laker1

Thank you Fishnut but I am too far away to attend the Toronto or the Chicago sport shows. The pandemic does not help either. Our local sport show is too small and lacks the variety I would expect to find at a genuine sports show. So I have to buy online. This is why I am seeking recommendations. I wish to make an informed choice.

Ok , I am getting ready to pull the trigger on some 24 inch mounting track. I intend to use it for Down East Salty rod holders for musky fishing. I would also use dipseys when fishing for lake trout. I will be bolting the track to my Lund's gunnel. My question is there a marine tackle supply house in either Canada or United States that people recommend with reasonable pricing? ( I can't believe the difference in pricing that I have found so far! Don't these companies ever have sales?) And is there a manufacturer or brand that one could recommend? Thanks Jim Stay safe everyone,

OK, for us in Ontario we have sometimes limited access to gas without ethanol. In addition at fueling up we sometimes receive gas from the bottom of the tank that has been there for a long time. It seems to me and others that overall our gas has been reduced in octane quality so it deteriorates quicker than ever before. Plus we believe that the service tanks themselves at the gas station should be cleaned out periodically. Yes I do use Sea Foam or Stabil. Local boat dealers here also have concerns about gas quality so they always suggest premium fuel.

I also have a Honda 8hp in longshaft after using either an OMC or Mercury kicker. More weight in the longshaft model BUT the control and the ability to turn on a dime while trolling is superb. It does not stall when you tune it to run extremely slow. I Like how the little motor charges my cranking battery. My boat is 17 1/2 foot Lund Pro Sport with a 90. The fuel lines have the same connection so I can come home using either my inline tank or that of my trolling motor for either engine. Both engines are Honda, solid and dependable. My 8hp Honda is easy starting and has brought me back a couple of times when the main motor failed. Because bad gas has become an issue here in Lake of the Woods I also now run like many others with an additional aftermarket fuel filter. Hope this helps and good luck!

Thank you Bozeman Bob and Sk8man. I think I am a poor writer. I am thinking of moving my 1197 to a second boat. I should have added that! Its been 10 years since I bought my 1197. So I was curious if anything had changed regarding transducer placement. One thought was whether or not a transducer could be mounted further away from the boat. Or are there transducer designs not as affected by turbulence? Hope this hasn't been a waste of everyone's time.

Hi, I would like to know with all the recent amazing advances in electronics, is there a new requirement regarding transducer placement. Currently i have a Humminbird 1197 and I am serously looking at the Humminbird Solix. Two different systems/generations which I understand will have two different styles of transducers. I fish for lakers ,walleye and musky . I use a downrigger from time to time. I have an 8 hp trolling motor hanging over the transom of my aluminum boat. Any input would be most apprecated - thank you. jim

I have a 8 hp Honda long shaft with 6 amp alterator to charge cranking battery. The long shaft gives you great control while trolling compared to short shaft. Using a 17 ft Lund. The Honda has an aftermarket tiller extension which works well. The trolling speed can be adjusted to reduce speed minutely to your taste / conditions. I like a trolling engine that starts easilly.

Sharing a memory from this year. Its late September and Bob Holden and I are fishing in Canadian Esox's Musky Tournament. Bob is an accomplished multi species angler. Fishing has been poor with rain and fog in the morning and bluebird sky in the afternoon. Its now late in the day and we have only time for one more troll at Forest Island. We released our lures. I let out a Live Target Sucker and Bob let out a white Jake made by Drifter Tackle. Suddenly my line went skyward followed by Bob's. We looked up and there was an eagle overhead with our cranks, one on each talon. It was frantic! What to do? We reeled it in to the back of the boat. Bob then put his leather gloves on and I found a paddle. At the boat the eagles wings beat like hammers across the stern. I placed the the blade of the paddle between Bob and that great beak. Upside down the bird began to relax. Bob carefully removed the cranks and released the bird. Released the eagle half swam and half flew to Forest Island. There it rested a bit and then flew up on to the highest tree where it perched in disgust. We continued our troll. Wish we had a camera. jim

If you could Roughrider a little more detail please. I assume your batteries are in series. So if the first is charged to 90% then the charge automatically flows to the second. Have I got it ? You don't need four battery leads from the solar panel.

Interesting topic. I would like to contribute after noting that there has been already a similar concern raised about sound and vibration. Over time, I have been lowly modifying my boat with this in mind. I have pool noodles in seat pedestals and have used them to surround my batteries. I have remounted my internal battery charger on a foam rubber base. I intend to remount my rigger and other equipment on to a rubber base. I have used pipe wrap to partially cover my rigger boom. I note in Florida anglers wrap a cut tennis ball around their rigger line believing that this cuts down on unnecessary vibration/sound. My kicker 's transom is covered with a rubber mat. I have found after exploring with a magnet the odd loose bolt or pop rivet/ piece of wire rolling around on top of the aluminum under my sub floor. In addition I have tested and tightened a few screws and bolts when I found them loose. Has it made a difference? I can only say that while it has been hard to measure ; I feel more confident after doing it.

Hi Gambler. I am admiring your rigs. How far back do you run your spin n glows behind gang trolls or dodgers for lakers? jim

I have been a long time Lowrance owner and advocate. Lowrance lost me the day they talked down to me me telling me that my favourite unit should be thrown in the trash rather than try to repair it. I loved that machine! And spent a lot of money that I did not have just to get that unit. It was so special. So when I retired I went to Humminbird and bought their top of the line. I have had no regrets. Humminbird customer service is just great, they are very understanding and no question is a dumb one. My next sonar for boat number two will be a Humminbird!

I have two observations. I fish Lake of the Woods, Ontario. In the first one while casting for Musky I saw bass, perch and other little fish jumping all over right out of the water in a weed bed. The reason , a school of Muskies had just moved in shallow from the depths . I saw eight large fish next to my boat just passing through en route to the weeds. A couple of them followed my yellow Mepps spinner and I caught one. All the while little fish were just busting out of the water, so there had to be even more Muskies that I didn't see. Reminded me of a tv show I saw featuring salt water fishing. There have been other times while using minnows for Walleye that we caught both Pike and Musky when it is apparent that the Walleye feeding had shut down and the school had just moved on. Some of these Esox were quite large too! Lots of fun on six pound test.