bluedevil

Well I said I would post one of mine so here goes...

About 5 years ago I went camping at Silver Lake State Park with my wife (now ex-wife) and some family. We took the boat but were to busy with other things to use it. Well it got time to go and I only had a regular cab truck back then, so most camping gear was loaded in the boat. At the last minute wife says she wants to go for a quick boat ride before we leave so I said sure. I back the boat into the water and unhooked and told the wife I was parking the truck and I will be right back. As I am walking towards the boat I think to myself, "man there must be alot of weight in that boat with the camping gear cause it sure is sitting low in the water". Thats when I realize I did not put the plug in... I start running and yelling to the wife to turn the bilge pump on but of course she has no idea what that is. I jump in the boat, turn the pump on and the water is within inches of coming over the transom. I reach down into the water to try and put the plug in and just cant get it so jumping in was the only other option.

So there ya go Mike. Now you know your not the only dumb ass out there...

Thanks for the report and dont feel bad. We have all been there before. I have noticed over the years that the spring bite is weird that way. One day you can go 13 for 15 and the next be 3 for 15.

Thanks Lynn and I will keep that in mind but csootsman hooked me up and hopefully the problem is solved.

Thanks for your help Clair...

Did you receive the $$ I sent?

Bump..

Nice catch Mike..

Awesome looking rig Nick.

For Sale...

Fishhawk 840 Display unit

Power Cable

Triducer and bracket

Everything is in good working order except the bracket that mounts the triducer to the boat. Must have hit something in the water last year and it broke but I have repaired it. Used twice after repair and it worked fine. Only thing that does not come with this is the probe. A new probe can be purchased for under $250. The new X4 probe will work with this unit. Asking $200.

Thanks guys...

Nick did ya take the new boat up to Higgins this weekend? How's she run...

Fished from 9am to 4pm and went 2/4, one nice 7-8lb brown and one decent laker that we released. All hits came near the state park north of the pier. Warmest water we found other than the mouth was from the state park north about 2 miles. Temp was 45-47 degrees. Had two rips on mini watermelon spoon, one rip on mini bloody nose moonshine spoon, and one rip on blue and silver rapala.

Absolutly beautiful day out there. Little chop in the morning but by 1pm the lake turned flat.

Good to hear from ya Rich. Hope all is well..

I will be fishing tomorrow but I'll be out of Manistee. I will give a report and wish ya good luck..

If you are sure that the parts are interchangable he would be very interested.

How much are you asking?

Thanks

I have had no luck so I hope someone on here can help.

A friend of mine has a Raymarine Sportpilot Plus autopilot Model A12020 that the clutches and/or belt is worn and need replaced. Problem is he called Raymarine and they discontinued that model and no longer can get parts for it. Anyone know where one could get parts? I have searched every place I could think of with no luck.

Thanks

Nice catch there Mike. Sorry I could not make it but I had a funeral at 4pm yesterday. But thanks for the invite and hope to be invited again.

I hope to have my boat ready in the next week or two.

I have tried them also but like others have said, I cannot say they are better. How long are they supposed to last anyway? Is there a way to know that they no longer work?

Frank,

Just how accurate are the contours to do this? I cant say how many times I have almost run up onto sand bars when fighting fish. Buy the time the depth finder alarm goes of and the boat reaches my "pucker factor" range, the bow of the boat is nearing paint loss..

This would especially come in handy with rookies driving the boat.....See that 10' contour line on the GPS? Follow it but stay outside of it..

JIM

I was just rereading this thread and I have no idea how or why I called you Frank.... Sorry about that...

Well I got a chance to try the Lakemaster chip out on a local lake here and the depth contours are way off. I was told on another forum that most of the smaller lakes are from 80 year old surveys. The bigger more popular lakes are more recent surveys so I hope those are more accurate.

Yes there is. As is right now when targeting salmon and trout on the great lakes you are allowed 3 rods per licensed fisherperson, and 2 rods per person in all other fishing situations. As of April 1st 2009 it is my understanding it will be 3 rods per license on all Michigan waters...Should be fun when fishing piers...

Just in case you are still looking, I came across this one today...

Special mate with 125 spoons/ lures $75

Finished the camera a few weeks ago and have tried it out on a few different lakes and it is pretty cool. Had one leak issue on Saginaw Bay but got it home that night dried the camera out and sealed it better and all is well again.. Water clarity is the key. I first tried it on a local lake here that is somewhat murky and I had about 15' of view on a sunny day. Tried it on Higgins Lake last weekend and WOW what a difference. Had 50'+ of clear visibility. I could see farther but could not identify fish/structure very well. Only downfall with it is that it is not lite. 9" TV, 100' cord, 2-12volt batteries, and carrying case is not something to carry around all day... If I ever find my digital camera I will get some pics of it and maybe a underwater video. After all is said and done I have under $200 in it.

Well I got my taxes back and I pampered myself by ordering the Lakemaster Pro Map.. Kinda bumbed though cause I ordered it on Mon and spent the extra $$ to have 2nd day air so I could have it for a Higgins trip on Thur but the company I ordered it from did not submit the order until this evening so UPS tracking is showing a Thur delivery now....

Very cool Dan. Thanks for sharing....

I think it was pic 63, but was that Fred Trost??

The big white hoochies have been really good to me the last few years. I almost always have a couple on my outside riggers. I will use the 8" in early spring though. I have used the large Kingfisher flashers also and have caught fish on them but to be honest I don't give them enough chance to prove themselves. To much faith in the hoochies..

Did you get your camera resealed?

Yep and it worked great. the only problem was that I lost my phone in 117fow and I only have about 90' of cord.... I just ended up using mastic tape and it seems to be holding good.

Sounds like you guys did alright too Matt, except for the phone. I bet the lake was a mess when you left saturday night.

Yea it was nothing but slop but it made for better travel for us though. There were 3 of us and only one machine so we pulled the trailer with the quad and put gear and riders in that. it was a slow go in the morning cause of all the snow but by the end of the day it was pulling nice but it was wet.

Sorry I didn't give you a call when we got up there this morning Nick. I was not on the lake more than 15 min and my cell phone now swims with the fishes.....

We were straight out out from little creek in about 117fow and picked up one 14" laker (released) and left one cell phone on the bottom..... In the evening we fished in 40fow between big and little creek. Got a couple dink perch, about 100 smelt, and 1 rock bass. Earlier in the day we checked this area out in about 30fow with the camera and we seen 2 HUGE pike and one really nice rainbow.

Yea I thought it was a really good game also, lot better than I expected. IMO Arizona beat themselves with all the penalties. Last I seen was they had over 95 yards in penalties. But to only loose by 4 with having that many yards in penalties was a good fight in my book.

I was in the money untill that 100 yard run.

Great job Nick....

I have been hearing that the smelt fishing has been pretty good so far this year. I may be going this Sat so give me a holler if you are going this weekend.