moloch16

Thanks for the reply. I am using last year's gas but I had stabilizer in the gas. A fresh tank sure wouldn't hurt, but how do you dispose of gas? I'll also replace the spark plugs. Another clue is for some reason lubricant starting coming out a hole near the top of the lower unit. This is unusual and has never happened before. I changed the lower unit lubricant when I bought the motor last year and fished with it several times after changing it. Not sure if this has anything to do with the problem.

My buddy and I manage to screw it all up today. Here's the tally: Hitch pin fell out (or was never inserted), dropping the trailer on the way to the ramp Boat proceeded to put a nice dent / scratch in his shiny 2005 Frontier tailgate since this was used to stop the boat Brand new drain plug was found to be faulty - once we got to the river Motor ran us up the river fine, then refused to start again I fell in the water trying to load the boat Didn't catch anything but a stiff breeze Lucky for us... Some nice folks saw our trailer trouble and ran to get us a new pin I was able to jury rig the drain plug We decided to run upstream instead of down When I fell in water was only knee deep LOL.

Took my 9.9 Gamefisher out for the first time this season today. She started like a champ and we cruised on up the river. When I slowed down to fish she conked out (not unusual for this motor). After this I couldn't start the motor again. When I pulled the cord she would turn over but didn't even pretend to want to start. No smoke, no studder, nada. I tried and tried to start her until finally it became nearly impossible to pull the starting cord. Any ideas where to start? I check the fuel line it and it seemed to be delivering fuel. This was about all I could check on the water. Glad we ran up stream :

I've used a Berkley Strap-on Tackle Box for about 17 years now. I select a handful of baits I expect to use given the season and where I'm fishing. Pliers and such go in the pocket. I take two poles, a spinning rod for slow fishing some plastics and a caster for the faster baits. Works really well and I stay very mobile. http://www.amazon.com/Berkley-SOTB-Strap-on-Tackle-Box/dp/B000E7UJU0

Go to wal-mart and look for something made by Abu Garcia or Shimano in the price range Avoid the cheaper brands such as Shakespeare.

Thanks for the info. I've read some of those articles but they don't give good details on what lures to use from the bank. What size, weight, etc. I may just wait and try to find a local tackle shop, they can probably answer my questions. My main concern is everyone being out of stock!

Good stuff! Looks alot like my boat. I hope your family has a lot of fun and good memories on your boat

I break and loose sunglasses like crazy, so I use the $10 wal-mart brand. They work just fine for me.

If I got to meet Bill in person I'd probably just mumble and drool. I wouldn't know what to do.

I'm going striper fishing in April. Woohoo! On Saturday I'll be in a boat (guided) but I'm thinking about heading up a day early to fish from the bank. I hear bucktail jigs and flukes are good artificials. Can some recommend a jig size (1oz, 2oz, 3oz) and fluke size (3", 4", 5") for shore fishing? Also what size hooks to go along with the flules? Any other info you may care to share will be greatly appreciated! Oh and I'll be in Roanoke Rapides (i.e. Weldon boat ramp). Thanks!

I'm so sick of the wind!!!

I'm interested. I've often wondered why this type of instructional video is generally not offered. Learning by trial-and-error sucks!

I wonder why they set a minimum? I can understand a maximum, but if you can win the classic in a float tube, so be it!

My threads always derail

Can anyone suggest some needle-nose pliers that can cut hooks? I nearly embedded a spinner bait in my sons head last Sunday. Lucky for me he's thick headed. Looking for reasonably priced pliers

I'd love to have a BPS close by. All I have is Wal-Mart and Dicks I hate paying shipping, and you don't get those nice BPS sales flyers :'(

How do you guys rig them so they don't twist and turn? I rigged up one the other day and caught some fish, but noticed the bait tended to twist and twirl rather than swim along. I have the same problem with flukes....twisting and turning rather than swimming straight.

Yes it's riveted. How did you seal the leaking rivets?

It doesn't leak all that bad really. Water just seems to materialize in the back of the boat slowly over time. I don't know where it comes from, and honestly haven't taken the time to try and find out I thought about filling the boat with water while it's sitting on the trailer and see where it leaks out. Open to other suggestions

I have a 1978 14' Smokercraft Jon. It's great for learning how to mod boats cuz I don't mind drilling holes and such in such an old boat. My only gripes are it leaks some, and doesn't plane well (fish-tales up and down at high speed). Any hints on finding / fixing leaks and getting it to plane?

I got off work a little early today and decided to try the community pond just up the road a bit. I figured today would be a good day and I was right! Five straight warm days finally had the bass shallow. Wind was blowing a bit which helped. Fished from 4:30 to 7:00 and caught 5 bass. This is really good for me, I'm use to hooking one or two and losing both Biggest one was probably 3 pounds, 3 around 1.5 pounders and a dink. Caught two on a spinner bait, two on a swimming senko, and one on a purple power worm. It was nice to get out on such a nice day, and actually catch some fish!

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Mike is certainly a very interesting bass pro. Everyone should read his book "Fishing on the Edge".

With regards to the Citica / Extreme combo, what would you'll consider the most versatile handle (A, B, or C) and action (M vs MH)? I don't have a lot of room on my boat so my rods have to do more than one thing. I'm looking for a cranking, spinnerbait, flipping rod/reel combo. I fish mostly grass, very little timber. I'm thinking handle B medium action? I probably need a MH for flipping grass right? Also, how important is a flipping switch for flipping?

I bought a 55lb thrust motor and it said the same thing (get a 60 amp circuit breaker). I researched this in the past and the general consensus was to get 1 amp of protection for every pound of thrust. So in your case a 30 amp breaker (or fuse) would probably been ok, but what you bought will work fine too. If you decide to upgrade you'll already have what you need. BTW, you can never go wrong following the manufacturer's recommendations.

Well, you should tell us where you are fishing, but in general: The fish moved somewhere else than your normal spots The fish are feeding on something you're not imitating Is there a lot of pressure now? That could make the fish more timid.