et84

Yo-Zuri makes some great fishing line. It's flouro coated monofilament (same diameter as mono with MUCH less stretch). I will always use the Mr. Crappie line as back up, but Yo-Zuri 4 lb. test is about the same price (5 or 6 bucks at Pro Bass for a 1/4 lb. spool). I think it only comes in clear, but you might want to give it a try.

I've always used a spoon or a pocket knife- never tried a scaler or anything like that, but for as many gills as you came away with I might look into one.

That thing is a TANK!!!! It's a nice looking boat, though- complete with local history! Congrats!!

Thanks for the advice, guys! Got the last bottle at Ace yesterday and put it on the boat today. Looks great!!!! Also did the inside, since it's exposed to the sun a lot more when yer floatin'.

I'll keep some eyes (2 or 3) if we're floating with someone who's never eaten them, but never any other bass.

What's this "303" stuff?

The canoe looks good in the pics.................but it looks a lot better in my backyard!!! Thanks Ollie!!!

Is Old Town a parent company of Future Beach? I found this on the Web. Looks like the canoe is made by Future Beach.

Ha!! I just bought mine a couple of months ago from my boss. It's my first and ONLY boat, so I have to say no. Maybe after I buy my new bass boat.......

I have a 12' Waco jon boat w/ a johnson 3.3 hp outboard and a minn kota 30lb. thrust troller. The hull is lightweight (88 lbs.), but both motors are more than enough power. As far as batteries go, I wanted to get something good, AND LIGHTWEIGHT!!!! I went to the Interstate battery store on kearney st. and talked to them. A salesman named Jerald was VERY helpful, and helped me pick out my batteries. I got two wheelchair batteries. They are much smaller and about half the weight (and price) of marine batteries, and they are 12-volt deep cycle. Also, they are sealed batteries, so you never have to mess with keeping the water levels up. They are sold in pairs for $75, and carry a FULL WARRANTY. According to Jerald, these batteries are very popular for people with small trolling motors, and I can attest that we used one battery ALL DAY LONG and it even had a full charge (>2/3) when we got home. Jerald's suggestion for connecting my motor was to just use the stock screw terminals on the battery, and cover up the connection with some duck tape. That's what I've been doing and it has worked great so far. Good Luck!!!!

Those are some nice fish! We were gonna fish out there today, but we're goin' tonight instead, my brother's burnt pretty good from a float earlier in the week, and the sun woulda cooked us in my little jon boat.

Amp is correct- I just bought my tag from the marina last month and I had some catfishing gear in the boat. The guy at the marina made sure to tell me that NO TROT LINES/ JUG LINES are allowed. Fellows is a LINE AND POLE ONLY lake.

I'm an MSU student as well, with very little time between work and school. I have a jon boat, but nothin beats some quick bank fishin', and even though I was born and raised here I'm always interested in new spots. Thanks Amp!!!

I use Gamakatsu Skip Gap hooks, size 2/0 or 3/0. Pro Bass shows them on their website, but I don't know if they have them in the store. Wally World put a ton of Gamakatsu hooks in all different styles on clearance last year for .25 or .50/ pack, so needless to say I stocked up and haven't bought hooks since. I bet I have over 50 unopened packs left!!! I have had good luck with the skip gaps though, and I would pay $3.00/pack if I had to. Hope this helps.

I too would like to see an OAF page on Facebook.

My brother and his buddies have fished the James 3 times in the last week, floating the 125 bridge to "The Old Iron Bridge" and they haven't caught fish on anything besides SMALL craws. When I say small, I mean 2"or smaller. 3" chigger craws (normally a go-to plastic for us) wouldn't even draw a bite. My brother has been taking either Baby Paca Craws or Uncle Buck's craws and putting them on a Bitsy bug, or just a regular jig and then they started pullin' em out. Mostly all goggle-eye and smallies, and a few sunfish/ bluegill of course. I also heard they saw an ol' boy walking the float with a stringer full of eyes looped over his backpack. They're actually floating this same stretch as I'm writing this post. We'll see how they do today.

My mistake- I was looking at some other pictures I found (of ACTUAL muskie) while uploading these. I'm not much of a multi-tasker.

I was visiting my grandmother's house the other day and was looking through some old photographs and found these gems. I had grown up hearing about an old picture of my grandad with a big catfish he caught, and this was it. I don't know how much it weighed and my grandmother didn't remember, but she said that 80 lb.+ catfish were caught fairly often, and for them to have used expensive film to take a picture of it, it must have been bigger than usual (possibly 100 lbs.?? ). Grandad is the one on the left. He (They?) caught it right by the family farm in Portland on the Missouri River, fishing a jugline. The picture is dated August, 1936. Grandad I mentioned above is in the middle of this pic. This one was caught on Lake Pomme de Terre. That's all I know about that one. Another great grandfather with some good sized bass.

I was visiting my grandmother's house the other day and was looking through some old photographs and found these gems. I had grown up hearing about an old picture of my grandad with a big catfish he caught, and this was it. I don't know how much it weighed and my grandmother didn't remember, but she said that 80 lb.+ catfish were caught fairly often, and for them to have used expensive film to take a picture of it, it must have been bigger than usual, maybe even 100 lbs.?? . My grandad is the one on the left. He (They?) caught it right by the family farm on the Missouri River, on a jugline. The picture is dated August, 1936.

My brother and a lot of his friends (as well as me and my friends) have always been really in to canoeing/ kayaking. We float the James and Beaver a lot. I just acquired a 12' Waco flat-bottom jon boat, and I was looking for some floats that the boat could handle with just a trolling motor. It only takes about 6" of water to float it- especially w/o the outboard, but obviously it's not nearly as maneuverable as a yak/ canoe. I know it can handle Hootentown to Galena, and I'm sure we'll end up floating that sometime over the summer, we were just looking for something that won't be so crowded- we all fish from our boats. I know there probably aren't many places like this, but I figured some people on the forum might know of a few. Thanks!!

Thanks for all the advice, guys! I talked with a few other people and I went and ordered the 6'6" M Lightning Rod Shock Series from Fin & Feather today. Can't wait for it to arrive.

Hey, all. I have been fishing for several years and I am going to purchase my first baitcasting set-up. I have already settled on the reel- a Shimano Citica. I have used this reel before and really liked it. It's very highly rated on many websites, and by the people I've spoken to who own it. It goes for about $120- I have never spent that much on a reel, not even close, but I don't own any baitcasters and I want to get a good one. I think I'm going to match it up with either a Shakespeare Ugly Stik Lite, or a Berkley Lightning Rod. Both rods get great reviews, and are priced well ($40-$50, I want to make my combo for UNDER $200). I already own an Ugly Stik Lite, paired up with a Mitchell 310xe (spinning reel) for bass fishing, and I love it, but I want something that I can throw heavier tackle with. I've heard that the Ugly Stiks are really tough rods, but for that you might sacrifice some sensitivity, and on the other end, I've heard that the Lightning Rods aren't as tough, but more sensitive. Since I primarily fish with spinning reels, I have mostly lighter tackle. This new baitcast setup would be for some of my bigger crankbaits/ swimbaits, and possibly some heavier jigs. Any advice on these rods (or any other rod under $70) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey, all. I just recently bought a jon boat. It's a Waco 12' 2-seater w/ a Johnson 3.3 horse outboard. I've purchased a Minn Kota Endura 30 troller for it, but no battery or charger yet. As of now, I am going to get both items at SEARS, as my family has always had good luck with Die Hard batteries. Never purchased a deep cycle marine battery though. Is Die Hard a good brand for marine use? Also, what about a charger? I am looking for a home charger of decent quality, but nothing too fancy. I spent $550 on the bat and the motor, so I want to get the cheapest decent quality system. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all the info, guys. I'm going to have to put this purchase on the back burner for a while....... Ran into a deal on a jon boat, couldn't pass it up.

Hey, everybody. I am considering buying a pflueger reel (for crane creek and crappie) and I have heard nothing but good things about the president series, but I have also been keeping my eye on the supreme series. This year they released the president xt, and I was wondering if anyone out there had already purchased one of the ultralight models. The price difference between the president and supreme is about $45, the supreme being higher. The supreme comes with a nice neoprene reel case, but I wouldn't use that anyway- I don't want to pay $45 more for a reel that's not much better than the president just because it comes with a case. I included the links to pflueger's site with tech specs for both reels below. Thanks for any advice! President XT Supreme