pbrktrt

nice kings, ho's and a brown. Good job!

And in a few years they will discover the local dirt tracks, well you can see where this is going. Let them have fun with it while they can, life catches up with all of us too fast. They will come back to the lake Mike, in their own time.

Looks 1/2 catfish 1/2 brook trout. Probably looked better in the pan.

And just a short time ago that was the magic sizzle when everything you were running got bit. I love the sunset cruise. That photo is truly a Kodak moment.

That to me is market hunting. Anybody can kill a deer but the hunt is what it's about. If it's simply a slaughter for the meat, you are missing out on a lot.

You and your kids are totally normal. My twin boys used to take rabbits I had skinned and cut the head with the skin and use them as hand puppets. They are both teachers now, so no worries.

I've found you can't tail a coho like a king. They also lose their scales instantly. No spots on tail either. Nice job on the fish.

New guys have cost a lot of gear and fish this season. But they are fun to watch and see the excitement. Kind of a double edged sword.

Those are some nice ones. Deep fried with the Ritz coating, heaven.

Bob, go to the Kwagama Lake Lodge site. Their should be plenty to look at for you or your taxedermist.

I'm betting the starter drive is jammed in the ring gear. It's pull the starter time.

We use a 12" length of 1" bar stock with a bicycle grip on the end. 1 whack and it's over.

I'm a real believer in the large Siwash style hooks. When they are hooked they don't usually get off. I think the fish can get some leverage when shaking and twisting on a treble and that normally spells fish off. Run them 50/50 and keep track of your hook and land ratio. I'll bet the singles win. Much easier to get out of the net too.

Something simple to check and I've seen it on 4.3 GM's is the distributor drive gear & pin. The cam gear doesn't seem to wear but the gear on the distributor does and the retaining pin hole gets hogged out also. I wouldn't think oil pressure would be affected but as it drives the shaft for the oil pump you never know. Just something to look at in the off season that may eliminate a problem on the water.

I'd say cut your losses and look for a good used boat in the off season. In this economy there should be some real deals.

The DNRE causes this. These are hatchery fish that they fin clip to identify them. They usually have a micro-tag in their head too.

You haven't lived till you've had a good sized king at the boat in the dark then hit the lights. They really seem to take offense.

I honestly don't know what we are using now but they look like red twisted gummy worms. Seem to work well though.

Some great smallmouth action in the bays also.

Chris, you might give Fleet Refinishers in Holland a call. They do the blasting and painting but I'm not sure on wiring. That's a pretty simple job on a trailer, you could do it yourself.

Mark, we have questioned the Dipsey thing many times. Some days you can't miss and others they are on for a few seconds and gone. I believe they are slashing at the fly or spoon and getting lightly hooked on the outside. A couple of good head shakes and the hook rips loose. It would be interesting to actually video what is happening.

Pop off the engine cover and check belt tension. It sounds like a alternator belt.

They work well but we've found a Streamlight LED with the UV function really lights them up fast and they glow a lot longer.

The dipsey's seem to be magic on the sunset cruise this time of year. Nice job!

Something in the brake system is holding residual pressure on your calipers. The usual suspects are the master cylinder sticking from a ridge of rust or corrosion or your brake hoses are coming apart inside and a flap of rubber is acting as a one way check valve.