rolmops

No. At least in the Finger Lakes they will follow the food,but when they are not actively feeding you will find them on  or  close to the bottom;. It used to be that the lakers would go up and down together with the schools of cisco that they like to feed on.By day deep down and at night much higher up.  I have caught them from the shore casting worms for bass and perch.

The cowbell rigs are probably  best used on or near the bottom.

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Every Mercury outboard has a serial number label located on the transom bracket area of the engine. The latest serial number labels display a 2-digit number in a box at the lower right portion of the label. These digits coincide with the last two digits of the year in which the outboard was manufactured.

It is even better when you have found out where the under water springs are. A few years ago I went brown trout fishing out of I-Bay in middle November on one of those incredible beautiful quiet late Autumn days and every time I crossed this one point over 40 some feet of water I caught a brown. I marked the spot. About a week later I went over it again and it was the same story. For three years in a row it is the same story now. Last year I decided to drift over that place with the Fish hawk almost touching the bottom (could be scary expensive) and the water temperature at the "hot" spot was about 2 degrees higher than in other spots. For those who know where this is,treat it with respect. Those places are easily destroyed by greed.

On 2/19/2023 at 7:20 AM, Sk8man said:

There are always some Robins that stay around all winter and don't head for Florida. When they do come back though they are usually in large numbers when they return.

I have them come to feed on the Hawthorne berries in January and February

I run rotella t5 15 40 And it does quite well.

Currently I am breaking in 2 engines, one Mercruiser and one OMC. The advise for breaking in engines is to use a non-synthetic oil with zinc in order to properly break in the engine. That is only for the first 20 hours then it is back to the t5 or maybe even the full synthetic t6

I like to wait for a good rain that pushes some warmer water into the lake around the creeks. It tends to get them closer together

I am predicting tons of black flies that will sting me while I'm trying to get the mega tons of fleas off my lines

The pictures are up.

The guy backed out, so it is up for sale again

You can use a paint that is just flat and add anti skid powder into the mix to the point that you decide upon. The anti skid material can be had at the home depot and it creates a sandy texture when mixed into the paint.

Sold pending payment

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This is probably a cheap and effective option. You can attach it next to the main engine on the back of the tansom and it will set your kicker far enough backward to prevent problems with the main engine.

17 hours ago, greenhornet73 said:

How long of an extension is that? 

That extension a long threaded bar with removable ends. You can cut it at whatever length you need , and screw the ends back on.

Ever since the lotsa event in the Buffalo area became this huge commercial expo show. I stopped going there because it no longer is a friendly meet, greet and exchange event.

The idea of a flea market exchange is so much more appealing. This is where you get to meet the local guy with his stuff that he bought years ago but no longer uses because he has so much more. There is good stuff for cheap and fun meetings with people you heard about but never met. Wouldn't you love to meet the guy who caught a 34 pound laker ? Imagine all the slime he had in his boat. He is probably going to be there selling his Gambler rigs. The captains will probably trade fishing tales, some true and some embellished. I will be there to listen and buy and maybe talk about my deep sea fishing trips in Costa Rica and the Outer Banks or sell you my Starcraft Islander.

Come with a friend and make some more friends.

There is a way to move the steering arm of the main engine to starboard. Instead of sliding the bar at the end of the steering cable through the pipe in front of the engine. It has the pipe on the starboard side of the engine. There is or maybe used to be an adjustment to do exactly that. I had one on a 1960s. StarCraft that did exactly that. These systems were popular when cable steering was being replaced by the steering that is common today.

http://continuouswave.com/sail-logs/ottawaRiver2006/images/8_CamoWhaler13Transom.jpg

See if there’s enough room to put it right next to the main engine. That would be the best place. If it fits and the engines do not hit each other when steering, you’re in business and you will need a panther steering bar and not an EZsteer.

It depends on a lot of factors. How busy is it around you, how close are you to shore, do you want to run one two or three lines on each side? Those are the main reasons why you want to go longer or shorter.

There is also the side wind and your trolling speed. With a long long line they may end up behind you, specially when you go slow.

The basic principle is letting enough line out so there is a safe distance between the lines. There is the consideration of having a fairly close setup pattern and so on.

There is also another less known factor. The otter boats tend to stabilize the direction of your boat and when you have a fairly light and/or small boat it is easier to run a straight line . The farther out the boats the stabler you are. Until one or two hits happen together on one side, then all of a sudden you will feel the boat pulling toward the side that still has all the lines attached and it will start pivoting around that otter boat.

and so on..

If noise is your issue, you should make sure that you pick a 2 cylinder and not a 1 cylinder. Mercury ,Nissan and Tohatsu are all made by the Tohatsu company. The Tohatsu is a bit cheaper because you do not pay for an expensive name printed on the side.

I like my 9.9 Tohatsu because it is quiet and light weight. But there are new Chinese lightweight outboards on the market . Some are 2 strokes. They have become popular in Australia and are trying to get into the market in the USA. They are cheaper.

As for Chinese products being of inferior quality, you should look around and you will see that a lot of the day to day things we all use are made in China.

I am selling my Islander. The town does not allow more than one boat in the drive way.

It is a 1984 with a 3 liter 140 horse Mercruiser. The engine is a 2021 complete rebuilt using a new longblock by Michigan Motorz and has 4 hours on it, The alternator is new. The break in period is not yet finished. The transom was rebuilt in 2016 and the foam and floor were rebuilt in 2018. I repainted it in the blue and white Starcraft colors.  The boat is like a tank and I have always felt safe even in four to five footers.

It has 2 bilge pumps,not because it leaks (it does not), but because I believe in having backup spares for critical equipment. It has a Panther 15 horse 4stroke kicker bracket.

The boat has a through the hull Airmar SS60 tilted element that is installed. It has a Fishhawk X4 at the ball speed and temperature probe, with the monitor, the probe and the transducer all in good condition. There is also a Uniden ship to shore radio

The tank is eighty % full with stabilized non ethanol fuel and it a new 2023 marine deep cycle battery

The trailer is in good condition. I put a new 3500 pound axle on it and added electronic brakes. I did not have the opportunity to remove the boat in order to paint the trailer so it could use a painting spruce up. The tires are in good condition and it has a spare.

My reason for selling is the fact that I chanced upon a 1989 22 foot Islander which I am completely rebuilding and I do not have room for 2 boats.

If you are interested please send me a pm or text me at 585-733-2728.

The paperwork for both and trailer is in good order.

I would go with an eighteen or nineteen footer because the gunnels are higher. The gunnels reach above your knees. The sixteen and seventeen footers have gunnels that reach below the knees and have more people fall over board when they have to "lean" forward a bit.

I will be trying a new to me 22 foot Islander with new transom, new engine and new electronics. For now I just hope it will float, the rest is a bonus.

The main differences would be the thickness of the aluminum and the purpose of the boat.

Pre 1985 aluminum boats often used a thicker aluminum and were often built like sloops with a heavy and wide bow section. This was because of the very popular starcraft aluminum boats.

As demand changed to lighter and faster boats the shape of the boat and the thickness of aluminum changed.

My 1984 Islander is heavy and built like a tank , but my 1989 Islander is more streamlined and supposedly much faster.

What is better, riveted or or welded? Lots of opinions about that.