Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire whats the advantage on SS Props

Where we go that's not a real issue, but I guess it's always a possibility.

I've seen bass in the 14-16 lb range in the boat but they not as common as 8-12 lb fish.

Yeah nothing that common on Rayburn. I used to keep track of the share a lunker fish which are 13# or higher but haven't looked in years. I really quit fishing Rayburn during the spawn and moved to other lakes. Sit there and catch 5-6# fish all day long and have a shot at some just shy of 10 and be back home in 30 minutes ain't bad.

My real passion for fishing is smallmouths on Champlain. Nothing like 4-5 lb smallies as far as I'm concerned.

Well, I guess its good your passion isn't largemouth bass then.

Champlain has some good large mouths too, and you can catch 4-6 pounders if you know where to go. Pound for pound there is absolutely no comparison in the fight of those two bass.

Correct on the damage issue and 3 vs 4 blade. I'll add a 5 blade stainless prop will pull an elephant up on a water ski

BT/DT. It rocks on Champlain. Candlewood Lk Ct was a close second, and Apache Lk Az rounded out my three favorite smallmouth lakes.

+1. Nice boat RD

Thanks for all the info guys. Iam more likely to hit a rock shoal than Iam a stump and I'd rather bend a prop than something in the lower unit.
I don't much care about top end-- I'm sure the boat will do 40 or 50mph but I won't run it that fast prolly cruise around 30mph.
70 mph-- sheesh on the water--that would run into some serious fuel bills!

Candlewood does have really good smallies, but not in the numbers Champlain does. Another somewhat sleeper for smallies round here is Lk Wallenpaupack (sp?) in PA. First time out on Wallenpaupack I got this 6+ pond largemouth and a 5 1/2 pound smallie.

It's been 20 years since I fished those NE lakes. Sounds like they are chugging right along. I finished second in a bass tournament on Candlewood Lake pitching "Jersey Rigs" under docks. Most of the guys in my bass club laughed at me at the time for using those things. I was 14 at the time..

I need to trade off a largemouth trip next year for a smallmouth one. I'm sure it's not like Mexico but I could put someone on 5+ largemouths all day long. I've never really caught a smallmouth bigger than something you use for bait in a north TX lake.

I'm away from home now and only had a pic left on the mantle form eons ago on Rayburn. Partner got hung up and I caught both of those off the same stump while he tried to get free.

So much for being back ended.

The danger of aluminum props.

Candlewood holds some monster smallies.

Nice fish!

Winnepesaukee was a good time for small mouth. Been 20 years since I fished it though.

I have ran SS props on my bass boats since the 70's & never damaged one. I wouldn't have a bass boat without a SS prop. The idea of hitting something while using an aluminum prop & the bending of the prop saving the lower unit seems far fetched to me. Many times I have hit stumps or other obstructions with my SS prop & kept on running. I have a dash mounted flasher & slow down when the water shallows. No bass fisherman I know uses an aluminum prop on their bass boat.

With the 19 pitch you may lose a very very slight amount of hole shot. Being you're going from an aluminum though, you may actually gain a bit. The SS prop won't flex as much and you probably won't have any noticeable prop slip while turning if you're trimmed properly.

It's a better prop. It won't get ringed up either like an aluminum prop will either.

B, I have not heard anything to indicate the accident was due to al. prop failure. I thought it was due to hot shot cutting the gas suddenly while at top speed.

eyeball--I heard the guy jumped another boats very high wake and went airborn--hell of wreck anyway.

I don't care about hole shot--not gonna race anybody and nobody gonna go waterskiing here--water temps won't get up into the '60s until August.

It's not unusual for me to go 80 miles up the Lake for 4 or 5 days and not see another boat. Gas is the limiting factor cause you can only carry so much. That and weather. There are no charts of this Lake and while a depth sounder will tell you how much water is under the keel it won't tell you how much depth is out in front of you.

I used to commercially fish. Operating a 34 ton 60ft Steel Tug at 9mph is a great deal different than a runabout like this. I've had good friends die on the Lake and some of it from really stupid moves but-knock on wood-while I have torn up some skiffs and had some major breakdowns nobody ever got hurt bad enough to require hospitalization. After 42 Seasons on the Lake I'm rather proud of that fact.