fishinwrench

Bettet take pics of them next to a ruler just in case one of them is THE BOMB and you end up loosing it.

I had a badger come in on me while bowhunting a persimmon patch in Camden co. many years ago and I had no idea WTF it was..... I described it as a groundhog/sloth hybrid to my buddies who accused me of being stoned. Then one day I saw a taxidermy'ed one in a gun shop and immediately knew that I hadn't had a flashback after all. I'd say that seeing one in Mo. is very rare. I'll confess that I did indeed draw on it and was a micro-second from launching a broadhead at it, but I'm glad now that I didn't.

Culling? Crappie don't do as well as bass in a livewell for several hours. I noticed alot of dead crappie on a certain arm of LO immediately after a crappie tournament and assumed that was the cause since they were all about the same size (about 10 1/2").

I was in Scouts all of my childhood. We had really great leaders and I learned more quality "stuff" in BSA than I ever did in public school. I have saved lives using knowledge and skills I developed in my scouting years. Quite a few of them actually, including my own on multiple occasions Anyone that stayed in scouts long enough to earn their merit badges had to have learned a ton of valuable skills, regardless of how lame their "troop leaders" were.

The reason Bass fishing is so popular is because of all the different ways (and places) they can be caught. On the surface, or from 10" of water on a jig to 40'+ on a spoon, and all things in between in ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers. And then once you've been there/done all that, you can start flyfishing for them. It never has to get boring. But if you fish ALOT and narrow your choices down permanently to a basic few techniques.....you'll be buying golf clubs or building a monster truck soon.

I've had my views changed (corrected) on several topics here over the years. It isn't rare by any means for me to fly off into the unknown on a subject....and then "be brought back down closer to earth" by someone on here. The frustration always remains though, because even if one of us has a truly logical solution to 'whatever', nobody capable of actually doing anything about it ever hears/considers/acts on it.

Until you have most of the basics down, and some refined skills developed.....why not just save yourself some cash and stay out of the competition relm for awhile longer? You'll learn alot faster by spending time on the water alone without any pressure. when/if you're ready to start competing you'll know it.

Success with post spawn Whites would be a bona-fide test for any guide. Take plenty of beer and snacks and don't let your wife forget to take "her book".

Bend Over And Take it

I didn't catch what area you hail from but if you're in the LO area I'd be glad to do the waterpump for ya.

Well if there was a single beer cap on board they'll claim "alcohol involvement", but seriously how hammered would you have to be to hit a docked houseboat at 3/4 throttle? I'm giving the driver the benefit of doubt. Here is how a broken shift cable can cause something like this: Driver is easing into a docking area, shifts into reverse to stop the boat, cable breaks and boat is still powering forward, driver panics and goes for more throttle in reverse, boat speeds forward....Crash! But because there was a beer in the cupholder "the crash happened because of alcohol". I'm not defending drunken boating but I hope they investigate further than the cupholder and .08% toxicology findings. There are 2 shift cables and a shift converter on that Mercruiser I/O and that relates to 9 areas of potential shift failure while still allowing throttle advance in either direction.

Just slap a bunch of turbines in the Missouri river and kill two birds with one stone (pun'ny hu?) Generate energy and chop up asian carp into blue cat chow.

The "fitted" fuel hoses for the 1965 Merc 650 are NLA so all connections will have to be fitted with shortened threaded nipples (standard nipples are too long to fit without kinking the hoses). To go through all of that (8 times), plus refresh the water pump is gonna be about 350.00 P&L from an "honest" mechanic, and about 40.00 from one that's crooked as a snake

The dirty water shouldn't turn you off at all, it will have the fish super shallow. Drop a jig, lizard or a big tube around shoreline cover and be prepared to nail him/her before it hits the bottom.

The water pump refresh is a breeze, but the issue you're eventually gonna run into with older Mercs is the availability of ignition components when you need them...... and sooner or later you will. So in other words, regardless of how much you're willing to spend freshening up the old Merc she's only gonna run for as long as the current ignition system allows, unless you have access to a few other ones to rob parts from.

I have been using SC Premier spinning rods for a long time. I've had 3 of the 2pc. 6'6" med/lt rods break above the ferrule at the same exact spot, but I keep buying them anyway because I just like the feel of them. I buy a new one and send the busted tip in for a replacement so I always have a backup. I like a 2pc. for canoeing and for hike-in spots, but if you are always in a regular boat or dont have issues transporting it I'd recommend the 1pc. Premier for sure. IMO the Avid spinning rods aren't enough better to justify the price difference.

Regardless of whether they are spawning or not the bass are in the shallows hanging close to 'things'....and they will stay there for another 4+ weeks. So turn off your electronic imaging toys, sharpen up your pitching/flippin skills and fish what you can see with your eyes.

LMAO! #11 Josh's..... You SCORED!

The project toon is going bye-bye here shortly, It's on its way to Columbia to be transformed into a duck blind/bowfishing rig. I gotta find a nice 14' jon to store the little Seahorse 6 on.

Well would you freakin buy it already so he'll go away.

Dude, can you please change your avatar ?

His name is Power Pack, he's my test tank pet.

Speaking of a 6hp here's a 1973 2S (although I mistakenly said "1976" in the video) dug out of the ashes and blew off the cobwebs.... Sadly I prolly won't be alive to see a 4S that old run as well.

I don't have a dog in this fight but I blame the wedding cake. That s#it is poisonous and it effects the brain in drastic and destructive ways. Guys dissin' their fishing buddies is merely the beginning symptoms. It gets much worse before it gets better so by all means give the guy a break, he'll make it right in the end.

As a service tech who is not a "dealer" my actual hands on experience with the E-tec is in its infancy. I just haven't had very many cone in yet with any running problems. I've had a few with tilt/trim issues but that turned out to be a rigging fubar that was easy to rectify. The diagnostic equipment and software are fairly expensive for me and I still haven't bit the bullet and aquired it for my shop....it's hard to justify spending several thousand now just so I can swap out a few 30.00 sensors someday. LOL But I work with a local dealer that has it if needed and when the time comes that I appear to be "bugging them too much" I'll go ahead and get my own stuff. The Etec design incorporates the time tested best of the best. They took their best (toughest and most reliable) lower unit design, best water pump, starting system, tilt/trim system, their most water proof and corrosion resistant electrical connectors, right down to the least problematic little clips and fasteners, and used all the best 'stuff' at their disposal on the Etec. I sure haven't noticed that much thought being put into the development of any of their competitors products yet.