Bullseye Bassmaster News

Bullseye Bassmaster News

Well, the Bylaw revisions are now over and done with and have a few changes. We’ll be meeting soon to put a budget into place and then, what everyone, including myself, really wants to do…FISH!

April Phule???……….or “FOOL”?

Officials in East Texas took the bait, falling for a fax sent from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). “This year, the fish will be napping, not nibbling,” the fax read, adding that sedatives would be dumped into a lake that hosts the Redman Cowboy Division Fishing Tournament. Fearing sabotage, the plug, was pulled was pulled on this weekend’s bass tournament. Never mind that it would take millions of soluble tranquilizers to KO the fish, and that the fax was signed……”April Phule” ctsy.D&C 4/2/2000

My article for this month is something I found by Chad Brauer. “Picking Out the RightRig for You”. I hope you enjoy it and it proves helpful to those of you thinking of buying a new boat.

Picking Out the Right Rig for You
By Chad Brauer

Being satisfied with the boat that you buy is often a function of how much thought you put into what you need out of a boat before you make that purchase. There are many decisions you make during the buying process that can lead you to be really happy or unhappy with your rig. Since my boat is where I make my living, I try to design my rig to allow me to perform to the best of my abilities. Advance planning is required in order for this to happen. Let me take you through my rig and explain the reasoning I use to choose the right rig for me.

Boat

I begin the process by choosing the model of boat that I feel will satisfy my needs. How do I make that decision, you ask. I basically try to analyze how I will be using the boat and then find properties of a boat that fulfill those uses. Here is a list of questions that can help you analyze your needs and help fulfill them:

What style of fishing do I do the most?
Do I encounter mostly calm or rough water?
Is speed important to me?
What can I afford?
How much storage space do I need?
What is the resale value?

There are many other questions you can ask but these will get you started, and are in my opinion the most important to being satisfied with your rig. As an example let's go through my boat and I'll explain why it fits my needs.

My personal boat at the time of this writing is a Ranger 518VX. I am primarily a shallow water fisherman and my favorite technique is flipping and pitching to heavy cover. Because of that I want a boat that floats shallow in the water, allowing me to get into shallow areas easily. Since I have to travel to water bodies that have both calm and rough waters I have to have a boat that handles both very well. The 518VX is long enough to take rough water well, yet very quick for calm water situations. I also prefer my boats to sit low to the water, allowing me to present my bait into tight cover as well as swing fish into the boat easily. I also need a fair amount of storage to haul all of my tackle around the country.

Motor

The best place to start with your motor is the horsepower rating of your chosen boat. Matching that rating with the size of your motor will generally give you the best overall performance from your boat. Though this will give you your best top end speeds, that is not the only reason for meeting the horsepower rating. You will also experience better hole shots, easier driving in rough waters, and better overall handling. Nothing says you have to drive at full throttle. Fuel economy is also an issue in picking a motor. The less fuel and oil you use the cheaper it is to operate your rig. I have an Evinrude 200HP on my Ranger 518VX. The boat is rated for a 200HP motor, and having a 200HP gives me excellent overall performance. The FICHT Fuel Injection also gives me excellent fuel economy. An example is a couple of weeks ago at Memphis, TN., I was making a 78 mile run down river to a backwater area then returning against a 7-10mph current. My total fuel usage was less than 40 gallons each day. That translates into about 4 mpg at full throttle, that was a huge advantage over some of my competitors who still had regular carbureted engines. Having the right prop also plays a large part in your boat's performance. Props that give you the best top end speed often sacrifice hole shots and handling, and vice versa. I run a 24 Raker prop on my boat, this is sort of a happy medium. Good top end speed, yet excellent hole shot and handling.

Trolling Motor

To me this is one of the most important pieces of equipment on my boat. This is how I control my boat when I am trying to make my living. Make sure that the trolling motor you buy has enough power to maneuver your boat. Fishing in current and wind requires more power to move the boat. Having a quiet trolling motor is also important, a noisy one will be more likely to spook fish. Length of the trolling motor shaft should also be considered.

Shallow water fishermen will be happier with a trolling motor that does not drag bottom, while an open water fisherman may want a longer shaft that does not come out of the water in rough water conditions. You must also decide whether you like hand or foot controls better, and that is just personal preference. My trolling motor is the Evinrude 74lb. thrust model with foot control. It has a 42 inch shaft which is long enough to perform in rough water yet does not drag bottom in shallow water. It also has plenty of power to maneuver my boat, even in the wind or current.

Electronics

These pieces of equipment on a boat are of utmost importance to some fishermen and of no importance to others. There are many places in the world where electronics mean the difference between having a successful trip and getting skunked. You must analyze your particular fishing situation to determine what sort of electronics you need and what quality your needs require. Throughout the year I use my electronics for many different purposes: finding structure, finding baitfish, locating brushpiles, eliminating water that is not in the productive depth zone, etc. There are also weeks in the year where I do not even turn my electronics on. It all depends on the situation.

Since I face many different situations I try to be prepared for all of them. I currently run four pieces of electronics on my boat. I have a Humminbird Wide Paramount on the bow of my boat, a Humminbird NS-25 GPS unit at the drivers seat, and two Zercom In-Dash flashers (one on the bow and one at the drivers seat). The GPS unit I mainly use on big bodies of water such as Lake Erie, the Louisiana Delta, and Lake Champlain. It functions mainly as a navigating tool to any productive areas I have found. The Paramount is my primary unit when I am fishing, it gives me a great picture of what I am going over as I fish. I use the In-Dash units for monitoring depth while I am driving and for shallow water fishing.

Extras

There are numerous other items you can put on a boat, and they can be extremely productive for you or a waste of money. That often depends on your particular use of the boat. What one fisherman cannot live without, the next does not use at all. Trailers, covers, jackplates, batteries and battery chargers are all items that can make you feel more satisfied with your rig if they are given some thought beforehand.

Next Month…. We visit with Denny Brauer. Denny will be covering how to map out a body of water. Stay tuned………..

With the bylaws all straightened out, the next task is the budget for the year. The executive committee is basing their next meeting on this so that we can have it for a vote at the May meeting.

Don’t forget about the casting kids’ event coming up. Please get hold of Mike Merz if you are willing to help out.

Our first tournament is already coming up. The annual May, partners, Lake Erie event. If you have any questions on the date, time, or location, please get hold of one of the tournament committee members.

I am sure many of us have dusted off the gear and have already been out on the water doing a little fishing. I know I have. While you were getting ready to get out on the water, you may have come across a few things that you just don’t use anymore. Well, here is your chance to get rid of a few of these things and maybe make a little money on them. Our next meeting is our annual garage sale and we will be meeting at Froggy’s (1129 Empire Boulevard), at 7:30p.m.April 19th. I hope to see all of you there.

Old Business

President Dibble called the meeting to Order at 7:41

Attendance: 33 members were present, with several early departures and 2 guests. Our speaker was Scott Yurkstas who was representing Strike King lures. Scott had put together an information packet discussing Strike King's Bitsy Bug Jigs. The discussion includes presentations & techniques, when and where to use the jigs and what type of equipment is most effective. Scott has additional info packets for anyone interested in learning more about Strike King's Bitsy Bug.

New Business:

Don’t Forget!!!!!!

This month is our annual “garage sale”.

For those of you new to the club, this is when we bring in the things that we no longer need, have upgraded, or just plain want to sell. Rods, reels, Electronics, lures……… You name it !

So, clean out those things that may be a treasure to someone else.

Bring them to this month’s meeting.

The Revised bylaws are done and as soon as I get everything from the Tournament Committee, I will be putting together your membership packets.

If there are any changes to address and or Phone numbers, please get them to me, as I need to update the roster.

I also would like to include email addresses in this packet, so it is your responsibility to get me this information as soon as possible. For those of you who do not have Internet access, you may send this info to my address, which you will find on the front page of this newsletter.

The tournament committee is finalizing everything for the up coming tournaments. The permits for the lakes requiring them have been received or are currently going through the application process. I am also in the process of getting the tournament rules together for the membership. They will be included in your membership packet.

NOTE: Remember to keep me updated with your current insurance info!!! This needs to be received by me before the first tournament you fish!!!

Send your insurance info to:

Ron Williamson

15 Perine St.

Dansville, N.Y. 14437

If you have any questions, feel free to call me (716) 335-2563

Thanks!!!

Ron

Casting Kids event on April 15th from 11am to 3pm at Dicks Sporting Goods , Greece Ridge Center. Please see or contact Mike or Kathy on this event.

We all had to learn this sport from someone. Many of us learned from someone other than those close to us. This is a great way to give back to youth what was given to us many years back. For those of you who didn’t know, Mike placed top in New York State

back when he was 15 and was fortunate enough to go to the divisionals, where he had the pleasure of meeting some of the biggest names in the sport today.

I’m sure he will add a certain ingredient to this event.

He or Kathy can be contacted at: (716) 265-0436 or

Many sponsors have already rolled in. The Sponsorship committee has yet to receive any dollar amounts from sponsors, but a lot of sponsor gift certificates have been collected for the tournaments. Dave Cerrone asked everyone to pitch in and help the club bring in the sponsors!

Attitude

by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of Attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than the facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our Attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes”.

Bullseye Bassmaster News

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13 May 2000 27 May 200010 June 2000