Instruction

hookemquick answers:

Below is a link to ultra tuff’s application manual

http://www.ultratuff.net/pdf/application_manual.pdf

instructions from the manual

ALUMINUM
All bare metal substrates should be appropriately primed after being treated for
rust or removal of old paint.
1. All smooth metal should be cleaned, and aggressively roughed by sanding with 36 or
40 grit sand paper OR by acid etch. (ACID ETCH IS RECOMMENDED).
2. Clean and dry surface.
3. Prime with MP-10.
4. Test for adhesion first, before completing job. Apply The Product.

You will need to order MP-10 primer

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_90433____SearchResults

hope this helps

hookemquick answers:

Down rigger is nice to pull a live bait through water at deeper depths. Put out about 50 ft. Line and then attach the line to down rigger clip. I like use a small rubber band to my down rigger ball so as the fish has to break the rubber band when you get a strike. Try using frozen cigar minnows in the same set up. Frozen cigar minnows are salt water bait and can be very easy to purchase.

hookemquick answers:

Http://www.trackerboats.com/riveted-jon-&-utility-boats.cfm?modelyear=2012

those are the cheaper, and somewhat inferior, riveted jon boats.
They range from a max TOTAL weight capacity of 320 lbs in the 10′, with a price of $500, to a 14′ 795 total max capacity and a price of $1,700.

Figuring your dad and brother together weigh 340 already, and your brother is probably only about 10 if he weighs 90lbs, your brother is probably gonna be 150 himself in just a few short years, for a total of 400 lbs, this is pretty much the absolute minimum i would suggest:

http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/specs.cfm?boat=3420

if your gonna get that one, its only step away from being the slightly larger and more capable one with the 795 max total weight capacity.
AND that one is a true V hull, which is more stable in the waves that wind or other boats occur, or from the movement of passengers. It would also be capable of taking a 3rd person out on occassion, fishing may not be your hobby but there is something about spending a day on the water with your family that is worth doing even without the fishing.

Http://www.trackerboats.com/all-welded-jon-boats.cfm?modelyear=2012

those are the full welded hulls. In the long run, they are far superior. Rivets will eventually allow the hull to leak, a welded hull wont have that problem and is just more solidly built.
They are more expensive. Some of them much more expensive, BUT those are the ones with motors included in the price.

With your stated budget, i would actually suggest looking for a used one. Alum hulls are capable of lasting practically forever, a well maintained outboard can last 30 years, and a trolling motor has practically NO power compared to even the SMALL outboards (about 100 lbs of thrust per hp).
Merc’s smallest outboard, the 2.5 hp, runs about $750 new.

That outboard also only weighs 40 lbs, a deep cycle battery that is used to power a trolling motor can weigh over 50 lbs, total weight is very important.
And a deep cycle is only going to power a trolling motor for about 4 hours of full power use, so you might need two of them, especially on a river.

And on a river, even with the smallest and lightest hull, the lower power trolling motors that dont cost $300+ by themselves may not be enough to overcome the current, no matter how gentle it seems.

I’m suggesting used becuase i think you can find something in your budget that will have the power of an outboard and will give a few years of good use with that outboard before you have to put a new outboard on it.
In the long run, buying a used alum hull and repowering it can result in you having something nicer then anything new you can afford. My boat is a 1984 alum hull that has been repowered, with what i could easily get for it if i sold it today, i couldnt buy a boat with half the features, space and power as mine now has.
And since its a alum hull that hasnt been wrecked, i can reasonably expect to still be using that boat when its 60 years old.

Fiberglass boats are the ones that cant last and shouldnt be bought if over 10 years old. Alum hulls, if the hull is good the rest of the boat can be rebuilt again and again.

hookemquick answers:

In general, a “boat rod” is one designed for bottom fishing, short and without much action. Surf rods are made for casting (and are usually a lot longer than 8 feet). 8 feet isn’t long at all for a rod to use on a boat, so it’s probably fine for your use. Fishing for kelp (calico) bass usually involves lots of casting, so I’d go with the “surf” rod — if those were the only two rods available.

If the rod’s made for 20-40 pound, use it with 30. 50 pound line is awfully heavy for calicos, I generally use 12 to 20 pound. You could do fine with 50 pound braid and a lighter leader, but if you’re using 50 pound monofilament line, it’s really going to limit your casting, as well as cutting down on your bites.

If I was looking for a rod for bass and rays, I’d look for one made for 12-20 or 15-30 pound line, 7 to 8 feet long. If you’re using a spinning reel, get a spinning rod, if you have a conventional reel get a conventional rod, and you’ll use 15 or 20 pound line. Some people like fishing calicos with baitcasting tackle and lighter line, but that won’t do you so well with larger rays or larger offshore fish you may find in the summer.

And if you need advice on tackle, go to a real tackle shop, not a Walmart. You’ll spend a few bucks more, but the advice you get can help you catch a whole lot more fish… And they’ll have a better selection of tackle, so you won’t have to worry about choosing from only two models of rods.

hookemquick answers:

Some tournaments require that boats meet their standards, but in general, your husband should be able to fish using his ski boat. Check out a tournament near you, and see how it goes. Good Luck!

hookemquick answers:

If your not lookin’ to do any competition fishing you’d probably want to go for an Aluminum hull. Aluminum hulls are cheap and you don’t need a huge outboard motor to power them. And they are lighter, so you don’t need a V8 or larger vehicle to trailer them, which saves you a ton of gas and money.

The best brands i know are Crestliner, Lund, some Tracker models, Triton, SeaArk and Duroboat.

The outboard motor is the life of any boat and is more important than the hull. Understand that boats are not cars. Never buy a new boat unless youv got money to burn. Boat hulls have a long life. Outboards don’t. Just have any used outboard checked by a marine mechanic if you can. Look in the local paper and Craiglist for good used boats in your area.

hookemquick answers:

If it is motorized you most likely do.

hookemquick answers:

Most of the time Ranger and most all bass boats run the hoses up the center of the bilge to the fwd livewell. You should be able to get to the hoses through the storage compartments or deck plates, if equipped.
But, if they are not leaking, I would not mess with them, could be more of a headache then worth.

hookemquick answers:

You can find videos of all these things on you tube.
Perhaps you may have some software or a program that will separate the sound from the video and then copy that.
Or just hold a microphone up to your computer speakers.
There are sites with free wav. Files you can download.
Here’s a few. There are hundreds more.

Http://simplythebest.net/sounds/WAV/sound_effects_WAV/index.html

http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Sounds/Free_WAVs/

http://www.wavcentral.com/

hookemquick answers:

Here’s you the link…

Http://www.monsterpeacockbass.com/

Here’s the telephone number…
1-877-352-PKOK

Gadia Cleib is the owner of the Amazon Prince and the Yemenja. Mario Scotti is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and is the on-board manager of the Amazon Prince yachts. Steve McDonald is the founder of http://www.monsterpeacockbass.com/ and lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

I believe this is the same group that put Bill Gassman of Des Moines, Iowa on the IGFA World Record 28-pound Cichla temensis.

Http://monsterpeacockbass.com/blog/?p=351

hookemquick answers:

I recently bought a boat from this site maybe you’ll find what your looking for here http://www.rigidhullinflatableboats.com/ hope this could help.

hookemquick answers:

You can find plastic scampi at Wal-Mart. You don’t really need plastic scampi to catch spotties but now you know where to look if you insist on using them.

Lures that will work on spotties:
1) Plastic grubs.
2) Plastic swimbaits. (Blam, Worm King, Fish Trap, Wham, Hammer…)
3) There’s a full line of Berkley Gulp lures available and many of them will work great. Gulp sandworms will catch a very good variety of inshore species.
4) Bucktail jigs.
5) Bass plastic tubes. (Yes, they will work in saltwater.)
6) Bass jigs. (Yes, they will work on spottie too.)

This is just a small list that I put out without much thought and I left out metals and crankbaits on purpose; I only listed lures that are effective, readily available and inexpensive.

PS: Plastic swimbaits are a lot more popular than scampies when it comes to spotties now.

hookemquick answers:

Uglystiks are great rods they last forever, I have a couple of them myself, the only drawback to them is they’re very flexible especially at the tip making it harder to set the hook on a fish. Check out the St. Croix Primier Series, they build great rods and this is their more affordable line of rods, that and the uglystiks are the two best for your money within your price range, they both have flexible tips but a sensitive rod isnt too bad as long as you’re only using it for freshwater.

hookemquick answers:

Plastics for sure. Early in the morning, fish shallow. Toss plastic worms near structure. When the sun begins to rise, fish a topwater. Later in the afternoon when the sun’s high, bright, and hotter’n hell, bass are going to go deeper into cooler water, fish in the deeper water. Toss jigs and plastics. Later in the evening, fish shallow with plastics again. When the sun starts to go down and its getting to be dusk, go to a topwater again. When it’s dark, a big plastic worm no less than 8″ long. A big black plastic worm of at least 10″ would be better.

hookemquick answers:

Top-water frogs are probably your best bet, or a Buzzbait fished right outside of the lilly pads.

hookemquick answers:

Seven inch worms are fine for shoreline fishing. I use worms up to twelve inches long at night… From the shoreline.

The shaky head is more of a deep water rig though, which unless you find a good drop-off, won’t really perform to its full potential. It will work in shallower water though, I’m not saying it won’t. Try a Texas rig instead, and slowly bounce it back to you.

hookemquick answers:

Rapala, any of their crankbaits will get it done

hookemquick answers:

Early summer the water is starting to warm up you want some type of soft plastic jig, i use tube jigs.
In mid summer i use top water baits because the bass or more active in the warm water

hookemquick answers:

#1) chartreuse grubs split shot
#2) silver willow leaf bladed chartreuse or chartreuse and blue spinner baits.
#3) small green crawdads near creeks
#4) light colored small frogs over lillies and on weedlines.
#5) Shad pattern crankbaits off cliffs with steep drop offs and also all around islands with rock clusters.
#6) tree stump lizard fishing as the bass move onto the bed to spawn
#7) chartreuse and green or blue jigs especially around thick cover

hookemquick answers:

My opinion is soft plastics. Throw them around the spawning bass when they’re bedding and they cream these things. Also, if you go in the pre-spawn, the fish are still a little lethargic as they are coming out of near-dormancy during the winter, so a soft plastic crawled or jigged slowly has done well for me. I’ve done well with chartreuse lizards, senkos, and coffee tubes. You also can’t go wrong with a Rapala husky jerk or X-Rap. Their suspending action makes them very effective in colder pre-spawn waters.

hookemquick answers:

Power bate will help you two out and do bring your fly pol too. Good luck to you and have as will too.

hookemquick answers:

Generally, any reel you find for 100 bucks and up is going to be a very good reel. Without knowing what you fish for and what not, it’s a little hard to reccomend a specific reel.

As I always suggest on here to people, check out Abu Garcia and Quantum reels. These are both very reputable companies that make excellent quality products. I’ve always had great luck with Abu Garcia. They’re top of the line reel at the moment is the Revo. There’s a few different Revo series, all are very nice. As for Quantum, I don’t currently have any of their reels but I have used them a lot in the past. Again, I’ve been very happy with them. They have a few Kevin Van Dam series reels, which I believe is their best quality reel at the moment. I bought my Dad one of these a while back and had to use it a bit before hand lol. It was one of the smothest reels that I have ever used, possibly even smoother than the Revos. Regardless, you’ll be very happy if you choose one of these reels.

Edit: I’ll also add that you don’t have to spend 100+ bucks for a decent reel. You can do a bit of research and look around and find pretty solid reels for 70 or so dollars, maybe even cheaper if you happen to find one on sale. For the best baitcasting reels, you will be looking at 100+ dollars.

hookemquick answers:

First off baitcasting reels have nothing to do with “casting bait”. It’s a type of reel. Why is it called a baitcasting reel? Hell if i know. But i know why it has the casting part in it. Because you press a lever/button/etc. To cast it. A spinning reel is cast by holding the line, going forward and releasing. Bass fishing is the most popular type of fishing. All it is is fishing for bass. Bait casting reels are not the best at casting bait. They are the most accurate. There is many reasons to use a certain type of reel, like this -

Spinning reels – Fishing for smaller fish which are too small for baitcasting equipment, you want longer casts, you are fishing with smaller weights and lures, you want something that will handle braided lines, you can’t use a baitcasting reel yet.

Baitcasting reel – Fishing for large game, you want accurate casts, you want a large line capacity, you want something that will handle braided lines.

Spincasting reel – You are a beginner, you are fishing for small fish fish too small for a baitcaster, you can’t use a baitcasting reel so you replace it with a spincast, you are fishing in a muddier area and want a reel with a closed spool.

Hope this solves all your problems. Got any more? If you do go ahead and ask them i will mumble on and on and try to help you!