bulletbob

I understand that.. However, there are millions of those motors still out there, and most parts are still readily available. If I have no trouble sourcing parts, neither should a professional repair shop... I do almost all repairs on every motor I own, and the times I have tried to get help from a "real pro" have been a financial and operational disaster.. I can understand parts availability issues I suppose, but not ineptitude , indifference,or price gouging. I mean seriously, a lot of know nothing mechanics" like me can get through most outboard repairs on a motor from the 90's, but a trained outboard mechanic can't?? I don't get it... bob

I only troll a few times a year typically in spring at the south end of Cayuga Lake.. I would like to try trolling streamers this spring, but don't know that much about it.. I have trolled hair/ maribou jigs before and caught fish on them... What are a few good patterns, and what hook size ??.. Is the Clouser pattern a decent starting point?... White?... Is any weight added such as a split shot to get them down a few feet?... Any info would be helpful.. I don't use planers, riggers etc, just out the back of the 14 foot boat a couple hundred feet back... any helpful information would be well appreciated.. I always catch a few fish on plugs/spoon/jigs, but feel the right type and size streamer might get a me a few more fish at certain times... bob

I mentioned my Starcraft Islander.. It was 18 feet, and as i said, it was remarkable in how well it powered through rough water for such a light boat.. I had it in the ocean once in an inlet that was churning with big rollers, and high waves coming from multiple directions.. I was fishing in this mess, and the boat was remarkable stable, and under power just knifed through with ease... That boat just didn't pound at all in rough water... It was an old boat too, not some "modern design" hull.. a 1972 ... Other aluminum boats??.. Not so much... My 17 Grumman which is a center console that was supposedly design for rough water pounds like hell in a chop.. The only way to know which hull is most desirable for is probably to ask questions from owners, get every bit of information you can find as to the performance qualities or lack therof of any boat you might be interested in , new or used... bob

An aluminum boat will always get better fuel economy foot for foot against a glass boat.. It doesn't matter for some, but is a big concern for others.. lets say you bait fish for panfish, and rarely travel more than a very few miles in the boat... economy is of lesser concern.. However, if you put a lot of water miles on the rig and run good distances at speed, an 18 aluminum boat will need less power and will use less gas than a glass 18.. However, if you are in rough water a lot, the glass boat will get you where you want to go faster and safer.. I went to aluminum mostly because I rarely tow less than 50 miles each way because of where I live, and often have to tow between 200 and 500 miles round trip, and aluminum simply tows a lot easier with less gas than glass.. however, the aluminum boats I use today get me pounded into submission in any kind of a chop, whereas my glass boats knifed easily through ... Lets put it this way.. Here in the Finger Lakes which are always windy, I spend a LOT more time off plane and quartering into the wind and waves than I ever did with the glass center console boats I used to have... Another point,,, I can handle the aluminum rigs easily by myself, no help needed.. It was a LOT tougher with heavily built glass boats... Each one must think about about what type of fishing he does, how much rough water he will encounter, how fast he needs to get where he wants to go both in the boat and with the tow vehicle, how much fuel economy matters etc etc... bob

these units have "scroll speed", not sure but I think that might be the same as scroll... My units worked fine, and I usually just kept the scroll at whatever the factory setting is.. As stated, some of the guys in videos were using older cheaper units than I have, and they would say "she's chasing it, she nailed it" as they kept their eyes on the screen... Its not that big a deal, I would just like any little edge I can get.. I will research and see if "ping speed" and scroll speed are the same.. That might be my problem.... bob

Been going back and forth for decades with the same problem.. A well designed 17 foot fiberglass boat { I had an aquasport 175 Osprey], will handle heavy seas better than most 20 foot aluminum boats.. However they also weigh twice as much... It all depends on where you are going, and what you have to tow with... Some guys have trucks that can tow a 25 foot glass boat with ease, other guys try and tow with compact SUV's or pickups that will tow a small aluminum boat, but have a hard time with even a 17 foot glass boat... I had a 18 foot Starcraft Islander, and old one, and miss it terribly.. It was light for the size and space it offered, yet took rough water remarkably well... Overall, don't expect an aluminum "compromise" boat to handle rough conditions close to as well as the same size glass boat... I now own an older aluminum17 Grumman CC.. Very heavily built, and designed for salt water use... I bought it because I tend to believe what I read... It is mediocre at best, no where near as good as a comparable glass boat despite its very wide beam, and not as good as that old Islander... Personally, I would stay with a glass boat if you can deal with the weight....... bob

I have 2 boats with a garmin color FF on each.. they are older units, a 250 C and a 350C... However they are each 500 watts RMS which should be sufficient power for how I fish even in this day of side scan, ultra definition etc... My issue is this.. When jigging for lakers, I can see fish,and I can watch my jig no issues there, I can read bait, structure etc, very clearly. However, most jiggers even 10-15 years ago with older sounding units would actually watch the fish approaching thier jigs, and watch the fish chase and hit the jig as it was racing upward... In real time.. YT is full of videos of guys doing that and some of those vids are pretty old, not using todays ultra high tech sounding gear,,, I CAN see the hits, and I see it clearly, but its all "after the fact"... I don't see the fish hitting the jig as it happens, only after I actually feel the hit... Am I doing something wrong with set up< perhaps scrolling speed?.... The Garmins are easy to adjust, and I feel I am missing something as guys with less powerful, cheaper, black and white sonars are seeing their fish , lure, and bait in real time, while I see it 10 or more seconds after it happens.. I don't see "chasers", only fish that have chased and I wasn't aware of it at the time... any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?... bob

Is there a launch that will give me access to both Cross Lake and the river??.. The only launch I know of is the one on 5&20 near Montezuma,,, That won't get me anywhere near Cross Lake, and from what I have read Cross lake would be a good one for the type of fishing I do....bob

yeah plenty of Carp close to home, not really what I am looking for...

Just wondering about the Seneca River, if anyone fishes it regularly.. Unlike most here, I am not much into trolling especially with riggers, lead core, meat rigs etc.. Just not what I enjoy doing.. I do a little flat lining in spring, because i can fish with lighter tackle, and stop the boat when I hook up... These days, I prefer bait fishing, or jigging for panfish, SMB, Walleyes, maybe a Pike or Pickerel on occassion etc.... I have read many times of the good fishing in the Seneca River, but in the area around Montezuma, when I stop, I see guys mainly fishing for carp, cats etc.. I fished there years ago in some backwater sloughs filled with downed trees for Crappies.. We caught some, but most were sub legal.. I don't know the river at all, and a few starting points would be appreciated... Is the area between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes productive, or does one need to fish closer to Cross Lake?.... Not looking for anyone's hot spots, just some general info as to where to launch, lures that have worked in the past etc... any help is appreciated... bob

They are not real well known in this part of the state, not many waters here have them,but they abound downstate and in NJ and LI, especially in tidal/ brackish/fresh rivers where they are everywhere... Just wondering if they are anywhere in central NY in fishable quantities.. I know they are in the Seneca River/Cross Lake, and I could be wrong but I think anglers there call them "silver bass", unless what they are catching is White Bass... Not sure ,, Do they grow to good size there, say 12 inches??.. In some waters for some reason, they over populate, and you just don't see them over a about 6, maybe 8 inches.. Any information would be appreciated. Are they commonly caught there, or an uncommon bycatch?... they are very good eating in clean water, not sure about how they taste from the Seneca River... Any other lakes where I might find them?...

Long shaft, remote steer only, don't want a tiller.. Prefer Johnson/Evinrude from mid 70's into mid 90's... 2 cycle only.. Its for a light boat, and I am going from a 3 cyl 70 HP Merc to a lighter less powerful 2cyl... Nothing fancy as the boat is over 40 years old, and isn't worth putting an expensive motor on... Will pay fair price for a decent runner...bob

motor is spoken for

Good running I think its an 86 or 87- 70 HP ,3 cyl 2 stroke with new power tilt trim that works great... This motor has been very dependable for me... Good cosmetic condition, starts right up, pumps water great. There IS a reason its only $400.. For as long as I have had it[5 years], the #2 compression has tested about 20 lbs lower than cyls 1 and 3.. Its always been that way, yet the engine runs strong on all 3 and has shown no issues.. There must be a scuff or scratch in the cyl wall, bringing the compression down... I have no desire to take a Merc apart and hone that cyl and re ring it.. If it were an OMC I would but Mercs are tougher to work on.. I am going to downsize to a 2 cyl anyway, between 30 and 50 HP.. Too much weight on the transom of my boat and I don't need 70 HP on an 850 pound aluminum boat.... In spring, I would be happy to take the buyer out on Cayuga or the susquehanna and spend as a many hours as needed on the water proving that despite the "off readings" on the comp gauge, she still runs fine, and has for years... I took the oil pre mix system off several years ago as I do not trust them, but think I still have all the parts... $400 seems a fair price, or would trade for a decent running older long shaft OB of 30-50 HP, 2 cyl only.. Need NOT have power tilt.. Its nice but I dont need it... The boat is a center console with a Merc Binnacle control and these controls are $150- 200 on ebay used. It comes with the motor as a Merc will not be going back on... Not taking motor off until March, but first "I'll take it" gets it held until then, and you can verify it runs well before a nickel is handed over...

to be honest, the absolute BEST panfishing I had ever witnessed, was my first 10 years here in NY state, right at the south end of Cayuga Lake, fishing from shore.. My kids were young at the time, and the size and quantity of the Sunnies, Rock Bass and Perch we would catch was astounding.. Huge 1/2 pound Bluegills and Pumpkinseeds, Perch over a foot, Rock bass sometimes 12 inches, and constantly hooking 18 inch SMB while worm and bobber fishing to the point they became a nuisance.. Then the Zebras. then a massive die off in 2008 , then the gobies, and that was the end of it... These days if you try and fish with a worm and bobber, its all gobies.. nothing else.. Such a shame...

Yes, we caught quite a few but it was mostly smaller sub legal fish that day , although we got a few keepers.. Not anything much over 9 inches. We might have been there too late during the spring season. However that was probably 10 years ago, and things certainly might have changed... matter of fact, I was just at the ramp at Montezuma about 2 days ago looking it over... Might try it again this spring.. Whitney Point is a lot closer to me, but from what I gather the Crappies there are not doing as well there as they once did.. It has gotten better for walleyes, but worse for crappies.. Its really no big deal... Personally I prefer Perch to crappies, and they are a lot easier to find and catch in decent numbers.. Just like a bit of variety I suppose... bob

I get that, but to be honest I am not sure how much it will help.. In a year or two, the 8 and 9 inchers WILL be "legal" 10 inch fish, but as soon as they are caught at 10 inches , they will get eaten, same as it ever was... I just don't think NY is a great crappie state.. The fish run small in most lakes, and a LOT of lakes either don't have them at all, or they have very small populations... NJ has pitiful water resources compared to NY state, but its a lot warmer down there, and that big ocean and all the big tidal rivers and bays keep some of the pressure off the panfish.. Foot long and longer Crappies are much easier to catch down there than they are here... NY DEC is so invested in the trout and salmon fisheries in the great lakes, finger lakes, and the catskills, that they don't bother with mundane fish like Crappies, Perch, Walleyes etc...

WHERE can anyone consistently catch 10 inch crappies in this entire state??.. Maybe Black Lake, Lake George,, but wow 10 inches"".. In the past 2 years I have caught ONE Crappie that even made the 9 inch size limit, along with a million 7- 8 inchers... I know a few private lakes have some big ones, but for me anyway, decent Crappies are hard to find, at least in my part of the state...

There should be lakers available in the areas you can get to with a yak... This time of year they could be anywhere, keep that in mind..Guys that troll might catch them 90 or 100 feet down, and guys standing on shore might catch one a few feet from the shoreline in just a couple feet of water. If there are a lots of schools of sawbellies in 200 fow, rest assured the lakers will be down there as well. Its been several years since I jigged specifically around Thanksgiving Day, but I recall us doing pretty well in around 60 feet of water... If you don't have a good fish finder, it will be tough.. You need to find an area with some baitfish schools and typically the lakers won't be far from them... bob

Thats odd.. I have never seen a perch anywhere on any lake or river that wouldn't hit a plain old worm...

Yeah, lets not discuss the possibility there might be a creek with a few fish in it on a fishing forum...