stinger

yuki'.........my responce is here......... http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishin ... php?t=4914

yuki', info for your buddy...........I have the Merc 115 EFI 4 stroke on my 19' glass boat. Bought both new in `02. Went with the 4 stroke cause most all my fishing is trolling for trout and eyes and I wasn't sold on the 2 strokes for long term trolling (I'm from the old school :? ) . This engine trolls down to about 1.5 mph. Engine works great and haven't had any problems. Only normal oil changes every 100 hrs and plug changes (@$11 ea.) once a year. Normal gas consumption was about 6 to 8 gal a trip depending on how far I powered out to fish. I finally went with a 4 stroke kicker 2 years ago because I was racking up a lot of hours on the main engine and also didn't have a backup engine just in case. I now use about 4 - to 5 gals for the same fishing trips. BTW, boat gas is the cheapest part of my fishing . If I had to do it over I would probably go with the OptiMax main engine and 9.9 4 stroke kicker from the get go. I don't think you'll go wrong with either the 115 Opti or 115 4 stroke main engine. Both are good and dependable proven engines. Cost to operate is about the same, 2 stroke oil for the Opti and 5 quarts of oil & oil filter every 100 hrs for the 4 stroke.The Opti is a little lighter and a few bucks cheaper. Just consider the kicker engine if you are going to be trolling alot.

19' Arima

Haven't fished Owasco in a couple years so no help there. Cayuga would be my choice. Fishing has been pretty good but starting to slow down. The launch at Lancing Park would probably be the best place for you to launch from. Puts you in the southern portion of the lake and easy access to the fishing grounds. Treman Park down on the southern tip in Ithaca is also and nice launch. Surface fishing (flat lines from boards, in-line planers & down 10' to 15') is still productive and producing some nice Brown's and Landlocks (3 to 5 lb'ers). Check back on some of the Cayuga posts to see what has been working. Not much change, just fewer fish being caught. Good luck out there. Be safe and have a good time. Ray....Capital district huh :roll: , how come I feel another tax increase coming? I can see this trip showing up in the new (someday) state budget :shock: .

Try this out. You should get some good info on this subject. I just installed the Furuno 620 and had it out Sunday for the first time. Had to make a couple of adjustments so I don't want to give you my opinion yet. I would like to use it a couple more times before I am an authority :roll: http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishin ... php?t=3948

Rusty...I ment to post this before this but I'm over 50 :roll: and I forgot. I installed this battery monitor and it takes all the guess work out of the condition of the batteries. A quick glance and you know exactly what shape the batteries are in. I got mine I think it was through Bass Pro or Cabela's but checking them now they do not carry it anymore. I googled the unit and this was the first thing that came up so I pasted the link so you can see what it is and does. Easy install and only requires a small hole to hide the wires if you surface mount it. No big gauges on the dash to mess with. http://www.reedssports.com/Product/prod ... l&_ID=6846 The price on this site is about what I paid for mine. Got to go now. Have to hook up the boat so I can beat Strike 3 to the launch,......... last one in is a rotten egg .

:shock: :shock: ...if your looking for a maroonish looking boat with a big silver Honda you'll be suprised that it's not `frisco. He is running underground now :? so you'll have to keep on lookin' till you find us BTW, my trophy room is in the corner of my broom closet next to the kitchen mop.

....so you think they were maping the lake huh?.....one word.......transponders.........Chaos is making sure that you'll have no secrets for the LOU-All

.. :shock: ...and I thought that I was the only klutz on this board . All in all it sounds like it was worth the pain. The rest of the season should be pretty good for you now that you got all those slips, slides, falls & spills out of the way. Thanks for sharing.

here is a picture of browns & atlantics side by side.....you decide

Thanks for the update. Haven't seen to much reporting lately. Mush be guys are getting their boats ready for the spring fling. I should be out in the next few days. Hope to see you out there.

If your seat mount will hold your big a$$ :shock: when you miss a strike on a plug boiling on the surface then it should hold a planer mast without any problem. I can't believe I just said it like that . Anyway Lefty, you know what I mean.

Do you have a GPS? Even a hand held will work . If so use GPS speed. If not and no other way to moniter speed and you really want to get out on the water then drag a plug along the side of the boat and keep within a speed range that the plug runs properly. I wouldn't give up a day on the lake unless it was to work on my boat.................or go have dinner at `frisco's house. Why not install your FF on Sat and fish Sunday?

What Ray says Chowder. ....and Don't get yourself hung up on all the rigging stuff all at once. Take your time and ease into it or you'll get yourself frustrated and cash it all in. This is a good time of year to work the upper water columns and that won't be as challenging as later in the season. Another easy setup to try is a mini diver disc,...6' leader with spoon or plug set back 40' to start, then lenghten the set back as the fish go deeper. This will be good practice for the bigger divers later in the season. The chartreuse-y - orangey stuff has been working lately. Also try the naturals. The water temps will start to change and you'll start seeing warm and cold water, clear & stained water. Work those edges. Although speed is of utmost importance your lure action will tell you if your in the game. Check your spoons & plugs to be sure they are running properly. You may not be able to mix certian lures because of speed. And last but not least.....don't leave fish to go find fish.....big mistake unless of course your arms are tired from reeling in fish and you want to go home . Good luck....enjoy yourself and tell us a fish story on Monday .

Nice ride Rusty' . Got a name for her/him? I'll bet you can't wait to get some fish slim on `er. Don't worry, we won't follow you around `cause it's going to be parked at the dock during the LOU-All now that your coordinates will be public knowledge .

OK Rusty, I'll behave myself on this one. I run a 2 battery system with a Perko switch. Main line (feed) goes to the main electrical buss. All my electrical & electronics feed from there including my charging systems from my main & kicker engine. Batteries go to Batt #1 & Batt #2 Only one battery is used at a time (I never use the switch on BOTH) and I will alternate the battery used from trip to trip (or day to day). This setup has worked just fine for me for 22 years on a couple boats. Never had a dead battery. My kicker is a 9.9 with a 6 amp generator and it does just fine keeping everything running. 4 riggers, GPS, VHF, FF, autopilot, power kicker bracket, etc. (no electrical trolling motors) Just be sure that you use large enough wires for the loads, bigger is better (within reason)when it comes to moving electricty. Also I do switch batteries while the engine is running. I never had a problem so far with a merc IO and outboard.

We don't believe you have a big boat. Show us a picture of it :roll: .

Try this link out. It should give you present and future wind & weather info. Click on the various arrow locations for that particular area. Also if you play around a little you'll be able to see 5 day forecasts. http://www.fishweather.com/windandwhere ... meOffset=0

...and 90+ others of us . Good one musky

:shock: :shock: ...rusty,...without you knowing it a transponder has been attached to your boat. Chaos is now in Colorado establishing an up-link to my GPS. You cannot hide your boat. My want to think about leaving it at the dock for the LOU-All

I agree with Zeke, no problem with an internal antenna on a GPS. I have the Garmin 162 in my hardtop for 5 years now and it works just fine.

Vince....you are a bad boy. Your post is starting to sound a lot like Rush Limbaugh's, "Operation Chaos"

Sean....if you check back a little you'll see this topic by fishstix. I think that it will answer some of your questions for you. http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishin ... highlight=

Ray/Jason....for what it's worth. Cayuga lake level is up. Was only about a foot low Saturday when we were fishin. The inlet is wide open and vary little debris so if your thinkin about Cayuga, Treman will accommodate you.

`stix,....was wondering why we haven't heard from you lately :? , hope your selling because you want to. That is a lot of house if your down to just you & the misses. I just pulled my boat out of storage Friday and have to doll it up a little after being stored all winter. Got a couple of upgrades to work in when time permits but can fish it right away if the need arises :roll: . Please stay in touch `cause we miss you. Better yet I hope to see you out on the lake this spring before you shift gears for Lake Ontario.