J-Doc

Yeah, I'm tired of beaching my baby on rocks. Hope they keep it open too. I want some camping time. Can't have "camp coffee" without a campsite.

I was going to but it sat in the fridge for too long. Believe me.... .he's getting the next ones. Lol

Call me chicken. I couldn't bring myself to cook it much less eat it. Smell was too bad. Lol

Thanks for the update Jeb! I hope they really do sell ethanol free. I'll go back there again and pay the up-charge to not have to deal with ethanol. I'll still use Stab-bil, etc. Be sure and post your results.

I'm not much in duck (I know.....that hurts) lol. Thanks though. Hey, you're welcome anytime on my boat. Heck I have it running great now. I hear crappie will stack up shallow between now and Christmas. Maybe we can get on them with some jigs or minnows. I'd love another school lesson on how to get my butt kicked in catching crappie. Lol

No pics? UGH! Tease. ;-) Glad to see you on the forum. Wondered if you were still chasing the crappie or too busy tootin' on duck calls. LOL Crappie bite will turn on in the middle of duck season I'm sure. (haha) Should be in Nov the bite will be pretty strong I hear.

I asked if it was ethanol free when I first bought some there. I asked the attendant how they were getting gas ethanol free as it was mandated by law. She had no idea. I'd have to wake the owner. Its a subject that's been talked at length here and other places so I just assume all gas has ethanol. My mechanic says don't sweat it because the parts he used will work with it. I also don't keep fuel in my tanks for long time periods. I also use Stabil or some type of fuel additive to help. Whether some believe it's snake-oil or not, I error on the side of caution.

YouTube testing for ethanol. There are several ways. The method I used was pouring water into a clear jar and then make a mark on the jar to the top of the water. Then I did the same thing with gas but I measured the amount of gas (without water). Then I added the same amount of water to the gas. Stir up the mix and let settle for 20mins. The water was on the bottom but there was more water than before and the gas turned caramel color. The ethanol is pulled out of the gas by the water molecules and I had about a 9-11% increase in water volume and a 9-11% decrease in gas volume. After that, I just gas up, add Marine Stabil (and now Royal Purple Max Clean) and go. Fishinwrench installed new EPA compliant fuel hoses gaskets etc during my rebuild. Gas doesn't stay in my tank for more than 2 weeks as I burn through it pretty quickly due to use. I have 2 6gal metal tanks.

I asked fishinwrench about that (and others) and I was told only use "plus" or 89 octane. Not regular at 86-87, not super/premium at 92-93 octane, but just the medium grade 89 octane. Predetonation is where the plug fires before it's supposed to and can damage the piston over a long time period. High octane gas has additives that mask this and help prevent predetonation. I think it's pretty industry wide to use 89 octane for marine use. More importantly, use something like Marine Stabil at least to keep the fuel from going bad. The Royal Purple Max Clean (I sent you in a PM) is supposed to stabilize fuel as well. I once heard that all fuel to NWA comes from Oklahoma through a single supplier. How is it that certain fuel stations advertise "ethanol free gas" when they get it from the same place if that's true? Also, I tested some fuel from the station in downtown Rogers (across from Frisco Park) who advertises ethanol free. It's not. it's got enthanol in it. I just add fuel conditioner/ethanol treatment and move on.

It's Royal PURPLE. LOL I use Royal Purple synthetic 2-stroke oil and just started using their fuel system cleaner/conditioner. PM being sent.

Haven't cooked yet. Was too busy with the family/kids this afternoon at the corn maze/pumpkin patch in Springdale. Cleaned it? No. Skinned it? Yes. (yuck). Scott said: "Take a 1/2" drill bit and tap a hole behind the head, then take your shears and skin it like a deer and then skin out the backstraps like a deer". I thought, no problem. I'm not usually squeamish. I must have a very dull 1/2" drill bit. Took a sec to punch through. Was like drilling into dense fiberglass with shavings everywhere. (Kinda odd) Then the shears part was a bit odd as I had to cut through an alien like skin with an armodilo style skin. Skinning the meat out was well............prehistoric. The meat looks disgusting and very fatty. The texture seems to mimick the the outer layer/shell pattern. Felt like I was skinning a turtle or something...not a fish. LOL It reminds me of cooking a large snake really. I'm going to "attempt" to cook it. Can't promise I'm going to like it. Cross between fatty pork, snake, and gator. That's what it looks like uncooked. Not too attractive. I've eaten ......er I mean "tried" snake before. I've tried "racoon" before (didn't care for it). I've even eaten gator (now that's good when cooked right). I figure, I can try gar..............if I can get past the smell, the slimy/fatty texture, etc. Just didn't care for it. Maybe if the fish overall was prettier like a walleye or smallmouth! LOL! Maybe I'm judgemental and only want to eat pretty fish! hahaha

I so wanted to go back again today and fish more. Lol! Had to do some family time with kids today at the corn maze. Maybe tomorrow.

I added the 2yr replacement warranty for $6. Seemed like cheap insurance for at least 2yrs. Might not be worth the $6 but seemed reasonable.

Yes. They are. I'm happy with. They even had approval from F&F.

Water Temp (72 at 7am, rose to 73-74 by 1pm) Water Clarity (about 3-4ft max) Prarie Creek Area (launched from Hwy 12 Bridge Ramp access by AGFC) Fishing time 7AM-3PM Method used: Trolling Baits lost: More than I care to mention. Baits Used: Flicker Shad and Rapala R7 Shad Raps (before I lost all my R7s) Fish Caught: - 4 walleye (1 over 18" and fat) - 1 white bass - 1 15.5" spotted bass - 1 overachiever sunfish - 1 massive killer-kong gar (10lbs, about 4ft long) All fish caught trolling at various depths and 2 locations. So, I picked up some new fishing reels marked down to $39 at Cabelas. Too good of a deal to pass up as I needed some linecounting type baitcasters for trolling. (picture shown below) If you're in the market for a new reel, these are nice models and super cheap. On sale only as the regular price is closer to $50 and Cabelas has plenty I'm told. I decided I was going to play with the bass with topwater and maybe a crankbait or plastic early as the sun rises. Having new reels ready to go, I went straight to trolling and caught a walleye right off on the first pass. Then another, and another. The morning bite was strong so I kept going. As the sun rose higher, the bite died off. Feathers & Fins has gotten his way and converted me to a freakin' troller.....(hanging head in shame). I am hooked. Its fun when the fish are biting. I enjoy watching the graph, trying to disect what the fish are doing, where they are and why, etc. I marked lots of fish and lots of brush piles/stumps and fish locations. Fish seemed to be around 20-23ft. The morning bite was definately much more successfull than the afternoon bite. Very proud of my boat. It trolled all day long and burned only 6 gallons by 1:30. I did shut the motor down a few times to stop and fish some spots but it trolled all day and I gave it intervals of runs to help clean the motor out. I used Royal Purple fuel treatment system (I also use Royal Purple synthetic 2-stroke oil mix) to help keep the motor clean and it seems to help. Hardly smoked at all. Very encouraged by the motor performance since it was rebuilt in Feb. Below are photos from the trip. A great way to spend your vacation day from reality. New Reels My office for the day 1st walleye Keeper walleye over 18" Walleye White Walleye 15.5" Kentucky Bass Mr Overachiever Donkey Kong Slaunch Monster

Yep, Arkansas Bass Nation Federation today. Castmasters is tomorrow.

I wouldn't say drooling. I was more impressed with the amount of spots and level of detail. Actually the colors are distracting to me. With my job history and years of looking at site plans and reading contour lines, I can easily read contours at a glance and know which is a low point, a high point, etc. The colors actually throw me off a bit. I can see the advantage of looking for a particular depth range say "20ft" or "30ft" where two colors collide.

You guys just need to learn how to read a contour line without painting pretty colors. :-)

Is that a shad the bass spit up?

That's a good inventive idea. Heck I may do that myself. Drift socks are more easily stowed but hey........a bucket is a good way to experiment on the cheap.

Let me know how that works out. I'd like to try it with mine. Lol!!

Waiting to see how this turns out.....

Nobody?? Wow. I figured someone would know someone.

LOL!! Maybe.....

I'm pushing the kicker because that's what I plan on doing when I get a new boat hopefully next year. A kicker is much quieter, more manageable, easy maintenance and affordable. Also perfect for trolling and you don't have to worry about the big motor or too many hours at idle. That can be bad for the motor over a long time. I'm either getting a deep v Crestliner or some type of bass boat. Either one will be rigged with downriggers, side scan, and setup as a serious fishing platform. The deep v could keep me on the water when it's rough and ride much better than a bass boat and big enough for family and friends. It's also the ultimate lake troller. See.......he has brainwashed us!