J-Doc

You sir just broke the "suck meter". So jealous. You're in tarpon country.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer fella too. I remember that guy. He was a real tool. Not surprised his arrogance caught up with him.

Yeah they would have caught my eye also when I was boat shopping. They weren't offered until after I had bought. Or else, I may have gotten one. Check in the BassboatCentral forum. There are several of Zuke owners in the tin forum.

The slump is real. And so are all the expert opinions. I do agree, fish more. Worry less. Your odds increase dramatically the more you fish. Weather and patterns change so statistically, you're bound to have a good trip. The small mental things and anxieties are what get me. Wanting certain conditions, less boat pressure from other boaters, etc. I've been on fish but couldn't figure out how to make them bite after throwing all of the confidence baits and even downsized way down to "just gets bites" baits too.

I've been in the front of the boat and the back. A) He's that good with a jig B ) I'm bad luck with a jig yet I love the little jerk and throw it anyway

(Frantically flipping through a 2ft stack of Bassmaster and FLW magazines to find where I missed this VITAL nugget of wisdom)

A good example.... If me and Fishinwrench go fishing (and we have), he will sleigh the bass on a hula grub or jig. I myself, am lucky to catch one. We could use same exact gear, same presentation, work the bait the same, fish same water, etc. He WILL catch more fish. Some people just have better luck and inherent skill to feel more bites I suppose. I'm learning more and more how many bites I'm missing by not watching line and staying focused on super super subtle cues.

I think we all know it's a mental thing. I was simply making excuses like most of us do. ;-)

Yes, if the water is dirty and full of heavy particulate, that is most likely the reason. Good call!!!!

I was going to say trolling motor or boat. I don't own a jersey so that's out. But definitely more affordable. Lol! My trolling motor is a bit noisy and my aluminum hull has a lot of hull slap. Probably all in my head.

Welcome. Lol "Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back to the place I was before 'Relax' said the night man, 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!'

Same here on boat game. Love my RT188. I've got a great setup. Just need the fish to cooperate better. I was on fire there for a while when it was new. Definitely need to fish more. Just haven't had time this year.

Man it's like reading my own thread. Bought a new boat and things were great. Then a slump as you described. Got so bad I wanted to sell the boat and give up altogether. Took a long break and that helped. Slowly getting it back but it's not what it used to be. If you find a fix, let me know would ya?

And I literally almost left my old boat in the parking lot with a note that said "free, I have a title and you can have it". I was dead serious on considering it. I got lucky and found the source of my 3 month problem and found I needed to clean and lube the idler arm assembly below the flywheel. A super easy and simple fix caused my old Rude to not run right after the rebuild for 3mo. Many anguishing texts and phone calls to poor Wrench. I think he was as relieved as I was so I would leave him alone. Lol!! He was a good sport and wished I wasn't 4hrs away. He could have found it straight away I bet. Darn thing would lag behind throwing the timing off. I finally saw it and figured it out. It would smoke, not idle, not run right, wouldn't load on trailer, etc. Drove me insane!! Once fixed, ran like a top. Still smoked and still cold as a 200yr old pirate corpse and just as easy to wake up and start Lol!!

You could just drive up to see him, let him take a look, fix it, then go fishing. NDude is a jig master. And he's spoiled to 5 and 6 pound pets. And my Merc starts up within 1.5 to 2 seconds every time. No smoke issues either. The new ProXS 4 stroke was designed to squeeze a bit more rpm out of the 115. So you can run a smaller prop for terrific holeshot without killing your top end. I run about 47 on mine right now. The new 4 stroke ProXS can get low 50's and some have reported up to 54 but that was with a hydro backplate, times prop, trim tabs removed, etc. Just saying it can wind a bit higher and the torque is a bit better. A new outboard is a steep upgrade and I truly understand the desire and frustration level with my old Evinrude. If it can be fixed however as Wrench is saying, migjt be wkrth the dribe for one last horrah and getting it fixed and saving a ton. Plus, Wrench is a lot easier on the checkbook than the locals. And a gracious host as well.

Ouch. At 6yrs old, I'm afraid they will automatically say "toast". That's no good.

Sounds like you need to call the manufacturer and talk to their tech department. If under warranty, they will fix or replace. They might be able to repair it also but the repair costs may warrant a new unit. Only way to know is to contact manufacturer and explain what is happening. I've had that happen before and Lowrance tech support was mildly helpful. I ended up figuring out it was user error on my end.

Here is the single biggest factor in my mind. Ever hear of the term 100yr rain? It's what we design buildings and structures for. You can design a building around a 100ur rainfall rate for .5hr or 1hr increment or a 24hr increment. Just this fall Bentonville AT saw a 200yr rainfall rate in about a 40min period!! Up to 9" of rain in just 40mins. It flooded out portions of Crystal Bridges museum which was designed with FEMA floodplain standards and extreme conditions. The streets could not divert and drain fast enough and houses were flooded that are not in flood plains. I have seen at least 10+ rainfall events since 2002 that qualify as "100yr rain event" so.....i think we are seeing a massive influx in rainfall rates and we get larger amounts in shorter time periods. Times have definitely changed and so have weather patterns.

Head pressure can be easily explained. Don't know how they were using it in the meeting though. Take a big water tank. Tap a hole in the bottom and connect to a pipe. Add a small bucket on the other end. Fill the big tank fill of water and then open a valve to allow water to drain into small bucket. Water drains because of head pressure. Which means water will try to equalize pressure.

Well put. 200,000......wow I bet it makes that by 2025.

Beaver was only 2ft shy of the record low in 2002. Lowest its been in quite a while. It jumped to full flood pool in only 9 days. So yes, I'd say it matters. Drought has not been a significant issue in this area since I moved here in 2002. I don't think it's ever had a severe drought in this area of the nation.

It seems every year, the amount of flooding increases. It's a combination of increased run-off from increased population and construction growth. It cannot be denied that runoff and drainage systems among our cities has increased the amount of water flow into our streams and lakes. Since 2007, I have seen (my own observation) an increase in both rainfall in the spring (rain per hour rates) and the amount of flooding that occurs in lake levels. The high water in 2015 is a good example. What about other years since? I want to know how the Corp of Engineers will help prevent record flooding going forward. If they would draw the lakes down to record lows in anticipation of heavy spring rains and record rainfall rates, the White River system could certainly retain the water easier without flooding people downstream as well as people near the White River system. I know one of our own members here lost his home (parents home) to flooding of the White River system. Some neighbors almost lost their lives and now they are all left with record flash flood levels of 40+ feet over normal levels. That is insane!

I know they say the mercury levels are safe but I'd not take a chance on eating fish from Ft Smith. They had a bad scare with mercury levels a few years back. That and it's a long drive down pulling a boat. Lots of gas for that trip towing up and down hills.

Did they have previous hook marks in their mouths? I know they release local bags at the ramp. FLW takes them out on a rig and releases them. Used to anyway.