With recently moving to Texas, I have 4 lakes over 20,000 acres within an hours drive. These lakes are big. They have waves of up to 5 - 6 feet.

My trolling motor currently locks when it is out of the water. I have one strap over the head of the motor. Do I need one near the propeller? Or will the 2 locking pins be ample?

I fish Lake Champlain which is a huge lake about 120 miles long and 15 miles wide. Rough water is common and it really does give the boat a beating. I have 1 Velcro strap which passes about 1/3 the way up the shaft from the prop. It is enough to secure my trolling motor. Mine is mounted with motor guide rubber self tapping grommets at 4 places and my boat is 12 years old. This summer the whole thing started to come loose so I took it apart and replaced the grommets and used through bolts, fender washers and locking nuts on the end towards the operator to further secure it. (Only place I could get at the through hull holes). Hope this helps.

Haven't had any trouble with mine Josh. I have an older motor guide and don't secure it down with anything more than what is on the mount. Where is Beeville? We should try to hook up and fish sometime.

Beeville is between San Antonio and Corpus.

you need to head over to rayburn or t-bend to try some big water, put in at twin dykes on a day w 15-20 mph n winds[:-], even if you lock your trolling motor down, w/wo a strap you can still lose or break it, in bad water boat handling becomes a major factor in how wet you get, how rough the ride is, and how much junk you tear up. i have been in 17 foot boats with people that knew how to handle a boat and i have been in 20+ footers with people that didn't[:@], pay attention to what the other boaters (the smarter ones)are doing, take your time, and be smart, BTW i have beached my boat more than once on a big body of water like rayburn and let the storm pass, once during a tornado[:-], the main objective is to be able to fish or hunt another day

mez you fish gibbons creek any?????, winter time there can be a blast

I have fished it a little. Have a hard time over there. I got onto some good deep patterns this summer but all the fish were small, 14-16 inches. Have taken 1 around 6# out of there but everything else is dinks. You been there lately? The power authority killed all the grass in the lake a couple years ago and it hasn't been stocked in quite a while. Most I have talked to that used to fish it don't bother anymore. Spend most of my time at Lake Bryan, Sommerville and Fayette Co.

mez i live over in ne alabama now, i used to live in spring tx., while there i mainly fished conroe, fayette, and gibbons creek, rayburn about twice a month, t-bend whenever i could, fork and richland-chambers, ray roberts anytime i could, hate to hear that about gibbons, when i lived there, mid 80's till 92 it was awsome in the cooler months, once it got hot, my fishing there suffered, how is fayette, that used to be one little awsome body of water also, i've caught 2 over 9 there and several 7 and 8 pound fish, man i tell you texas has got some unreal bass fishing, but guntersville is right out my back door, just 3.5 miles away, i guess you could say i like fishin just about anywhere, as long as the fish act right[:@], good luck and go get'em

ps if you can catch fish on sommerville, you should be able to catch'em anywhere, that lake was never favorable to me, but in all fairness i only fished it a few times. well like i said catch a heavy bag, good luck with the deer this year

m.t., I'm just a little jealous that Guntersville is right out your back door. I've only been here a couple years but from what I understand Gibbons started to really fall off around 2000-2001, kill the grass kill the bass definately holds true. Sommerville was good to me this spring took several in the 6 range out of there, there was a 9+ caught in a tournament in Feb. this year. I quit going once it warms up, so much boat traffic it isn't worth it. Fayette is simply unbeliveable. If you don't put at least 25 fish in the boat something is wrong. A lot of big fish coming out of there lately as well. Right now 100 fish in a day is not an exaggeration, that place can really make you feel like you know what you are doing.

i hear ya man, i have one of the 9's i caught there on video, wife is on me about heading out that way again, we fished rayburn a few years back and she loved it, we were fishing a couples tounament and only headed over to the tomball/spring area for a half a day[&o], well man good fishin to ya, if i ever make it out that way i look ya up, i'll have my rig if you wanna tag along, the wife loves the 25+ fish a day trips, as far as it making you feel like you know what your doin, my t partner used to laugh at me for spending so much time over there, mainly in jan/feb, he called it my "practice lake"

oh yea our t at rayburn after the first day we were 3rd with 14 and change day two, looked like i hung a sign out in veach basin, we were covered up[&o], i guess everybody wants to catch a fish or two, we got a little bitty check[:@]

Mez, where is Bryan, Tx? I'd like to get a few "fun" tournaments going down here to get ready for the B.A.S.S. Northern opens in the spring.