Sk8man

Dave I had the same thing with my 2 stroke 9.9 intermittently and I narrowed it down to a couple of things the gas/oil mixture and the lean/rich setting on the motor itself. I had to play with it to get it right (the lean rich knob) but the air thing may be a distinct possibility I know sometime when I would forget to open the air intake on the tank itself it would run erratically too. I'd try looking at those things before spending the $$ on a new tank . Good luck with it.

Welcome to LOU. I think you will find a lot of good info on this site and some very helpful people. Good luck fishing

You're welcome Pap have a great season!

Yes Nick is correct.....over the years the two have cycled back and forth and although many factors appear to be involved I wonder about the lamprey populations impacting the fishing in each of them. Lately I have noticed some pretty big adult lampreys on the lakers in Seneca and those adults can do some real damage on the fish over time. I haven't seen many juvenile lampreys and that is a good sign if accurate. On the downside I haven't been seeing nearly as many juvenile fish either.The presence of many juvenile lampreys may signal a real concern for upcoming years on Cayuga. Hope fully the lack of them on Senecamay reflect the fact that the previous lampracide treatments are taking effect on Seneca now but those adults have quite a long life cycle too.

I agree with fisherdude. The team approach is fine for the more hardcore events like the ones on Lake O but the Trout derby on Seneca has always been a family event where even young children can participate (each of mine did from an early age). The team format is more "rigorous" competitive environment than the current derby format and I think may spoil the family atmosphere of the the Seneca derby. No need to complicate things in that regard with increased rule structure etc. there are already enough of those highly competitive situations going on and I think it could turn off a lot of folks who aren't into that type of format. As it is things are relatively informal but "controlled" (e.g. polygraph testing") but more relaxed rule-wise. I fished the ESLO derbies and the Lake O stuff for years and it is a lot of fun and highly competitive but it isn't for everyone....The Seneca derby seems "special" in that regard and it would probably be wise from a survival standpoint to keep it that way with some of the "enhancements" currently being suggested, better prize structuring, and increased emphasis on advertising, and accessible updating of information. Just my two cents from fishing both types of derbies for the last 45 years or so .

I just changed from a Johnson 9.9 long shaft 2 stroke to a brand new 4 stroke electric start 9.8 Tohatsu long shaft and there wasn't much difference in the weight at all but I stayed away from the electric trim option etc. for that very reason because t would have pushed the limit on my bracket. Mine is on a bracket too and not directly on the transom. I think the difference in motors was about 5 lbs. One of the things I would be checking out is the transom itself...is it possibly waterlogged and this amount of added weight is perhaps pushing it over the edge weight-wise? You didn't give any info regarding the exact kicker or what you have for the big motor so it is hard to say what the total weight is. I know the only difference in my 2 stroke 9.9 kicker and the 15 horse was in carburation. They were exactly the same motor and weight. Not sure about the 4 stroke versions. Also if you have a few batteries and the kicker located on the same side of the boat (and possibly other weight) and you are on that side as well in a boat that size (and depending on hull shape) it could be a weight distribution adjustment that is needed. I'd be experimenting with putting additional weight in the opposite side of the bow to see what happens too.

Yeah Mike I think the technology has improved a bit since the 70's and early 80's when the CB's were the main game and they had Derby Control at the Chamber with a lady operating the microphone who didn't know jack about fishing and a few people would be repeatedly asking what the leading fish was and others cutting her off by clicking the mike buttons and making noises etc. There is some real potential now for having meaningful input that could really improve things