MrGiggles

You cant smoke the parking brake by leaving it engaged if its electronic. 90% of drivers have never touched the parking brake in their vehicle, it's just a marketing gimmick more than anything. They either use shorter cables that run to an electric motor, or the motors are integrated into the caliper. Neither of which are much more expensive or difficult to deal with than conventional cables. Replacing the old school cables on a mechanical system is not fun or easy either.

I have never figured them out. The whole cast with your right then switch to your left thing seems back asswords to me. I have tried casting with them, and was never able to get a crankbait out any further than I could with spinning reels, but it could just be me.

Thanks. I thought someone may find it useful if they were thinking about it as well. For a couple hundred bucks you can slap an automotive paint job on a boat.

The flats and humps that we know and love are 40+ feet deep right now. Not sure if that makes a difference, or if I should be focusing on depths closer to where they should be, which is about the old shoreline.

After clear. Again, the front half is not dull as the photo shows, it's just the reflection.

Just the base, no clear. The clear really brought out the black. It was almost a gunmetal color prior.

The back corner is not dull like the photo depicts. Just a shadow.

Was browsing CL last week and saw a boat of the same model as mine all painted up and shiny. Just couldn't help myself, had to paint mine too. The factory paint was still stuck pretty good, just chalky and faded, so I opted to paint over it I started by peeling the old decals with a razor and heat gun. Then went over again with some 3M adhesive remover to take off the gunk. Afterward I started getting after it with the DA and 220 grit, scuffed up all the paint and sanded all scratches down to the aluminum. I also used a scotch brite pad to remove any leftover dirt and to scuff areas that sandpaper wouldn't get, like between rivets. After that, I washed it, and gave it a rub down with mineral spirits. I used two coats of epoxy primer, 3 coats of black metallic acrylic enamel, and 3 coats of acrylic urethane gloss clear. All through a harbor freight HVLP gun. I have only sprayed paint once before (Rustoleum on the trailer), so it was a good learning experience. There is some orange peel, and the clear was especially challenging. That stuff is like water, and I ended up getting a couple sags. Overall I'm pretty happy with it, at the end of the day it is a fishing boat, not a show car. More pics to come as I apply decals, polish, and get it back in the water.

Ditto. I have some 6s as well, but the majority of my baits are 7s. I have some 9s too.

I have always trusted that GPS is more accurate. Reading now, GPS is supposed to be accurate within .1-.5 MPH. My boat does not have a speedometer (my graphs use GPS for speed) so I do not have a side by side comparison.

There is bot in Timesplitters 2 (video game) named Mr. Giggles. 14 year old me thought it was funny and a good screen name, and it just kinda stuck with me. I have not used it as much, but I joined OA several years ago when I thought it was still clever. I've been using Atimm693 a lot more lately, which is simply a combination of my first/last names, and my birth month and year.

If rain holds off (or at least stays average), the water could be down by them. Truman is down 4 feet, they should be able to start releasing from Pomme any time. But unless you have a way to predict the future, don't plan on it doing so.

The trolling motor skeg will protect it. I prefer it on the the trolling motor.

I haven't been having much luck with walleye either. Put in at Mutton tonight (if you're thinking about it, don't, the road is not steep enough). Jig and crawler all evening. Caught a dozen drum, from 1-4lbs, a couple small channel cars, and a bass. There were several fish that I saw separate from the bottom on the graph, sniff my jig, and leave. Tight lipped walleye?

Went to Masters tonight. Worked a jig and crawler all evening. The drum and channel cat bite was excellent, walleye, not so much. One short. Also caught a couple chunky gills.

Ethanol has less energy per gallon that gasoline. It takes ~30% more of it to do the same amount of work. Same with propane. It also takes more energy to grow the corn, than what can be produced from distillation into ethanol, at this time. That is likely to change though. Racers love it, E85 usually has an octane rating around 100. You can add more timing and boost, provided that you have a fuel system that's capable of delivering enough of it.

Campground at hawker point.

Went again tonight. Lots of boats out this time. Worked a jig and crawler again. 20" eye and a channel cat. Only brought a few crawlers with me. In the last photo of my graph you can see how I work the jig Just sort of hop it on the bottom, pulling it up a few inches. I have also had luck casting a short distance and hopping it back to the boat. Went to trolling after, had 3 crappie and a drum. Big sucker. Seems like the fish are pretty scattered. I apologize for spreading the pics over several posts. It's the only way to work with the size limit.

Many of the various campground offices sell and renew them. The main office sells them. You can call and have one mailed as well. If you fish a lot, it pays for itself pretty quickly. I use the ramp for free 11 months out of the year, since I try to go a couple times per week.

One of the many benefits to having that annual pass hanging from the rear-view.

I gave it a shot last night out of Crabtree. Ramp is totally submerged with very little slope, thankfully my trailer is pretty low, but I still had to get my feet wet. A darn shame, I know. Worked a jig and crawler for a little while as well, with no walleyes to show for it. Went to trolling afterward, caught a decent crappie right away. Then went over to a submerged island with some trees/brush on it. Trolled the proximity and ended with 2 more crappie, two walleyes (one keeper), and a LMB. If you could get a bait down in those trees without getting hung up, I think a guy could do pretty well. They were loaded with fish. I was short on time and didn't want to deviate from what was working. Hoping to go again tonight or tomorrow.

It's certainly a good idea. Times like last night where I had the lake to myself, testing fresh engine repairs always concern me. Don't know if my troller would make it several miles back to the ramp after an afternoon of fishing.

Masters and Cedar Ridge.

I will agree that it is probably one of the most boring ways to get them in the boat. But under certain conditions, it's also just about the only way to get them in the boat. I pull crankbaits, because I usually end up with a bonus walleye or two, and often many other species. Keeps it exciting for me. Blues, flatheads, channels, drum, gar, all species of bass, bluegill, you name it. No planers, three rods is pretty much maximum for me if running solo. Two straight back off the transom, one out of the side. Keep them 4ft apart to avoid tangles. I use snap weights and lead core as summer progresses.