FishingFool34

That would be my choice as well, no hydraulic lines or pumps to deal with. Just make sure you get the Reactor 40 system specifically designed for use with a kicker motor. Depending on your electronics setup you can skip the GHC display, save $300 and connect it to your sonar via NMEA 2000 network. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/672710/pn/010-00705-95

Not sure of the steering setup on your main (hydraulic, power assist, mechanical?) do you need to have the big motor running for the auto pilot to be able to steer it? If not why don't you just connect the main and kicker with an EZ steer setup? Save you thousands of dollars to not have to buy another AP unit. Then you just let the AP on the main steer the kicker via the EZ steer rod. I know Yankee mentioned the Lowrance Outboard AP but I don't think that is meant for a small kicker motor. Only options for dedicated kicker AP that I know of are the two Garmin units I mention above.

Nope, they both control the throttle the exact same way, a small servo motor with a linkage to the throttle. The differences between the two units are the remotes and couple extra features of the trollmaster. Either unit will have a model to work on just about any kicker, the only thing that changes is the mounting bracket and linkage rod.

Only options for kicker AP that I know of are Garmin. The TR-1 Gold which is now discontinued (but you can still find them) and the Compact Reactor 40 which is the replacement for the TR-1. Compatible kicker options are limited on the new CR-40 system so it depends on what year your kicker is.

There's a few different options depending on your budget and list of features you want/need. iTroll, Trollmaster and ControllKing. Personally I have only used the control king and haven't had any major issues. The one time I had to call them because my servo motor went bad they gave me the part number and said I could order it through them or pick up one and my nearest radio shack and gave me the p/n to find it at radio shack. The man I spoke to was the owner of the company and extremely helpful. Control King being the most basic, with a simple wired dial to control speed. Trollmaster is mid range, with a wireless option and a few more bells and whistles. iTroll is top of the line with multiple different pre-programmed modes and tons of options.

Pretty sure what you're describing is exactly the same thing my Mag 5HS riggers do. I always assumed it was normal? You hit up on switch and it starts raising them, then you hit down to stop them otherwise it keeps reeling up. If you have auto-stop on your riggers I don't see how this is avoidable. Once you hit up on the switch it activates the auto-up/auto-stop feature which keeps reeling in until the circuit is broken at the surface.

I've never had a trailer inspected in my life and have never had any issues or even been asked about it before.

I went with option 3 myself. Along with changing engine and lower unit oil on main and the kicker. Also made sure to get washdown/livewell pump, both fish box pumps, and water tank. Also gave the boat a good wash and quick wax, fingers crossed everything turns out alright!

I wouldn't leave your top up, snow can get heavy and possibly bend/break your poles. I would take the cover off and out of the boat. Build a A-frame and tarp it up tight.

The longer setups are useable for much more of the season if you ask me. I always have a 10 color or 300 copper out from June to September. 5 and 7 color get put away after late April/May and maybe used again late Sept. Unless you're fishing for browns mid-summer which is why I have those setups but I mainly chase Salmon all summer. Goodluck.

If I had those reels I would prolly do this magda 45 - 5 color magda 45 - 7 color clarion 453 - 10 color clarion 453 - 10 color Penn 340 - 200 or 250 copper diawa saltiest - 300 copper diawa saltiest - 300 copper Clarion 553 - 400 copper If you run 30 or 40lb braid on the 300+ copper setups as backing you should be able to fit plenty of backing on those reels.

First year winterizing an I/O and I have done lots of research... I'm confident I know how to do it. My question is which method to do. I've come across 3 methods that all seem to be fairly popular. 1)Drain water all water from the block and leave it empty (air can't freeze) 2) Anti-freeze via muffs method 3) Drain water from block and pour in anti-freeze via removing the t-stat hoses Then there is the added wrinkle of doing either anti-freeze method and then draining the anti-freeze from the block also. Idea behind this being again air can't freeze and any liquid left in the block would likely be straight anti-freeze. After searching here and seeing Pap's old experiment with freezing anti-freeze in a glass jar and how little water it took to get mixed with the AF for break the glass has me a little concerned. I'm leaning towards method #3 and then draining the block again, curious to hear some opinions.

2002 Yamaha 9.9 4-stroke... came with the boat I bought, previous owner warned me it was cold blooded but it ran fine during sea-trial so I bought the boat. First time out with it this weekend and took forever to start. Once I finally got it started it would idle but die everytime I hit the throttle. I could choke it and get it to rev up but as soon as I gave it throttle it would die. Got it back home and happened to pull the dip stick and it poured out oil/gas mixture out of the dipstick hole. Did I just severely flood it trying to get it running or do I have other issues?