I check in from time to time. Chappy, I still remember you giving me flack about my white legs at an Evert’s get together in 03 I believe. Was “Rooster” then. I think I was member 300 and something. I owe much of what I know about walleye fishing to the “old folks” here!
I’ve absolutely had days where reducing jig weight is the key to ending short biting fish. I’ve also had days where they inhale a 1oz jig no problem. IMHO, there is virtually written in stone when it comes to walleyes!
Nice! Made me dig out my late brother’s reel to put in the boat for the next outing. I do it from time to time. Does my heart good to continue catching fish with his reel from time to time!
My first boat was exactly like this, except with a bit larger bow cover. It had the same transom plate, rated for 16 hp. Mine was a 1955. A friend had one just like yours, from 1964. I’d guess yours is somewhere in between. Great little boat. Mine is still in use by a young guy, his first boat. 63 years old and still fishes like it did in ’55!
You handled this with much more understanding than I would nham. Not sure if he told you he would hold it or not, but if he knew you were driving that far, he should at the very least allowed a counter offer from you while you were in transit. I personally will not set up to show to more than one person at a time. Prevents this issue entirely. I purchased a boat off CL that was a 500 mi drive in winter. It went well. I sold that boat a few years later on cl to a guy who lives 600 miles away. It went well. NO reason for people to put money before honor.
I will take you up on that one of these days Todd!
There were several more corrections, a multitude of trials, failures, wanderings and returns. Much of life spent in prodigal roaming, but the return was then ever so sweet.
Might well be doable for me. I retire May 1st, and fishing is high on the priority list. Have not been to a GTG since Summer of ’05!!!
I have an interesting take on this from a trolling run I found years ago. Trolling early/ mid summer in 3-5′ of water. On weekends, with heavy boat traffic, I can troll right over them in 3′ and catch fish consistently. During the week or when boat traffic is low, I sometimes use boards. I believe the fish become acclimated to sound and movement conditions rapidly and respond accordingly.
This is my brother’s Redneck stand. Built and named years before the “brand” was established.
Redneck-Stand.jpg
Mike, I plan to retire next spring, so I will be frequenting the river and this site a lot again in the fairly near future!!!
Not been on in some time. Just wanted to chime in a bit. I have been using 6-10″ swimbaits for years in the fall. I love pitching them shallow in low light, and occasionally using them deep on a 1 to 1-1/2 oz jig as a dropper on a dubuque rig, often with an mid to large sized stick bait on the trailer line.
Pool 14 at Clinton is probably the best walleye pool bordering Iowa. Not a whole lot better flow and level wise anywhere the last couple years, but summer on 14 can be terrific.
Thanks for the welcome! It may still be a while before I’m on the water, but getting things in order to make it happen next year if not this fall/ winter. hnd, Tony is still around, not been doing much fishing either. I got out with him and John Mannerino prefishing for the IWT tournament out of Albany a few weeks ago. It was a blast, and really got me hankering to get back on the water. We found some really nice fish in a couple spots. The big girls seem to be thick on pool 14!
I’ve found very active fish, generally in less than 10′ of water, hit aggressively on a downstream presentation. If the fish are neutral, upstream a little deeper takes the nod. Try both ways. As Mike says, lighter jig for down stream a must. Also, the video is awesome!
Hey that’s my “secret” spot in the second pic!
Got snow and ice here in NW Illinois already. Was not supposed to turn to snow until tomorrow mid day…. thunder too!
Pretty insightful question for a cat guy! I’ve got to say I agree with the “let the fish tell ya” answer. I’ve had times trolling 4′ of water where they would not touch it if it hit bottom, other times where it had to be slamming. THe action of the lure also has a lot to do with it. Tight wobbling lures like shad raps I tend to start deep and move up, wally divers and others with a more aggresive wobble, I try to keep off bottom to start, but will regularly change patterns until one becomes apparently more productive!
Dont know about the tournament, but if their is a GTG I may make the trip up from Illinois. Any openings at the resort for an overnight Fri/Sat night?
No way fish got from an Albany weigh in to pool 15 in one day! Barely any current out there, and the odds of them making it to the same place that far down stream are minute.
Congrats Mica on a good showing in very tough conditions! 
You hit the nail on the head F Grouse! I may be getting long in the tooth, but I distinctly remember the days when companies stood behind their products. The warranty was a “minimum guarentee”.
I recently had very expensive problem with my van, which was out of warranty time wise, but with low mileage. Chrysler did not bat an eye, replacing the transmission for FREE. No labor, nothing. That is over and above expected. I would have expected, at the VERY least, an apology from someone in customer service for selling junk, and maybe half the cost of the part. The repair man isn’t gonna work for free, and the part did last a couple years, so I did NOT expect a freebie.
Not sure how I could be subject to litigation for telling my story, absolutely the truth. Counter litigation would then obviously be in order!
Now Merc has called me and rescinded the gift certificate offer because I was not playing nice on the internet concerning their horse pucky customer service practices. They basically told me that they could not refund me more than the $200 because that is all they pay for a part they sell for $860, to replace the junk they put on the motor new!
I do not think they realize the impact one very aggitated, unhappy customer can have. Especially one who was a life long backer and promoter of their products. When a big company treats me like a nobody, then tries to intimidate me into retracting my web postings, then takes away the “bone” they were going to throw me to keep me quiet, I get a bit vindictive.
I commend IDO for not dusting this thread as a few sites who list merc as a sponsor have done! Thank you for letting my voice be heard!
Thanks Tim, I’ll give that a try!
Thanks p4W!I’ve really been thinking Suzuki myself. We have a local dealer and every owner I’ve spoken with has loved their Zuki’s! The haters are generally those who cannot put themselves in other peoples shoes, or to whom money means nothing. I am recently separated and very limited means, so this is a HUGE deal to me. From what I’ve found the compressor housing material was substandard, but the parts where used anyway. Ya then take your chances as a consumer. Quality standards like that in the company I work for would sind us in no time.
I was told by customer service that had the repair center, an authorized Merc repair center, contacted them before repairs were made and paid for, they would have supplied the part free of charge, I pay for the repair. When a part that expensive was crap from the factory, that is what I would expect. A recall would have been better. If the part would have been free of charge, why am I being “reimbursed” less than %25 of that cost. LOUSY backing of a very expensive product by company who is feeling the financial constraints of these times. I’m feeling those same constraints, and stand by my rant!
New battery, fuse, and voltage checked by electrician. Unless it is intermittent, the sparky said it has to be in the unit itself.
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Does anybody know if anyone in the PDC or Guttenberg area sells them?…..
You can get ’em here…
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I thought you gave up fishing!
It seems like a lifetime since I’ve been able to get out Brian. Life got in the way of enjoying life for a while, but you can’t keep an old river rat off the river forever!
I’ve noticed a decline as well jigfan. I was hoping it was due to relocation after two years straight of high flow and muddy water. I did encounter them quite often in the backwaters, but nothing much on the main river. I guess time will tell.
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Pool 14 just keeps getting worse, soon we will have to add a rake to the net rack
I’ve been hoping someone would come up with a way to make energy outta all that grass, then there would be a scramble to collect it all…
