Don Supon

A ring or strapped cussion with rope attached.

Very informative! Thank you.

Had same situation at Wilson piers on Monday mid-day. With all the rain coming tonight and tomorrow, I'm hoping for some colored water along shore as soon as the winds are favorable for trolling. Urging caution for boulders near water surface in places where they were well submurged in the past at higher lake levels. Found two near wilson piers. Keep a set of eyes forward if in 5 FOW.

I've switched to #32 rubber bands in the clips, especially when using braid. #16 rubber bands work with stickbaits.

I would try: turn unit on and if same result, disconnect power lead (or battery pos lead) and then reconnect. If still not working, call Lowrance for help.

I rig with a barrel swivel connecting the leader to the main line. At the lure end, a snap with a round bend tip.

Need a key or a hacksaw to defeat it. It's on my motor.

With a high thrust prop, it probably will work. But will be running at high RPMs to go 3 MPH. 2 or 4 stroke is a factor on gas consumption.

'08 Honda kicker here. Have changed motor and lower unit oils yearly. That's it. Highly recommend.

A determined thief WILL take your possessions. A typical, spur of the momment or opportunist person, is likely to move on and not take the temptation if your have made it difficult for him. Kickers are light enough that most can lift from transom and carry it away. The concept is to make it necessary to require tools to remove the unit. Most do not have tools with them. A $20-$30 lock over, or through, the clamps will do this. Make it difficult for them. That motor is vunerable to theft anywhere the boat is located, unless you are with the boat. A parking lot, marina, your driveway, rest area on the highway, etc. Know of a person who had his lower unit stolen from his boat which was parked at home alonside the house during the winter. It was covered for snow, but in the spring the owner found out about the theft when time came to get it ready for the season. This person was a police detective, by the way, and has dogs for pets at his house. Stolen from a cop at his home! The officer did recover his property, and recovered mine when it also was stolen, but the point is "don't let it be easy to steal".

That's what I was going to say about the fishing areas. The only pace to slip the boat is Petroy Marina in Youngstown, if they have the docks in place for when you come up (they are removed for the winter). Word locally is that it has a new owner, Mike Fox (of Fox Fencing in Niagara Falls, NY). He plans to be up and running for the LOC Derby. I don't have a phone number. Launching can be done at Fort Niagara, no overnight parking though. 4 Mile Creek Campground is 4 miles E from the river, but no launch. You'd have to ask local establishments about trailer parking if you need to have lodging. There aren't many in the area. The river mouth is about 12 miles closer to Canada than Wilson is. The fishing areas mentioned by darkfisher are 10-20 miles West of the River. Not too far when the lake is flat, but very timeconsuming when the waves are up. Also, you need to report to Canadian Customs by phone whenever you enter their waters to fish (1-888-226-7277). Be prepared with documentation as if you are going over a bridge to enter Canada. This has to be done on the water and all passengers reported (with passports), and cannot be done before leaving. And make sure your boat is properly equipped for safety in case you get an on-water check. Make sure you know ALL requirements before fishing Canadian waters, a loss of your boat and a $5000 fine has happened last season.

What do you do to re-set when a dipsey has to go between the rigger and board or to the board on the far outside? I've asked, and been answered, this question before. The replys said to let out the line down the chute (or off opposite corner) until enough distance is attained, then engage the dipsey or board and allow it to travel to the side (over the in-water rigs) and fit back in to the set. How are these replies different from krawler's question about initial deployment? I'm really confused, can anyone help?

TX 44 are what I will be using this season to pull stickbaits.

It's the right thing to do. Go to a boat/motor dealer in your area and you will be able to find something that will work on your motor. Too bad you wern't at the LOTSA flea market last Feb. I had two different models for sale there, cheap.

Mine has 80/200khz and rarely shows the thermocline. So I look for fish and pay attention to their depth and fish there. But I also have a FishHawk and use it. If I ever change to a different FF I will be looking for 50khz for that reason.

I wish it was so. But it isn't. The IJC does not have the needs of recreational or charter fishermen at the top of their list of priorities for maintaining lake water levels. They see other factors as more important. They surely will allow the lake level to rise as fast as possible to enhance shipping, but it can only rise in proportion to the amount of water entering the lake from all sourses. We and the shippers would welcome a total blockage of outflow into the St. Laurance until the lake gets up again. But the IJC also has to maintain power generation and prevent Montreal from flooding. And shoreline land owners like it low. The ice boom is a non-factor for water levels. When you get the conditions that allow you to put in, be extremely careful until you get into the lake itself.

I fish an 18 ft'er on Ontario's S side, Port Delhoussie to Olcott. I monitor wind direction and speed to set up an outing. I look for winds of 0-15. Winds of 15 MPH will make it rough, but still fishable for me. Therefore a 15 MPH N wind will find me launching at a ramp where I can get to deep waters quicker and not be so far out. N winds make it tougher on our side of the lake, so 15 MPH might be too much some days at most of the areas I fish. W winds sometimes make trolling E the only viable option, with pulling gear and fighting waves back to refish a specific area. I quit fishing E winds, but might go out in NE or SE if they are 10 MPH or less. Reverse the conditions for the N side of the lake as far as wave conditions go.

This book has been advertized on this forum. Run a search to find the seller. eBAY might be a source for you also.

The probe is 4-5 in. long and about 1/2 in thick. The speed probe has a paddlewheel attached to a temp/depth probe. Both are about the same dimensions and weight is a couple of ounces. Presented to LOTSA on March 14.

I'd invest in another trickle charger for the other battery. Best option is to consider an onboard charger for the boat to recharge all batteries and just plug it in when you get back from fishing.

If the tag end is secured from unwraping, the knot is as strong as it can be. Wire strength is the only limiting factor and twisting it could break or weaken some of the strands..

Matthew Thank you for choosing LOTSA as your initial showing of the prices for your units. The explanation of how it works and how to work it was well done and informative. I hope your enterprise works out for you. The cost is reasonable when it's a fisherman's initial purchase of high tech electronics.

With stickbaits I wouldn't change the hooks. If rusted or bent, replace with identical size and weight to prevent changes in lure action. Never heard of removing front treble to make a stickbait run higher, but that is wisely done to bananna baits (kwik fish) with rear treble replaced by single hook- point up or sideways. Spring fishing in shallow water, I know of some that try to make stickbaits run nose down by direct tying to eye (no snaps, etc) and adjusting the knot to top area of the eye. This would cause the stickbait to run tilted slightly nose down and possibly get a little deeper, or at least bring the middle and rear hooks up higher to lessen bottom hookups.

When Bretts Place first started this topic on Mar 3 I tried to order 124 mm clear but they were unavailable then. Re-tried a week or so later and now have them in possession.