fishinJohn

I gave this a shot and they replied saying 'sorry, but here is a link to a $400 new shack'. I guess I shouldn't be surprised there isn't a better option. I thought about adding a liner of my own but I just don't see that working out well. I think I'd rather put the money towards a flotation suit.

I have a Clam one man flip over, I think it is a scout that I bought used a few years ago. I am not sure what year it was built but it is till in great shape. If possible I would like to buy a thermal replacement skin so I looked at Clam's page. Maybe I looked in the wrong spot but it seemed like they only offer a replacement that has a thermal roof, not a fully insulated skin. Sound right? My question is does anyone know if other companies make replacement skins for a Scout that is fully insulated? I thought I saw some options like this in years past but haven't kept up lately.

I think they pulled this app out of the Google Play store. I want to buy it but both the US and US Canada boating apps are no longer returned in search results. For giggles I checked the Apple app store and it is still there, not sure if there is a problem for the android version.

I've had a few flashers, started with an FL 12, sold it and tried out the lx-5, sold that and tried the ice-55 and ended up selling that too. Not sure why I felt the need to make any of these changes. This year I found a pretty old fl 8 and the price was right. I watched the (long) video on ducers, had a gift card for a big-box store so I purchased the pro view ducer. I figured it would help make the most of my affordable vexilar. I think they sort of missed the mark with how it operates - you turn up the gain to widen the view. Something the video doesn't say is that when you turn up the gain to widen the view it also seems to turn up the gain. So I was fishing in 10 FOW and if I turned up the gain as you should in a shallow water situation my little ice jig gave a return the size of a pike. Even at the lowest setting for the gain my jig was still larger than I wanted. Too bad it doesn't work the opposite way, turn down the gain for a wide angle (and appropriately smaller return on nearby small objects) and up for the narrow angle. Also, on a 15 degree evening I noticed that my fl 8 started to only show the green color, my bottom (was previously red) was indistinguishable, although I knew where it was based on earlier readings. Anyone else ever have the orange and red drop off? I assume it was because it was cold and I had it out of the shack for a while but never saw this with any of the other flashers I have used. I think next time I fish shallow I will put the old ducer back on and can't speak to how the pro view works in deep water since i haven't been over any yet but I imagine it will be fine for that situation. I am posting this here just to see if anyone has anything good to say in response, maybe a suggestion or an explanation. I can't say that the pro view lived up to my expectations but won't deny that I think Vexilar makes the flasher I like best. The hummingbird seemed too flakey (could not hold the lure to a thin green line like I prefer, constantly messing with the gain to get it there) and the lx-5... I just didn't like the screen as much. I think their new models are awesome but the price is ridiculous for the average guy.

I sort of wanted a thermal one man flip over shanty for this winter but took a look at some hubs and wonder if that would be a better option. Frabill has a thermal for about $229 but it weighs less than the smallest Clam hub and that goes for $199 or so (which is not a thermal shelter, though odd it weighs more). Most thermal flip overs are close to double that cost and give less room. Basically I'd like a warmer shelter that isn't a bear to lug around and still has a little room. I have never seen the hubs in person and don't know if anchoring is needed every time. I would appreciate your input. Btw, I searched hub and had no results, if this has been brought before a link is all I need.

Hmm, I will have a look but I am doubtful (never used anything in the tank and we have lived here 5 years). I wonder if I bought the wrong wax seal. I bought for a four inch drain pipe but inside the wax area there is a piece of plastic that seemed to reduce the hole size. I am thinking that maybe when the bowl fills to that tipping point of flushing that I am not getting the proper suction due to that reduction(?). Maybe all wax seals have that, I am not sure. When I pulled off the toilet I don't recall any plastic being there, just wax.

In my house our toilet quit flushing on the first day of my vacation. I tried the plunger, no luck. I tried a snake, big regret, only scratched the finish of the bowl. I took the whole toilet out and saw water sitting in the drain pipe so I knew it was not a blockage in the toilet itself. I tried to snake the drain pipe, got the snake pretty far but no luck. Then I took off the drain pipe for the sink in the bathroom and snaked from there. Still no luck. I went to the downstairs sink, opened the drain pipe and snaked from there to see if I would have a better angle or something. No luck. On the other side of that wall is a cleanout cap (not sure the technical term - made of brass with a square end for your wrench) in the main pipe. I tried to get that off but couldn't. I looked online for ideas and saw one to try - going in from the vent in the roof. I used my chimney sweeping pole, found the blockage right away and was easily able to push it through. I went back inside and poured water down the drain and all was well. Since I had the toilet all apart anyway and some components were rough looking I decided to replace the float valve and flapper. I also removed the old wax and put in a new wax ring when putting the bowl back on. I get it all back together, adjust the water level in the tank and that little float on the flapper chain so it will fill the tank properly and drain most of the water when I flush. The Issue: when I flush the toilet the water drains fine but it doesn’t make the flushing sound and when it is draining the water level doesn’t seem to go all the way to the bottom of the bowl. This allows some material to stay in the bowl. The bowl doesn’t drain slow, it just doesn’t drain completely before refilling. I experimented with the water level and the float on the flapper but nothing I do gives me a solid flush. There is no weird gurgling or anything that would tell me it isn’t venting well but I am wondering if that could still be my issue. I also don’t see the swirling action in the bowl as much as I think there should be. Searching online has not helped. I know there are some really good people on this site who help others. If you made it through my book of a post I hope you can give me just another minute for a reply. Thanks and happy new year. I should also mention that my tank has a big plastic "flomaster" thing that sits kind of over a vent tube, not really sure what it does but it says to not remove.

I'm in, thanks. Will use to fish. John Danner Sun Prairie WI

I think I recall something about the contest being won early in the season; I am not sure if it was for channels though. We have dedicated participants so I am going for 225.

I am glad this topic is going around. My father in law dropped off a 12 foot jon and a little outboard since I have more storage area and would put it to use. I still need to put some new wood in for the transom so I haven't even had it out but I am already nervous about putting down the anchor for the bow. The last thing I want to be doing is moving all over this little boat in current. I don't plan on taking too much tack out the first few times and wearing my life vest until I get a feel for it or sell it!

I caught a channel cat on the first but I figured I wouldn't waste Darren's time with a 12 incher. Didn't bother with girth . Then it started snowing and raining so I stopped by the casino and my luck did not improve. Things should warm up soon though. I guess I missed my chance to be the leader though.

I don't know a lot about boat lights but a little about HIDs. HPS will generally give more lumens per watt than metal halide or mercury vapor. I would guess the Xenon lights on nice cars would be more money than most would want to spend.

I am glad this came up. I fish with bluegill (legal here) and caught a few my last time out that seemed like they may be too big to use for bait. There was a slight conflict because these were "keeper" bluegill although I would not keep anything from that water. I suppose there is no better outcome for a quality bluegill in lousy water than being bait for a giant catfish. So is there a size that is too small for a flathead? I will be going bigger in the future so it may not matter.

I use no rolls and bank sinkers and one advantage for me with no rolls is they don't flop around as much when I am travelling to and from my fishing spot. Several of my spots involve a walk of a quarter mile or more. Depending on the spot I may have four rods with me and I don't like to have a mess when I get there.

I haven't had more luck with cut bluegill than I have with cut bullhead. Live seems to be a different story though. I once crossed paths with a snake (later identified it as a western fox snake)that seemed to be rattling. My stuff was all over the area and I hate snakes so I found a huge rock to toss on it. It became cut bait but did not produce. I tend to take a closer look before scattering stuff now. A good reminder though with sun bathing opportunities for snakes coming up.