Gator

That sounds really frustrating. My marine mechanic has been great to me. But I know that sometimes with outboards it can be a mystery as to why they're failing. You've got to try to address obvious solutions first, before digging deeper. There's a few guys on here who have great reputations, and for good reason, but sometimes even the best of them can get it wrong. I'm glad that you have a working motor. However, there's always the possibility that you may have simply masked a larger issue that's going to reoccur given time. I'd wait a few months before rushing to judgement. Best of luck!

You won't regret it. All I shoot is Leupold scopes. I don't have a muzzle loader, so I can't speak to that particular model, but I will be interested in hearing your thoughts. I'm leaning toward a CVA Accura V2 in the near future.

Did you put the Leupold muzzy scope on your smoke pole?

We're closing soon on a new property in Holley/Albion and there are a variety of small fields, as well as one 14 acre field, that have been tilled and planted in the recent past - both as food plots and agriculture. This year they are gone to weed. The property is landlocked with a decent dirt road right-of-way, but I don't have any equipment out there, nor have I ever plotted before. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a local with a small tractor and some expertise who I could contract with to work up some dirt and install a plot? I have the sense that I'd like to keep it simple; maybe alfalfa, clover, and winter wheat or rye. In the longer term, I'm hoping to trade use of the large field to a farmer for some help with a plot, assuming I'd buy the fertilizer, seed, and whatnot to do it right. If you have a lead, feel free to shoot me a pm. Since I'm a complete newbie, all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

We set Nothing But Net down off the can at Wautoma in 80 fow around 5:15 am and started a slow troll to the NE. The stiff South wind made it tough getting the coppers set off the big boards, but the triple on kings made it even tougher! We managed to land them all and missed another shot in the process, but unfortunately had a passer-by see the action while blowing past us, spin a turn, and set up on our stern. That made it difficult to get back around on the fish, but hey...it's everybody's water out there. Hopefully some of the fish they picked up contributed to their winning box lol. Anyway, when we did get turned around and back to our waypoint, we had a few more minor fire drills but nothing like first light. By that time, the boat traffic was beginning to get crazy so we boogied North. I think we did two back and forth trolls out to 350 fow and managed a few teens and one upgrade on a 400 foot copper that hit so hard it shook the boat. We missed a couple of rips on wire Dipsys that I'd like to get back, too, and had some chromers up to ten pounds that we released. The next few hours were a grind. We slipped back inside hoping that the late morning bite from the day prior would rematerialize. Around ten minutes after making the comment that our high divers had been a waste of space that day, one of them takes off with a good fish and we have another kicker for our box. Then another steelhead, and that was the day. The final breakdown for our four kings was 85 pounds, which was good enough for sixth place, with the larger fish all coming on meat - and I can't say enough about John King's plastic heads for whole bait and strips. They run exceptionally well without tuning. Our two biggest kings were within 0.03 lb of each other at 24.2 lbs apiece. We had a great time on the boat with lots of good munchies and bad jokes (someday we'll have to tell Brian how we set him up using his "secret spoon"). I especially want to thank the organizers of the tournament for putting on a great show, as always, and running a seamless weigh in. Whoever paid off the guy upstairs got their money worth, because the weather was exceptional. I think that with the notable exception of the very first Shootout where we had East wind and only a single mature weighed in, there's been great weather nearly every year.and big boxes. Congratulations to all of the teams who placed, showed, or just enjoyed the weather and camaraderie! These are the best of times...

x3 Don't do it, run, run, run. I've never, ever heard of something like this working out.

I unzipped a 23 lb king yesterday with my new Fisherman's Friend from Cutco, and I didn't even have to extend the blade; I used it at 6". It was like cutting butter. LIfetime guarantee and free sharpening. Of course, I was cutting around the bones, not through them, and I got fish market quality fillets. I would imagine that a smaller fish would be even easier. For quick and dirty chop jobs, I have a Victorinox Cimeter that will rip through bone for a one piece peel, but then you have to remove the ribs afterwards. Cutco also makes a 1762 Salmon 10" knife that I know Silver Fox loves, but the tip is rounded not pointed. It's great if you're going to fillet in one move and plan to stay above the rib cage. Probably harder to jab yourself, too. I know where there's one practically new sitting in the bottom of Sandy Creek . Finally, I have an 8" Bubba blade that does a decent but not remarkable job. Any of these will fit the bill. They all have slightly flexible blades.

Is the bait stacked up in shallow? I figure that's my cue to go walleye fishing and wait for the thermocline to set up. It seems off by a week or two this year.

We had 3" at my house in Rush and I spent the day on Thursday dealing with the patio, basement, and neighbor's house. You know that you can hook your spare bilge pump to a hose and run it off a lawnmower battery to get standing water out of a basement? We had three going at the neighbor's place.

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to pull it off and open the steering assembly, which is where the smoke came from. If that's it, Fish307 sells them for $127. I'm also worried that the "system ready" green light wouldn't go on after she smoked...I know there's power getting to the motor, because the check battery function works...but if I can't figure it out myself, then it's going out for repair. I spoke to Tony - 80 years young and still going strong. May take a ride to Orchard Park to see him. Thanks, Zach, but the Link function on the iPilot is wasted on me.

Last night when I deployed my Minn Kota Terrova, as soon as the power switched on there was a flash and a puff of smoke that came from where the shaft goes through the control unit, and it smelled electric. I suspect something was fried, despite my having a 50 amp breaker installed - the motor wasn't under load, so it likely wouldn't have mattered. I'm trying to figure out whether there's a shop nearby that can handle electrical repairs on trolling motors. I considered purchasing a new unit without the iPilot and moving the existing head, but it turns out Minn Kota doesn't sell the Terrova anymore without the iPilot factor installed. And prices on new units are outrageous. Any guidance is truly welcome.

Buy this for $3 from Home Depot - magnetic carabiner hook - and attach it to the bottom of your net. Then use electrical tape to attach a washer to your net handle. The two couple together perfectly and come apart easily when you lift a fish in the basket. It's a three dollar solution and it works slicker than sh!t.