in just about every brand, some have more desirable features for my taste than others, but for overall fishability, and performance, I would choose Triton. Stratos would be my second choice, Skeeter woud be my third choice. Edited: after a little more thought, I would put Bass Cat as a second choice.

Thanks Bass_Fanatic, I haven't tried that hook. The only one I have found that has a large enough gap and is short enough to fit in the first segment is the Gamakatsu G-Mag Oversize.

I have no suggestion for your problem, but don't use toggle bolts. The hole you have to make to get the toggle through for a 1/4" bolt is way too big for a snug fit for a trolling motor application. You would just break the toggle apart in a short period of time with retightening trying to prevent movement. If nobody comes up with a secure method, contact the boat company for their solution.

Lowe's has a good selection of fabric tool sheaths w/belt clip for your application. The material is similar to the original Gerber sheath. You can get an original replacement at: http://www.gerber-tools.com

Nitroman, you are biased towards Nitro especially since you bought one. Most boat owners are that way. Of every brand that you mentioned plus some that you didn't, the Nitro is the least desirable and the only thing it has going for it is low price. If you are basing your opinion on used boats and what you chose was a very lighty used boat as opposed to some highly used boats, your comparison has no merit. If you compare 10 year old boats of all brands with the same usage, the Nitro would be way down on the list of desireable boats.

alabamabassmaster, for the shorter bodied frogs like the Horny Toad, putting the hook bend between the legs and skin hooking the point on the back (txposing) assures better and more hookups. When a strike occurs and the hook is set, the frog swings out of the way and doesn't take up hook bend space.

For the uneducated person, there is no dumb question. You tie to the snap that is on the blade. You can use it just like you would a spinnerbait, fast, slow, dropping, hopping, jigging, etc.

Bass_Fanatic, do you use the 5.5 and if so, what hook do you use with them?

A crappie won't turn down a meal in a crowd.

The replicas in Moser's restaurant at Lake Fork Marina look good.

Sure you may Mattlures, but only based on my reply to you this morning as some of your assumptions were incorrect. I don't want to refute any more of your opinions on a public forum.

I saw the show and can't remember the brand. Since they are always promoting either Gulp, or Powerbait, if either comes in a swimbait style, that would be it. They were using it on a jig head ripping it through weeds. Weeds was the pattern.

The BIG question is can Tiger's knee stand another 18 holes?

southwestoh, I found this by websearch: http://www.wildlifeartistry.com/price-%20tanning.htm#FISH Prices

Rocco looks like the one to beat now. Great attitude.

Mattlures, it was not done as you described. No foam body was used and the skin was filled instead of stretched over a form. I don't know what the substance was, but I watched a fish being done and saw some of his work before I made the choice of that taxidermist. A couple of later ones were done by another taxidermist and they were done the same way. I did not chose the cheapest craftsman, as a matter of fact, he was the most expensive and the most regarded among those that had fish mounts done. I'll send you a 2.9 mb size picture for your critque.

I answered "live bait". It's the only presentation that does the fishing and you do the catching. You can even take a nap after the cast and let the bait to the work. I don't use live bait as I prefer to do the fishing and the catching.

In reference to the weedless finesse wide gap hook, the largest size available is 2/0. The hook eye is too close to the hook point which results in missed hook sets. The non weedless versions are not as bad, but with the added material of the weekguard, missed fish are more likely. When used with fat worms like Senkos, the likelyhood of missed fish is even more pronounced. If used, treat it like a Circle hook and wait for the fish to swim away from you or at least perpendicular to you before putting any pressure on it.

One of these brackets or a homemade similar one will work. Then just mount your head unit on piece of 2"X10"X 12" wood. Add some alligator clips to the power cord to clip on the trolling motor battery or a dry cell 12V battery. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_387_200001006_200000000_200001000_200-1-6 A suction cup transducer mount works for some, but I haven't had satisfactory results on metal boat that way.

Gordon, if you are referring to my post when you stated "wacky/texas rigging", send me an e-mail for a description of how/why. purdum43@aol.com

Mattlures, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a picture of a largemouth bass caught on April 19, 1975. It was not mounted as you described and has been kept in a low light, controlled environment. As far as finding flaws, there aren't any because it is an actual fish. purdum43@aol.com Bass-Brat, I didn't "badmouth" anyone, I stated my opinion on the subject of whether to have a replica or skin mount done for a trophy bass and the authenticity of a replica. I also stated my opinion about the photo techniques of representing a catch. If you don't agree, that is your opinion.

I'm an ole timer and my opinion is that I don't fish for artificial fish so I don't want an artificial fish for a trophy mount. I have several skin mounts of different species that are 25-35 years old. They all look as good as they did when mounted. I don't regret having those fish mounted any more or less than I do any game animal that I have had mounted. I legally harvested them and they belonged to me when I did. My recent trophies of big fish and game animals consist of photographs. I don't take photos of fish held at arm's length towards the camera so they look bigger than they are. Anyone can have a trophy replica made to any specification they want without even catching a trophy size fish-just make up some measurements, use one of those 2# bass arm's length pictures, and you can have a monster hanging on your wall. I don't keep fish for food or trophies any more but I don't complain/ridicule/or demean anyone who wants to keep bass for any reason.

I use a 2/0 Gammy Octopus hook #02412 for finesse worms and a 3/0 Gammy Octopus hook #02413 for Trick worms and Tx rig them in the middle.

Raul, I agree that a nail inserted in the head is a good addition if needed for depths of 5'+, in current, or with wind. I still insert the hook in the same direction with or without the added weight though. I haven't found it to be necessary to do otherwise, good suggestion though-thanks

If you really what an effective presentation of a Zoom Trick worm, try it this way. Yes, the watermelon with red flakes is popular in most part of the country. I fished Fork a few weeks ago for 6 days and only used the moccasin blue color. It produced just a well as the watermelon/red had in the past there.