NY_Jig

Happy April everyone, I know I'm not the only one itching to get out and wet a line. I anticipate I'll back the boat into the water around mid-late April. I know it's somewhat important to keep an eye on forecasted overnight temps, prior to putting the boat in, to ensure I do not store it overnight in freezing conditions. Does anyone have any real do's or don'ts when it comes to fishing during the earlier days of Spring and overnight temps can still drop into the 20's-30's? I want to fish, but not so bad that I'm willing to risk damage to my outboard. This is only my second year of fishing with my 16ft Crestliner and 50hp Merc 4-stroke. I learned the hard way last year what happens when you run an outboard with a damaged prop because I let the allure of fishing overwhelm my better judgement...$$$$$$ Don't want to make that same lapse in judgement mistake twice by allowing water to freeze in my motor. I pose this question knowing there's alot of other new boat owners that might be or should be wondering the same thing. Thanks!

I most definitely will be getting insurance going forward!

Well, bad news fellas. I brought it to a shop and faced the crappy reality of owning a boat. My prop shaft is in fact bent, as the service tech showed me the wobble as he spun the prop. His original intention was to replace the entire lower unit, but first asked if I had insurance on the boat. I told him I did not, as I didn't think it was necessary, given that this isn't a $30,000+ bass boat I bought new of the show room floor. He was understanding and said I may want to consider it going forward for incidents like this. He said it would cost a pretty penny to replace the lower unit so if I wasn't going through insurance, we wouldn't go the route. His intentions are now to pull and inspect the prop shaft and send it out to be straightened. He said he will have to re-seal everything and obviously get a new prop back on it. I was quoted roughly in the $1,800-$2,000 range. I'm still a little sick over it, but what's a guy to do, it has to be fixed. The worst part about it is that he said the prop damage was minor and could have been fixed with a refurb. Unfortunately, running the motor like I did afterwards (purely due to inexperience and lack of knowledge) is what most likely caused the shaft bend. Is it normal to have the urge to put the boat on the front lawn with a FREE sign??

I live in Upstate NY, just an hour north of Albany. My current prop is the OEM 3 blade, which I would agree is most likely a Black Max. I purchased the boat from the original owner in late March of this year. I know some of the above members have suggested a SS prop and to shell out a bit more money, which I'm open and receptive too, however, I'm just a blue collar guy like the majority of us on here. Dropping $300-$400 dollars to keep my boat on the water doesn't exactly brighten my day. It's the cost of doing business as an avid angler though and I understand that. Now that I've stepped down off my soap box... I intend to look at another aluminum prop and will certainly look into the Spitfire. I'm gonna call down to a shop that's about 30 minutes from me and give them the run down of what I have going on. Additional info or insight from other members is welcomed.

Thanks for the info guys. I’m less than impressed with the available options for boat repair in my neck of the woods so naturally I worry I’m going to be overdiagnosed and overpriced in the end by someone looking to make a buck. I will get it to a shop though and have someone look at it. Regardless of what work it may or may not need, I think I’ll put a new prop on myself given that it’s not an overly difficult task and can save myself the labor cost there.

I launched my boat into some heavily stained water the other day which made for zero visibility of under water obstructions, even those just under the surface. While driving away from the launch at just above idle speed to some bridge pillars I intended to fish, I felt and heard the dreaded banging noise we occasionally experience and the motor began bouncing and then shut off. I had obviously gone over something that was much harder than a submerged piece of wood. I turned the key off and raised my motor to find one of the prop fins had sustained a gouge that I would describe as follows. If you could imagine taking a dime and laying 3/4 of it across the prop fin, the gouge is about that size in a half-moon shape. The motor fired back up with no issue and after fishing the bridge pillars with no success, I made about a 10 minute run up the lake at WOT, and then back to the launch when I was done fishing for the day with no apparent issue. My boat planed and ran on pad in what seemed to be a normal fashion. Upon doing some research at the end of the day, I read some different information on various websites that stated running a damaged prop could potentially cause motor issues in the future. I intend to replace the prop, but I'm not made of money, and don't intend to spend $150.00 at the drop of the hat unless it's absolutely mandatory. Just looking for some input on whether I can continue to fish and replace the prop in a reasonable amount of time, or if I should replace it immediately. I'm not sure if some of you with more experience would consider this minor prop damage or serious prop damage. I'm running a 2012 16' Crestliner with a 50hp Mercury EFI 4-stroke outboard with a factory aluminum prop. Thanks in advance.

Me and my fishing partner will be entering some team tournaments this summer for the first time. Looking forward to the competition and fun of it all. With that being said, we understand fishing our strengths and fishing with confidence, but we're looking to know what's necessary and what's not. Will we want cull tags as time goes on or is that just a professional deal. I feel like for the most part you can figure out who's the smallest fish of the bunch in the live well most of the time, so do we really need it for local tourneys? How about a scale? Speaking of live wells, ice no ice, treatment or no treatment, etc. Also, if fish waste in the live well is such an issue, is there a problem with draining the live well midway through the tourney and letting it refill with clean water? just a thought? Weigh bags. What do you like, dislike, and recommend. Do we want a mesh liner for the inside of the bag so it can be removed and dipped into aerated tubs if they have them, or again is that just a pro deal? Thanks everyone! Looking to get some of the house keeping stuff out of the way before we start off on the wrong foot.

I know now, thanks Tom!

Awesome, good to know!

Yes motor is alway running. I don't shut the motor off until the boat has come to a rest in the water.

Anyone fishing South Bay, Ti, or the stretch of water in between the two? I have never fished Ti before, but I'm looking forward to fishing up there this year. Was hoping to make a trip up in a week or two for a flippin/pitchin bite.

I purchased a 16ft Crestliner Storm with a 50 HP Mercury this past winter. The boat is preowned, but no complaints here. Handles fairly rough water without issue and motors right along. Very agile when fishing tight areas like docks and narrow creeks. I'm happy with my tin rig.

I am usually good about slowing the boat gradually after making a run with a WOT. Not only to avoid bringing a large wake with me thats going to roll through the area I intend to fish, but also to avoid water pouring over the transom and into the back of my boat. On occasion though, there are times where we have all backed it off to quickly, and the wake comes up behind you and rushes the back of the boat. With the exhaust outlet being below the pee hole on the back of my 50 Merc, I feel there could come a time where the water can come rushing forward and pour right into the exhaust. I assume this could cause serious issues if this does in fact occur?

Crazy to them maybe, but not crazy to us!

I fish both with great success. My best and most quality bites no doubt come on a jig though. I stick with 3/8 and 1/2 oz for 90% of my jig fishing and prefer the colors of pb&j, green pumpkin, or a sunfish (bream/bluegill) color. There’s something about a flaired skirt drifting slowly through cover that the big mouths just can’t resist.

My favorites are the Strike King Rage Bug, Strike King Rodent and Missile Baits D-bomb. Have had particularly good success with the baby rodents and baby D-bombs. I liken them to a finesse jig. Sometimes bass don’t want those big arse creature baits near them and prefer the smaller snacks instead.

I tie the FG knot and have good success with it. Not terribly complicated once you tie it a half dozen times or so. It does have a very small diameter when properly tied. On occasion I will tie a FC leader to main line braid when I want to use a rod that’s spooled up with good braid and don’t want to waste it. I will agree that FC somehow got the reputation of having little to no stretch and being the preferred line for jigs and T-rigging for non braid applications. However, FC most certainly has a noticeable amount of stretch, not a ton mind you, but a noticeable amount, and may not be so different from mono. I have never fished mono over 12 lbs, but I would assume 17-20 lb mono has some beef to it and less stretch then say 6 lb mono. That being said, I’ll stick with FC, it is very translucent under water, and the sensitivity is nice.

Might not necessarily be what you’re throwing, but where you’re throwing it. Can’t catch fish where there aren’t any to catch. Hot weather is a good time to start fishing docks, submerged wood, or anywhere you can locate cooler water temps. Mouths of creeks that run into the body of water you’re fishing often bring cooler water with them. Good place to catch fish that are stacked up to feed and stay cool. As for baits when the bite gets tough, for me anyways it’s simple, PB&J colored jig with a green pumpkin or black/blue trailer depending on water clarity. Fish your confidence baits to help keep your mind in the game!

I own several Powell rods and will continue to buy them. They’re just all around solid rods. Super light, super strong, and very sensitive! My fishing partner is a Powell guy as well so no complaints there. However, my 7ft MH Abu Garcia Veritas is one of my favorite rods, and for the price ($100 if you know where to look), I will grab another in the future. From pitching finesse jigs to lay downs, to lipless cranks in sparse grass, this rod is one of my workhorses. Hell I’ve even horsed a couple of good ones out of the slop on a frog with it. For reels I’m also a dedicated Lews guy. My latest reel is a Lews Custom Speed Spool. Casts a mile and reels smooth as butter. Highly recommended.

Eases the pain a bit to here some stories from fellow anglers. I do plan on buying the same exact setup. I hate to spend the money right now, but as you all know, this sport is an addiction, and I want my setup back. Nothing a little overtime can’t fix I suppose. The worst part about it is that that Endurance does float! Unfortunately, the river had white cap waves from a strong wind and the current was strong. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack at the time, not to mention I was having a full blow caniption haha! By now it could be god knows where. Cough it up to a hard lesson learned!

I ended an awesome afternoon of smallmouth fishing by losing my BRAND NEW Powell Endurance over the side of the boat during the run back to the launch. I am still sick over it! I just got the rod last week and made maybe 20 pitches/flips with it. I had a Lews Tournament MB reel on it, making it an approximately $300.00 setup. I’m just a blue collar guy so that’s a small fortune to me as far as fishing gear is concerned. Strap your rods down folks!!

Back in July Powell posted a sneak peak on their Instagram page of what they referred to in so many words as their new and improved Endurance line. Prior to purchasing my max 3D I did some poking around about what guys had to say about Powell rods. Many raved about the endurance line, but complained that they had been discontinued. I love my Max 3D, but look forward to the release of the Endurance's in November. Anybody have any information on the improvements to the new rods?

I have two Lews Tournament MB's ($139), 6:8:1 and 8:3:1 respectively on my jig rods. Very smooth and well built reels for the money. Sharp looking reels as far as aesthetics go as well if that matters to you. I would buy more in a heart beat and most likely will. I can't justify spending the money on some of these high priced reels when $150 can buy you tournament grade performance.

Greetings all. I have used this forum for information for a few years now and figured it was time to join. I have always been a passionate hunter, but caught the bass fishing bug when I was introduced to flipping and pitching a while back. I have been hooked to jigs and soft plastics ever since! There's nothing quite like feeling the THUMP THUMP and jackin' a largemouth out from structure. I do fish a variety of techniques, but prefer beating the banks, docks, and wood. I have joined primarily for equipment reviews and opinions. I like to know what real blue collar fisherman think of certain brands and gear with unbiased opinion and blunt truth. Happy hunting and fishing everyone and thanks for having me.