Bad Habit

I caught a tagged Atlantic last year off Rochester. Called the number on the tag and it was a Canadian number. The fish was tagged and released from Toronto the previous year. 

 Does anyone know someone who repairs Raymarine products in the Rochester area? I have a Smartpilot X5-R that the steering is binding. I know this has been a problem with this product. I did try to grease the gears, but it didn't make much of a difference that I can tell. This unit came with the boat, so I don't know how old it is. I was hoping to get an idea if it can even be repaired. 

 outback kennels 2, What did you use to grease the unit? I figured I would give it a try. The unit is no good like it is so I have nothing to lose.

  I pulled the safety pin today; sure enough, the steering works fine. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll probably try to take it off and lubricate it. If that doesn't work what is involved in replacing it with an Octopus drive unit? What can I expect as far as cost? 

 Thanks, I'll give that a try.

Interesting thread. I bought a Penn Yan last year with the same auto pilot. The steering is really hard but never thought about that being the problem. Do I need to take the whole unit off the steering column to see if that is the issue or can I just disengage it somehow? I don't have any experience with this unit.

 I agree. I saw no temp difference. I did try fishing the outside of it for a while but didn't see anything so headed back out. We went 2 for 6 with a decent mid-teen King and a steelhead.

 I saw the same thing yesterday off I-Bay.  I didn't see it on my way out but went through it trolling south a couple of hours later. I turned to head back north to get out of it and watched the temp. I had my probe at 65' and I didn't see any temp difference on the probe or the surface when I came out of it. I did have to pull all six rods and clean the grass off the line, cables, wire, and lead core. They were loaded!!! 

 What are the laws on cleaning and filleting fish on the boat. I don’t usually keep fish but my grandson is interested in keeping one for eating. Just don’t want to break any rules.

Fished I-Bay yesterday but a little deeper. I went 6 for 9 from 180 to 250 feet. Most fish were between 40 and 60 down with NBK stinger taking the most hits. Lost 2 decent kings when they took a run and wrapped around the dipsey wire near the boat. Luckily, I didn't lose any tackle.  Fleas are getting pretty bad. 

 Welcome back!!

 I've been using Natrapel. It also has 20% Picaridin and works great and much better than the products that contain Deet I've tried. The only drawback is it is pretty greasy. I see the Sawyer says it's non-greasy. If that's true, I would definitely give it a try.

 Started fishing about 7:30 in 100 feet slightly east of the bay and headed north. Temp was mid 40s 50 feet down. We ended the day at 12:00 going 5 for 8. Mixed Veggie Michigan Stinger took 2 fish on a slider with the rigger set at 75'. Michigan Stinger NBk on a slider took 1 fish with the rigger at 80' and a Moonshine Cobalt Carbon took 2 fish off a 10 color leadcore. All fish came between 200 and 300 feet of water. We did mark lots of bait inside of 80' feet on the way in but no takers. 

 Is that a Sub Troll probe? If so, is it compatible with the Depth Raider?

 Fished this morning from 6:30 til 9:30. Started at about 80' and went to 130'.  Ended the morning 3 for 4. Did one small King on a watermelon NK 28 slider off a rigger at 95' over 120'. The second fish was also a small King caught on a 42 second NK Mag off a dipsey out 150' over 120'. The third fish was a King about a 10lb King caught on an NBK Stinger down 95' over 120'. Marked a lot of small bait pods but not a lot of hooks with them. Decided to cut the morning short when I got my line wrapped up in the kicker motor netting the last fish. Went back to the dock where I could reach the prop to cut the line out and now ready for another day.

 Thanks for the report. That's a lot more encouraging than the reports last week. Hopefully, the fish and bait will stick around for a while.

  What do you think this strong NE wind will do to the lake?

Same result for me yesterday. Fished from 7:00 til 10:00. I stayed in the 60 to 90-foot range from I-bay to Webster Park. I saw lots of bait and a few fish. I tried different depths and speeds but couldn't get a bite. There was enough bait to get the rods bouncing but very few hooks right on the bait. water temp was right around 60 degrees on top and the coldest I found was about 46 degrees down 75 feet over 90.

Thanks, I did do that. I’m thinking it’s a switch because it started intermittently a few outings ago.

The ignition on my Yamaha 9.9 stopped working. I’m thinking it’s a bad kill switch or neutral switch. Does anyone know how to bypass these to test and temporarily fix it? I would like to get through this week until I can do a permanent fix. I'm also looking for someone that can do the fix for me if needed. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I'm in the Rochester area. Thanks.

The ignition on my Yamaha 9.9 stopped working. I’m thinking it’s a bad kill switch or neutral switch. Does anyone know how to bypass these to test and temporarily fix it? I would like to get through this week until I can do a permanent fix.

The wind has been stiff out of the south the last few days. Glad you were able to find fish. Those spring Kings are a lot of fun. The forecast has the wind turning to the north Wednesday night. Hope they are right. That could set up the inshore fishing for the weekend.

 I saw you out there in the Zodiac today. I caught 2 Salmon in the same area today. Lots of fish on the screen between the bay and Ship Builders.  One fish came on a diver out 30 and one on the downrigger 20'down over 30. It's hard enough solo in a boat, must really be a challenge on a Zodiac. Congrats on the fish.

  I noticed your boat wasn't at the slip last year and wondered where you went. Good luck with the sale and the new job.

They were the mag size.