Messages

1

The Hawg Forum / Re: What makes you and your boat tournament ready

« on: April 07, 2022, 09:51:27 AM »

Has anyone else been boat checked and asked about Flares? It is absolutely crazy... I was checked on Johnson's Pond years back and DEM asked. They actually joked about it and didn't say anything when I didn't have them but it is required...

I still don't have them on the boat. 

-Mitz

2

The Hawg Forum / Re: What makes you and your boat tournament ready

« on: April 06, 2022, 03:25:38 PM »

What should you do?
It is hard to make this list and not make the Don't Do List...

At the Ramp

• Be early.
• Get your stuff ready, launch and get out of the way.
• Once launched offer to help the next boat.

On the water

• Be respectful of other anglers and some space between boats.
• When on motor keep space between you and others.

At the end

• Be back on time!
• Keep your livewell on recirculate to prevent fish loss
• Load the boat on the trailer and park
• Prep boat for ride home
• Get fish ready for weigh-in
• IMPORTANT: After Weigh-in Check everything again!

At Home (Save the next pond!)

• Wash out livewells
• Remove weeds from trailer
• Lower Motor and drain water out

3

The Hawg Forum / Re: What makes you and your boat tournament ready

« on: April 04, 2022, 09:22:35 PM »

Trying to think of how to answer this might be more tricky than the answer!

So I'm going to break it up.
What do you need on your boat?
Skipping the obvious rods and tackle and thinking about tournament specific stuff:

• Culling System
• Weigh-in Bag
• Rope for launching and Docking
• Headlamp(s) extra batteries
• Small First Aid Kit
• Wire Cutters - Just watched a video that said something that makes it real. Don't fish with any hooks your plyers can't cut!
• Small toolbox. Go around your boat and Trailer and test fit wrenches on screws and bolts. Small wiring stuff. Fuses, ducktape. ZIP TIES!!!. I am sure we could expand on this list!...

What do you need as an angler?

• Polarized Glasses
• Foul Weather Gear
• TP 
• Patience
• Water, sun screen, snacks. Simple stuff but a must have!

More to come...

4

The Hawg Forum / What makes you and your boat tournament ready

« on: April 04, 2022, 12:42:29 PM »

Thought I would try and spark a conversation...

I wanted to provide some help to someone I just met. They are looking to get in to tournament fishing and just purchased their first boat. We all remember when we took that leap of faith and jumped into our first tournament on our first boat.  I remember vividly having my ugly stick and flip sider tacklebox ready to go!   

Just thought it might be a good thread to talk about it as the season is kicking off very quickly.

• What you need on your boat?
• What you need as a angler?
• What should you do?
• What shouldn't you do?
• Ramp etiquette.
• Something you wish you knew day one, you now know.

I'll have to think about this and post a little later. 

-Mitz

5

The Hawg Forum / Re: Are Spark Plugs made of Gold?

« on: April 01, 2022, 08:11:44 PM »

Ha! Way to rub salt in the wound! LOL

6

The Hawg Forum / Are Spark Plugs made of Gold?

« on: April 01, 2022, 03:54:02 PM »

I have a 115HP 04 Merc Optimax 3 cylinder so thankfully while my motor is a DOG I only have 3 plugs just spent $18 each...    One SKU up and they were $8 one SKU down and they are $7...

O well...  I really do want to repower my boat with a 150HP but just doesn't seem worth it... I'll just continue to push water for 1/2 the lake...

Mitz

7

The Hawg Forum / Re: Totally unnecessary purchase

« on: March 29, 2022, 02:53:03 PM »

O YEAH, congrats on the Ultrex! They are NICE!!!

-Mitz

8

The Hawg Forum / Re: Totally unnecessary purchase

« on: March 29, 2022, 02:51:21 PM »

I've been running a 36V TM for a while but when I changed over to the Ghost last year I had an issue with a fuse popping. After fighting with it twice during tournaments I ended up finding out it was a loose Lug. The wire looked fine but inside the crimp, the wire was floating around and came out with a simple tug 

Now I could use them as a tow strap. LOL 

-Mitz

9

The Hawg Forum / Totally unnecessary purchase

« on: March 29, 2022, 01:40:11 PM »

I picked up hydraulic Wire Lug crimpers. $40 on Amazon

What a Game changer! Needed to swap out a few battery cables for the boat and when you have 4 batteries it can get expensive. I use to buy premade, to just not worry about it but they are always too long or too short.

Picked up a length of good battery cable and some new lugs cut them to length. The hydraulic crimpers are WAY better than anything else I've used to crimp, smash or vise on lug ends!

Ended up nice and neat and should be in place for a while!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSJZJRV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

-Mitz 

10

The Hawg Forum / Re: Since I Moved to NC

« on: March 04, 2022, 08:20:29 PM »

WOW Matt that will add some excitement to a wood shop! Glad to hear it wasn't worse!

-Mitz

11

The Hawg Forum / Re: First pig of the year

« on: February 25, 2022, 02:36:56 PM »

Nice! You always get an early jump on them!

Hopefully I can get the boat in the garage this week and start prepping for the season. I would like to get some lines wet sometime in the next 2-3 weeks after I get a few work projects out of the way.

-Mitz

12

The Hawg Forum / Re: New England Fishing Expo: Boxborough mass

« on: January 29, 2022, 06:44:27 PM »

It is a crazy market for sure! People will spend a ton for the right bait and you have some killer baits. I'm sure they would sell out.

As long as you don't spend 10$ to make 5$. 

-Mitz

13

The Hawg Forum / Re: Lowrance Ghost 360

« on: January 15, 2022, 02:18:03 PM »

I thought about replacing my boat a few times over the last few years but I love the hull. Plus there is just  no way I could afford what I wanted so I decided to do some upgrades. The Ghost was one of them.

It is a really nice motor built like a tank and has a ton of Tech built into it.. While not for everyone I'm a wicked geek and love the features. Just hate the problems that come along with more "tech". Once or twice last year I had to deal with some wacky stuff. 

-Mitz

14

The Hawg Forum / Lowrance Ghost 360

« on: January 14, 2022, 03:51:55 PM »

For the upgrade cost of a 3-1 transducer nose cone, HDS or Elite FS unit and a software update looks like Lowrance added 360 imaging for FREE! LOL (just $4000 upfront) 

Doing some research it doesn't look like a show stopper but it will be fun to play with. As long as you don't need to steer the boat using the TM. 

-Mitz

15

Fishing Tackle & Equipment Reviews / Re: New Scale

« on: January 02, 2022, 12:30:17 PM »

I have the Rapala one it has been my go to for the past few years. I do really like the readout very easy to see day or night. When I saw the Snail Trail unit I liked the button layout a bit more and the handle vs bottle opener at the top.

Both units have that same battery cover door the I had to tape shut on the Rapala because it just slides open at times. It will be interesting to have both and compare readouts.

-Mitz