surfer

Yep. Swamp gas. It smells like rotten egg and is full of methane. It is flammable. I always wonder why it rises in clusters as if triggered by the added weight of the boat disturbing the botom sediment to release it. Very common where I fish. Usually means bad fishing right there. Nearby weeds are OK though.

I only use spinning for now and agree with what Skillet just said. I never hold the line tight to the pole with my finger. I just hook the line over my finger in a comfortable position. The weight of the lure prevents the line from jumping off my finger.

So with 10# line the Improve clinch would break at 7.8# and the unit at 6.9# with all other falling I between. Unless you are setting your drag within a sneeze of the breaking point any of these knots should be fine. I am biased though. I have bean using the Uni forever and am trying to justify not switching knots. ;D

Like the physics guy said "both in should give you 60# ish." That's still better than 55#. As for witch one in front or rear I don't think it would make nearly as much difference as having good fresh batteries and weight distribution. You want that boat pretty close to level. gps or two points and a stop watch is the only real way to test it.

From the book Big Bass Magic. white plastic worms work good around springs. under gournd albino worms are comon coming out of underwater springs. paint a couple of pink eyes on it with a marker.

3 to 5 ft . I am going surfing if its 3 to 5. If it is 3 to 5 ft chop I would want a deep V hull for a smother ride. Basically what RW said. The boat he showed would be fine for a semi experienced boater in those conditions. Being that I am from Florida and am never out in more than 2 ft of chop I would still want a bigger deeper V than that. It's safer and much more comfortable. If you don't have any experience in big chop then don't start in 3 to 5 ft with the boat RW showed. You would probably be fine, but it's better to crawl before walking. Just to make sure we are talking about the same 3 to 5 ft. A 5 ft wave would be the height of your shoulder when standing on the deck of your boat (aprox water lever). So when in a trough of a 5 ft wave the top of the wave would almost block your view of the horizon. Man that's big. I never see that in lakes around Central Florida. And we have so many nice days that if it even comes close to 2 ft I am staying home and doing something else.

Two 6V lantern batteries wired in series. $10

Holy smokes! It took me a while to realize that your dad's boat wasn't camo! The reflection of the grass was so clear! wow. I thought it was camo also.

Think of the transducer as sending down a single beam to measure depth. The leading edge of your graph shows what is under the transducer at that moment. Everything scrolling on the graph are things already passed over. It's like looking at the historical graph of what you passed over and the leading edge is what you are on top of. Unfortunately you cannot see into the future to see if you are at the top of a hump. You will only know where the top of the hump is after you passed over it.

If you are using a small boat that you have to load and unload from your truck the TM should push it quickly without using too much juice. And lifting the oversize battery is no fun. I have a 14 ft fiberglass boat with a 60hp motor and my 45 lb will run for more than 6 hours on a normal sized AutoZone deep cycle battery (can't remember the Ah). I transfer this battery to my john when I use it and I'm glad it's not any heavier. If you have a larger boat and are doing a permanent instal than get the bigger one just because. Get a charger with auto shut off and trickle charge. Always charge your battery ASAP after use and check the water levels every now and then.

Some bass may notice the line some bass wont. Depends on the bass and the water clarity. Practice with a thin rope to learn the knot. Then practice with the fishing line. I use the uni-uni knot for line to line.

FYI the EPA only tightened pollution restrictions on the motors. They did not mandate 4 strokes only. Many two stroke manufacturers have stepped to the plate and made clean and quiet 2 strokes. 2 strokes will continue to be produced.

You should be able to pick up a used trailer for $300. A Jet Ski trailer will work. A used 9.9 hp or similar for $500. Fuel tank and hose $50. New fish finder $150. New trolling motor $150. Deep cycle battery $80. Battery charger with auto shut off and trickle charge $60. Registering your trailer & boat and putting hull numbers on it $30. 5 gallon bucket and battery aerator pump $15 Total $1335 Let me know if I left something out.

I will second that by saying it floats, but not by much. I fish mostly weightless worms and the line is easily pulled under by the worm without affecting the fall. I have only been able to use the line for a few outings. I just switched from braid w/ floro leader to Yo-Zuri Hyb US. I miss the sensitivity of braid, but l like the strength compared to the floro leader knot strength.

I have left my fish finder on for an entire weak in my garage by accident. The cranking battery still cranked the boat Saturday morning. It must not have much draw.

It sounds like you have gotten lots of good advice. If you have the money buy a used 30 hp and put it on. If you don't like it for any of the previously mentioned reasons then sell it for little to no loss and buy bigger or smaller depending on how you liked the 30. A 2 stroke will out perform a 4 stroke to a large degree in these smaller engines. As for the liability, don't run over any one. This should be a rule weather you are insured or not no mater what size motor you have. If it's legal then put whatever power you want on the boat. The manufactures under rate their boats for liability reasons. I hope by saying that it in no way makes me liable for your actions. :-?

Darn it. I want to see the results of the pole, but dont want to vote cause I dont know what the better real is. Is ther any way to see the pole without affecting it with my uneducated vote.

That's a very subjective question. Tell us your thoughts about it. Don't forget about the money, tiller or steering wheel, max hp rating of the boat; is it legal to overpower the boat where you live, do you like to go fast in a small boat? I guess that last one is a dumb question. Faster is almost always better.

I am not specifically familiar with wiring a float switch, but I have an assumption. It sounds like the new boat has a working pump in it hooked up to a toggle switch at the dash. If that is the case leave it alone. Then wire the new pump with internal float switch directly to the battery using its ground wire and float switched positive wire. There will be three wires coming out of the new bilge pump. You will need to refer to the instructions as to witch two wires are the ground and float switched positive. The third wire would go to a toggle switch, but we are not gona go that route. Now that the pump is wired connect some hose to it and run it up and over the gunwale. Place the pump next to the existing pump in an up right position. Make sure it is as low in the hull as possible. Place a brick or something heavy on top of it if it doesn't want to sit right. Poor some water in the bottom of the boat to test it. If it doesn't work you can use the existing bilge to drain the water. When it's time to go fishing tuck the hose below deck with the new bilge. When you are done fishing take it to the dealer and have him properly install the float switch.

Yes. The easy thing would be to wire it to the cranking battery as you will routinely draw down your trolling battery by trolling. The low voltage alarm will then warn you if your cranking batery is low.

In BPS here in Orlando they have both bass and reds in thier instore display tank. Some bass are 8 lbs soem reds are bigger. they also have a black drum.

X2 A battery sitting uncharged is bad for the battery. Same applies to when it's on the store shelf. Take tester with you to the store and look for a battery that is charged. Get a charger that will automatically turn off to prevent over charging.

verry nice work.

Hull repair complete. $30 and 8 hours of my work. Fortunately I had all the needed tools and only had to buy the fiber glass kit. Test voyage yesterday and it is water tight and good to 30 MPH. The foam is still wet and heavy and the boat lists slightly right.

Bunnerrabbit, I would say no. I bought my boat with a trailer and working 60 hp motor for $1,200. At that price I figured if i get three years out of it that's only $400 a year then I don't care if it sinks. I am curently up to $2k invested with other minor repairs and a plywood back deck. Add to this my labor of roughly 30 hours total (I originaly planed on 5). I am currently a little beyond where I planed on being. If anything goes wrong with the motor I am upside down. In your case you have a lot more repairs to put into it plus it still needs a motor. If you can afford the $900, the time investment, and plan on it failing in a few years then maybe. Now let's look at the motor you would need. With all the extra water weight in the foam you would need allota HP to push it. So a tiller is out of the question. You will need rigging. When the waterlogged boat fails that's more work to recover the motor and rigging than just a tiller. I am with cart7 I wouldn't touch that thing.