Chuck Smth

Bruce, what are you talking about? Look at the picture - there's an empty water bottle on the deck!

I'll go against the grain here and say get a couple rods setup for lead before wire divers. I'd have a 3 color and a 5 color to start. Nice thing about the lead is it produces and it will work for suspended walleyes as well as trout and salmon and you don't need rollers or to modify the rods to use it.

Good day off of Braddocks

Another thing you can do is start it up with cover off. Get her idling and then spritz water around the bas of the carbs, etc. If the idle changes you may have found an air leak. Obviously, you don'w want to spray anything electric or into the carbs. Sometimes when they get cantankerous after a good warmup it;s the stator or another electrical problem but looks like you have that covered. Chuck

On most Mercury 2S outboards it's a really good idea to inspect and replace the reeds once you have the carbs off. I've seen many a "carburetor" issue that was really a reed block issue. They wear out and need replacing every so often. Chuck

Best trick I know is to troll fast enough to keep the darned things off you lines. They're a nuisance.

3" alewives may be good news. It might indicate latest year class survived and they may be coming back. That would be nice! Anyway, great trip. Sounds like it was a blast.

With smaller engines up to gas V8's it's fine. For bigger engines on an express or similar, unless you have trolling valves you're going to be way too fast for how we troll for salmon - even on one engine. It really depends on how the boat is powered and set up. Best bet is to try it and see what works. As long as the speed is good and the autopilot can hold her in a crosswind on one engine you're fine, just remember that if you run I/Os there usually only power steering on one engine.

Another fun day. Again, the fish have never looked better in my 40 years of fishing it. Here’s a nice one. The DEC has this lake dialed in.

I guess everyone has their own system and if it works for you that's what matters. I always use a cross lock style ball bearing swivel on spoons. For spring stickbaits I prefer to use a uni knot with a loop to attach to the eye. I can tie a uni faster than I can do a snap swivel and I can do it without looking. The trick I use is go through the eye, tie the uni, pull it almost tight but leave a loop, and then cinch down on the tag end when the loop is the size you want - I like about a 1/4 to 3/8 inches. Using the loop will have big effect on the action of the bait. You can test it yourself - tie a uni with a loop, test the action over the side and then pull the loop tight to where it resembles a clinch knot and recheck. It's amazing how much action you lose with a tight knot. It also gives you a bit of speed tuning. I like to troll faster than most and some baits like broken back Rapalas or Long A's get a little wacky on a loop knot at higher speeds say 3+ mph, and if I lock the knot down I can tame them and run them alongside Yozuris or Offshore Bites. So again, do what works for you - but IMVHO how you attach is just another of those myriad variables and tricks you can use to adjust to the conditions of the day. Chuck

I'd say running a leader is a good skill to learn. When the fleas are really bad being able to run 30# down to the releases and then lighter line to the spoon gets rid of the problem without killing the spoon's action. It can make difference between a great day fishing and an exasperating ordeal when the fleas kick in. I'll use a blood knot unless it's dark or really rough at which time I'll switch to back-to-back uni-knots if I need to re-tie. (Back-to-back uni's seem to work as well as the blood knots and are easier to tie sans-bifocals- especially if the lines being joined are different diameters.) My knot selection may also depend on the main line: I find that Ande is a joy to tie but Big Game can get a little snitty, especially when it's cold out. I've never personally thought these fish to be particularly line-shy but I know some great fisherman who swear by fluorocarbon leaders so I've adapted to using them. Never too old to learn. All IMHO

I wish I had a buck for every fish that's been caught on an SF400! Those babies are workhorses.

After years in the boat biz I've made or been involved in plenty of blunders. Dropped a 26' off the trailer and into the ditch on the side of Calkins Road once. Had a trailer break on me on 490 near Culver and dropped the boat onto the middle of the underpass. Moved a brand new 50' Regal and didn't notice the trailer tire rubbing on the hull, put a nice hole in the bottom. Best one of all time was in Fort Lauderdale, coming up on the toll booths I hit the brakes to stop and the tie-rod end of the truck broke. Everything went sideways and I spun with the trailered boat behind me. Ended up blocking the booths during morning rush hour, heard a lot a colorful language! Trailering to and moving in an out of boat shows in January - oh the stories we could tell. Everbody has a bad day eventually. You learn from it and come away a better boater. Best advice I can give, don't launch from an icy ramp. Chuck

Did you see the big ship come in? Thought it was the Steven B Roman until it got in the river. She’s a big one for around here.

And I apologize, just realized I fat-fingered the date and this was of course 4/19, not 4/10. Other than about a 30 mph wind it was fun.