Questions to ask your dealer prior to buying any brand of boat

You asked! You have to look inside a BCB to know more.

With the present course of the market, there are differences, plenty of them. And we do not know what brand you are considering. Though we are only just starting this one and we can literally write a book on this.

The problems per 100 units on a BCB were one fifth the number of another brand we feel you are mentioning in the recent study. One other brand was high on boats, though their engine problems per 100 count was extensively low and that assisted their PP100 units count overall as engines and hardware count. That means their PP100 count was also much higher than Bass Cat.

Are they really made of the same materials. Does that other brand have an all fiberglass hull, including a molded solid transom, glass stingers and the floor molded to fit. Or is that a foam board urethane transom?

Is the jackplate a 6 bolt custom full transom length model, or is it shorter with only four bolts. And are those fine thread or coarse? Do they have aluminum backing supports at all three levels of the bolt up. Or do they just have a dress plate at the top only for looks more than anything else. Also is it an R & R with locking groove, or is it dependent on the bolts to hold it in place on the side panels.

Is the carpeting 24 ounce Syntex brand, or is it 18 ounce that costs 55% as much.

Is the carpet glue spray on light grade, or is it brushed on by hand and thicker.

Under those decks are the bases for the seat just bolted on top, or do they have a machined stem glassed into the floor and the only 7 x 7 floor base sandwiched between fiberglass.

Do they drill each gauge hole to retain dash strength, or do they panel cut large face and insert a plastic cover up dash? Do they use aluminum rings on each gauge, or are they plastic if they use them at all?

Are the screws all stainless, and are they custom #2 square drive. And do those in areas that really need a seal have a neoprene stamped washer on them. And are they machine screws with nylock nuts or tapping sheet metal into the glass, which strip. Of course this requires a wrench or socket on the install.

Are the screws or rivets under those parts all counter sunk and chamferred to prevent stress fractures, or did they just ram a screw into the fiberglass.

Is the hydraulic steering hose sheathed in a jacket to protect it for safety, or is it just run through the boat open to exposed fiberglass.

Run your hands or put your head under the decks and compare the looks of both, from the back side in the storages or sump area. Is the sump painted black to hide things instead of cleaning that area. Or is it white/offwhite and cleaned up.

Are the battery trays the same. Standard ones are, though the optional Aluminum trays are not. (eluminiuhim, that one always get us.alum, er.. elumni... oh we got it right -attempt at humor)

Are the boxes all fiberglass, glassed in as one piece, or are they rotomolded plastic screwed into a deck or an aluminum deck under the carpeting held up with twin screw threaded stems. Basically floating the deck instead of supporting it to the hull.

Is the rub rail through bolted every now and then,or is it just a screw stuck in the side of the rub rail. And is the rub rail special designed to reduce damage and with an easy replace insert, or will you have to replace it all if you damage it.

Do they spec particular fiberglass or is theirs Chinese imported at a significant savings.

Is it a GP DCPD bulk resin on the cheapest bid or a specified Ortho or Iso resin that is built to spec. And do they have a full Vinyl Ester Barrier Coat behind the gelcoat in at least 15 mills or more.

How about the seats, are they an aluminum framed, fiberglass molded back, or how are they constructed?

Is the trolling motor through bolted with a 3/8" backing plate holding it with nylocks nuts. Or is it a Wellnut that is just drilled and the rubber Wellnut holds it in place, for now. Which also leads to more stress fractures.

What brand latches are on the model in question, do some homework and compare.

Are the lids insulated on the back side, or are they painted, or maybe not at all. And do those lids seat against the seal trim (StanPro) under the lids and match up to a seal molding?

Are the Pumps all 750 GPH Mayfair cartridge style, or are they lesser and how about the bullet end connectors on those pumps that are sealed to reduce wicking of water into the electric motors. Do they replace easily if you need to, or not.

Is the trolling motor wire fine soft stranded or is it just a base wire with larger strands and thus carry less power. Either would work fine if they are 6 gauge, though one costs more. And if one is 8 gauge all is different.

Is the steel USA made on the C Channel trailer, or is it imported. And is there an adjustment on that trailer, or is it all welded to fit with no adjustment, or bolt brackets to bend.

Are the wheels 15" or are they smaller. And are they a wider aluminum wheel and what brand are the tires.

Is the harness on their trailer a less expensive imported harness, or is it a Wesbar specific harness. Same goes for the lights and hardware on the trailer.

Are the end units Vault with a 5 year seal warranty, and an optional 10 years. or are they imported Chinese "private label" brand. With what kind of seal?

Are the bunk boards double padded, glued, SS staples, and are they trimmed to fit, or are they just a 2x6 carpeted once wrapped and stapled.

All of this and more takes a little bit more time, materials and obviously a little bit more funds. And we can go on and on... Though you got the picture, the choice is now yours, though there are plenty more differences.

BCB

PS: Is a military Hummer a better off road vehicle than a Chevy Silverado?

Back seat account of Falcon Stren by Randall Coyle

Hello, my name is Randall Coyle. I will be reporting on my season in FLW American Fishing Series, Texas Division, as a co-angler. The first tournament of the series was in Zapata , TX at Lake Falcon . I left Beaumont Texas at 6:30 am Wednesday where the temperature was 28. There is quite a bit of scenery to take in during the seven hour trip. Between Freer and Zapata, fifty collared peccary ran across the road. What a site that was!

We finally arrived in Zapata only to discover we didn’t need the heavy coats we adorned because it was a pleasant 70 degrees. However, this temperature would surely drop when the cold front reached this area.

Practice was not in the cards for this tournament. I have fished Falcon several times so I felt very comfortable. After the initial meeting, I met my first day partner, Jerry Propst of Sam Rayburn, TX. We were boat #65 which was the last boat in flight 3.

We started the first day of the tourney at 6:15am with a temperature of 55 degrees and heavy fog. The fog delayed us until 8: 30am. When we were finally released, we ran 20 miles south toward the dam and the ride was a fairly smooth one. By the time we arrived at our first location, the wind had increased drastically which made it very difficult to stay on our spot.

My very first cast yielded a 2 pounder on a Carolina rig in 25 foot of water. We drifted over that spot several times and my second fish was a 5 ½ pounder. By this time it was 11am and the wind was coming out of the North. The temperature had dropped to 33 degrees and my partner made the decision to head in. On our way back to the weigh in site, we hit a wave wrong which resulted in water getting into the cowling. As you can guess, we lost the use of the boat motor. About an hour and a half later, the motor finally dried out so we were able to crank it and restarted our venture back to the dock. By this time, the waves were at 13 feet and the exact same thing happened again. After letting it dry out yet again, we made our way back in with 30 minutes to spare.

I finished the first day with an 8 pound bag. I wasn’t disappointed with the weight because, honestly, I was just happy we made it in. Surprising enough, I was in 42nd place.

Jeff Richard of Helotes , TX was my partner for the second day. Once again, we were southbound with a temperature of 28 degrees. We made it to our first spot a little after 8am. The wind was blowing around 20mp out of the north. Being wet and cold was not a good combination. My hands were so cold, I didn’t fish for the first 30 minutes but, as I was about to find out, no matter how cold it gets on Falcon, fish are always biting down south by the dam. The first fish along with each and every fish I weighed that day came on a Carolina rig using a 10 inch Berkley Motor Oil Red Flake Power Worm.

I ended the day with approximately 17 pounds and moved up to 13^th place. Most of the top ten caught their fish on Senkos, brush hogs, and lizards. Keith Combs brought in a monster bag on the final day of over 40 pounds but still wasn’t able to knock Michael Yoder out of first place. Michael won with 93 pounds 8 ounces.

Tournament number two of the series is next month at Lake Sam Rayburn. Big Sam in February is every bass fisherman’s dream.

The 21st Century Jig by Mike Pharr (Part 1)

Hot or cold, wind or no wind, rain or no rain, and pretty much any condition you can imagine, the jig is by far my favorite way to catch the elusive Largemouth Bass. I have been fishing every since I can remember and the one bait that has always captivated me is none other than the obvious, "The Jig".

You might ask, "Whats your favorite jig Mike?" of which my answer would be, "I really don't like to limit myself to just one". I guess the most remarkable thing about the modern jig is that there is pretty much one for every application you can imagine and you can bet that you can most likely find a fish willing to eat one of them at any given time. However it may be a Jackfish, the toothy critter otherwise known as the common"Grass Pickerel", as was proved on my most recent outing.

In retrospect, 2009 season was pretty big for me. Years of trying and even being close but falling short had finally lead to two wins even though most of my other finishes hadn't even come close. A good friend once told me "when you win your gonna win big" and well I guess this season might have proven his statement to be somewhat true. With a win on Red River with over 3lbs separating me from 2ND and a win on Sam Rayburn with 4 fish for 22lbs sure made me feel as if my old friend might have been on to something.

"What is your point?" you ask,Well I said all that to say this. For years and years I had heard "JIGS CATCH BIGGER FISH!!!" and I made a vow a couple of years ago to find out if that was true or just an ole red neck urban legend. In both of these tournaments a jig wound up being key to finding the better fish. On Red River it was swimming a 3/8 oz Okeechobee Omega Swim Jig over shallow cover directly on the break line of a ledge breaking into 12' of water from 2' that seemed to be key in putting the quality keepers in the boat. At Rayburn it was a 1 oz Okeechobee Omega Pro-mega jig that really enticed the "Juice Hog's" to chomp when worked slowly around deeper structure. In 2008 in just my third tournament as a pro I finished 9Th in the Lake Texoma Bassmaster Central Open on yep, you guessed it. A JIG!!! The 1/2 oz Praying Mantis Omega Football jig was HOT for the quality bite around larger boulders in distinct main lake areas that I found to be productive late in practice. Sad thing about that event was that I was a mere 4lbs from finishing second and came up short one keeper on day 2 and 3 that I guarantee you I had a shot to catch. I guess you can see just why I have grown to LOVE the jig and surely by now you can see that learning to be versatile with a jig can pay off BIG TIME.

I would love to be able to share with you everything that I have learned about a jig, but that would be nearly impossible in just one blog. I will however try to blog often so that you can hopefully learn a little about just how many options the jig of the 21st century offers and in the end maybe you can learn just how effective a jig can be when you have a full understanding of both traditional and non-traditional jigging techniques. This is a part one of whats to come and in future blogs I will give my best effort to help make you a better jig fisherman by sharing with you tips and secrets that I have had to learn the hard way. The biggest thing to remember is to try and keep it simple. Don't get caught up in all the colors, prices, fads, or "so and so uses it" as much as you do the availability, style selection, design for each application and component quality because I assure you these are far more important in selecting the jig for you.

In the mean time, until I blog about jigs again, I encourage you to check out all of the different manufacturers out there. When you do look for the things I mentioned. Use the Haggerty philosophy which is "Keep it simple stupid!" but also make sure you try to find a jig manufacturer that has a bigger selection with a more specific and detailed purpose in each of there designs. A good example would be one that has stronger hooks for heavier cover or a lighter hook for more of a finesse application. I love Omega because they seem to have the biggest variety to fulfill my needs. I trust if you are serious that you will do the homework and will surely find one that works for you.

I hope this Blog has been helpful and look forward to your feedback. Thank you all for taking the time out to read it and please look for more in the future as there will definitely be plenty more to come.

Mike Pharr

The Basin

I finished in 50th place, just inside the money cut at the last central BASS open at the Atchafalaya Basin. This is my best finish ever at this level. People tell me I should be happy, proud etc etc but in reality I am still very disappointed in my overall performance in this derby. I found an area in the spillway which had virtually no pressure which was very unique and way way different than the popular areas which were being fished such as lake Verrett and other cypress or grass lakes. The spillway was flooded approx 3-4 ft allowing the fish to get over the bank and spread out in the trees making them impossible to get at. I searched and searched the north spillway to find an area which had cleaner water and banks which would not allow the fish to get out. Well I found it, little pigeon bayou. The fish were there and they ate every day I just did not figure the subtle pattern out day to day to get a limit each day. There was a suspended crank bait pattern working day one and it shut down on day two but a very shallow flipping bite turned on day two which I did not recognize til maybe 11am and it was a 45 min run to the area leaving me only a couple of hours to get a limit which I only filled two of the five slots. What I am disappointed in is my failure to execute once I found an area holding fish. I do like my performance in practice as far as putting the time in finding fish which were not pressured and all but I hate the fact that I still could not keep up with the daily pattern thing to go ahead and fill my limit out. A limit a day would have let me do much much better in the standings, a simple limit. It did not happen. So, there is still lots and lots of work to be done and it all starts in early January with my season opener at Falcon, if I get in. I know it kinda sounds sick but I cannot wait.

Santee on to the Basin

I went to Santee Cooper with very little practice time available but also with some previous experience on the reservoir, albeit not in the fall. I kinda relied on my strategy of picking apart an area somewhat close to the ramp, so I could spend the maximum amount of time with a hook in the water. Reports on Taw Caw, Wyboo and Potato creeks were promising prior to my arrival and I made the decision to spend most of my practice period in those creeks fishing boathouses with deeper water out in front of them. I did practice up in the stump hole swamp area for two half days knowing that the resident fish population is pretty stable but I had mixed results and stayed with the boat dock pattern on day one. I had a half dozen bites day one and luckily one was close to 4 pounds with another bump fish that is all I put in the jug on day one. Day two rolled around and I decided to take a chance and run to the swamp knowing the pressure on the docks would have to increase as weights were way down after day one. Pitching nail weighted senkos to cypress knees boated lots of bump fish but never a kicker so I put 5 swimmers in the jug for just around 6 lbs. As it turns out the winner of the event was fishing the swamp the entire time just doing something different than I was. Pitching blades and square bills in between select cypress was his pattern fishing for 5 key bites a day and it worked out for him to the tune of 17lbs on day 3. I learned to broaden my bait selection per area after learning the winning pattern and technique. Kinda makes me a little sick knowing I was practicing in the right area and also that 8lbs a day would have put me on the bubble come cut day but I could not get that done. I also learned a great deal regarding fishing cypress and I hope to utilize that in the upcoming event at the Basin.

Toledo Bend wrap up and Santee upcoming

OK, so yesterday we what I consider to be ideal conditions for active bass on a big bass lake. Big time pre-frontal conditions, overcast skies, brisk S-SW wind, and clean water around hydrilla you dream about, green crisp and crunchy. I had a limit spot and went to it first thing, maybe an hour, hour and a half, caught 8-10 sub keeper fish and left it. The rest of the day I sat on my original group of fish, clean deep grass lines in 14-20 ft, lots of wood and one other boat in there. Ideal, I was psyched up. My non boater and me both hooked one keeper apiece.....zzzzzz.....

Weights that day were way under expectations. Approx 8lbs was in like 30th place..

Today, the front had passed, a stiff north wind was howling, 2-3 footers, high blue and 20 degrees cooler. In my mind, a drop shot would never leave my hand and I would sit on my deeper school fish associating to the bait mainly and loosely to break lines near ridges and underwater points. I netted no keepers in a half days effort and only 3 fish over all running 4 separate spots 3 times over. I went to the back of Palo Gaucho and started junking my butt off trying to save some face but to no avail, no keepers were found. Over all today I had 6 bites, terrible.

I really felt lost out there today. I really need to get keen to fish in transition and in a hurry. These last two derbys I have been burned by moving fish, or at least I believe that is the issue. Next comes Santee, and only minimal practice time, to me this whole event will be in practice/search mode.

Final Stren of the year

So tomorrow I get to take on the fish on this big momma.

Reports prior to me arriving at the border were good, fish holding to deep grass lines and 16-18 lbs was not a huge effort. Through the week though, the weather conditions have been all over the map and recently stabilized into just a lot of rain, and I do mean a lot, lake rose a reported 12-14 inches over night. So fishing has been rather tough. Just trying to find a group of fish to present to has been really difficult. Yesterday and today I have managed to locate a couple of 'loose' groupings which I plan to go to. Thankfully they are spots I can hit no matter the wind direction but there is a catch, they are 15 miles apart easy. I do need some breeze but not while I am driving the boat lanes.

One group of fish are relating to a grass flat along a deeply wooded bank, kinda spread through out. Depending on the daily kinda pattern going on all I know is there are fish there, around at least. Most in the 3-4 lb class and I hope to get into a mess of those time and weather permitting.

The other group of fish are just south of the Pendelton bridge and they are roamers relating again loosely to a point coming up to 12 foot of water right in the middle of a boat lane. Wave as you go by... Schooling action is there and you can sight fish some targets with your graph on a shot as well. Fish in the 1.5 to 3 lb class are abundant and I hope to score 5 of those first thing and then head south in search of a kicker or 3.

Every rod is gonna be on the deck and it is trash fishing mania, but I really do have confidence if I can get to my fish and actually work em regardless of the weather going on around me.