Has Been

How big is your Boat , Where are you fishing out of & at what time of year?

The Strike. You never know what you are going to get out there.

Also ,figuring it out.

If you parallel a second batter& they both run all the time, if you get a short or something else goes wrong ,it will kill both & you will have the same situation.Get a switch & follow the instructions on install.

What is also nice is at the end of the day, you can turn the switch to off & kill the power to the whole boat. I do this all the time on my big boat. Saved my bacon a few times as I have left something on        ( light or radio etc) that would have killed the battery when I showed up next morn.

Switch, battery, & cables probably around 200 bucks. On a bigger boat it should be standard equipment.

Stream fishing for years I bang on the rod when the fish gets in brush,gets  wrapped around something,   or turn a screamer around and it work a lot of the time.Another  trick is to take the pressure off & sometimes they slow down. And yes, I hit the rod on the blank above the forehandle.

In the stream if you take the pressure off & feed the fish loose line, it gets behind them and pulls from downstream & the fish will swim right back up to you all by themselves. Done this MANY times & it works!

All part of the fun .

This spring LOC because of the weather/lake temp/ water clarity in my area I used my brown rods w/  sticks off planers & riggers  for the kings I caught.

 I have a few rods I made years ago on Fenwick Steelhead blanks I like . One is 9' the other is 8'6" I like the length & soft tip .

It's not the reels but the rods to me. The Salmon size rods have a tendency to pull the small hooks from the stickbaits out of their mouths. Get a few lighter rods & use the reels you have.

Great Spring for kings during the LOC for me . Water temps & clarity forced them into water  less than 25',fishing like the old days. The few times I got out in the summer, lake/weather was not great .  Sept  off the Pierhed was good but not like last year.

 Some years are better than others  for a lot of reasons.Every year can't be great.  Pretty simple to me. See what happens next year.

If you are new & want to get in the game, Early April just after Ice out is the time  till mid  May. Fishing the shoreline for browns is  easy ,you don't need a lot of stuff to do it & put fish in the boat. A handfull of shallow stickbaits & any of your spin or casting rods w/ 8-12# mono will work.  If you have boards, all the better . If you don't, long line a few rods back 150-250' behind the boat in 5-12' of water. Look for the stained or warmer water from creekmouths.Don't forget the net as I did my fist time. Good luck.

Good stuff Musky & confirms what I pretty much already knew. Now I know why my charger acts like it does. I credit the charger I have for the long lifespan of  my batteries.
Money well spent IMO.

Lead acid batteries do not develop memory . You should recharge them after use from research I have done.IMO, keep them charged. I have 4 of the same batteries on a shelf in my basement, one that is 8 years old and still good.I charge them once a month or so this time of year.

 There was debate as to how to deal w/ NI/CAD batteries for cordless tools and the same "let them go dead till recharge" theory was out there.Now I just keep them charged & They see have a longer life. I use them every day on my job.  I think the smart chargers we have now for tools & for my boat batteries compensate for some of the bad things the old chargers that just put out  direct amps did.

I would get a big deep cycle for my cranking motor. That is what I have for my 35 hp merc. Also used one for my 55hp johnson. Have had  no probs ever .  An outboard does not need a whole lot of juice to turn over .

I have the walmart best & biggest marine batteries & never once had one fail. I put one in my big boat for my 305 

 chevy that runs everything on my boat. I have 2 0n my small boat that run my trolling motor & the rest w/ no alternator on my outboard. For 100 bucks , best deal out there after a lot of research.I buy a new one ever 3 years. 

 The secret IMO is to keep the batteries charged. I got a Schumaker marine charger at Walmart . Tells how much charge batt has, 2 /10 /15 amps,  reg/ deep cyc/gel setting.Also automatic cleaning cycle to clean plates. Won't overcharge or overheat .

 I would think that screaching sound is gas escaping from the cells . Have heard some of those trickle chargers can over heat/charge ,so check it out.

What kind of motor your boat have?

If you have a boat, try the outlet when the tide is going out. it drains the  a lot of the Rookery bay & more of the estuary there. Was there once w/ my nephew & saw a ton of gulls dive bombing offshore.Went out to see the water boiling w/ fish& bait flying out of the water. Threw jigs out & could not keep Blues, ladyfish, sheephead & a few snook off. We also fish around the docks & islands w/ white jigs & shrimp for action.Also saw tarpon crusing on a April trip, no hookups.

 7' med action spin w/  10#  power pro & 20# flouro . Good luck. I may be down there around that time. My family is in Naples, 30 min boat ride down to there.

My experience that I see & have heard is that the ones who run on the principles we find are dear to us say one thing and do little to change the  current situation once we elect them. They talk a good game but stop short of putting themselves out there for fear of their own situation. Paladino was not afraid to speak his mind and was man enough to stand up to it but was billed a nut. And he probably was to some extent but one would have to be to get involved in the scurge of  politics as it is now . An Honerable politician is an Oxy Moron.

When I was getting gas at Sueiss Marine at Saranac lake the mechanic told me they were blowing outboard engines at a  high rate , Took them apart & the cranks were dry as a bone & no oil on them& blue from heat.  . Couldn't figure out why so they drained the in boat permanent tanks. They had a ton of water from the ethenol gas attracting it  & they figured the water hit the hot shafts & steamed the oil off . So something to consider.

Time to get a new 4 yr supply of  Vasiline. On a bright note , The repubs took over the senate big time, so maybe things are looking up. There IS hope for us.

Depends.

 First make sure you have a rod suited for it.  The longer the better, 9' -12' depending on the water. If a smal trib 7' would work. Put your spin reel on a fly rod if you want to start.

 For years  I used a spin rod. 8# main line to a small barrel swivel , then tippet in 6 0r 4 lb. You can take the  swiv & tie on , pull line down 90 deg & cut off at 3" for dropper & retie ,then tippet . Floats are best in most waters. If at large waters w/ no float enough wt. to tick  ,not drag bottom.

Small natural, finnese presentation. You want your float to drift down w. current like a piece off ice  not pulled down & across current.  Adjust float length to shot often  .Easy to use bugs that are to big. Match size color to water clarity &  flow. I'm partial to pale yellows w/ maybe some  pink or some white as the season goes on. Small plastic eggs can be KILLER  w/ this presentation.

I thought the reason Braddocks was so shallow is because it is down to the bedrock & to get it deeper you would have to blast.

I find that I get my pike & Musky bites more  from Mid morn till 3 pm. On sunny Bluebird days after rain  I find they  like to get up in the weeds. I like a big in line spinner or large straight stickbait ( reel fast/eratic ,stop let float up, repeat) over weed tops & holes. . I also like a Suick near weed edges & over shallow structure.Try and  Reverse your gameplan & troll or jig first till they get more active, then cast.

 I don't fish down there but fish are fish.

 A friend of mine just bought a cottage down there this fall , so you may see me down there sometime. I told him about the musky there. He heard but is not a fisherman so I will have to school him.

I will give you a good deal on my name " Has Been". I choose  that name after  I put my boat in the barn for 6 years due to me kids activities I was a huge part of. Glad I did but my lake fishing suffered.  Have to find places you can go for an hour of so .

 About 4 years ago I told  my kids in no uncertain terms " It's Dad time now".

For  a pier lure, the Kroc is my lure of choice. 10- 1  to cleo's. I cut the swivel off  if it comes w/ one & use a small ball bearing snap. If I don''t like the hook I cut the jump ring & replace w/ a splitring & L374 same size hook   I put it out on a planer or rigger  once in a while also on slow days.It should wobble & spin once in a while, like all spoons should.

 I like a silver one. 1/4, 3/8. or 1/2 . I take some silver  lazer tape or use the crushed ice that comes  on  it . Take a  green sharpie & go up one side & blue one up the other side . My best.

I would figure out a way so that you  mount it so it is  just in front of the back seat.Riggers at 30-45 deg angle of side. You need to be able to get at both the ball and rigger easily for setting lure & adjusting depth especialy in a smaller boat & if you plan on fishing alone. I have mine on a board I can take off & put on w/ a few screws when I fish Bass/pike  . It gets me when I see a smaller boat with the riggers on the back corners & you have to lean over the side &  back to work on them.. One of the small boat tactics I use  means I have to adjust depth & lead  constantly so you need to be able to do it quickly easily & more importantly, SAFELY.

I fish Saranac & Mecham lake up there. Never Quite this late but I like A Black & Gold Spinnerbait or 5 Mepps bucktail on edges of weed beds& over them . Look for holes in the weed beds   . Jig w/ dark color  big Senkos . Also a black gold stickbait twitch over the weed tops.When the sun comes out miday , I find they like to get in the weeds .Best fishing for Northherns up there is from 9-3 for me.Good luck & have fun.Breakfast at The Lumberjack!

Today, not as good. Still managed 2/3 .  1 hr to get a hit, Bang ,bang , bang & it was over. Time to get out the fly rod.