thanks guys, that is exactly what I was looking for. i appreciate the help!

unfortunatly it is not an otter fish house, so i dont want to trouble them since it is not thier product. My otter lodge is working just fine, but it is my spare one man menards special that has failed. just a couple new push buttons would get me another year or two out of it (at least that is what I am hoping)

the 2010 lakemasters chip has 1 foot contours for pools 1-8 ( and wing dams)

i own a 115 opti. it has been a great motor, but if i did it again, i think i would go 4-stroke.

i feel like my maintainace cost are high with the opti. each plug cost around $20, oil is also expensive. i really like the performance, but i now would be willing to sacrafice a little performance for cost and a quieter motor.my boat maxes out at 43mph. if i lost 3 mph with the 4-stroke, i dont care if i max out at 40 mph. i am never in a race when I am fishing, nor do i run at wot much of the time. I really cant complain at all about the opti for performance. runs great all the time. i have trolled 8 hours out of a day and it never skipped a beat (i am still waiting for my stimulas package for a new kicker more). great motor, but if it was me, i would try4-stoke next.

I agree it seems like a waste, but the reason they send all the extra mailings is because they say research says they are more likely to get the census mailed back faster. they will send 3 mailings after the original cences was mailed to you, and if they dont get a responce back from you, then they send a person-much more expensive than a mailing. so if fact to save tax dolors, it is in every persons best interest to fill it out and send it back asap. I think it is a waste of money and the info they ask can be gathered from other sources, but i also feel it was my civic duty to send it back as soon as i got it so i didnt waste any more money on them trying to contact me. it takes about 3 minutes, and if everyone did it right away, we would save millions. it’s going to happen whether i like it or not, I might as well try my best to make it as cost efficient as possible

thanks for the input. with the vinegar trick, since i usually get off the water around 2-3am, i dont really feel like washing the boat off when it is wet after loading up. do you think it would work to use vinegar after a pre-rinse a few days after it has dried on?

also the Plexis stuff…I have persistant water drop stains on the motor. it sounds like this will help get rid of them?

so from what i gather from the responces, waxing will not help with the scum accumulation problem when i go out fishing. is that correct?

I did not state it before i have a aluminum boat that is trailored, not left in the water.

mine is plastic so i hope there is not a problem. there is braided steel on there right now, but i dont think they have gotton much abuse

so braided 150-200# sounds like what would fit me. I dont intend to get into it “downrigger balls deep,” just enough to improve my catches from what I have been doing running pump handles

any good links to videos would be great. I am down in the winona area, so my time getting to the big water is limited, but i try to do it at least once a year

one other thing too…have you ever tried tilting you locator up at an angle to get a reading where your downrigger is? if this works, it would be nice to see in the beginnng how much the weight swings out while trolling. I know this fluctuates with the underwater currents, but wondering if the graph will pick it up?

any specific poundage of wire? i assume thinner is better but when is it too thin that you risk loosing the weights?

I have had the big buddy for 3 years now and would never go back to a sunflower. i get less headaches from the output, quieter, and a bit safer in my opinion. I ran a mr heater cooker for about 12 years before the buddy. no doubt the sunflower type is more durable than the buddy but being a bit more careful is worth the benifits. The buddy does not put out the heat I would like when running of 1 lbsers, but hooked up to the 20 lbser, it works great. i say give it a try.

no regulator needed, just the inline filter

I own 2 sets and like them very much. I feel you still have to layer underneath to be the right temp, but if you are active and moving around, it is almost too hot! I on the other hand own the one with the soft lining inside, and I would recommend the other one (the red suit, not the green. I hate when I put mine on, and my sleves want to pull up because of the friction of the soft lining. my camo version does not have the soft lining an i like it alot better becasue when you put it on, it just slides on. It comes down to personal preferance. i dont think you will be dissapointed.

would you say the numbers are the same size as navionics, or bigger or smaller?

Question about lakemasters with the hb…the navionics maps depth numbers are too small in my opinion. i find myself having to lean forward and stick my nose to the screen to read the depth numbers on the contour lines. is the lakemasters depth numbers bigger than the navionics depth numbers? would be a huge benifit for me…and i am only 30, so my eyes are still fairly good…

pins and needles man!!!

quite a while back i had to upgrade from my s10 for the same reasons you stated. i had to redo the bumper because it ended up bending because of a sudden stop i had to make. then i notice the clutch was getting sloppy from going in and out of landings. i think you will end up saving fix-it headaches and saftey problems in the future. you will be glad you made the switch once you did. if money allows, buy the bigger truck, and get a small sencond car for running most of the time. doing that will make you truck last countless more years snce you will not be putting many miles on it. good luck–also, if the s10 has more than 100,000 miles on it, that seems like when the problems start happening

I do not have a Pro, but i have one XL and SX. I love them, and will keep on buying them. I actually like the drag most of all. I did get one that was bad out of the box, and they replaced it. It sucked it was bad right away, but it wa worth it to me in the long run because once it was replaced, it was what my other ones were like. I have turned 2 of my friends on to them and they love them too. my biggest complaint is that sometimes the line get wrapped up in the metal guard more often than other reels i have had. not enough for me to get upset about it. I would contact customer service and i would think they would take care of it.

i too went out last night from 8:30 to 10:30. the rain got to me ans the wind was swinging the boat enough to make it a bit of a hastle. packed it up without any runs at all. I was hoping with the tough conditions, i would be rewarded, but zippo.

believe me, i have no interest in taking credit were credit is not due. the girlfriend was with and can vouch for me. she would not let me lie about the weight, because that would just make it tougher for her to beat, and you can bet she is ready to take the title back at any moment. cool part about it is that some way, some how, she usually manages to do it, so when that time comes, I cant wait to see that fish!

i only use the mono leader because when i get snagged, i always end up geting my swivel and sinker back. i got tired of leaving pounds of lead each year for all the snags i got.

10/0. fat fingers,bad spelling, and no proof-reading or grammer skills make my post some of the most pitiful post on the planet

Thanks on the congrats! to answer a few questions…yes, i did give brian some alone time with her. this backfired on me. now she wants to stay with me forever, and even if i did want to get rid of her, i would have no hope! I dont know what he does to women, but if you are having relationship troubles, just send the women for a few hours with BK, and she will come running back!

i did measure it and it was 47 in. long and 34.5 in. girth. i weighed it on the standard berkley digital scale. 59.2 pounds in the net, minus the 2.2 lbs net = 57 lbs. I caught it on the standard 3 oz no-role on 1/0 hook. I had just ordered and recieved a spool of 80 lbs power pro and had just respooled before I went out. glad I did! i was also using 50 lbs mono for a leader. old moldy bullhead was the teaser. my bullheads got a bad case of fugas in the whole batch. maybe it just adds extra flavor!

i too will reconsider fishing in wisconsin. as prices rise for gas, bait, launch fees, camping/hotels, and now boat license, my wisconsin fishing days many come to an end. it might sound good for wisconsin residents to keep the waters free of us minnesota residents, but since i may fish there maybe 3 times a year, I pay $50 for a fishing licensce. that money goes to stocking lakes and other natural resources. i dont ever keep fish so my inpact is minimal. the $50 towards stocking will be gone, money i spend on bait/beer/hotel/camping/tackle and the list goes on will also be gone. i know $15 is not much, but when you add everything in that goes into a fishing trip and how the costs have risen, every little bit counts. i would think the overall money gained from keeping people vacationing to the state would far exceed the money raised by a $15 boat fee. it might be something they want to reconsider. I know I would not like to see a fee charged to non-residents to fish in minnesota. the economic inpact of people vacationing to minnesota is a welcomed thing in my opinion. i will write my congressmen and women not to do this if it comes up in minnesota. cheeseheads are welcome here anytime!

i lived in princeton for 1 year and had marginal success there. milacs was not good for me because i had a 14 foot flat bottom and i really had to pick my days i could go out. not a problem for you with your new rig. i have fished the lakes you mentioned but my favorite was spectical over by cambridge. do not even bother going to it on the weekend. the pleasure crafts will make you want to go postal (jet skis especially). midweek is the best time. there is a great bass population. i am a walleye guy, so i had to change my focus with the lakes around there. there are walleyes but not the numbers i was used to. the dnr lakefinder page did not say there was walleyes in there, but when i was scuba diving in that lake, i did see a couple. bring lots of misquteo dope in june/july. at dusk they are crazy because the lake is small and does not get much wind. we had days we couldnt keep the fish off the lines but we had to call it quits because the bugs just were sucking our blood dry. we also found some ok walleye fishing west of princeton within a hours drive. bridges lake i think. good luck. with your boat i would spend most of your time on the big pond, that is where you will be able to do the most damage.

I was told not to gap the iridium plugs at all, even if it gives specs in the manual. do you do different?

man, i would have to say you look better in that picture than you do in person!!! whoever does your hair now…dont let go of them!!!

i know if i am going to join you again in the boat next summer, i want a “real” mechanic fixing it! at least one thing will be reliable during the trip

yesterday was the first day i saw bucks out in the open. it killed me to head into work friday evening when i had see the deer moving. it appeard the bucks did nto care what was happening around them. i sure saw an increase in trucks along the road this morning! they must have see what we were seeing last evening!