Misty IV

I'll second that!

Definitely good news! I'm planning on pulling the cover next weekend and starting loading the gear back on the boat. Probably towing her up to the house towards the end of April or first weekend in May. I cannot wait to get on the water again.

I don't know if you troll with a kicker or not, but something I just thought of which you might consider doing. I think the part is called a battery isolator, and what it does is charge all your batteries while your main engine is running, but when you turn the engine off to troll with a kicker, the main starting battery is isolated from the remainder of the electrical system to make sure it has enough juice to start the main engine when you need to. All your accessories (downriggers, GPS, chartplotter, etc) can run off the secondary battery. After a day of fishing, when you fire-up the main engine to run in, your secondary battery which was being used all day begins to get charged immediately. Depending on how far out you are, your secondary battery may have a decent re-charge by the time you get back into port. I'm looking at such a system for my dual-battery setup.

Thanks for the info, Adam. Explains a lot and I appreciate the detailed explanation. Answered my question. I'll stick with the Mercruiser-spec oil. The additional cost of the oil is worth it to keep my engine running the way it's supposed to for a long time. I'll leave the 10W-30 to my truck's engine. Thanks again!

Since we're on the topic of motor oils, I have a question for those of you with Mercruiser engines. My engine specs say I have to run a special 25W-50 motor oil that only is available as a Mercury item. No other motor oil manufacturers offer this special grade. This oil isn't cheap either. Granted, I usually only change the oil once or twice a season depending on the hours, but can I do any damage by using, say, a 20W-50 from a major oil manufacturer, like Pennzoil, Quaker State, Mobil, etc.? What about using a 10W-30 grade? I can get bulk oil in cases through work, and if I can use what I put in my truck in the boat, makes life easier. Any input on this subject? Thanks!

Hmmm, this is all good information to know. I was going to try some of the Cajun Red line because it claims to disappear underwater. Maybe I'll just stick with my current Ande pink, like Musky mentioned.

Did you happen to catch what the prices were for regular 87 octane gasoline in and around Pulaski? I have been filling the truck and boat at the Mobil in Port Ontario or the Sunoco in Pulaski. But, this season, given all the profits shown by Exxon/Mobil, I think I may start driving the extra distance every time into Pulaski to fill up. I read somewhere, also, that Sunoco does not import any oil to make its gasoline. Exxon/Mobil does!

I have (2) reels spooled with 20# flea flicker line and have been very happy with the overall performance. I used to run the 30# line. The 20# works great for me, while the 30# had a tendency to twist, as Capt. Bill mentioned. My other standard mono reels are spooled with 20# Ande, which, honestly, works about as well as the FF line does with shedding the fleas in the summer.

I haven't heard about this until I read this post. I agree that new boaters should be required to take some form of a boater's safety course. I have seen way too many close calls with new boaters or boaters with very little time at the helm. I'm not saying that all new boaters are uneducated or out of control, but there needs to be some form of education to make them aware and responsible. I feel the same way about PWC users. I took the USCG safety & training course when I was about 12 or 13 years old. My dad put his foot down and made my mom & I take the course because we were spending a lot of time on the boat and he wanted us to both be able to react and know what to do in all instances. The course I took was 8 weeks long and was 2 nights a week for 4 hours per night. It was well worth it, IMO.

Yes, "**" is almost time! Hope to have some views just like the one above. Bring "**" on!

I'm mainly on 69 when in Mexico Bay and around 9-Mile. I scan about 5 other channels, including 5, 12, 68 and 72. 68 can get absolutely nuts come summer. Of course, I always have 16 included in the scan list, just in case someone hails for help or gives a mayday.

These are all incredible stories. This is a thread to definitely follow. My boat is named Misty IV. The name "Misty" started way back when I was a newborn. My parents had a Glastron tri-hull which was named "Misty". I asked where the name came from and they said whatever it was that inspired them to use that name, they did. Fast forward a few years. My late grandfather bought a 42' Pacemaker sportfisherman. What a ride that was. I remember trips out in the Atlantic for tuna, as well as a trip up the St. Lawrence River through the lock system. He kept it moored in Toms River, NJ, but was out on her almost every weekend, taking friends & family out on fishing trips. Once, he piloted her up to Lake O for a family reunion. He named the boat Misty III. Nobody seems to know what happened to Misty II. Some feel it was the 14' Grumman canoe we had at the lakehouse, but it never actually was called Misty II. In 1993, I was in the market for my own fishing boat for use on the lake. I found a nice used Starcraft 18' center console and named it Misty IV. I had that boat until 2005, at which time I upgraded to my current boat, a 2000 Starcraft Islander 221. I asked a bunch of friends about the name, because I wanted to stay with Misty IV - that's what everyone knows the boat as. I received a bunch of opinions, like it's bad luck to name a new boat the same as your previous one. But, I decided to keep Misty IV as the name, and she's been an awesome ride to me.

This reminds me of an incident that happened probably 10 years ago now off of Nine Mile. It was the Fall LOC and a fisherman comes over the radio saying, "You're not going to believe this, but a seagull just swooped down, took a Silver Bullet J-Plug which was floating on top of the water, took off, snapped the line and flew away with it." About 3 hours later, another fisherman gets on the radio, hailing the previous boater who lost the J-Plug earlier. A Silver Bullet J-Plug just fell from the sky into his boat! Seems the seagull didn't like the Silver Bullet and dropped it off into his cockpit. The second boater offered to meet the first guy somewhere to return his J-Plug. Crazy winged creatures!

Welcome to the site, Steve. Hope you manage to get some line wet this year!

Amazing how different things are same time, 1 year apart. I drove up to check on the house after the major lake effect snows last year. Took a ride to Mexico Point launch and I was amazed at the sights. It was ice as far as I could see in all directions. Quite a sight! Couldn't get in the parking lot, however, as there was a good 10-15 feet of snow piled-up at both the entrance and exit gates.

I saw one a few years back while I was trolling off of Nine Mile. It was headed the opposite way, so I stood my ground, but was prepared to pull everything and head in if it changed course. One boat wasn't so lucky, though. One second, the boat is stationary, the next he was hauling you-know-what to outrun it! Got a cool picture of the whole event. I'll try to scan it and upload it here.

I apologize if this topic has already been on here, but I couldn't find anything like it when I searched. After a day on the lake, where do you like to go to eat? Personally, I love Stefano's in Pulaski and Carnsie's Irish Wigwam on Sandy Pond. Stefano's has some incredible Italian food and the Wigwam has a great selection of delicious food...not to mention the view of Sandy Pond.

Cool pics! Where-abouts did you take the pics? Trying to visualize it.

I just got chills throughout my body! Just what I needed this morning. Nice pics. And, yes, it makes you feel as if you were really there. Thanks for sharing. Is it spring yet?

It already looks like a new boat. It will be time to put it in the water before you know it! Come on spring!

Beautiful fish! What type of setup did you catch it on?

I've been thinking of a way to add lights to my soft top but kept drawing a blank. This definitely gives me some ideas which will work for what I need to accomplish!

I hope once the new administration gets into office (whoever it ends up being) that things change. We keep hearing the word "change" in their speeches and campaigns. Around me, I can no longer find any gasoline without ethanol in it. My gas mileage has gone down and my engine isn't running as well as it used to. Gas prices are constantly going up and down day to day. Last week, the name-brand gas station I use was selling regular grade 87 at $2.91. This week, it went up to $3.17. Yes, this foolishness has to stop! In one way, I'm glad I topped off the tank in the boat and poured in StaBil before I put her away for the winter. On the other hand, I just hope the engine starts and runs in a few months.

Yes, they answered my question, thank you! I took a ride to the hatchery the weekend we closed the house for the winter in late September to look at things. I was suprised at the lack of fish in the staging area. Definitely not what I've seen in previous years. Hopefully things improve this upcoming season and things can get back on track.

Wow, that is well below what they wanted. I heard the count wasn't that good, but had no idea it was that low. Tim, we await your words of wisdom!