Misty IV

...as will be the death to our fishery, if they are allowed to enter our waters.

I've gotten used to the hum. I actually enjoy hearing it. I was told years ago that the hum actually attracts fish - simulates the sound of a wounded fish. Not sure if it is true or not, though. Has anyone heard that before, as well?

REALLY?!?!?!?! I just came across this article and felt it needs to be posted for all of us to read. If it's been posted before (it's dated October 5, 2009), my apologies. But, worth reading and what the government may try to do to us Lake Ontario (and all Great Lakes) anglers. They state in the first paragraph that the government wants to "protect" the waters, yet in more recent times, they desire to put hundreds of pinwheels in the lake and don't want to do anything about the Asian Carp problem, either. http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/articles/feds_to_60_million.html

What does everyone prefer to use for their cannonball releases these days? I've typically used the Cannon Quick Release, but I had issues with (4) of them this past weekend - all of them either broke where the leader connects to the release or the cable got all twisted beyond repair. I know the currents were bad over the weekend, as I got all sorts of tangles. I've always had good luck with the Cannons, but having them break and/or tangle has me looking at other options. Suggestions?

I bought (2) 345GTi's from Tom about a month ago, and he said he still had more of them (the American made models). I had mine pre-spooled with 600' of copper, backing, leader. Give him a call or go to his website to order. I love the reel!

I researched a lot when I decided to upgrade to electrics. I ended up going with the Cannon Mag10-HS. It had all the features I wanted in an electric. I had a chance to try them out over the holiday weekend, and I am very impressed. I especially love the auto-stop feature. But, as mentioned above, each brand offers some very nice features. You just have to compare them and determine which one will do what you want it to.

Thanks again, Bill. Just got off the phone with the Oswego shop and ordered a few from them. Can't wait to give the spoons a shot!

I stopped in their Pulaski store last weekend, they had no idea what I was talking about. I described it to them, and they tried to sell me the Habanero, which I have and is close in resemblance, but not the spoon. I'll give the Oswego store a shout in the morning and see if they still have any left. It definitely seems to be a killer spoon for you guys this year. Been wanting to try it out, but nobody knew what I was talking about at the tackle shops. Thanks for the info, Bill!

Bill, is that DW SS Midnight Special available in stores/shops yet? Every tackle shop I stop in that carries DW has no clue what I am talking about when I ask about the Midnight Special. I see it on the DW website, but odd the tackle shops have never seen or heard about it.

Nice report. Looks as though I need to move out a bit deeper. I was covering the 150-200fow area both Saturday & Sunday around Nine Mile with a few hits, but nothing boated.

No, definitely not a problem with the carb. The engine runs fine, starts right up, trolls for hours at idle, runs like a dream. It's definitely something with the prop slipping & not pushing the boat forward when I'm trying to get on plane. Once it's on plane, the prop "grabs" and the boat takes off.

I'll second that! Stuff works great for me.

That is about exactly when the engine revs up - when the bow is up and the stern is down, trying to get up on plane. Engine doesn't overheat and runs fine once on plane. I'm going to put my old prop on and see what happens. didn't have any issues with the old prop, so expecting the problem to go away.

The dinged one is a stock Quicksilver 3-blade aluminum Black Diamond. I am not sure what this spare one is. It came with the boat when I bought it used. It has no distinct markings on it to tell the make or manufacturer; just the size: 14.5x19. Size is the same as the dinged one. I do know this spare one was once repaired, as it still had the repair shop's sticker on one of the blades when I put it on in place of the dinged unit. I'm thinking I'll swap the dinged one on this weekend and see if the problem goes away. I have a feeling it will.

I'll be up this weekend and was thinking of swapping the dinged one back on just to see if it changes (which I have a strange feeling it will). Thanks for the suggestion.

Not only do they sell the wingers, but also build very high quality planer reel masts, multiple rod holders, rocket launchers, etc. Very nice products!

Hmmm, Ray, I think you are onto something! That would explain why the boat goes backwards and the water is breaking over the transom! Hehehehe! But, it appears to be the same prop as the old, dinged main one. Once the prop grabs, the boat takes off and pulls strong. Still tops out around 40mph. It's just that 10-15mph area the engine seems to rev up with no additional acceleration, then once the boat gets to a certain speed, the rev's drop and the boat takes off, like the prop is once again cutting into the water and doing what it is supposed to.

Thanks for the replies. I haven't changed anything about the boat except the prop. Prior to me changing to the spare prop, I never had this issue. Since installing the spare prop, this problem developed. Common sense would tell me it is related to the prop, but wanted to ask and see if there was something else I should look for.

I have a strange problem with my boat. 2000 Starcraft Islander, 4.3L Mercruiser, Alpha-One drive, 3-blade Black Diamond aluminum prop. The outdrive shifts into forward & reverse fine. When I am in forward and adding throttle to get up on plane to get moving, once the engine gets to a certain RPM (~2500rpm) and the boat is moving around 10mph, it sounds like the engine suddenly is spinning faster, but the boat isn't moving any faster, almost like something is slipping. The boat is still accelerating, but not at the rate it should be. Once the boat gets to a certain speed, maybe 15mph & 3000rpm, it's like the prop "grabs" and the boat starts to accelerate like it should normally. I've tried adjusting the trim of the outdrive, but nothing changes. The prop is on nice and tight, no excessive play in the shaft. This started this year. I have a repaired prop on the boat right now, same size as has been on there. I dinged my main prop last year at the end of the season, so am running the spare for now. Could it be a problem with the prop or the rubber Flo-Torq hub assembly? I don't think this spare prop is a Quicksilver model - no distinctive markings on it to say it is. I'm half tempted to go buy a brand new Quicksilver prop (which I need to do anyway) and try that out. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Nice to see they're finally moving into the area! I'll be up for them this weekend.

I'll put in another vote for Great Lakes Planers. High quality products!!!

Update: I went the 4 route. Got (2) Mag-10 HS's for my out-downs. Will move the Uni-trolls in to the inner two spots. Here's another question. I have my Sub-Troll on one of the Uni-Trolls. Would you suggest moving it to the Mag-10 or keep it on the Uni? Not that it'd be a huge pain to move the cable over to a Mag, but thing I am thinking is if I keep it on a Uni, I could check temps without disturbing the outer spreads if I were only using the Mags at the time. Input?

While I cannot answer your question, maybe give Big Jon a call and see if there is a way to make it work. I know their customer service has been rated top-notch on this website. I've been running the manual reels for a few years with no issues, but also looking to upgrade to electrics just for ease of operation.

I live just outside of Philly in the western suburbs. I can make it to the house in about 4.5 hours. I've been doing it so long that the trip goes by so quickly anymore. Worst part of the ride is the Northeast Extension - NOTHING to look at for 2 hours! I pull my boat up to the house in the spring and tow her home in the fall. I've thought about building an addition to the garage for the Islander to store it up there over the winter, but only problem is if I want to work on the boat over the winter, it may be "warm" in PA, but there may be 5 feet of snow at the lake. Easier for me to walk 100 feet to the boat than drive 4.5 hours only to find out I can't get into the garage.

Try Eastern Marine (http://www.easternmarine.com They are a huge marine product warehouse located in Newark, DE. They have a gigantic showroom, but also ship product out all day long.