Tag: bass boats

Weekend Bass Boat and Trailer Mods

This weekend I helped Jeremy Anderson from Black Dog Bait Co do some mods on his boat and trailer. Jeremy is in the process of redoing a bunch of stuff on his boat like replacing the carpet, repainting his trailer, fixing all the fiberglass issues, buffing the whole boat out, new upholstery, new motor . . . and the list goes on. He has a mid 90s, 20 foot Champion bass boat, and really, a new boat does not always mean a better boat.

We got a lot done in just a small amount of time.

The carpet on all the lids has been done already, so before the deck get redone all the glass work and modification needs to be done. Also, before the trailer gets repainted the old fucked up parts needed to be banged out and replaced. We started by cutting his old fenders off – they were rusty and banged up so they had to go.

Jeremys boat 053
Jeremys boat 062
Jeremys boat 064 

After cutting them off with a 6" cut off wheel we cleaned all the old welds up. At this point we fitted up the new stainless steel fenders and welded them on.

Jeremy had his laser cut guy throw some paw prints in the center of the fenders for a cool detail. He is going to later back them with blue L.E.D lights.

Jeremys boat 071 

The new fender welded in place, it will be repainted just past the weld.

Jeremys boat 098 

The paw print in the center of the two wheels turned out pretty nice, it will look really good when its back lit.

After the fenders were done we fitted up the new trolling motor tub. We started cutting out the corners with a hole saw. Then we finished the cut with a jig saw.

Jeremys boat 081

  Jeremys boat 090
We then cut out the foam to fit the trolling motor recess pedal with a drywall punch saw. 

Jeremys boat 092
Jeremys boat 096
The recessed pedal tub fit very nicely, it wont be permanently attached until the carpet is installed. We will keep you updated as more work gets done to the boat. 

In the meantime, here's some of the other bass boat mods I've done

Basic Bass Boat repair: Fixing minor dings – part one>

Basic Bass Boat repair: Fixing minor dings – part two>

Hand-pinstriped boat numbers>

Inside the Cluster#$%& Compartment

By Matt Allen – a new regular contributor to The Wired Angler.

Who died and declared that bass boats should inherit the role of Noah's Ark? Every new color, new trailer, hook, weight, swimbait, seems to find its way onto the boat two by two. After all, what would happen if we only had one and it got stuck? Unfortunately this tends to lead to a messy boat. My own craft is a perfect testament to what can happen if left unchecked! Insert the Cluster#$%& Compartment. It is truly a work of genius and every boat should have one!

I have decided to unveil my cluster#$%& and let you all have a look at the genius behind it! The theory is quite simple; since bass fisherman own way too much crap it is essential to dedicate one entire compartment to chaos! In doing so, the remainder of the boat is allowed to stay (in theory) clutter free.

The downfall of the cluster#$%& is simply that if left unchecked it will spread. Thus, bi-monthly cleaning is required to ensure that the cluster#$%& stays in its place! My cluster#$%& is approximately 3 months late on its cleaning so it should be a prime example of what can happen if left unchecked.

This first photo shows the cluster#$%& in all its glory:

Cluttered bass boat compartment

This next photo depicts what is actually in there:

Contents of bass boat tackle compartment

The writing of this blog post  inspired me to actually sort through the mess and decide what needed to stay and what could be thrown away. In doing so I came up with the:

TOP 5 oddities from my own personal cluster

5) A very dirty, seemingly lonely, permanently-bent 7" Senko: A Senko in and of itself is not odd. What fascinates me about this particular Senko is that its a color I hate, and there are no hook marks in it…Hmm. Where did it come from?

4) Empty Uncle Josh Pork Jars: Sure, I could understand 1 empty jar, but 4? No wonder my boat is going slower these days! I wonder how much trash is stuffed everywhere else!

3) 97 cents: Not really sure how that got in there but my momma didn't raise no fool! Never turn down money!

2) Pink crappie jigs: First off, I didn't crappie fish at all this year. Second, if I did it wouldn't be with a pink bait! If I wasn't the one taking the pictures I'd think this was rigged. But here is what I really want to know, Why did DEAN ROJAS endorse them?!

1) Unknown shopping list: Why would an unknown shopping list make the first spot on my list? What would be on a shopping list that would make it unique? It's funny I would choose to use the word "unique" isn't it? (bear in mind that this list isn't even in my hand writing.) The shopping list takes the number one place on my list because its an order for "Unique Gun Powder". I think one of my fishing buddies has some explaining to do!

Inside the tackle compartment

In closing, I thoroughly recommend
that you invest in a cluster
#$%& of your own. However, be careful who adds
to it, and never forget your bi-monthly cleaning!