MarkNY

im pretty sure my gimbal bearing is shot on my 4.3 mercruiser alpha one. i noticed it being kind of loud last season and my mechanic said it was loud when he winterized it last fall. took it out for the first time last weekend. motor ran great. got up on plane and cruised for maybe 45 seconds when i heard a loud winding sound. it almost sounded like static from the VHF coming on at high volume but it was at the back at the boat. also smelled burnt oil smell or something like that at same time which didnt linger. immediately powered down and crawled back to ramp. seemed like the grumble was extra loud at this point or maybe i was just more aware of it. does this sound like a bad gimbal bearing? any other issues i could have with these symptoms? bellows and bearing were replaced 3 yrs ago. mechanic also stated that the outdrive gear oil was a little milky and should be pressure tested. all seals and impeller were replaced 2 yrs ago. what could be causing that? appreciate any thoughts. thanks, mark

thanks guys!

ive seen guys rigging a single bead in front of a spoon free sliding right down to the swivel. what is the theory behind this? thanks, mark

W to WNW 14-16. west shore is easily fishable. deans would be my put in. good luck! mark

Nice fish! Thanks for the report. Best, mark

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Looks like a good project boat.

launched at hook line and sinker at noon without a problem. went 5 for 5 in 3 hrs. best depth was 8'....

yes

bayliner. sent you a PM. thanks...

Good job guys. I could see your chart. sweatshirt from quite a distance! we had a good 3hr trip too... just as you said, 13' was best and we got one in 19'.

alex, nice walleye! i fish owasco all the time. look me up this spring and you can hop in my boat. always have room. best, mark

i know im being overly optimistic as we still have to get through feb and march but if we dont get alot of ice on the lake this year what kind of fishing opportunities do we have on the big lake this early in the year? seems like im always waiting for ice out for spring browns. i got out last year right after ice out and smashed them. will browns stay shallow after dropping back from the spawn if there is no ice on the lake? my metal boat is ready to rock! best, mark

im getting ready to order some new ratcheting rod holders for my boat. i want to rig 3 per side on a 24" track. is a 24" track enough? thanks, mark

this may apply more to the fingerlakes than the big lake but i constantly pay attention to the bait clouds i mark on the sonar. especially on the fingerlakes because there is so much bait. but, ive had times when im marking a ton of bait and cant touch a fish. ive noticed that i do best when the bait is suspended and packed tight no matter whether im marking fish or not. on those days when the bait seems spread out and close to bottom there doesnt seem to be fish on them. sometimes i think the fish are just full and not hitting on a particular day because the bait is so easy for them to find. am i making sense here? any thoughts on this? best, mark

not sure what type of lights your looking for but i put in LED lights in my starcraft last year and plan to put them in my penn yan for next year. very happy with them and there economical. find them here; http://www.tollerboatworks.com/LED%20St ... ights.html i have 6 white ones in my starcraft and that lights the boat up nice. best, mark

thanks for the replies guys, most guys i talk to on the interenet say to fill it but ive talked to two marine mechanics that both say to empty it. probably just go with there advice. plus i hate the idea of leaving 60 gallons of fresh gas in to sit all winter. best, mark

nice report. things have finally heated up on the north end too. fish are hitting hard and fighting hard! love this time of year. best, mark

thanks for the report. sure was a nice afternoon. i was out as well on different water and sure made note of how nice it was and how we cant have many days left like that! best, mark

great fish!

nice report! gotta love this time of year. best, mark

thanks guys, im gonna give them a try. i noticed that some of the models are on clearance at some places so hopefully they dont disappear. best, mark

i fill my tank for the winter and add some stabill. in the spring i suck it out and put it in my truck and my lawnmower cans.

old man, good tip!........ on another note, my penn yan manual says to empty tank and use fuel conditioner for any remaining fuel. was this the norm before the ethanol days? has condensation become more of a problem because of ethanol? thanks, mark

had a good day on cayuga friday. launched at myers and headed straight down to the south end to target browns. landed one brown on a small spoon down 64 on rigger in 75FOW. tons of bait and fish on the ledge. had one other on in the same area on a dipsy that came off. every time i slipped out to deeper water i was marking big lake trout down deep, some were on bait but i didnt target them. got sick of the weeds on the south end so i ran up north of t-falls and set up on the ledge in 65-90FOW. plenty of marks and bait. after a little while we hit the mother lode. had a triple and a couple doubles. ended up landing a nice rainbow and several salmon and had one other screamer on that came off about 50' behind the boat. picked away at them until the wind picked up and it seemed to shut right off. kind of weird. ran all spoons with the best being a 3 5/8" stinger chicken wing. mosty rigger bite with one hit on 150' copper and one hit on 10 color leadcore. rigger down 64' was best. fun day and got spoiled with this late warm weather. surface temp was between 66-68. also noticed some leaves starting to turn so it wont be long. fleas were a non issue. best, mark

thanks for the report. sounds like a good day. sounds like those lakers are still shut down. thinking about trying it down that end friday. any debris in the water? weeds, wood etc.? would like to try all the way down at the south end. best, mark

im looking at buying some more downrigger rods and saw the convector GL rod in a store recently. looks like a nice rod. anybody have any experience with this model? its down to this rod in 8'6" or the 8'3" ugly stick. thanks, mark