fishinwrench

A 16 will float shallower, but the benefit of a 16 over a 14 is more than just an inch of draft. IMO the only reason to own a Jon boat smaller than a 16' is if you want to haul it in the back of your truck instead of on a trailer. But you still can't do that with a 1442 Resale value is greater on a 16 and they sell fast when you are ready to unload it. 14 footers are hard to sell when you choose to upgrade (and you WILL), you're gonna take a beating on it. They're a dime a dozen on CL, and you won't have to race anyone to get to it first. There's a reason for that.

Close enough! By state law boats under 16' are legal with only one of these for each adult occupant You don't have to clutter up the boat with wearable PFD's unless you want to.

Nope 😊 That's pretty good though. 👍

You can definitely buy a SC Premier blank, it is their SCII blank. Falcon blanks are nothing more than standard mass produced Chinese or Mexican IM6 blanks that can be bought through Mudhole, Jann's, Hook & Hackle, or any place that sells rod building supplies. Taper (butt diameter vs. tip diameter) is the only difference between actions. Buy a 9-10' blank and you can cut any standard Falcon, Duckett, All Star, Okuma, Quantum, BPS Qualifier, ect. blank you want out of it, from ultra-lite to Heavy Flipping.

The boy is growing.....get a 16 ! It's actually only 15'10" and only a couple pounds heavier than a 14. Here's a quiz for ya.....Who here knows why 16' Jon boats are made 15'10" instead of 16 ? 😊

Tell the court that you were in the creek for a baptism and I bet they'll drop the case. 😊👍

So has eating bass, 4-stroke outboards, and about everything else related and unrelated to fishing. Are we gonna just quit talking now? 😂 Gimme a bit and I'll bring up something we've never discussed before.

The problem with that, is that by doing so you are showing that you already believe that you have no initial right to be there. And if you go there after being told "no" then your case falls apart before it even begins. Just because some guy got shot once upon a time in Crawford county is no excuse to just puss out and forfeit your liberty. Or at least it isn't for me.

Getting used to it should be easy, you do it every day. 😏

I don't believe that commercial "navigation" is required to determine the public's right to be there. The goal from my standpoint would be to simply avoid a conviction.....not to attempt to make case law. Once charges are defeated YOU (and only you) will be able to access the stream the same way again....100% Legally !

Pushing for a final definite ruling is a slippery slope, because it's very VERY likely not to go in our favor. 😏 We're almost better off skating around in the gray zone. At least this way we can pretend confusion and ignorance and keep things at the misdemeanor level.

The actual wording is "used for commerce". And in the case of the streams around Lake O they ALL HAVE BEEN. It doesn't have to mean that logs or people were transported through the area. Gravel has been removed and sold for many years, and still is being removed and sold. That definitely falls under the definition of a stream "used for commerce"....at least as far as any county prosecutor is prepared to argue. And I'm sure that covers a good number of Ozark streams.....but proving it may be difficult in some areas. Here around LO it happens to be very easy to prove both commercial gravel mining, and gravel mining done by the state road districts for maintenance....an act paid for through our taxes.

Awesome 👍

Well here's the way I'm rolling with it from here on out.....On most places I go I am certain that I am legal. I got busted on one before where I was actually within my rights, but after considering what it was going to cost in lawyer fees I just went ahead and paid the fine. But if I ever get cited again I think I have studied court proceedure enough that I now believe I can tackle it Pro-se....so I'll fight it tooth & nail. The county prosecutor is the only one who you'll have to outsmart.....and in most cases that shouldn't be too hard to do IF you're diligent in your interpretations and actions from the beginning. For most fishermen it just isn't worth it.....but ME? I LOVE a challenging argument. 😊

@oneshot how do you prepare and cook your trout? You seem to like them ok.

We have General's too, and it was THEIR idea to take the actions they did. Our president just agreed to trust their judgement and let them do their job. This isn't a "Trump thing" IMO.

Which brings me to this..... Without getting into a political discussion, how are you processing this? The act of taking out Soleimani was reportedly done to make us safer, but now we have THIS. Where were the warnings when he was alive? I hate war. Instead of always bucking up "defense" why can't we get to the heart of why they want us dead in the first place, and work on improving that situation? I'm not buying the crap we are being fed, that they are just evil people that hate us for no good reason at all. I'm sure there's a reason, and it's probably a darn good one. So sick of the Hatfield and McCoy crap. Every country deserves to prosper equally and it shouldn't be impossible to work together so that can happen.

The fact that society depends so heavily on computers is scary as hell. I mean it's only a matter of time......

I don't believe any of them will hurt you, but when given the choice I'll pick the ones that don't live very long, spend most of their time on the move in open water, and spend the least amount of time scrubbing along the bottom.

That's pretty much my stance as well. My preferred eating fish is White bass, their meat is cleaner and healthier than anything else that swims around here. We did a gravel bar fish fry once with Smallies, Green sunfish, and Goggle-eye. There was no noticable difference in taste or texture so I never knifed another smallmouth after that. I'd rather have them in the river than in my belly.

Usually this is true, but if you wanna run shallow creeks/rivers, having enough torque to push the boat upstream...but not enough to bust propshafts, driveshafts, and skegs... has real benefits. It is way easier to stop a 6hp motor at 900 RPM than it is to stop a 20hp motor at 900 RPM. You'll also appreciate a little 6hp and its 2 quarts of fuel when you are dragging the boat over a gravel bar or pile of logs. 😊

Would love to hear about it when you get back. We are doing an "out west" trip this Aug.-Sept. I've never been.

You're only allowed 12 in your freezer anyway, right?

I bought a pair of P-line split ring pliers a couple years ago......Man I wish I had more reasons to swap split rings! Those things are the coolest tool I even own.