Sk8man

Zack:

I haven't been there for a week or so but the fellow who runs things there told my son last week that it is open until April 15th. I doubt if the ice has formed much in that particular spot as it gets pretty hammered from both north and south. I spoke with a couple guys in a bass boat there  last week or so and they were perch fishing and didn't do real great.

The north end ramp and the canal are frozen up again as of this morning when I went by there.

Even scarier was the item on Fox News today. Apparently the government has domestic drones the size of hummingbirds (or smaller) that can lock in on individual computers from above and monitor transactions of the computer user complete with facial recognition of the person and what they are viewing on screen. I have no idea how from a practical standpoint this is accomplished but that it what was said.

Quite some time ago I got tired of looking into my plano boxes and other tackle boxes each time I wanted to change lures so I went to Walmart and bought my solution to the lure searching and inconvenience problem...here it is....look closely at the rear right and left side of the boat on the bimini top supports (they hold 200 plus lures) ...a word of caution...use miniature bungees to secure them   It works out great when fishing alone top up or down

P.S. They are the foam things used by tubers and kids cut into the size to fit my needs

It should be noted that you can also enclose an open bow with a canvas "dodger" or forward shelter. That was the absolute  single best investment I have made in my entire lifetime thus far. It turned my 13 ft Whaler into a Lake Ontario boat as well as a "reading area" and play area for GI Joe's when my kids were young

Hey Tim I hope you didn't think I was referring to your comment ....I fully agree with what you said.

Cool!

Looks like as of today on the news that Feinstein's idiocy is going down the drain. They don't feel there is enough support to do anything with it (less than 40 of the necessary 60 votes:>).

I know the "purists" out there will disagree with me but if you experiment you can run just about anything with anything if you do your homework and keep track of the data and make changes as necessary. There is no "miracle" setup... sometimes its just the fact that it is something different being presented. Sometimes things work great for a short time and then....nothingI  I was told by a bunch of fishermen friends that lake trout would never hit the little peanut behind a set of flashers back in the late seventies too....or that they wouldn't hit flies behind a dodger on the Finger Lakes (only the Great Lakes salmon) yet both produced some of my best fish back then. It's still a matter of finding active, hungry or aggressive fish and giving them something to think about in terms of either a "vulnerable" or "provocative" target prey. Sometimes its that "oddball" setup that sorts you out from the other contestants in derbies too. MY motto: "Keep experimenting...that's what its all about anyway"

I just left Rachel Ray's house and she is honked off that she didn't think of the recipe first Bob

Nice video ...it put me right in the mood (although I must confess I didn't have far to go after this winter:>) Good to hear the old Ray Charles music too. Good job!

The launch and canal are frozen over again.

In general the bigger the better for Lake O fishing. Usually 20 ft. boats are a bit wider as well which adds a bit of stability whether aluminum or glass boat. Another important factor is the hull design - you probably what something with a deep V hull to cut through the waves better whether either material as well.

Tim

It sounds as though either you need to have your idle adjusted properly or as Chas said see about another prop. I've never had any problem running two or 4 rigs with the 9.9 on my present boat or even when it was on the much smaller13 ft. Whaler. I also wonder if it would help to adjust the ANGLE the motor is set at on the transom and bring it UP a bit so it isn't "digging in" as much and make sure keep your big motor in the down position to induce drag if you are not already doing so. If the carb or injection system is adjusted right on a 9.9 it should idle down to near stopping without quitting or harming the motor but you may have to "goose" it once in awhile to prevent loading up if trolling at extreme slow speeds for long intervals. Pulling rigs usually SLOWS down a boat a little from the drag so it must be running unusually fast.

I know people use it but after 40 years of downrigging with the wire I'm a firm believer in it. I once tried some 50 pound braid on one of my thermocline rigs as a rig line and first time out it caught on the roller tip (slid to the side of the roller) and snapped off (with about $50 of stuff on it) so it made me leery of braid. I've never had a problem with 150 lb wire on my Cannons. There are numerous ways to get rid of the hum if it happens. I use a wine cork with a slit up the side and put it on the wire right at the top near the end of the boom and it deadens it. A piece of hard rubber could probably achieve the same result....its only at certain speed and isn't all that frequent on my rig anyway.

Dave - Check Cabela's  I've had mine for a while and its worked great and mine is rated to 115 pounds andt he motor weighs 90 or so (9.9 horse).

I don't believe DEC has any (or much anyway) control over that.

Given the location....bottom of the bow if it were me I'd take it to a good marine repair shop. If that ever came loose you could be in a world of ....you know what out there. The bow can take a lot of pounding.

BP captured it very well   I've fished it for 60 plus years and just when I think I have it figured out those little green guys do a job on me.... it can be frustrating as h when you finally locate them.... bunches of big slobs and they won't hit no matter what you do or what you use to do it with. Kinda like ice fishing and watching them "nose" the bait only to swim away laughing...To be consistently successful there you have to fish it almost every day and "stay with them" as they move around a lot but certain spots hold them year after year although things have changed a lot (esp. different spots) since the Zebras and Quaggas showed up and the related increased water clarity.

Good luck with it!

He said that it can create problems with the drag mechanism or the level wind when the wire tries to creep off the spool. They recommended putting on about 100ft of mono backing. Also the Dragmasters company sent me a note with the carbon fiber drag washers that said the same thing....here is what they sent me:

I have the same unit and it is great,,,,,all you need is the zoom on it really...it detects even the smallest jig and you can even tell whether your bait is gone once you get used to it .

Geez... maybe we could figure a way to "farm" raise them.... but then again ...it would have to be on somebody else's property  because it would be an instant divorce in my household

That is a real "classic" statement and I think all of us can relate to it.

If you're fishing Lake O in the Spring I'd go with the small to medium sizes and mediums for Summer/Fall. I never had much luck with the real big ones but maybe someone else here has. If you are fishing the Finger Lakes I'd say grab the small ones and maybe a few mediums....smallest are the best there.

I haven't really had to replace a transducer and there may be "after market" types that I am unaware of but you used to have to get the one designed for your particular unit from Lowrance (because your unit is tuned to a specific frequency to match up with the transducer designed for that particular unit. Any transducer if located and angled properly should be able to mark fish on plane (unless you have a hydroplane and are exceeding the limits of the thing :>) Often times when  transducer is going bad or is almost gone it will only mark gross objects such as a hard bottom and doesn't mark smaller stuff or fish etc. Thru hull transducers used to be the ones used for higher speeds and that is what you might be ending up with but my hunch is that for normal conditions a new replacement for your current one from Lowrance set up according to directions (location away from turbulence and correct angle on bracket set up etc.) should do the trick. You might want to email the tech folks (I know they are often slow getting back on phone etc.)