31Airborne

I agree w/ JDV - you'll get a lot of performance and life from the bigger battery.

+1 on Interstate wet cell batts. You can get them anywhere, lots of places honor their warranty.

welcome aboard! thank you for your service to our nation. Real C-c-c-c-c-c-av. Airborne earned his spurs w/ 2-8 CAV

Rick - you should reach out to Joey at Watson's and ask who they use. He'll steer you straight. Hope you're well. We need to get out again. Soon. B

+1 on braid or heavy (20#+) fluoro for flipping. i like fluoro for cranking (usually 12#), finesse (6-10#), and worms/jigs/etc (12-17#, depending on cover). I like co-poly for jerkbaits. light braid (15 or 20) for top water stuff.

I love'em, Phil. Def a big fish bait.

welcome aboard!

this is a great hull. have ridden in a few in my years - never had a bad ride. very good in heavy water. it looks to be in great shape so the garage-kept claim is easily believable. that Johnson motor is a workhorse - solid design, ~easy to maintain. like any marine motor, you'll want to have a tech go over it w/ a fine tooth comb.

Congrats, Doug! A bittersweet victory - we'll miss your skills and creativity.

Copy. I'll be standing by . . .

First of all, thank you for your service, Devil Dog. You are (and always will be) a member of an elite fraternity. As for your questions: the only stupid ones are the ones you don't ask. Many of the doods on here will learn from the responses to your questions above. Your reports will help reinforce that learning. Power fishing is a relative term when fishing highland bodies of water. There will be times when the fish come up shallow (<10'). There will be times when 40' may not be deep enuff. Crankbaits may not be the power fishing bait of choice. You may need to consider weighted swimbaits, spoons/blades, underspins, heavy spinnerbaits, and heavy swimjigs to cover water quickly and efficiently. The Tokyo rig may be another. I've not used it but have seen it used as a power fishing presentation on some videos. The key is using something you can get and keep (the important part) in the strike zone. Ledges are an interesting kind of structure. Not all ledges are created equal. You'll want to target ledges that are close to shallower flats and channel swings. These will be places where fish can move to feed and back quickly, effortlessly. A little map study will help you ID these kinds of places. A little time over your electronix will help you dial in the locations that are holding fish. Couple things to keep in mind as you prepare to make your deep water power fishing trips: 1) Use the right gear. Throwing deep diving crankbaits will flat wear you out if don't have the correct rod. Do some homework on how the pros fish deep cranks. Ask some of the doods on here how they do it. Same-same for heavy swimbaits, swim jigs. 2) Semper Gumbi - remain flexible at all times. You may have 10 or 12 rods out for these trips. You'll want to cycle thru them all to get to the best solution for the conditions you're fishing. BPT tie on lots of different stuff, changing colors, body shape, bill length, etc as you work thru options. 3) Keep a notebook handy. Take notes on what does, does not work as you work thru your outings. As you build up a few pages you'll then have an informed start point. You'll gradually eliminate the guesswork and get to a place where you have some confidence in finding/catching fish. Finally, congrats on retirement. Airborne retired 11 years ago after 32 years on active duty. I find solace in fishing now. Many of my trips are with my Bros from my active duty days. Good luck w/ your move to KY. B

welcome aboard! tons of good info on this site. encourage you to spend some time reading thru old reports - you'll pick up a lot of tips on baits, presentations, and navigation. look forward to reading your reports.

The term "turnover" is usually associated with the flip of water layers (colder and warmer) that occurs in the fall. That said, the heavy rains and up-n-down weather we've had lately would certainly cause lakes to go thru turnover kinds of activity. The challenges you're having right now are more likely associated with the timing of the spawn (fish tend to shut down during and immediately after) and the up-n-down weather. Unstable weather means unstable water, esp when you factor in 1-3" of rain. Temperature swings like the ones we've had recently will shut fish down. In addition to algae bloom you may be experiencing the effects of pollination. Trees, esp pine trees, are deep into their annual reproductive cycles now so you've prob got a good layer of pollen on everything, incl the water.

those craws look fabulous

Lotsa good stuff in the archives. Look forward to reading yours. Welcome aboard!