Misty IV

I agree with Chris. 100 hours on an engine that spends a lot of its time trolling is not overkill. I follow that maintenance schedule with my 4.3 MerCruiser, as well, and I think it is money well spent. Ask L&M about it, and he will definitely steer you in the right direction. Pretty sure he will agree with the 100 hours. As a side note, last season at the end of the year, I sent a sample of my oil into Blackstone Labs to be evaluated for wear. Granted, this batch only had about 50 hours on it, but I always change my oil before I put the boat away for the winter. I use the MerCruiser 25W-40 oil and Blackstone reported back they found no unusual wear and did base the report on about 75% trolling, 25% under power. They suggested I go to a 75 hour OCI. Again, I only had 50 hours on that sample because of when I changed it last. I'm going to send in a sample this season at my 100hr mark and see what they have to say about it.

It is fully automatic. I ran a commercial grade constant-duty solenoid between the 2 batteries. Ran a 6 gauge power line from the (+) post of the main battery to one side of the solenoid. Off the other side of the solenoid, I ran a 6 gauge wire to the (+) post of the deep-cycle battery. The (2) remaining posts on the solenoid are the ground and the trigger. The trigger is run to the wire that has (+) when the ignition key is in the "on" position. Essentially, when the key is turned to "on" or "run", the solenoid is energized, allowing power to flow through the solenoid and to the deep cycle battery, hence the alternator is charging both batteries. When I turn the key to "off", the solenoid is open, stopping power from flowing through it to the deep cycle battery. Pretty simple concept. You could use a battery isolator to do the same thing, but this way was WAY less expensive and I've had no issues with it in the 4 years I've been doing it this way. Deep cycle is fully charged by the time I am done running out to the fishing grounds and has yet to die on me after 6-8 hours of fishing with everything on, including running the electric Cannons up and down all day long.

Another vote for Interstate! I have my boat wired up that I have a dedicated starting battery for the engine and a deep-cycle for ALL electronics. When the main engine is running, the deep-cycle is being charged. As soon as I shut the main engine down, the two batteries are isolated so the electronics are drawing solely off the deep-cycle. This ensures that the main battery will remain charged and always be able to start the engine.

Wow, ain't that the truth?

I use the same pump for my boat and it works great!! I got mine at a West Marine and paid about the same for it as Northern offers it at.

All great ideas and thoughts!! Thanks for all your input so far. I later found out that my niece was really tired, but wasn't showing it. She wanted to go take a nap at the house. My girlfriend's daughter, on the other hand, was interested, but had a hard time adjusting to the change in fishing techniques. I explained to her that trolling is a science (a class she loves in school) and her eyebrows perked-up. Next time we head up to the house, we'll try it again. I'll definitely add some of the ideas and thoughts you've all shared to keep her interested, should the bite be slow. She did steer the boat the last time, which she enjoyed doing, so I'll definitely allow her to continue doing that. Awesome replies!! Keep them coming!!

Thanks!!!

Does anyone know the date for this year's Little Salmon River Challenge? I know it is typically the last Saturday in July, but have not been able to confirm. Anyone have thoughts? Thanks!

There is one at Mike's Marina on the Little Salmon River. It was on Craigslist about a month ago, but I don't see it listed there anymore. As of this past Monday, it was still sitting at Mike's on the CR-40 side. It looks to be in pretty good shape.

Any thoughts on how to keep kids interested in trolling? I had my girlfriend's 10y/o daughter and my 7y/o niece on the boat this weekend. They are used to sitting at a pond with a bobber on the end of their line, watching for it to disappear under the water. They seemed to be interested in all the gear on the boat and the much larger reels than they are used to, but after maybe 10 minutes of trolling for browns, the 10y/o asks "When are we going to start fishing?". I explained to them that this is how it is done on the lake, to which they started entertaining themselves other ways. Any thoughts on how to keep them interested? When we got back to the house later, I offered to take them down to the creek to fish and they were all smiles. Help!?!?!?!

My brother went up to the house for the weekend on Thursday. He called me to say just how high the water level is. Normally, the edge of the lake is a good 20 feet from our rip-rap stones. He said it "might" be 3 feet from the stone! God help the shoreline communities if we get a good 3-day Gale Force storm.....

I have power steering on my Islander and have no problems steering my kicker when the main engine isn't running. I use an EZ-Steer system and it works great for me.

It's definitely not headed in the right direction. The last level reading I received for the Eastern Shore showed the lake was at 246.2ft. The danger level is 246.7, which would prove catastrophic to many areas during a gale force storm. The St. Lawrence Seaway people seem to be aware of the imminent danger if anymore water is allowed to enter Lake O, but who knows what they will do if push comes to shove. We had to have rip-rap stone installed along our breakwall 3 years ago to protect our property from the storms. The Labor Day storm last year had waves crashing ON our stones and the lake wasn't as high then as it is now. Definitely going to be interesting...

Awesome video!!!! Nice job. Looks like the girls had a blast!

Nice Brownie!!!!

I love my Traxstech system. Able to move the rod holders around as needed and very durable components. Any of the track systems are quality items, including the Bert's. I'd definitely consider doing some form of a track-mount system, though. Makes life so much easier.

My Sprint service is very hit-n-miss. One minute it is awesome and very fast, the next I have no service or signal at all. That is for the Mexico Bay area, so doesn't really help you. I learned the one main reason my service is so sporatic is there is apparently only (1) cell tower for the area located along Rt3 in Mexico.

She gets my business, as well. First King mount I ever had done was by her and it still looks fantastic 13 years later.

Happy Birthday, Rob! Hope you have a great day!!

Best time is probably mid-July through September. I fish out of Mexico Bay and around Nine Mile and that's when we have the best luck. Although, after last year's fiasco, who knows.

When I bought the boat in 2005, it had a fresh engine and outdrive on it. The previous owner didn't winterize the engine or outdrive in 2004 and the engine block cracked, as did the outdrive case. When I bought the boat, the combo had 10 hours on it. He didn't have any paperwork on the rebuild, other than it was a Jasper engine.

I wouldn't want to pull up next to a boat in 5 footers either...........oh, wait, that rockin'!! LOL

Yes, it's always been on the high side. When the engine starts, it jumps up to about 50psi, then rises and steadies-out around the 80psi mark. I've always used the Purolator filter when I change the oil 2x each year. Wasn't until lately that I thought about the high pressure and got curious. Never had any issues with the engine or excessive usage, so didn't think much of it.

Thanks for all the responses so far. The Marathons were listed at $90 per tire, which seems like a lot for a 13" tire, but may be worth it since they are the last of a good breed.