fishinwrench

I bet we can find a boat (or "bucket") to stand in.

Early enough to catch a fish or two before dinner I hope. I'll not be pit-stopping at the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, if that's what you're asking. New Years Stripers ? Possible if they get a big rain on X-mas eve.

What is truly new in bass boats ? Hull geometry and construction peaked in the 1980's. Transom and top-cap installation methods were perfected shortly afterwards, as were hinges and storage compartment lids. So now after 20+ years of no REAL improvements (just some rounding of edges and blending of paint) we're down to piddly a$$ little details like maintenance free trailer hubs and such to continually drive new boat prices upward. Meanwhile, gelcoat still scratches when it touches rocks or docks, and carpet, seats, and steering wheels still rot if not kept in a climate controlled garage. Outboards are over-engineered with no margin for safely limping you home in the event of a minor mechanical/electrical failure (they either run CLEAN and fuel/oil efficient or they simply won't run at all). And we pay MORE for that. Nothing can be diagnosed or repaired on the scene in the event of an engine related issue, and repair centers now need 20k worth of diagnostic equipment in order to replace a 30 dollar sensor. Thank Dog a man of average income can stand knee deep in a stream or fix up an old beater jon boat and still catch enough fish to impress his friends, otherwise I would have given this crap up for croquet and badminten years ago.

Jesus, that dude STILL hasn't sobered up? No more Iron Fly for him !

*NFOW river-run Stripers on the fly ! *Billetheads popper-crushing River-X hybrids

This guy is better than Hank Patterson.

The Truth About Voting:

You're only allowed a few positive votes....but you can bitch endlessly ! LMAO That's why I like this place, it's just like being at home.

Almost every tournament win in history (regardless of season) has been won in less than 12fow. Just something for the deep dark abyss probers to consider.

Classic!

I've often wondered about the intelligence of that because hybrids are a tad rare on certain arms of LO where they are reportedly stocked, but it seems to work just fine on Truman which has a good balance of whites/hybrids. One thing I've noticed, and it might just be a coincidence, but the areas where hybrids are most common always seem to have smaller average whites.

Good grief! Outstanding.

I've had thoughts like that too and have been wrong as I often as right. Try it.

In my early days of LCR reading I figured out that if a smallish fish moves when you motor over him it displays an image that looks like a Great White !

Naw, we just live on the same end of the pond. It's probably something in the water. I totally understand y'all polishing your warts. After all, it is YOUR wart, you can polish it as hard and fast as you want to.

You guys and your Wart polishing... When I was like 8 y/o my dad and uncle took me to MN on a pike fishing trip with them. My "mad money" for the trip was a whole 12.00 and I spent 3.00 of it on a shiney red/yellow weedless Daredevil spoon from the resort store where we were camped. I was totally OCD about that spoon and if I wasn't eating, fishing, or running errands for the ol'man I was sitting there polishing the spoon with my shirt tail and admiring it to the point that it soon became a running joke for the two grown-up assholes... "Son, go round us up some kindlin', I'll babysit your spoon". "Don't fall asleep with that, you'll wake up with it stuck to your face". Ect.Ect. Ha Ha ha... So on like the 3rd day of our relationship I finally decided to tie the beautiful thing on and Man did it look sexy in the water! After about 8 casts I got brave and hurled it across a section of sparse flooded rice, after all it WAS "weedless". About 6 cranks into my retrieve a nice pike hammered it and dove into the weeds. I leaned into him with all I had, then "pop", slack line Have you ever been so close to crying when you weren't supposed to and knew if you even so much as opened your mouth to take a breath you'd loose it ? I couldn't speak for 30 minutes. There's a moral.... In loving memory

I have never spent a day on Beaver lake, but with surface temps +48° what in the world are ya doing piddling around over 100fow ?

Oh, good one! Whether "they" call them that or not it's gonna stick with me. Especially if they all have black outboards hanging on them

Yeah it does me too. That's why I can't ever keep my mouth shut.

I wouldn't run 10-15 miles thru 4' swells in a Scarab, much less a fishing boat. I ran 7 miles in honest 3' swells once trying to get back to Osage bluff on Truman in a 18' Champion and it was not something I ever wanna do again in ANY boat. If I ever get caught like that again I'll just pitch camp in a quiet cove. Buying a boat with the mindset that you will need it to navigate the worst imaginable conditions is like buying a monster truck for a daily driver and interstate travel.

There will probably be an egg bite going on.

It's a pleasant change of pace from picking at brushpiles and docks for months at a time, that's for sure. It's only a half-step behind a good topwater bite.

Jerry, I bet it's a big deal to anyone in the dealer network. My guess is that they'll eventually be reduced to Used boat salesmen.

I imagine it troubles Yamaha, and the Evinrude division of Bombardier cuz they know all those boats will sell new with black outboards on them now.

Without a lift ring and a hoist it would kinda suck. Those old Cajuns and HydroSports aren't the easiest bilge area to reach in and get a wrench on the mounting bolts either. I have spilled blood on my share of them. Many of the Tracker glass boats had the cables installed before the cap was installed on the hull. THOSE are the absolute worst!