Catfish

[Douglasdzaster]

Hey 87Starcraft how is the boat coming along?
I got a couple more jug lines to make and I’ll be on Fayette county lake Monday hunting some catfish. Bass fishing while the jugs are soaking. We drift fished Lake Bastrop one more time a couple weeks ago and still no good.
Hopefully I’ll be posting pictures of something. Im excited to be trying another Lake. Somerville is next. There be stripers in that lake to fish for while jug lining there.

 

[MRS]

Make sure a post some pictures good luck out there.

 

[James Anderson]

I've visited the Somerville lake last year with friends and it was our best experience especially for catfishing. The lake offers very good fishing for hybrid striped bass, channel catfish and crappie as well. Largemouth bass fishing is very good with catches of fish up to 10 pounds plus. White bass anglers know this lake well as a high quality fishery, especially during the spring spawning run. Make sure you have good equipment especially reels for catfishing before going to lake.

 

[dingbat]

Make sure you have good equipment especially reels for catfishing before going to lake.

Most serious cat fish aficionados I know use conventional tackle.
Surprised none made the "best reels" list

 

[87Starcraft]

Hey 87Starcraft how is the boat coming along?
I got a couple more jug lines to make and I’ll be on Fayette county lake Monday hunting some catfish. Bass fishing while the jugs are soaking. We drift fished Lake Bastrop one more time a couple weeks ago and still no good.
Hopefully I’ll be posting pictures of something. Im excited to be trying another Lake. Somerville is next. There be stripers in that lake to fish for while jug lining there.

Hey I just saw this. Been a busy holiday season. I have this pic of my new fiberglassed transom. How did Somerville work out?

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Hey I just saw this. Been a busy holiday season. I have this pic of my new fiberglassed transom. How did Somerville work out?

Nice work on the transom. I’ve made three trips to Somerville and haven’t brought a thing home. Not the lakes fault. First trip I got a late start and being by myself I only had time to float the jugs in one area of some flats. I caught little channel cat left and right on my rods while drifting. I retrieved my jugs and the bait was either messed with or missing on a lot of hooks and catfish slim cover the line but no hook ups. ( I now have circle hooks on everything). On the way home had a blow out on the boat trailer and tore fender and all up.
Second trip with two new wheels and tires was another late run just to scout around some more. I launched at the other end and checked some spots that looked good on the map. I saw more fish on the screen than both of our local lakes put together.
Third trip I took a guy from our church and got a fairly early start. Wind was slow and from the East. Couldn’t buy a bite on our first drift. Couldn't find the fish like I had seen. Tried another spot and set the jugs and started drifting our rods. Each caught a channel cat and one small blue. Then the bottom dropped out. Forecast had changed on us. So we picked up early and had a wet ride from mid lake to the ramp.
The fish are there just got to hit them right. I’m also at the mercy of the wind. My jon boat is a sturdy 16/52 but it can get pretty rough on Somerville. It’s big and shallow. So I'm going almost everyday the forecast let’s me. Still going to hit Fayette County one of these times. It’s just hard not to make the trip to Somerville now. I know I’m coming home with a cooler full one of these days. Or at least some pics of some big blue cats. Having someone with me makes all the difference when jug lining.
It looks rough this week so I think I’ll pull the floor out of the boat again and treat some pitting/ corrosion on the cross members then put it back together and put the new cover on the boat I got for Christmas.
How did you treat yours again and what did you coat it with when it was cleaned up? Well that’s all caught up on my fishing except for the crappie out here where we live in Indian Lake. Here’s a pic of my grandson.

 

[87Starcraft]

Smart move on the circle hooks. Sounds like you are getting Somerville figured out. as far as the corrosion goes. I have been using a gray nylon brush getting all the white corrosion out followed up by a stainless steel brush. Then hit it with a 1:1 water/vinegar dilution. Then if it is real deep pitting I back fill with jb weld. My corrosion is extensive tho.

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Smart move on the circle hooks. Sounds like you are getting Somerville figured out. as far as the corrosion goes. I have been using a gray nylon brush getting all the white corrosion out followed up by a stainless steel brush. Then hit it with a 1:1 water/vinegar dilution. Then if it is real deep pitting I back fill with jb weld. My corrosion is extensive tho.

I’m planning on hitting it with self etching primer then paint once I can get it cleaned up. Looks pretty bad. I’ll post a picture Monday when I remove the floor. The floor isn’t sealed around the edges so I found leafs , dirt , and even rocks clogging up the channels where it drains under the cross members so water was just sitting in there. Got me a boat cover for Christmas though is why I’m cleaning it all up then cover it up to keep the debris out. And rain. Still got to work on the trailer more. The Admiral has been mentioning getting some things done to the house. She keeps seeing me spending on the boat. Lol

 

[Douglasdzaster]

Well my floor had old treated plywood under the top portion. The guys on here told me to remove ant loose bits and neutralize it with baking soda. There’s J.B. Weld filling in the pitted cross members. My neighbor had some material that come out of his house during a remodel so I got it to go under the top floor. I’m doing a lot of sanding but it’s cheaper than plywood is now. Went to H.D. and they had several containers of paint that where mixed wrong and marked down. It don’t matter what color so I got a $36 can of Behr exterior for $9 and a can of Kilz for half off. Here’s some pictures. One is with the top floor on.