Woody B

Persistent, sometimes lucky,

I like my Tracker (Classic XL). I sold my other boat 30 years ago. It was basically a fiberglass jon boat with a 25 hp tiller steer engine. My Classic XL is an aircraft carrier compared to it. I didn't know anything about modern boats. I also wanted a boat, and wanted to start back fishing (after 30 years). I didn't know how much I'd actually fish. I would have went with the Pro 170, but I sent Mrs B pictures of the Classic XL and the Pro 170. She said the black Classic would look good behind my black pickup. I love my Classic XL. I've made changes and added stuff. I fish multiple times most weeks. I've had the boat since December 2022. I currently have a little over 300 hours on the motor. I have no intentions of getting another boat. With that said, had I known when I was buying it what I know now I'd have bought a boat that was a little wider like a Pro 175, or maybe a Crestliner. Added: At the time I bought it I didn't know what I wanted for electronics or trolling motors. The original sonar unit that came on it is on my Grandson's "pond boat". The original 45 pound thrust Edge trolling motor is on a friends 1995 Tracker who's original trolling motor quit.

Those particular hubs don't work......all that good. If she knows she's going to need 4wd it would be best to get out and manually lock them in.

We need to try and have at least 1 new FFS thread every day.

I don't spend enough dedicated RECON time but I'm getting there. At times I've had a "knack" picking somewhere on a map or just riding around that looks "fishy" Some of these areas produced Bass, some didn't. A few minutes staring at a screen has helped my understand why some areas held Bass while other areas I thought was similar didn't. When I MAKE myself use my electronics the way they're designed to be used I catch more Bass.

The strange thing is my Grandfathers generation knew about the danger of the Sun. My Grandfather was a building contractor who worked outside a BUNCH. He never wore, and didn't even own a short sleeved shirt. He also wore a straw hat with a fairly wide brim for sun protection. My other Grandfather was a commercial plumbing contractor. He dressed the same way. Neither of them ever said a word to me (or my parents that I know of) about protection from the Sun, but why did they keep their bodies covered from the Sun if that wasn't the case.

I skunked yesterday at Lake Muddychuck. I had a plan, but I didn't stick to it. Mike Tyson says "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". The first part of my plan was to check a creek right across from the landing to see if there was any clearer water. There wasn't and no signs of activity on sonar. The second part of my plan was to go down near the dam. There was 20 mph winds with 30+ mph gusts. It was about a 45 degree cross wind to the direction I was going. I was getting SOAKED by the white caps. I decided to fish a while near the landing, then headed home. I went to Mountain Island Lake today, the next lake up the Catawba river from Wylie/Muddychuck. I had limited time and decided I was going to do "one and done".....meaning catch 1 then head back home. I caught a 16 inch Spot on my 3rd cast.....so I decided to fish a bit longer. ~20 minutes later I caught a 14 inch Spot. The wind was starting to get up so I decided to head home. Next weekend the lows are supposed to be in the teens, with highs around freezing. I probably won't be going then. I caught both on a Damiki Vault. A total of 2 isn't great, but it's WAY better than none. I also caught one of them on my last cast. (like I try to often)

NC/SC either allows 5, or it's unlimited. (I don't remember, but I checked and my 5 hook rigs are legal) Just some random thoughts. I had trouble fouling with the softer, more flexible rigs. I like the Yums, but not the light ones. You can bend the wires out enough to eliminate most fouling. I've seen Bass on sonar laugh at my "normal" A-rigs with 5 normal soft plastic baits, then had them attack it on the next cast after replacing the center/rear bait with a Johnsons Silver Minnow Spoon. I believe I saw someone here recommend the spoon, perhaps Tom/WRB. I've had a couple doubles, but no tail or gut hooked fish. I fizz them when they come from deeper than 25 feet. A friend told me if you hook one on an A-rig just let it swim around and you'll end up with more. I haven't and won't do that. That seems to me like a good way to injure fish. If this is true perhaps A-rigs should be illegal.

I don't know what's going on with the Lake Wylie Largemouth. They must me on some kind of fitness program. The 5 pounder I caught Monday was full of eggs, but otherwise skinny. 21 3/4" long pre spawn, but only 5.04 pounds. The Spots I catch are pretty much all fat, even the 10 inch long micro Bass. 21 3/4 long LM was 5.04, a 17 3/4" long Spot was 3.66. There's plenty of forage for all of them. From what I've seen on sonar the Spots are hunters....even wolfpack hunters. The LM are ambush predators. Flathead Cats are ambush predators too, but they manage to get really fat. @TnRiver46 I should venture out but I'm usually busy and have limited time to fish. Those clear, deep lakes would be a whole new ball game for me. All of the lakes within an hour of me are "blowed out" right now. I'm not in a "woe is me" situation. My lakes aren't and don't freeze. I'll have fun searching Lake Wylies 13000+ acres for clearer/cleaner areas even if I skunk. I don't get embarrassed, and I will eventually catch some Bass.

I like the OG's and the Little Johns. The Little Johns are heavy for their size, so they're easier to cast in the wind. I like the action from the Frittsides, but I've had the bills and eyelets break off a few. Maybe mine came from a bad batch.

I'm with you Pat. All the lakes around here a full of floating stuff. A couple months ago they were all 5 to 7 feet low. Not they're all spilling or close to spilling. Lake Norman is 7 feet higher than it was 6 weeks ago. How many gallons is 7 feet of water in a 30,000+ acre lake? I'm going to have breakfast with my Dad tomorrow then head to Lake Wylie later. Wednesday they had all 4 generators running and 4 flood gates open. Maybe moving all the water will create some clearer spots. Wylie is 5 feet higher than 6 weeks ago. I managed a 5 pounder Monday with high muddy water. Maybe they'll be hungry again.

Be careful on Murray in a Yak. When the wind gets up Murray is scary in my boat.

Staying home with 45 degree muddy water is a good idea.....but I can't do it. I caught a big ol Skunk today. I don't make excuses. I suspect a hammer was catching Bass while I was Skunking. The water was actually 49 according to my transducer, but my temp readings are usually a little warmer than others around here. I saw what I believe to be Bass hugging the bottom ~40 feet deep in the channels but couldn't get them to respond. I tried a little around shallow cover, but the 20 mph winds with 35 mph gusts made accurate casting......difficult. IF they were there I'm sure they were buried deep in the cover. Water looked like orange Gatorade. Added: I went all the way down to the dam. They're moving a BUNCH of water. All 4 generators were running and they had 4 flood gates open. With all this it was still within a couple inches of spilling. This picture is at Buster Boyd bridge. The water color was the same all the way down.

I won't watch videos but I'd love to see FFS "movie" of Josh Jones catching them hawgs. He's watching the Bass, I wonder exactly what he's doing to get them to strike. I always struggled to catch Bass that I could see. I thought it was just clear water/spooky fish. When I got Active Target I would find a way to scare off every single Bass that I saw looking at my lures. I know they couldn't see me. When I'd see the Bass I'd stop the lure right in front of them. They'd look at it and leave. For a while I'd not look at the screen after I cast into the area a Bass was. I decided that my "here come get me" action was incorrect. I finally figured out how to trigger strikes (sometimes) by trying to get my lure away from the Bass...... like fleeing prey. I suspect that as soon as a Bass shows any interest in JJ's offerings he takes it away from the Bass fairly quickly. My first ever A-rig Bass came after I gave up enticing a strike. I was right over a 35 foot deep brushpile. I dropped the rig on it and was jigging it up and down. The Bass were paying it no attention. I gave up and started reeling it in and 2 attacked it. I only caught 1, but saw 2 go after it on sonar.

Are they AGM batteries, or just regular flooded lead acid batteries? If they're flooded check them with a hydrometer. If the specific gravity is good in all the cells then they're still good. If they're AGM batteries I suspect they're still good. My experience with (automotive) AGM batteries is if they accept a charge after being completely dead they're still good.

That's the way everything looks around here. Tomorrow is my last vacation day. I'll be trying to coax a few. The water was just starting to clear up from the last flood.

Nothing like the others, but one that got away. I still laugh every time I think about it. I haven't done much saltwater fishing, and have never owned any saltwater gear. My Mom had a cousin that lived at Long Beach NC. "They" said the Tarpon were "running". (whatever that means). I decided I was going to catch one. I had my brand new Ambassador 5500C reel and a new Ugly Stick rod. I put 17 pound test line on it because "Tarpon are big". I tied on a fairly heavy hopkins spoon and heaved it out into the surf. A Tarpon, or something hit it and proceeded to run all the line off my reel. I didn't even slow it down.

They can't void the warranty due to a lithium battery. You're protected by the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. IF (big if) they can prove the battery caused damage they can not cover that damage. Some lithium batteries will shut off due to high charging voltage from Yamaha engines. This would cause your engine to instantly shut off. This is what Yamaha is looking to prevent. A quality battery, (like Ionic) will have a BMS that will control the charging voltage, but not shut the battery off. I've had an "unsupported by Mercury" Ionic lithium cranking battery for my 50 horse over a year now. Graphs only need 12 volts to operate on. IF someone is getting better images ect using 16 volts the extra voltage is covering up faulty wiring. With good wiring the extra voltage just caused extra heat due to the internal voltage regulator. Don't fall for the snake oil of 16 volts for graphs. 16 volt batteries have their place in the racing world. They're not needed in marine sonar applications. Disclaimer: I'm an automotive technician. I have 3 Ionic lithium batteries in my boat.

Great job!!!!!!!

Tega Cay on SC on Lake Wylie has an overpopulation of Deer. The council has been going around about what to do about them. They wanted to hire sharp shooters to kill some of them, but some of the residents thought that was cruel. (overpopulated animal populations is cruel) They finally settled on shooting the Deer with "Birth Control Darts". (no I didn't make that up)

I went for a couple hours this morning before the wind got bad. I didn't get big numbers, but I got big bass, at least by my standards. I left the landing and went to a deep rounded point. I saw shad, with some action on sonar so I deployed my trolling motor and caught a 3.2 pound Largemouth on my 3rd cast. This was 20 feet deep. I caught a couple small spots there then moved on. I was idling down a channel swing where the main channel is really close to the bank and right at the end of some docks. There was some shad at the end of the dock, and a dot on side scan under the dock. I deployed the trolling motor turned around and skipped a jig under the dock. A 5.04 pound Largemouth. My first 5 pounder of the year. It had eggs, but no real belly. 21 3/4" long but only 5.04 pounds. No more action around those docks so I went across a small cove to a rocky point. I picked up a 3.88 pound FAT spot right up against the bank. The wind was getting up, making it hard to cast, and I had stuff at home I needed to do so I called it a day. I'm off tomorrow but the forecast is for downpours and 30 mph winds. I'm considering a bait monkey BPS trip tomorrow.

My big game hunting is limited to White Tail Deer, Black Bear and Hogs. I don't think there's an ideal caliber per species, but instead match caliber to the range your hunting. I've got a Ruger Model 44 (.44 magnum carbine) that's successfully killed all the species I've listed. This is hunting in thick woods and brush where a shot over 100 yards is unlikely. I've also successfully killed all 3 species listed with a 30-06. Both of my Grandsons killed their first Deer with my 30-06. If I had to pick one caliber for hunting any big game in the Carolinas I'd pick a 30-06 but for hunting in deep woods I love my .44 mag. I don't own a .308 but think it's a super round. I like a heavier projectile for Bear than you can get in a .308 though.

I haven't bought any tackle this year......but my Sister gave me a $50 BPS gift card. I'll probably strut in there Tuesday during the rain with my $50 gift card and drop a couple hundred.

First of 2024. On an A-rig.

I've never weighed my A-rigs. I do a few different things with them. Most of the time I have four 1/8 to 3/16 heads with swim baits that are 2 to 3 inches long. For the 5th, and trailing bait I've had really good luck using a 1/2 ounce Johnson Silver Minnow spoon. I've seen them ignore a full swim bait rig on sonar, then actually caught doubles on one with the spoon on the next cast. Perhaps it's different than what they normally see. My rod is 7'6" heavy extra fast. IIRC it's rated up to 2 1/2 ounces or so. It's not a specific swim bait or A-rig rod. I had zero luck with an A-rig until I got live sonar. What I learned is I wasn't letting it sink enough. It sinks slow, especially for it's weight, but it also comes up slow. I was slow rolling mine like a spinnerbait. What mine like are give them a BUNCH of time to sink, then a moderate, hopping retrieve.