BigAngus752

Favorite: The Magnificent Seven. I have watched the movie it's based on, Seven Samurai from 1954, but I only watched it once because it's 3 1/2 hours long and subtitled. Very hard to watch. Our western version is in my top 5 movies of all time. 2nd: Big Jake. The ultimate John Wayne movie. So many quotes! And I have taught my dog to come to me when I say "dog!" Just like the Duke! 3rd: Unforgiven Almost heresy that a modern movie should make the list but what an amazing movie. This movie has absolutely no redeeming characters. None! We end up rooting for a group of prostitutes and a murdering gunslinger! Great movie. Honorable mention: The Outlaw Josey Wales Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Shane Rio Bravo 3:10 to Yuma (both versions)

So are you saying that you feel like the cooling lake water was "warm" but the fish were in a winter pattern? We live in central Illinois (unfortunately) where it gets extremely cold and the water gets hard. But the cooling lakes (thankfully there are several) don't freeze over. Depending upon which lake (we have both coal and nuke) and how much power they are producing we could have a cooling lake with water at 50 degrees in January, which sounds like warm water for central Illinois in January, but the fish don't know that. Think about lakes in Arizona where it's so hot all spring, summer, and fall that fish may hit a winter pattern if the water drops to 70. That's what a cooling lake is like. You have to forget about air temp and think about what the fish experience throughout the year and what they have experienced recently in order to find the current pattern. Do the fish act differently in cooling lakes? Well, yes they can. And where you are on the lake can make a difference also. Several of our cooling lakes have "warm arms" and "cold arms". You can have a good wind blowing baitfish into the shallows (with bass chasing them) in the warm arm in December when our other lakes are starting to freeze. It's similar to fishing a reservoir. It helps to know what the fish have experienced recently. In a reservoir you want to know how much water has come in, how many sluices have been open lately and how long/often were they open. In a cooling lake it's good to know if the plant has been pumping hard or not putting out much. Have the water temps been steady, increasing, or decreasing lately? Just like any other weather pattern, the power plant creates the "weather" in the lake water. You have to fish it accordingly. And if all else fails, throw the kitchen sink at them. If I'm flying blind I start on top and work my way from top to bottom until I find fish.

We have a 2016 Ranger RT188C and we love it. But if I didn't already have my boat I would be on this deal like a ninja spider monkey.

What color is the water you are fishing and what are you using the line for? I fish water that gets a ton of farm field run-off. It's a greenish-tint water full of brown silt. Hi-vis yellow works great for me. You should find the braid that is most visible in the water color you fish the most. Do you need a braid that floats or is "neutral"? Sufix 832 is a neutrally buoyant braid that is available as small as 6lb, which is .006 inch or equivalent to 2lb mono.

Powell 765MMH. It's rated 1/4 to 2oz and I can absolutely hurl a WP130 with it. It casts a mile.

I actually have nightmares about losing one of my Whopper Ploppers.

I just got my first "real" boat this year. I bring 8 rods. I don't know why because I use the three that @BrackishBassin listed plus a M spinning. I guess I feel like I need to fill up the rod compartment since I spent so much d**n money on the boat.

That's a worry for me too. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't want to come up "short"....

That makes sense. I do not see rough water often and I just don't go out in anything really rough. Based on what you and @iabass8 have said it would clearly be a pain in the you-know-what to try to use a 52in. Thanks much to both of you for the input.

Please be kind if this is a stupid question. I'm new to owning a real boat. I have a Ranger RT188 that currently has a 42in Maxxum on the bow. I am going to upgrade to an Ultrex and I was going to buy one with a 45in shaft. They are currently on backorder at every retailer and I started to wonder what the negative would be to putting a 52in on the boat. Wouldn't a longer shaft be more adaptable? I can trim up a 52in shaft but if I find I'm in too much chop for a 45in I can't make it longer. But if I run the 52in shallow all the time would I have to adjust it down every time I pulled it back onto the rack? Any advice from experienced boaters would be appreciated. Thanks.

I thought so too! I wish I could take credit for it. I hang around people smarter than me to get my answers, which is why I'm on bassresource.com

It is extremely easy (and not expensive) to create and install your own lift assist using gas struts designed for holding up car hoods or hatchbacks. You only need to buy the struts and bolts, drill four holes, and install. I will attach a very short video of a completed project. There are several write-ups available online if you Google it. Unfortunately I cannot attach a link for you because the write-ups may or or may not be on websites that engage in similar activity as this forum....

Every single day, everywhere I go for just shy of 27 years. The firearm and holster varies with the seasons, how I'm dressed, and/or where I'm going. This is one of my favorites. I just call it 'Merica.

It's not actually wasting fuel. It is actually running more efficiently and producing more horsepower. Cold air is denser and contains more oxygen per the same space. So your intake will hold "x" volume of air. If the incoming air is 80 degrees when it fills the intake (x) it contains a certain amount of oxygen. But if the air occupying "x" is at 10 degrees instead of 80 degrees it now contains significantly more oxygen. The engines computer absolutely must maintain the proper air/fuel mixture ratio so the only options it has is to shut off air coming in or add more fuel to the mixture. These numbers are just for examples sake as you aren't getting 10 degree air in your engine but that's a whole different story. Back in my drag racing days I kept a cooler with bags of ice in my trunk. Once the engine was hot in the summer heat I would pack ice all around my intake manifold right before my next race. Colder air=denser air=more oxygen=more horsepower. Your Ecoboost is a very small engine by typical towing/truck standards and they are getting every drop of power they can out of it while keeping it reliable. You will likely always see a pronounced drop in MPG when the weather turns cold. It sucks on the wallet but it's an impressive little engine. Just to make it more confusing...colder air doesn't necessarily use more fuel, but will always burn the fuel more efficiently. So when you are getting better gas mileage in the heat of summer your engine is actually much less efficient. Make sense? LOL

My wife remarks constantly that she is so happy that I will spend hours or even days (depending upon how much we are spending) to find the very best deal (notice I did not say "price"). I will spend a couple hours to save 5 bucks. I will spend weeks to save $1000. What I've noticed is that I have A LOT of friends that WILL NOT do this. They have no interest. They are willing to pay whatever the price is for an easy buying experience. If that makes them happy then good for them. I want the best deal.

Well that pretty much wraps it up. Thanks very much.

Has anyone used the Plano 3600 Worm Stowaway? https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-PLANOSTRG.html?from=basres Seems to me this would be perfect to store ned rigs in the side storage and Zinker Zs on the bag side, flip it over and have swimbait jigheads and bags of Skinny Dippers. I thought this could work with a lot of different technique-tackle and associated plastics. Perhaps even jigs and trailers. But I'd like to hear from someone that has tried this particular storage out. What SEEMS like a good idea isn't always such a good idea...like my first two marriages...

If you are sure you are going to wait for a year to buy a boat then now is a good time to start making "friendly" with your nearby dealers. Go get to know the salesman and, more importantly, let them get to know you. You want them to remember you when a nearly new trade comes in. In fact, without being pushy, ask them if they have a regular customer that trades his boat every year or two. This past summer we bought a boat under those circumstances. Two days after it arrived on trade I bought a 2016 Ranger RT188 with only 10.8hrs on the 115 Mercury. It's decked out and did not have a scratch on it AND the engine has Mercury's Platinum plan paid for by the previous owner (now mine after a small transfer fee). The guy that bought it gets a new Ranger every single year. He bought the RT188 new in 2016 and traded it last summer for a Ranger pontoon. My son keeps bugging me to go back to the dealer next June to buy the pontoon when it comes in! LOL You might get a one or two year old boat and save thousands. I save $4000.

Can you point me in the direction of one? I've yet to find one anywhere. Thanks

Sorry, I don't want to assume things but just making sure you mean a "regular marine cranking battery". Don't use a car battery.

I can hardly wait the 3 1/2 years until I move that direction and this forecast becomes a big deal! You just described "fall"... No, no, no....it's 'snowpocalypse'.

Walmart has Tatula 100HS for $104.95. Only 5 left! https://www.walmart.com/ip/Daiwa-TATULA100HS-Tatula-Baitcasting-Reel/34873401#read-more

Here's some good reading:

For topwater lures I generally only consider what the underside of it looks like. Choose your variety based on what the fish see.