aplumma

Good on you for flying down to Texas for the wedding.lol Art

With you Brian. Art

Rant over this ain't going anywhere good. Art

I have a Ranger and while running I have a flasher unit to track bottom it puts out a stronger signal than a graph unit. A soft bottom will absorb signals return a weaker mark. Turning up your gain will sometimes return your signal at higher speeds. As others say though make sure your installation is bullet proof first. Art

Very nice thanks for sharing. I troll with a yak on some local lakes and it is quite exciting when you hook up with a large fish. Art

way cool Brian thanks for sharing the video with us. Art

My favorite is Crappie followed by Channel Catfish in the 1-3 lb range. Both are deep fried and sanctified. I don't eat bass because I find them mushy for the most part. It might be because of how warm the water is down here. Crappie will bite small jigs trolled just below the light level penetration no deeper than 30% of the waters depth. I usually put 2 jigs 1/16 to1/8 oz jigs below a float (legal here) and slow troll till I catch a fish. I then throw out a marker and then a second marker 5ft further and back off the school. The floats will point to the place you caught the fish and then you can fish the edge of the school and work your way in till they scatter. Crappie will move up to feed but rarely move down to find food. Overcast days and night are the best time bright sunlight tends to drive them deep and are harder to catch. A light hand is needed when hooking and playing them they are nicknamed papermouths for a good reason. Enjoy the fishing and the meal. Art

The 30 second charge will get it to glow a 2 minute charge will glow brighter and longer. Any longer than that the return is marginal. Art

No matter the weight very nice fish for sure. I live down South and our bass have a longer growing season so a Northern bass that size is amazing. Welcome to the board. Art

An update is Mike has been in contact with them and has files a complaint to be reviewed. This has taken up quite a bit of his time and I am sure we here at OFC will be supporting him if he needs it. Thanks for all of the support and if you want to read the latest you can find his facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/mike.borger.71?fref=ufi Always a good read here. Art

Heat from the motor and sunlight will kill the lines as well. Art

Looks like a good time was had. Art

Welcome to the site glad you joined. If you have any Catfishing Question I can help. Them other fishies not so much. Art

I would get a Ranger.lol Art If you have the ability to have a second boat I would go that route. I do have to confess that i have 5 boats from a 10ft pontoon to a 28ft over nighter.Yes I know I have a problem.

You could but there is a chance he has his own way of making lead fly.lol. I can't tell you how many people have an old snake pistol in the bottom of their tackle boxes. Art

beeswax works well and has no chemicals Art

Nice day on the water Brian. Thanks for sharing. Art

One of my boats is a outboard jetboat and we do that all of the time when we all get together on the river. Art

A serious talk to a few lodge owner is in order. You are really not hands off in the off season. Most lodges are manned year round to not only do all of the work you did not catch up on during the season making sure the customers are happy and tended too but to keep the damage down done by weather and people in the off season. You will rarely find a second in command that can take your place in the off season. I own and run a Plumbing company and I could not see trying to pay attention to both businesses because when one business becomes extra time intensive the other business will suffer. Can you at a moments notice leave your primary business to spend a few unplanned weeks because your camp staff quit? When your septic field fails can you line up a contractor from home and feel the job will be completed correctly? Now really complicate this by buying a remote camp where everything has to be flown in. Costs go way up and finding someone to run the operations correctly will be a tough job in itself. Now that he is there and he does a poor job before you catch it you are out huge bucks and now you have to put your primary business on the back burner. You finally fix the camp issue and now you have to repair your primary business because you ignored them while you were saving your other investment. IT is a pendulum that once swinging can easily get out of control. This is not to discourage you but to make you really think before you put your nest egg and your successful business on the line. Now weigh the reward you will never be rich from it. The assets you build will be difficult to sell in most cases. The friends you make will be priceless. So unless you are that special person who can be financially solvent in a case of failure and thrives on making other people happy then my opinion is to get 110 % feedback from people who have provided the vacation and not the people who received the vacation. Art

I have anchored up for a spell of catfishing and it is not the other fishermen I have an issue with it is the people boating thru my line sets. Most of the cat fishermen i know on sight either by their boat or their equiptment on board. They will usually ask over the radio or holler to see if you have caught anything. We then say yes set up over there or no go to buoy 54 spot. The rare person who set up to close will be asked if they please not interfere on our spread and shown how far out we have our spread. IF some one is going to be an ass no matter if you talk to them or not they will not hear you. Art

If you build it and it is on the septic field what is the reaction of the county? Where I am if you do this they can make you remove the building and condemn your septic field until you have it certified by an engineering company. $$$$ Personally I would not violate my drainfield because if it is damaged you are close to the water and that would be another can of worms if they can find traces of septic waste or bacteria in the lake. Art

I think your best bet to get the answers is to visit a few lodges as a customer and talk to the owners during the week. You actually need to see how much effort or man power it takes to make the part the customers see and make them feel good . One lodge had a dock mate who made sure that the boats were dry, fueled and baited before the customers woke up. It was a real nice touch and the owners were told how great it was. The truth was it was the dock mate who decided to set those standards and the rest of the place was in the dumper. Another lodge hosted a fish fry and a local band one night a week. There door was never closed and they will do anything you need kind of a family atmosphere. They work hard and have a great repeat business. The time they are not helping customers they are improving the camp both during and after the season. The amount of work they do is amazing only because they want to be there with a different group of friends arriving each week. It does not matter that the fishery is not as great as it was in the past and if he has time he will take the time to fish with different people at no charge in his muske boat and if it is to busy he will always circle a few places on his map for you to try. Now this camp they bought was defunked and had a bad reputation but their love of the life and the people made it a success. I guess I am saying make sure you are the right person for the job and make sure you understand what the job truly is. A lodge owner that can not truly make me feel like I am his friend and he wants me there for more than money will fail. I have been to many lodges and that is the difference between returning or look elsewhere for a lodge. Art

Learn to Solder pipe it is a talent / art that is useful for the rest of your life. Personally I never use pex it has to many inherent flaws even using the correct fittings and compression tools. The use of sharkbites while easy to put together it is easily damaged by freezing and mechanical stress. CPVC for potable water systems is a better median if you do not wish to solder. Look for a glue made by Oateys called Lava it is a quick bonding CPVC glue that sets in 1/2 hour. The PVC drain is easy to work with and Lava is also available found in most plumbing warehouses. Check with your local codes to layout the drain and vent systems if done wrong you can expect to be ripping it out if it fails inspection. Preparation and measuring twice will go far in your installation. Before you decide to get rid of your plumber you should discuss what you feel the issues are and if they can't be resolved then look for a replacement. Be forewarned no one likes to clean up a job that someone else started if they do not rip out what the other person has done and use what is existing any issues in the future will always be what the other plumber did. Art

Nice trip Brian hopefully your foot heals quickly. Art

It is not how far North you are or how far South you are it is if it gets warm enough for you to be comfortable.So far Virginia is as cold as I like to be. lol. Art