motoman

Skeet pulled it off; sounded like he was throwing some new 6.5-7" swimbait from basstrix of something? - I will say the swimbait I saw him throwing in the coverage this weekend look like a pretty traditional paddle tail soft plastic. I thought most of the basstrix stuff was that silicone kinda rubber?.........but I guess we will wait and see.

- Oooffff; I've been there myself. - I believe ulrich is over by Branson west/kimberling city?

I have no affiliation to Jones Trolling Motor in Arkansas; but John Jones there has been a lifesaver to me over the years with a few parts; but even more, walking me thru a few issues I've had with trolling motors.........for no charge. - http://www.jonestrollingmotor.com/home2.htm - He's been a board sponsor over at bassboatcentral for years too.(i know, not everyone is a fan of that site:-(

In the spirit of staying off topic a bit. :-P - I can't stand sunscreen, hate sunburns and detest melanoma........so I wear ye ole buff and uv clothes. - It looks goofy; but works good and are very comfy.......I overheat easy.......but actually stay cooler in uv wear. If I'm ever outside as long as I fish; I wear the stuff too. - Checkout the Breathe Like A Fish brand; large mesh mouth/nose opening is MUCH nicer to breath thru. - http://www.breathelikeafish.com/product_p/blafgillzmask.htm - And the cabelas brand uv sleeves with thumb holes rock too! - http://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-GUIDEWEAR-COOLING-UV-SUN-SLEEVE/1746825.uts - (They even have rubber grippers on the palm too!)

- Great report there Nitro; sounds like a great day! - Sound advice too Bill!..........I get chuckled at and asked a lotta questions like "Can you not swim?!?!" Cause I always wear my inflatable PFD. It's just second nature and plenty comfy........I'd like to still be fishing in another 50+ years. And, I've got little ones at home; I owe it to them (and myself) to make it home after every trip.:-)

As mentioned BBC is a good place; but paying a few bucks to list it on Boat Trader or a place like that helps weed out some of the tire kickers.

Nice report and quite a pig there Alex! Good work sir.:-)

- Thanks Becky; I'll have to give the spinnerbaits a whirl down there as usual; hope to dial them in a bit on it.:-)

- Oh mercy, my mistake. I just changed all my axle seals and packed my bearings on the trailer in the fall. So I had tandem axle trailer hub nuts in mind. - As for prop hub nut; I have the factory service manual for my engine I bought off eBay; I'd have to check what size and torque specs. But I have an 01 evinrude 225HO, so I'm not sure if it varies by manufacturer.

I actually just used my pair of jumbo Channel Locks. I didn't have the right size socket myself. (And I have some jumbo sockets too) - The hub nut is not on very tight either. When you're done; everything I've read is you just torque it back down to where it is not too snug; so the wheel spins free; but tight enough to where there's no lateral play in the wheel. Kind of a 'sweet' spot.........if that makes sense.

- WooWee Becky! We'll done there!:-)........I figured ole Champ and Donna might be giddy over this report.:-) - But I do have one question if you don't mind telling..........were you slowwwwwww rolling that blade along? Or burning it? - Reason I ask; is only time I've gotten bit on the blade at The Rock is I'd have to let it sink down out of sight; then slowwwwwwly bring it back, just fast enough to keep the blades moving.........and always deep enough for it not to be visible from the surface. - Any other speeds or close enough to the surface to see it.........big zero.:-(

Great report Jim! And the pic came thru great..........nice one there your son caught.:-) - And yeah; that's worth a little boat driving time..........he earned it.;-P

- Ouch! You went there Champ(Hahahaha)..........well played sir!:-P

Eigh, yigh, yigh. Those behemoths need to stay at LOZ.:-(

Wow! That surprised me too. I had a Basscat a while back; awesome old boat. And I could call for parts and they had parts in stock for a 20+ year old boat.......AND folks were nice to talk to there too........unheard of these days. Hope things don't change there.:-(

Awesome pix Macs!:-)

That hds-9 is awesome graph for up front(or anywhere for that matter!). Definitely get the longest arm possible to bring it up closer. - And when people mention the 1.5" or 2.25", those are the diameter of the ballmount. Not the length. The lengths vary on each diameter ram mount options. But, Defintely get the larger ballmount for a better grip on the larger electronics. The smaller diameter won't hold as tight. - I only have a 5" Lowrance screen on my bow; but bought the longest ram mount available. It wasn't cheap but has been rock solid for years. From base to base it's almost 12" long. Which doesn't sound like much; but it makes a heckuva difference in visibility; and I don't have to bend over nearly as far to toggle screens; or even adjust the angle. And that's why I like the ram mount too; the ballmount allows infinite angle adjustments. It's super helpful when the sun can be at a funny angle when fishing; and a slight shift of the graph is all that's need to eliminate the glare.........sorry; but I don't recall the model #.

Fantastic job there richy! Way to stick with the big swimbait..........I've caught them here and there on The Rock on a larger swimbait; but man-o-man.........I have an attention span like a 5th grader, and that sure makes it tough throwing baits like that, and really committing to them:-( - If you don't mind me asking; how long had you been throwing the big swimbaits that day?

Thanks for posting that vid Phil! Cool to put faces to a few names, for those of us who couldn't make it. - Looks like a good time and great turnout. Hope to make it next year!:-)

- Funny you should post this Richie. I have an older Lowrance and was going to post the same question..........it's tough making heads or tails of the different levels of cards. - My preloaded maps aren't terrible.........so I'm curious what others have to say about the different 'flavors' navionics offers.

Good find Quill! Those do have a nice action.

We stay at Stillwaters several times a year. Very nice family resort with plenty of lake access. Plenty of shore to fish from on either side of the resort. - Checkout google maps satellite view and you can see the cove that Stillwaters dock is in. Coming out of the dock on the right; heading back in that cove; there's a good variety of shoreline composition to fish. Pea gravel, chunk rock, small bluff rock, standing timber; all accessible from shore.

- Thanks quill. I did just catch that. Crazy how Ike is throwing the shadow rap; Omori doing his thang above and Ashley crankin..........lotsa ways to catch them indeed.

- Omori sure did come out of nowhere! I haven't caught as much of the coverage as I'd like, but the live stuff I've seen has been awesome! Hoping to watch more of it today. - But anyone know some details on how Omori's catching them?

- Good point moguy; they have those drift blades available for them too so you can use them like a drift sock kinda setup. - (And as stated above, that noise-to-signal ratio over at BBC can be awful)