jimski2

With a split ring and a solid ring , tie them up with your best knot, pull hard and then see which one breaks first. Usually its the split ring, because the squeezing of the ring and the edges cut the line. Manufacturers like Luhr Jensen learned this years ago and you'll notice their rings are solid and soldered shut.

My desktop runs ME and they stopped updating the program forcing me to upgrade. It's fine for now but you need a lot of speed and space that my desktop doesn't have. If I added new hard drive stuff and speedier chips, It would cost a lot, so I'm going with a laptop that I can also use on the road and at the lake.

With the new Vista stuff, I'm going to buy a laptop and I plan on using it on the boat for GPS plotting. Any of you guys have some thoughts?

Remember one thing, long lining doesn't produce fish like the side planers in shallow waters.

A 19.3 pound walleye was taken Monday on the Columbia River by Mike Hepper. Potentially a new Washington state record, the record stands at 18.9 pounds. Lake Ontario has some of the largest walleye available anywhere but most fishing effort is directed to salmon and trout.

Our brain trust in Washington has come up with the answer to cut our oil imports by adding ethanol corn alcohol to our gasoline. What happens to your boats fuel is disturbing. E-10 means 10% alcohol content and this can create water inside your fuel tank especially if you're docked or stored near the waterfront with its high humidity. Daily expansion and contraction of your fuel due to temperature changes will bring in through the tanks vent a lot of humidity that will condense in the tank. Long periods of non-use can cause the gasoline to "phase separate" forming two separate solutions in your tank. Once phase separation occurs,additives and separators will not work and your tank will need to be emptied. I don't know a good answer to this problem, possibly a dessicant filter on the vent, or empty your tanks over winter, an expansion bladder that will contain the fumes and won't damage your tank or go back to 6 gallon tanks to store your fuel in smaller amounts and empty them at the end of the year. Also older boats have rubber lines that can't handle the alcohol and will fail. Make sure your fuel lines are alcohol use certified.

Honestly, the warm water from the outfall attracts a lot of bait and trout. There is an area a couple hundred yards wide that is quite active and yes we release the fish. The important thing is to have a surface temperature gauge and find warmer waters near shore. It could be where a roadside ditch enters the lake on a sunny day, a small stream mouth or an area where the surface waters stack on an onshore wind. I've run my planer boards into the beach with as little as three feet of water and my rapala's are on three foot leads from the boards. Know the water where you're fishing as there are rocks near shore that have taken off props and lower units, like at the end of Ransomville Road.

Let's remember that Coast Guard boat that flipped over on the Niagara Bar and two guys died from the cold water immersion. If it's cold water make sure you fish with other boats, the life jackets won't save you. Maybe a handheld waterproof portable radio or phone will aid in you being found faster.

Many a year, on March 15th, we caught a mess of Browns congregating near the sewage outfall and its warm water just east of Ft. Niagara.

That's what they want, local bait in the same waters, and no more than 100 minnows per person in possession, dead or alive, that's the minnows dead or alive.

The way things are going here with this survey, it tends to show the younger, under 35, crowd is disappearing.

Coast Guard 61 to 65, Great Lakes, Southeast Alaska and Puget Sound, where I caught my first salmon and steelhead.

Don't forget that the Hondas are car engines mounted on an outboard lower unit. There's no hole through the transom and swivel joints or boots.

I picked up some Gerber knives at Gander Mountain a couple years ago. They're sharp enough to shave with and they have crock sticks built into the sheath. You have to be careful with these knives. They have devils in them.

1942, I guess we don't exist in the poll maker's mind.

Flies in the water are an indicator of a healthy environment for breeding flies. In their larval stage they are forage for other little creatures down there that are fed on by bigger guys that we like.

I loved my 2 strokes, but times are changing. As little oil they use now, where does it go? On the Kenai River, with all the outboards they use there, 2 strokes are being outlawed because of hydrocarbons in the water. With 4 strokes you drain the oil, 2 strokes it just goes away- somewhere and that is the problem. It's only a matter of time before the "Do-gooders" stop the 2 strokers. It's your money and if you're going to invest it in a new motor, buy something that won't be outlawed on your favorite waters soon.

I crossed the Peace Bridge, $2.50 US or $3.50 CN, went to the Welcome Center across from the Fort Erie Slots/Racetrack,$200.00US, and paid $64.00CN for my license. The ride back over the bridge was free, just a 10 minute wait at the Immigration/Customs Booth.

I'm using Stren Superbraid, 30# test. It goes deep, only 6# diameter, the coating isn't bad for fleas, and I haven't lost any more gear when I use a heavier flourocarbon leader.

Save a few bucks and get your picture at Wahlgreens Drug Store.

When you price out this project, figure in remote controls, power trim and tilt,electronic throttle control, and steering arm along with the mounting bracket.

I have a dual battery charger, 10 amp, permanently mounted, and I leave my batterys in all year. I just plug the charger in a couple times a month and the boat is always ready to go.

I use "rubber bands" with all my releases, be they Black's, Off Shore, Roehmers, and Scottys. LIKE AN INSURANCE POLICY they work together and I have less wrap arounds and failures to release. Little shakers signal the rod tips also.

A couple other things came to mind. The engine water pump drive belt stretches and slips during high speed. Thermostats stick and fail to fully open. Probably more stuff goes wrong also

Besides the impeller, impeller side plates and housing, check your heat exchanger, also check the hose in your lower unit where it swivels up. That's the newest overheating problem we found. It will break and you lose water flow to the engine. Put a set of ears on the lower unit and see if there is water flowing where it shouldn't.