DaubsNU1

I had blood in stool a while back...have had four colonoscopies...now that I’m on the plus side of 50, it’s time for more. Back in the day had to drink stuff called “Go-Lightly.” It was horrible. Prep now a days is much better. Glad everything came out okay! : )

My Dad is retired carpenter...he started in the 1950’s when they built houses from the ground up. Taught me a ton about lots of stuff...even cars...I’ve pulled engines, replaced camshafts, clutches, brakes, bearings, electrical, radiators, etc. You could do that on older cars. Now with all the electronics, all I can still to the basics (oil change, guild changes, brakes, maintenance), but the big stuff gets taken to the dealership. Thankfully my good hunting buddy is the service manager. I feel a little better taking things to him. I do a lot around the house (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc.) but I refuse to get in the breaker box. Nope! @Way2slow, that looks painful. Glad you were wearing heavy gloves! Get well soon brother! I wear eye and ear protection no matter what I’m doing around the shop. Hearing your story, might be time for me to add the face shield as well...I would hate to see what that could have done to your head/face(!) Wife convinced me to ditch our 12 year old washer and dryer when we moved in to new house...guy at the Mart suggested we keep the existing...saying “they don’t make em like that any more...you will be lucky to get 7-8 years out of this new stuff...” She insisted on getting new : ) Hang in there men!

I was away from fishing from ~2005 through summer of 2020...when I joined BR. I too have learned a TON from this site and the great people here! One other game-changer I remembered...my college roommate in 1987 worked at Cabela's HQ in Sidney, NE. He worked the phones prior to coming to college...did not hunt or fish at all...I took him duck hunting for the first time. We have been life-long best buddies since then...in each other's weddings, traveled to see each other two and three times a year, even when I moved to Missouri. He went on to great things at Cabela's, working his way up the ladder, and also became quite an expert both hunting and fishing (man, that guy can put walleye in the boat!). He quickly went from student to teacher...and I learned so much from him through the years! His wife worked for Cabela's as well...rising to VP. Sadly, when BPS purchased Cabela's he knew days were numbered...He and wife are doing other things now. Life is good!

Caught the Musky bug living in NE Missouri...near Hazel Creek Lake. It is stocked with Musky. At first I could not care less about those big toothy predators...my buddy from Texas was infatuated with them...started buying all kinds of gear to "hunt Musky." About a year later I hooked one on a spinner bait while bass fishing with him. It. Was. AWESOME! A year later I hooked in to one while throwing a jig-n-craw in 20' deep timber...jig hit the bottom...started to move...I said "Hello Mr. Bass..." and set the hook. Swore I set in to a log...then it moved! What a fight. Did I mention I was fishing out of a belley-boat(!). He pulled me around for a while before I managed to kick to shore, pull the jig out, and release. Love me some Muskellunge!

Alberto knot...but watched the video on the GT knot, and how it's supposed to be the strongest...Might switch over.

I fished a little growing up in Nebraska -- trout pond at 2 Rivers, few trips to Valentine Refuge lakes, sandpit at family cabin. Mainly ultra-light tackle, Mepps, beetle-spins, cast-n-reel stuff. Got in to bass fishing while living in Missouri...co-worker and good friend was from Texas and LOVED to fish. Taught me a bunch. There have been a few "Game-Changers" for me through the years: Not fishing from the bank: Started with buddies canoe, and man did that change the game! So many different places we could hit. When that buddy and his canoe left town, I scored a belly-boat from the Cabela's Bargain Basement. Not great, but still on the water. Braid on my bait-casters: spooled up braid on my bait-casters in the 1990's. Sensitivity was amazing! Far fewer birds-nests...and much easier to resolve. Getting my own boat: Now I could fish when I wanted, where I wanted...with friends/family, or by myself. Not surprising how much I fish alone...as the day job involves supervising people in a customer service-type world. Give me some quiet time : ) Braid to leader on spinning gear: I resisted initially...how is that knot going to go through the guides...another knot means another failure point...boy, was I WRONG on this one...I'm just a few months in to this move...and it's changing the way I fish! What are your "Game-Changers"???

Yep. I will be adding foam under front casting deck, and in some of the compartments. Always good to be safe and cautious!

I was on the water at 6 AM...and fished until around 4:30 PM. Daughter texted and took a rain-check on fishing with Dad. Not a problem at all. She's a great kid and we see each other a lot. Now about the boat: I really like the layout after just one day fishing. So nice to have everything stored, clean deck, no stumbling over tackle boxes. Need to re-engineer the rear / starboard hatch...can't open when the seat is set to run the outboard. Minor problem...easily fixed. The re-purposed brass door hinges actually worked quite well. I may keep them for the side hatches. Cannot beat the price (FREE!) Need to add hatch struts to keep from banging in to rods when opened. Need to check charge voltage on the batteries...and see if the onboard charger I picked up is doing it's job properly. Boat leaks a small amount. Nothing bad...but I will probably seal up a few known trouble areas with the 3M | 4200 Thinking of places to store pliers, scissors, etc. RAM mount for my cell phone was a good idea (can't remember who told me that). That is all for now. Next up, installing the rear Garmin 4.

Aaaaaaa man....bummer! Respect for posting here about this fish! Better days ahead...fully expect you to be back here in a week or two with a "big-fish-story."

Most of the lakes I fish around here are 5 MPH limit / no-wake. No wake-boats in this... Fished today...hot and humid...mid 90's afternoon...sunny with 10-15 MPH winds. I was catching fish all day...mainly on NED rigs. Something turned them on even more around 1 PM...they started hammering weightless Senko pitched near trees. All were under 1lb. It was a good day...Think I boated 40 bass total, dozen 'Gills and one Crappie.

Plain and simple...jigs. I have an entire Plano box dedicated to jigs. Not going to lie...I'm not great with jigs. Fished them a lot when I lived in Missouri. Even caught a Musky on a jig-n-craw back in the 1990's...fishing from my belly-boat! I will never forget pitching that jig next to a tree trunk...watching my braid fall...and fall...and fall...(it was 15-16feet deep right there). Jig reached the bottom...then the line started to move...did not feel a bite. I said, "Well, hello there Mr. Bass...." and set the hook. Swore I set the hook in to a branch...then it started to move...boy, was I surprised to see that big old toothy predator rise from the deep. Back to jigs...I don't fish them much here in Nebraska...too mossy and weedy.

First day back on the water was mixed... Pros: Doesn't look like the added weight impacted the boat much. Doesn't seem to float any lower than before...and feels a bit more stable. The Garmin Echomap 7SV is a HUGE upgrade from the old Hummingbird Fish'in-Buddy After sitting for 9 months, the old Merc fired right up...with even the old gas in the tank. Here's to 91 octane, ethanol free fuel(!) Made some minor adjustments to the front casting deck...moved the seat back ~6 inches, extended the bow trolling motor mount...needed more room for the Garmin. And added a Ram mount for my phone. Relocated tie-downs. The whole set up works well. Just need some tweaking. Boated a nice 2lb bass right off the bat Saturday morning. Cons: Stumbled around that boat...without the storage I had the same problem as before...tackle boxes and stuff between me the outboard. Always fearful I'm going to step on and break a rod, or stumble and fall The epoxy resin coating was a bit slick in the morning...when the sun got up the epoxy got tacky. The plan is to carpet all the decking. The Garmin side-view isn't all that great. I've not tweaked anything from factory settings...and have not had much chance to just mess around with it. (CHIRP and Clear View are pretty darn cool!...that is a PRO) My 23 year old daughter asked to go fishing with me(!)...so I decided to rough-in the back decking and lids. Didn't have hinges, to I re-purposed brass door hinges from the house...wife is replacing all the brass with black. Works for me! Then I decided to empty my tackle boxes and the dry bag, and fill up the storage...WOW! All fits with room to spare...and I still haven't designed and built the hatches / access to storage under the front deck. Might not need to : ) It ain't glamorous, it ain't pretty, the lines don't match up quite right, still leaks a little...but it's coming together nicely! I'm fishing in the morning...

I did not manage to get the second Garmin installed... But I did get two coats of epoxy on the bow and casting deck(!) When I get home from work tonight, I'm going to bold everything back in the boat, get the bow Garmin wired in... ...and... I'm fishing tomorrow!!!

9mm rounds: Underrated. Wonderful balance between recoil, and stopping power. WD40: Waaaaaay overrated. Manual transmission:

100% agree. I've been fishing braid on my bait-casters exclusively since the 1990's...without any leaders. Just straight braid. Fished Mono on my spinning rods until about two months ago...then switched to all hi-visibility yellow braid to a fluorocarbon leader. Every rod I own now has braid, or braid-to-leader.

There is an old saying in the photography world (I'm a part time picture guy)... "the most important piece of photography equipment you own is the 12 inches behind the camera..." The rod I have been using for NED rig is a Cabela's Fish Eagle Classic IM6, 6'-6" medium weight / 6-12lb / 1/8-1/2oz rod. It's not so much the rod, as it is me : )

For beginners, on a spinning rod, 100% agree mono is the best! No doubt.

Check out tiny boat nation (web site and FB group). Lots of ideas on lighting with those peeps. Some guys are using LED stick-on strip lights. Seem to work well.

Ran mono on all my spinning rods until recently. Braid on all my bait-casters (since the 1990's). Spooled up a spinning rod with braid-to-fluorocarbon before a recent trip to South Dakota...hated it at first...but kept after it...and finally won me over. Now that I'm fishing hi-visibility yellow braid, I'm catching more fish...seeing the slight twitch in the line when a fish hits...or feeling hits via better sensitivity. I'm not great at leader knots, breaking off at least once per trip...but I'm getting better. Sadly, I think mono is a no-go for my future...

That is one of the reasons I am re-designing | re-building my fishing boat. I would rather had it and not need it, vs. need it and not have it... Boat is coming together nicely...four open squares in the middle will be covered storage. I will also have additional storage under the bow deck (not cut in this picture). Plenty of room for all my crap : )

More pictures... On-board charger and back battery set...more wiring pictures.. Test fitting the bow...new Garmin, RAM mount for my camera Mr. Floppy Ears...supervising as only he can : ) Bow trolling motor battery mount and cut-off...This will all be under the front deck...accessible via hatches. I have navigation lights!!! Laying out the Garmin for install Success!!! Not nearly as clean and tidy as my Brother's Ulterra with built in Hummingbird transducer...but this works for me! Next up: Install rear fish finder (Garmin Striker 4cv) Epoxy the trolling motor bow section. Epoxy the front casting deck My hope is to fish this weekend and confirm the electronics all work as needed, explore the layout and fish-ability of the set up. Make any adjustments to the plan... Upon return from vacation Finalize the plan Order carpet, hinges, cargo netting cup holders, etc. Get it all put together and finished! What started as a new fish-finder, escalated in to a partial rebuild, and morphed in to a complete re-design...is now headed toward the finish line! Stoked!