surfer

10% solunar 50% weather 40% luck

Day 12. Prep work finished. The hull is still driping.

I think Taliesin is right. I use soft plastics at slow speeds so often I frequently forget there are other ways to fish. Sensitivity is pretty important to me.

I think I killed one last night. I gut hooked him at night without a light. I had the right pliers with me, but no light. We were fishing kinda fast to avoid mosquitoes. When we saw structure on the finder we would make a couple of drops of the worm and move on so the skeeters wouldn't get us. So i gut hook a 1.5lb. I can't get the hook out in the dark. So I let him swim while we troll 50 yards away from shore (no skeeters out there). Then my buddy holds his lighter above the fish and I quickly (45 seconds) get the hook out. When I drop the bass back in the water he is belly up. What gives? I read the article linked up above and it mentions not to force water down a basses throat by moving him to fast into flowing water. Did the trolling with him swimming likely kill him?

Yes and no. The line is fine. I don't know enough about the real to comment. The rod is unbreakable, but not sensitive. The lack of sensitivity will make it more difficult to tell if you are snagged on a weed or a fish. Sensitivity is in direct opposite correlation with durability. I think the Shimano combo would be more sensitive and let you know more about what was in the water. Sorry to tell you this after the fact.

I can only comment as tot he Sahara over the Cardinal. Those are my two current reels. And my Sahara is mounted to a Loomis. :

No option for the double sided or inside patch. The McKee is build like a surfboard. ;D Its full of foam on the inside.

Thanks Catt. I sure wish i could patch this from the inside. The McKee is full of foam like a Boston Whaler.

I use Suffix Braid and like it a lot. Out of the braids I tried it's the one I prefer.

I should have said up front that the boat only cost $1200 and could be replaced for $2000. I don't want to pay a Pro $500. I think I can get it done for less than $100 and 8 hours of my time. Yes water is weeping out of the hull. I understand that it's not a surf board. My background is carpentry. I have good tools and am familiar with mixing resin correctly. Surfboard repair is one layer of light weight cloth. Boat patch is 4 layers of heavy weight cloth. You guys are right though I am an amateur at boat fiberglass. It's a cheap old boat whose value can't go much lower. If there was ever a time to learn this might be it. I think I have the skills and with a little good advice I know I can get it water tight and able to withstand a 30 MPH choppy ride. Looks aren't important this time around. Dose any one have any experience with hull patching that they want to share? Hot Springs, Glad to hear you're happy with your patch and that it works. You are right about mixing in the hardener. I use a postage scale to measure my resin to hardener ratio. It's a big help. Catt, By "more than a patch" are you talking about fiberglass prep work of cutting away loose glass sanding etc. or are you talking about interior structural members?

Thats my thought too. But i hav enever been in the situation to try it.

I am going to take a guess and say that if he has two stern mounts and a bow mount he is trying to see how fast an electric boat can go. Not trying to fish. I would go with a strong bow mount and a straight ruder in back.

Hull Patch ? I recently found a hole in my fiberglass hull. The boat is a 78 McKee Craft. The hole was caused by the trailer tire rubbing the hull. The rub spot is 3 inches wide and 8 inches long. The actual hole is a 6 inch crack with fibers hanging out. I have done lots of fiberglass patch work on surfboards and am comfortable with the fiberglass portion of this repair. My question is how long to let it dry out before doing the repair? It has been out of the water for 6 days now and is still dripping. Are there any indicators as to when it is dry inside or ready to be patched? Is there any way to speed up the drying process? If anyone is familiar with McKee Craft structure and has an opinion or advice please voice it. All other opinions are appreciated too. Thanks in advance. Tanner

For the actual act of fishing while using the trolling motor you will want the bow mount. For the act of getting across the lake it doesn't make much difference. The 17 ft control cord will allow you to sit in the back of the boat that rocks/ bounces less and is therefore more comfortable. Carry an oar for back up. 4 or 5 hours constant will not kill the battery as long as you take care of your battery. You will most likely not run constant. Learn how to take care of your battery and it will last 5 years. If not it may last 6 months. A 14 ft aluminum boat is very light. You should get about 1.5 or 2.5 MPH. Plan on it taking you 30 minutes to cross a 1 mile round lake. Get the most thrust you can afford will shorten this time and increase handleing. Long Mike makes a good point about trailering. I am not sure how to handle that. My motor collects weeds.

Carolina Skiffs are great for fishing in all types of conditions. But I don't think your family will want to ride with you very often. They are uncomfortable to relax in. They are flat bottomed like a john boat and can be a wet harsh ride in chop. Just my $.02

The part about it trimming itself down while under way sounds like a hydraulic valve not sealing well.

I only voted so that I could see the tally. I had to vote Loomis IMX. I haven't been fishing long and don't think I know enough to comment accurately, but I have 3 rods. The two mentioned and an ugly stick. The Loomis has a lot more back bone, but I find the crucial to be a hint more sensitive. This may be in part to it M vs MH rating or maybe its balance? The crucial is much more balanced. If I could catch a fish bigger than 2 lbs I would tell you how they handle in comparison with one another. I have more confidence in the hook set with the Loomis. Since I am only using 6 lb line most of my fight is the responsibility of the drag more so than the rods ability. These are the two models I have. I don't know if it's really a fair comparison since the Crucial is a drop shot rod and the Loomis is a jig rod. SJR843 IMX CRS-DX72M

Do you know where the problem is occurring? Is it the floro snapping at the knot or in the middle? (loosen the drag) The knot coming untied? (use a better knot). I use 10 lb braid and 6 lb Floro invizx joined with a Uni-Uni knot. The knot has never com untied, but i recently realized my breaks would always occur in the floro at the knot. So this appears to be the weakest link in my set up. The bend put into the floro at the knot with the very thin braded is a very sharp bend while the bend tied to the hook is of a larger radius. It's as if the braid was cutting into the floro. Is there a better Line to Line knot for these thin light lines?

For throwing heavy baits the first thing you need to worry about is breaking the rod. Ugly Sticks don't break. So you could throw the bricks that Flechero mentioned. There isn't much you can't throw with it. But as RW said the Ugly Stick has serious drawbacks for bass fishing.

Good point. Calm water allows higher trim adjustments. Choppy water needs lower adjustments. You should be able to feel these things while driving.

Mono = the industry standard. All descriptions of other lines are made by comparison to this stuff. Braid = thin, limp and sensitive, but very visible and loud Floro = barely visible and sensitive, but stiff There are many other more subtle differences. And a cheap line is a cheap line no mater what it's made out of.

After you are on plane tilting the trim up pushes the stern down and in turn the bow rises. This doesn't sound right but the net effect is less hull touching the water. This in turn means less drag from water friction and more speed. Once tilted too far up the prop starts to come out of the water and looses traction. There is a sweet spot. This doesn't take into account proposing, stability, or control though. If any of these are outa whack put the trim down a little more.

While I know Vanish has a bad reputation for breaking easy my buddy didn't. We were out fishing yesterday and he hooked into a fish. He was reeling constantly and the drag was whining constantly for about a minute. I thought he just had his drag to light until I saw the fish roll at the surface. It was big. I cleared the deck for him and took over on the trolling motor while he continued the fight. The drag is still whining and he is still cranking. When the bass is 4 feet from the boat the drag finally silenced and the fish gave up. 5lbs 8oz on 6 lb Berkley Vanish. I was shocked. I guess that's testament to a good drag setting.

All underwater holes in the hull are potential problem. Start with them. You can visually inspect for where the water is coming from while on the water. I wouldn't leave the ramp area though. You may want to start with all three holes plugged then remove one and look for the leak. If no leak then remove another. If there is a leak make note of it then replace that plug and remove another until you have checked each hole. Did your bilge pump turn itself on? If you picked up enough water to notice your boat sitting low then your bilge pump should have been running nonstop. You will need to fix that also.

If your not having problems with the vanish then don't change it. If its breaking like its reputation suggests switch. Segar is better floro if you wanted to try another floro Segar Invisx for open water and Segar leader material for abrasion resistance in cover. I am not familiar with Yo-zuri hybrid personaly (its in the mail), but if I regurgitate what I have read: you cant go wrong with it either. There have not bean any conclusive tests about line visibility, but I lean towards floro.