Sk8man

Certainly appears that ethanol free gas is the way to go for outboards and small engines of nearly all types. Around here it is somewhat hard to find and expensive. I have a 60 gallon tank for my outboard so I pretty much use whatever I can get but I also run triple strength marine Stabil year round at every fill up and keep my tank topped off all the time as well with the hope of minimizing condensation in the tank.

Nice brown! Good going.....good incentive for the rest of us

Just a general strategy in addition to what AC said: If you are starting out from Severne (depending on wind direction.. big time ) head south along the west side go in and out depth wise past the salt plant turn east and cruise past the pier etc. and then go north along the east shore in and out looking for fish and/or bait. Wherever you find either work it thoroughly in that area until not productive then go back north along the east shore in and out work the area adjacent and in front of creeks , work the drop off in front of Hector Falls and head back toward Severne on the east side. That would be what I'd try in the absence of actual current data regarding depths etc. other folks have been getting them at. If the wind is strong out of the South I'd either drive the extra miles and launch at Watkins and maybe do the reverse direction of what I mentioned or reconsider about going south and fish the area toward Dresden over to Lodi and Sampson to the north. Again wind direction/speed will dictate to a large extent what will work for you. In terms of tackle I'd play with the ones you mentioned and pay close attention to the depth finder as far as bait and fish locations depth wise especially and adjust your tackle accordingly (this time of the year the fish are usually scattered though but the bait may be clumped up). I'd run a combination of sticks and spoons until I see what is working.Given all the rain lately you may want to look for any mud lines at creek mouths and fish through it at the edges. The edge could be quite a bit off shore too with all the rain. Good luck!

Welcome aboard Chad. I think you'll find a lot of good info here and some great folks eager to share their expertise with you.

If you can't get the 44's find some 22's they work just as well...

If you start getting big ones with them let me know....I'll scratch off the Sutton names on my spoons so the fish won't be able to read them

Good one AC thanks for sharing....that is one I missed along the way....

Guppy35 you have a PM

You could order it through Cabalas but Gander Mountain carries it ...not sure where you are located but other fishing outlets have it too.

The diameter can make a huge difference in spool capacity whether wire or anything else for that matter. If it is VISIBLY larger that's probably it...

Looks as though Ray is all rested up and back in usual form I'm still laughing....

The diameter of that wire must be larger. Did you use backing as well (maybe too much)? Sometimes if the level wind isn't positioned right on the spool when you start out it lays the wire on kinda sideways too. Is it the usual 30 lb test or something bigger? I put 1000 ft of 30 lb. test 7 strand wire on my new 47LCSG3 with 100 ft plus of backing on it as well and it fit perfectly...must be the line diameter. I'd try to find out the line diameter of it and compare with types of 7 strand and see what the difference is.... P.S. If you end up liking the wire I wouldn't worry all that much about having 1000 ft on it...the more important thing would be filling the spool to the level that the line counter will be as accurate as possible. I don't think you'll be encountering many situations in fresh water where 1000 ft of wire will be out.

Very good info....almost makes ya want to go back to a 14 ft aluminum boat

Still haven't heard any update on whether Obama has made any decision on this issue

The Netcraft thing works great I've used one for about 30 years.....I think mine was less than $10 I also use it for the spring clips for my Seth Green rigs

Guess I missed something here....I was suggesting adding split shot to the LEAD CORE leader to get it down deeper at the point where the leader starts not like on a top line . I have pre setups for my lead cores (2 color 3 color 7 color and 9 color) on separate rods (part of the reason my boat is called White Porqupine....all the rods sticking up) not to mention wire rigs, copper, thermocline, and downrigger rods and 22 rod holders

Just get some 200 lb test mono used for salt water it is very abrasion resistant and low stretch and you can get a bunch of it on inexpensively. They use it quite a bit for outriggers on the ocean.

Ditto on that..,.. I was thinking the same thing....no sense making work for yourself....sometimes we can "over think" things and make them more complicated than they need to be....I'm as guilty as anyone of it

If somehow you can get to the Settings menu there appears to be an option for resetting to factory defaults (Under LANGUAGE). I'm wondering if you inadvertently hit one of the simulation option buttons that is preventing you from going back to the operational mode....I don't have one of these units just looking at the online manual....Page 42. Lowrance is known for their obtuse or absent directions by the way.....

There is a software update fr that particular unit...I wonder if there is a correction for the problem embedded in it? Worth a shot if you haven't done it yet. Here's the update: http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Software-Updates/Elite-7/

Small black duo locks at the end of fluoro leader and very small barrel swivel to main line. Have them pre set up (do it at home) for different tests in little plastic bags so I don't have so much screwing around in the boat (e.g. trying to tie in the wind/cold hands etc.).

AC it sounds as though you had a good day on the pond...while you were out there I was taking the plastic off my boat and loading all my stuff back in...my back is still killing me from trying to drop those two batteries into the below deck compartment at an odd angle Thanks to the wind there are still a couple fish left out there

My understanding of the UV and glow issue is somewhat different. It relates mainly to how bright the lure gets and for how long....and you can still get a nasty sunburn on a cloudy day by the way. The glow lures use a phosphorescent coating that maintains a low level illumination for a relatively short amount of time. It is activated by natural sunlight or when exposed for a length of time to bright light from say incandescent light from a bright flashlight etc. UV coatings respond to a different wavelength of light and are usually activated by a special charging unit that provides the right spectral wavelength and intensity of light to propagate light from the target object (lure). This propagated light can last from about 3 to 8 hours which is substantially longer than the glow lures. Whether they can be seen differentially at 100 ft. plus is anyones guess but the UV lure will supposedly last longer and may appear brighter. I think the thinking here may stem from the salt water environment where bio illuminescence occurs at incredible depths but this is a very different type of light given off by marine animals and plants....most historical research suggests that in freshwater most darker colors approach black at 100 ft. or more and lighter colors turn to whitish shades. The thing I have always wondered is when that research was carried out....is that what was visible to humans or fish....their eyes are quite differently constructed and how exactly did they determine those measured results?