jimski2

While travelling over the Grand Island Bridge, we noticed a kayaker who was hanging on to the side of his kayak in the water unable to get back in. This was in May and the waters were cold, and we feared he could end up over the Falls. Dialling 911, we reached a Canadian service who had no idea where we were. It took ten minutes to get to the Niagara Falls, NY Police and thirty more minutes to get the guy rescued since only a private boater at a marina was available. The Canadian systems are more powerful than the American 911 systems and they could be your receiving unit. Be prepared to give information you are in USA waters and the local emergency responder's name for your area. Know how to activate your Roaming System in an emergency also.

http://www.workboat.com/Blogs/Regulator ... -TWIC-law/

The price of gasoline is a good decision maker for you on a smaller boat, you will be fishing more.

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/communit ... p?t=190678 http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/communit ... p?t=190576 Note the Power Plant on shore.

After the first Saturday in May, season opens then, water temperatures below 55 degrees, jigs with a minnow, bucktails, spinner and a nightcrawler drifted slowly or trolled about 0.7 MPH bounced on the bottom in shallow warmest water will work. Reef Runners slowly trolled at that time will work with in line planer boards. If you really have the itch bad, head down to Port Clinton, OH and try the warm water discharge of the nuclear power plant there with bucktail jigs early in the spring, they do well there early.

There are different Perko switches. One has an altermator disconnect switch in it which allows you to change batterys while the engine is running. You will blow the diodes on your alternator if you switch it with the engine running unless you have that option.

Outboard powered boats can run all year here. No need to lay them up for winter. Just remove the electronics for real cold periods so the screen do not have damage. My three stage battery charger is plugged in all year round.

Aluminum boats use a magnesium type "zinc". Be careful if you replace it. Your boat could be fine but your neighbor or the Marina may have stray voltage floating around.

You can shut down the sonar on the Eagle GPS if you can figure it out. Then if you need it when the other one fails, it can be started up. Go into the menu on the Eagle and push the right things.

It does not look like galvanic corrosion which are scales and pits on the outer hull. Could be a battery acid deal. I would inform the manufacturer on how they would handle this problem.

http://www.marinetteboat.com/forum/yaf_ ... osion.aspx A lot of stories on aluminum corrosion problems. Aluminum boats do not use "zincs" but use a magnesium alloy as a sacrificial anode.

If you are buying a once in a lifetime boat, make sure you check out Bow and Stern Marine in North Tonawanda, they are good on aluminum boats and their service is great. If you are looking for a bargain there are 25,000 boats out there on the internet.

I would choose the Islamorada area. It is close to the Gulfstream offshore and not too far out on the Keys for the long drive. A lot of good accomodations, charter and head boats operate there. The fish brought in on the head boats are bigger there. The best tip I have is there are two things to do there, fish and drink beer. No DisneyWorld, Golf, South Beach,race tracks, Casinos or Los Olas restaurants. But then you are not toofar from Miami.

http://www.iceshanty.com/iceshanty/ice_fishing.php

Years ago the first ice had was on Cuba Lake and it was Thanksgiving Day. I look for there to be first. A couple small ponds have early ice when it starts. Lake Nipissing is open yet.

Almost all walleyes over 25 inches are females, have the highest contaminant levels and are good to keep the population going. Eat smaller ones or better yet eat perch, they feed on walleye fry and minnows.

Lake Trout stocking was down after the Allegany River Hatchery failure. The rocky bottom off Brocton Shoals, a known lake trout spawning area are completelty covered with mussels now and their ability to support reproduction of lake trout is unknown. Lake Erie walleye numbers were great on the screen, not so great over the gunwale. There could be so much bait they do not need our lures. But the perch fishing out in the deeper lake waters was outstanding. From to 65 to over 70 foot of water, regular limits of 50 perch were had by the regular perch fishing. The last day out for perch, I counted 65 boats in the area about seven miles out from Point Breeze. A lot of 12 inch and above were had and I had triple headers of large perch that I thought were a walleye. The color screen would turn green and yellow for ten foot off the bottom when you were having a school of perch go by underneath you. The reason we started perch fishing out there was one contest day I went through 48 nightcrawlers and only caught one walleye but also had ten perch on. I said we must be stupid to be fishing for walleyes when there are all these perch around.

The algae blooms were the result of long term low east wind conditions which stacked the algae on the surface during the perfect surface water temperature conditions for the algae bloom, 55 to 65 degrees. As soon as we received a heavy blow, they mixed in the water and disappeared to feed the emerald shiners, shad, alewives and other zooplankton. These college boys are looking for a government grant to feed their families.

Wallleyes inhabit the shore line when the water surface temperature is below 65 degrees, like now. After 65 they are generally out deeper unless there is an upwelling event.We fished all the way into Late December near the Donnelly Breakwater at the head of the river even when the ice covered the windshield at night. That was when we were younger and more foolish.

Sounds like a land grab to me. I wonder if their property tax assessments will go up with the increased size of their property?

I have been tarping my boat for years and the sun will heat things up to keep it dry with good ventilation. Be prepared to see cats, coons and other visitors there in the spring. I always send my dog in at times during the winter.

My work in the steel mills and the Blast Furnace Areas where the gas produced was 19% CO had many deaths while I was there. My Fire Department experience showed CO in laundromats with gas dryers when the operator plugged up all the outside air to save on the heating bills caused bad CO conditions, the same happened in homes with wall furnaces and plastic on the windows. Another furnace had the filter cover installed upside down. Birds falling down chimneys in the winter caused CO incidents. Your furnace must have access to ouside makeup air and a good flue. My new furnace has plastic makeup air supply and direct fan pressured exhaust. Headaches are a sign of CO poisoning even if you do not die first. CO detectors are mandated today and if you sell your home they must be there.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/other ... 640797.ece