Sk8man

It was the same way last year at the north end....it took forever (and why?)

The earlier point made about the depth of freeboard (sides of the boat) is very important as well as the design of the back splash itself. I used to get my feet wet riding on a friends big Grady because it had panels (or little doors) on the back of the transom deck that allowed water to come through big time when it was rough despite making it easy to wash down and keep clean etc. In my current boat the freeboard is closer to my waist and I've never had a drop of water in the boat from waves or from the back splash....much more comfortable ride.

Yeah Kuba is my kinda fisherman Gotta love the Canadians sense of humor....

Zack: I haven't been there for a week or so but the fellow who runs things there told my son last week that it is open until April 15th. I doubt if the ice has formed much in that particular spot as it gets pretty hammered from both north and south. I spoke with a couple guys in a bass boat there last week or so and they were perch fishing and didn't do real great. The north end ramp and the canal are frozen up again as of this morning when I went by there.

Even scarier was the item on Fox News today. Apparently the government has domestic drones the size of hummingbirds (or smaller) that can lock in on individual computers from above and monitor transactions of the computer user complete with facial recognition of the person and what they are viewing on screen. I have no idea how from a practical standpoint this is accomplished but that it what was said.

It should be noted that you can also enclose an open bow with a canvas "dodger" or forward shelter. That was the absolute single best investment I have made in my entire lifetime thus far. It turned my 13 ft Whaler into a Lake Ontario boat as well as a "reading area" and play area for GI Joe's when my kids were young

Hey Tim I hope you didn't think I was referring to your comment ....I fully agree with what you said.

Cool! Looks like as of today on the news that Feinstein's idiocy is going down the drain. They don't feel there is enough support to do anything with it (less than 40 of the necessary 60 votes:>).

I know the "purists" out there will disagree with me but if you experiment you can run just about anything with anything if you do your homework and keep track of the data and make changes as necessary. There is no "miracle" setup... sometimes its just the fact that it is something different being presented. Sometimes things work great for a short time and then....nothingI I was told by a bunch of fishermen friends that lake trout would never hit the little peanut behind a set of flashers back in the late seventies too....or that they wouldn't hit flies behind a dodger on the Finger Lakes (only the Great Lakes salmon) yet both produced some of my best fish back then. It's still a matter of finding active, hungry or aggressive fish and giving them something to think about in terms of either a "vulnerable" or "provocative" target prey. Sometimes its that "oddball" setup that sorts you out from the other contestants in derbies too. MY motto: "Keep experimenting...that's what its all about anyway"

Nice video ...it put me right in the mood (although I must confess I didn't have far to go after this winter:>) Good to hear the old Ray Charles music too. Good job!

The launch and canal are frozen over again.

In general the bigger the better for Lake O fishing. Usually 20 ft. boats are a bit wider as well which adds a bit of stability whether aluminum or glass boat. Another important factor is the hull design - you probably what something with a deep V hull to cut through the waves better whether either material as well.

Tim

It sounds as though either you need to have your idle adjusted properly or as Chas said see about another prop. I've never had any problem running two or 4 rigs with the 9.9 on my present boat or even when it was on the much smaller13 ft. Whaler. I also wonder if it would help to adjust the ANGLE the motor is set at on the transom and bring it UP a bit so it isn't "digging in" as much and make sure keep your big motor in the down position to induce drag if you are not already doing so. If the carb or injection system is adjusted right on a 9.9 it should idle down to near stopping without quitting or harming the motor but you may have to "goose" it once in awhile to prevent loading up if trolling at extreme slow speeds for long intervals. Pulling rigs usually SLOWS down a boat a little from the drag so it must be running unusually fast.

I know people use it but after 40 years of downrigging with the wire I'm a firm believer in it. I once tried some 50 pound braid on one of my thermocline rigs as a rig line and first time out it caught on the roller tip (slid to the side of the roller) and snapped off (with about $50 of stuff on it) so it made me leery of braid. I've never had a problem with 150 lb wire on my Cannons. There are numerous ways to get rid of the hum if it happens. I use a wine cork with a slit up the side and put it on the wire right at the top near the end of the boom and it deadens it. A piece of hard rubber could probably achieve the same result....its only at certain speed and isn't all that frequent on my rig anyway.

I don't believe DEC has any (or much anyway) control over that.

Given the location....bottom of the bow if it were me I'd take it to a good marine repair shop. If that ever came loose you could be in a world of ....you know what out there. The bow can take a lot of pounding.