• Top Off: For boats with built-in gas tanks, stop at the fuel dock and top off the tank before you haul out, leaving it nearly full with just a little room for expansion. A tank that is almost full limits the flow of air into and out of the vent, which reduces the chance of fluctuating temperatures adding condensation (water) to the fuel, inviting phase separation. Anglers who fish over the winter should also top off their boat's gasoline tanks between outings to prevent condensation. Draining built-in fuel tanks of E-10 gas, while completely eliminating any chances of phase separation, is not practical and potentially dangerous.
• Freshening doesn't work: Midwest marina owners, who have dealt with E-10 for many years, report that phase separation typically occurs when boats are stored with tanks only one-quarter to one-half full, which cannot be remedied by adding fresh gasoline in the spring. Once E-10 phase separates, the water will remain at the bottom of the tank.
• Additive issues: With any fuel that sits in a tank for a long time, it's important to add a stabilizer. But stabilizers do not prevent phase separation. Once it occurs, additives and water separators can't help. The only remedy is to have the gas and ethanol/water professionally removed from the tank.
• Fiberglass tanks beware: Ethanol is known to chemically react with many fiberglass fuel tanks, which can cause them to deteriorate and potentially fail. Unfortunately, unless your boat's manufacturer can confirm that your fiberglass tank was built to withstand ethanol, your only remedy may be to replace the tank with a non-reactive material such as aluminum.
• Let it breathe: While ethanol does attract moisture, never try to plug up a fuel tank vent to prevent moist air from entering a tank. Without room to expand, the additional pressure could rupture fuel system components.
• Portable gas tanks: Any un-mixed gas (without 2-cycle oil) remaining in portable tanks may be carefully poured into your automobile gas tank. However, if you do have to store gas over the winter in a portable tank, keep the tank out of the sun and in a well-ventilated area away from ignition sources, keeping in mind that gasoline fumes are heavier than air. Recent BoatUS Foundation tests of portable jerry jugs confirmed that over time, gasoline can evaporate through the walls of some plastic containers.

Long-time Washington County resident James Mitchell caught a new state-record blue catfish late Monday afternoon on the Choctawhatchee River.

The state-record blue catfish weighed 64 pounds, 8 ounces and was 53 1/2 inches long. The fish is 3 pounds larger than the previous record, a 61-pound, 8-ounce blue cat that came from Little Escambia Creek north of Pensacola.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fisheries biologists Chris Paxton and Claire Mangum met with Mitchell on Tuesday in Bonifay and weighed his fish on certified scales.

The 64-year-old Mitchell, who is disabled but still enjoys fishing, fished a favorite spot on the Choctawhatchee Monday near Caryville. He caught the record catfish at sundown but needed the help of his son and grandson to pull the fish over the side of his boat.

He said the 10-minute fight left him worn out.

Mitchell fishes for catfish often on the river and uses bream, which is his bait of choice. He caught the blue cat on a hand-sized bluegill, 6-foot rod and bait-caster reel loaded with 50-pound-test line.

“The bigger the bream the better,” Mitchell said. He catches his bream using either a fly rod or cane pole.

Within the past couple of months, he’s caught big blues or channel cats, he’s not sure which, out of the same stretch of the river, weighing 40 1/4 and 41 1/2 pounds.

While blue catfish are found in most of the rivers and some creeks in the Panhandle over to the Suwannee River, they are not native to the area. They were originally found in rivers and tributaries in the Midwest and the Mississippi River drainage. Exactly how they made it to Florida waterways is unknown.

Mr. Mitchell was competing in the "Fishermen for the Hungry" tournament, sponsored in part by BoatUS ANGLER. For more information on Fishermen for the Hungry organization, visit their website at: http://www.fishermenforthehungry.org.

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Send in your photos today and win - October 31st is the Deadline!

BoatUS ANGLER's newest "Catch of the Month" contest is easy to enter - simply send us your photos of fish you have caught, fresh or saltwater with some details and each month we will pick two winners - one for freshwater, one for saltwater. Each monthly winner will receive a $50 BoatUS Visa Gift Card as well as lures and gear from our sponsors.

July Freshwater Winner Mark Hoenke Grand Rapids, Michigan	July Saltwater Winners Jeremy Brown, Macon, GA John Savoca, Richboro, PA
August Freshwater Winner David Taylor Placerville, California	August Saltwater Winner Kurt Hoenke West Point Academy, NY
Sept Freshwater Winner Sean Cochran Hillsboro, Oregon	Sept Saltwater Winner Debbie Dawson Ft. Pierce, Florida

TO ENTER: Email us a photo of your catch and include your Name, Address, Phone, Species Caught, Fish Weight & Length, Location of Catch, and Tackle Used. If the person in the photo is someone other than you, please include their Name and City/State. Click Here to Email Us Your Photo

SEE YOUR PHOTO ONLINE! Every entry will be reviewed by our staff and then posted on our "Catch of the Month" web page, and the monthly winners will appear in BoatUS ANGLER Magazine on "The Braggin' Board".

Click Here for complete contest details

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BoatUS ANGLER, in an effort to educate anglers about the importance of boating safety, sponsored the 2008 "Get Hooked on Safety" Photo Contest. Take a look at this year's 5 winners who will all receive a Mustang Inflatable Lifevest valued at $150.00!

Here are the winners in the four categories:

Fishing on a boat while wearing a PFD: Ken and Lily Schultz Antioch, CA	Holding a catch on a boat while wearing a PFD: Co-Winner: Callie Gionet Snohomish, WA
Family fishing on a boat while wearing PFD's: Matt Goodheart, Rodney & Martha Garrard	Holding a catch on a boat while wearing a PFD: Co-Winner: Tanner Graves Spofford, NH
Best fishing story & photo: Joshua & Matthew Sisto, Bernard Trumpowsky Rochester, NY	Honorable Mention: "Capt. Tanner" San Francisco, CA
Thank You to all who participated! Click Here for all Contest Photos

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Potomac River bass fishing guide, journalist, BoatUS "Ask the Expert", and radio personality, Coast Guard Captain Steve Chaconas answers your bass fishing questions.

Question:
Why are pros using tungsten weights?
-Dan Lewis, Chantilly, Virginia

Answer:
There are two distinct features of tungsten. First, it is very hard substance and transmits back to the angler the changes that are occurring on the bottom as you retrieve you bait. A perfect example of this is when making the transition from mud to sand to rock to trees or grass. You can feel every one of the transition points during the retrieve.

Obviously you need to use the proper equipment to complement the tungsten weight. It also has a distinct feel and sound when contacting rock and other hard cover, sometimes attracting fish. Its other feature is density. Tungsten is about half the size of lead for the same weight. This is a huge advantage when trying to fit into tight places, like punching through thick grass mats and because of the size makes less of a splash when entering the water.

Also, in some states, lead is being banned, so you will have to use tungsten. The biggest disadvantage is the cost. There are several brands, but the biggest maker is Tru-Tungsten. Some makers use a sleeve insert to prevent line from being cut. Tru-Tungsten tells me they don't have that problem. They also make their own pegging system that will not damage line.

-Capt. Steve

Need to ask our boat trailering or
bass fishing experts a question?

Click Here to visit the "Ask the Experts" page

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Arkansas Razorbacks take the coveted National Collegiate Bass Fishing title
When the day began, it was a University of Arkansas team positioned to be the lone spoiler among the five finalists capable of keeping a Texas school from again taking home the BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship trophy. Included in the final-day shootout were Arkansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Kingsville and defending champion Texas A&M.

All teams started the day with a score of zero and the equal beginning seemed to keep the anglers patient, focused and fishing to their strengths. By weigh-in, several keeper bass had found the way to livewells and the stage at Sneaky Pete's Marina. The crowd of fans and onlookers that had gathered were wowed once more by impressive catches that have become the norm for the week.

The Arkansas team did outlast the Texas finalists, with Kazuki Kitajima and Bodie Drake claiming the championship for the Razorbacks with five bass weighing 17.37 pounds, anchored by two near 4-pounders.

To read more tournament news, Click Here

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A boat is like a home away from home but that doesn't mean it should be cleaned the same way. Household cleaning products can be damaging to a boat's surfaces and harmful to the environment. Here's a list of the most common mistakes owners make with boat care.

#1 Dish Soap: Not as gentle as it seems, it can strip a boat's wax or degrade the waterproofing on marine fabrics. Also, some of the chemicals are harmful to the environment if dumped in the water.
#2 Windex: Marine windows and mirrors are usually made of plastic, not glass. Windex and other glass cleaners contain ammonia, which is great for glass but can cause plastic to yellow and craze or crack.
#3 Paper Towels: Not very soft, they will leave scratches on a boat's fragile plastic surfaces and Isinglass windows. Using paper towels is wasteful and costly over time compared to a microfiber towel or Absorber (the best glass window cleaner without chemicals) that can be washed and reused and are gentle enough for all surfaces.
#4 Soft Scrub: A harsh cleanser may seem like a great idea for tough scuffs and stains but it's too abrasive on fiberglass and gelcoat surfaces.
#5 Bleach: Products containing bleach have a tendency to discolor fabrics and break down their integrity. As well, they cause irreversible streaking if allowed to dry on gelcoat.

Information courtesy DIY Boat Owner Magazine

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image courtesy of Garrard's Bait & Tackle

Warm Climate and Good Fishing at Lake Havasu, Arizona

Home of the world famous London Bridge, Lake Havasu is a popular year round freshwater fishing destination. Located along the Arizona - California borders, Lake Havasu is 45 miles long with an average lake depth of 30 feet.

Whether you're fishing from the shore or a boat, Lake Havasu offers great fishing to both anglers. Lake Havasu shore fisherman can take advantage of the many free public access fishing docks including: Site Six, Havasu Springs, Take-Off Point, and Mesquite Cove while boaters can take advantage of free boat launch locations. Lake Havasu offers anglers the choice of fishing for Striped Bass, Large and Smallmouth Bass, Channel, Blue and Flathead Catfish, Crappie, Sunfish, and Bluegill.

For personalized, guided instruction during your next visit to Lake Havasu contact:

Capt. Jim Ocker - Lake Havasu Fishing
Phone: 928-680-1873
Email: jimocker@citlink.net

Todd Parker - Western Arizona Fishing Guide Service
Phone: (928)754-3160
Web: http://www.arizonafishingguideservice.com/

About the Lake...
Lake Havasu is a large reservoir behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between California and Arizona. Lake Havasu City sits on the lake's eastern shore. The lake has a capacity of 648,000 acre feet (799,000,000 m³). The concrete arch dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation between 1934 and 1938. The lake's primary purpose is to store water for pumping into two aqueducts.

Maximum depth in the lower one-third of the lake is about 75 ft. Average lake depth is about 30 ft. The river section, upstream from the sandbar, offers an average depth of about 12 ft. with scour holes that extend to about 50 ft. and sand or rock bars just under the surface. Lake Havasu, is named for the Mohave word "Havasu", which means "blue water".

Location: 34°29'12N / 114°22'57W
Surface area: 19,300 acres (7,800 ha)
Average depth: 35 ft (11 m)
Primary inflows: Colorado River
Primary outflows: Colorado River

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Last Call: $50,000 In Boating Safety Grants Available From BoatUS Foundation

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has a great way for your local non-profit boating organization to help keep our waterways safe – but time is running out. The Foundation’s Boating Safety Grant program offers individual grants of up to $4,000 for boating safety projects. However, to have a chance at funding organizations need to apply by the November 1, 2008 deadline. A total of $50,000 is available for this campaign.

Over the past 20 years, the Foundation has awarded over $800,000 to organizations that have developed creative projects to promote safe boating on local waterways. Some of them include producing movie theatre public service announcements, flying a blimp with safety messaging above popular boating spots, and the creation of an interactive, downloadable chart highlighting local safety concerns.

To download an application and learn more about Boating Safety Grants, please visit www.BoatUS.com/foundation or call 1-800-245-2628, ext. 8354. Grant applications must be emailed or postmarked on or before November 1, 2008.

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Each new Member that you sponsor adds up, helping BoatUS ANGLER offer more benefits and services that appeal to fisherman. With worry-free fishing, towing On-the-Water or On-the-Road, you can focus on your next big catch and keep more money in your pocket and not in someone else’s.

Bring a new Member on board and receive a token of our thanks – a BoatUS ANGLER Patch and a “No Stink” towel specifically designed for fisherman…like you!

Simply Click Here to fill in the application information about a fishing buddy and enter your name and Member number in the designated boxes. When your fellow angler joins, you’ll get the credit, a thanks from your buddy and a gift from BoatUS ANGLER.

3 Ways To Sign Up a New BoatUS ANGLER Member:

• Visit BoatUSANGLER.com/sponsorship_form.asp
• Call 866-906-0013
• Fax 703-461-4362 or mail application
  (Mention Priority Code FHB200)

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Bass Club Digest published its premier issue in the spring of 1992. The original goal, which is still our mission today, was to provide a national magazine for all tournament club fishermen regardless of their organization affiliation. It's our feeling that by publishing the profiles and accomplishments of successful bass fishing clubs across the USA, this information will serve as inspiration for all clubs to continue to grow and prosper.

Bass Club Digest offers a refreshing departure from "how to" and "where to" publications. While you get plenty of good fishing information, our editorial goal is devoted primarily to the management and advancement of organized bass fishing, with editorial content skewed toward club activities; and the bulk of the "how to" consists of event planning, fundraisers, habitat enhancement, stocking, and increasing club membership.

Sign your club up to receive free issues for all your members! Visit the registration page and register your club now. Visit their website at www.BassClubDigest.com

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